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<languages/>
{{PD Help Page|imported=yes}}
{{Special page}}
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the toolbox of every page there is a link labeled "'''{{int|whatlinkshere}}'''" (or, more generally, labeled with the text in [[MediaWiki:Whatlinkshere]]), also called '''backlink'''.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Overview==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The '''{{int|whatlinkshere}}''' facility lists the pages on the same site which link to a given page, either the pages in all namespaces, or in a specified one.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">To see this information, choose the ''{{int|whatlinkshere}}'' link  while looking at any page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The pages linking to and/or embedding the given page are listed.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The list is sorted by namespace then page ID (i.e., by date of creation of the page).</span><ref name="order">
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Before [[phab:T297754]] it was sorted by page ID.</span>
</ref>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This info comes from the {{ll|Manual:pagelinks table|pagelinks}} table and the {{ll|Manual:templatelinks table|templatelinks}} table.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The pages embedding the given page are marked with the content of [[MediaWiki:Istemplate]] ("transclusion" or "inclusion"); for these pages it is not shown whether they also ''link'' to the given page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This can be seen with [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Query#backlinks|m:Query#backlinks]].</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
The list of links to an article is useful in a number of ways:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* It gives a very rough indication of how popular a page is.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Pages with many links are likely to be viewed often and should therefore be of the very best quality.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Pages with few or no links may not be very popular.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* Where the subject material of an article is unclear, the list of articles linking to it might provide useful context.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">For instance when presented with a stub about ''John Smith'' that gives only his date of birth and death, viewing the list of links to the article might reveal that he won a gold medal in the Olympics.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* Facilitates proper [[w:Wikipedia:Disambiguation|disambiguation]].
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This facility works also for a page that does not exist (there may be links to it, which makes it extra useful to create it).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The ''{{int|whatlinkshere}}'' button is also on the edit page on which one arrives when following a broken link.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Thus, for example, if film articles are linked to the actors, one can find the films an actor has played in even if there is no article about the actor.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
To invoke a ''{{int|whatlinkshere}}'' list directly, use e.g.
</div>

<nowiki>[[w:Special:Whatlinkshere/John Smith|w:Special:Whatlinkshere/John Smith]]</nowiki>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
resulting in [[w:Special:Whatlinkshere/John_Smith|w:Special:Whatlinkshere/John_Smith]].
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Limitations and workarounds==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Not listed are:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Link#Subpage feature|subpages]] that just have an ''automatic'' link to a page
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Edit summary|links in edit summaries]]
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Also listed are:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* pages with #ifexist applied to the given page (see {{bug|12019}})
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the case of links to sections or other anchors, the precise target is not shown.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Also, "{{int|whatlinkshere}}" cannot list the backlinks of a specific section/anchor only.</span><ref>
BZ#8955: [[phab:T10955|<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Special page listing broken section anchors</span>]]
</ref>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">These features are provided by [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Linksearch|Linksearch]] after adding a "hidden external link".</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Alternatives:
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If this is desired, the section can be split off.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The content can still be shown on the original page, by transcluding the new page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Alternatively, or in preparation for splitting off, instead of creating a link to a section one can create a link to a page redirecting to the section.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The list of backlinks of the full page is now sorted by exact target, though not listing the names of the target sections but the names of the redirect pages.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This also makes it easier to keep the links working when changing the name of a section: only the target of the  redirect page has to changed, not the source pages of the links.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Note that the redirect message is at the top of the whole page, so typically not visible at the target position.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This may be an advantage (the disadvantage of the redirect message cluttering the target is minimal) or a disadvantage.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">To see the name of the page without scrolling up, note that the browser usually shows it in the window title at the very top, while the address bar shows the name of the redirect page with the name of the section on the target page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See also {{ll|Help:Linking sections and redirects}} (this link itself is also an example of what has been described).</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Also note that if a page's links change due to a change in the template, the backlinks for that page are [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Job queue#Updating links tables when a template changes|not updated immediately, but via the job queue]].
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Redirects==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
The backlinks feature shows which backlinks are redirects.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
The backlinks of the redirect are also shown indented under the redirect, and if they include a redirect, the backlinks of that also (not more).
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
This makes it a useful tool for finding double redirects, which do not work, and, except in special applications (see below) can better be replaced by redirects to the final target.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
For listing just the redirects to e.g. [[w:Wikipedia:Be bold|w:Wikipedia:Be bold]], use  https://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=query&list=backlinks&bltitle=Wikipedia:Be%20bold&blfilterredir=redirects&bllimit=500 or https://tools.wmflabs.org/redirectviews/?project=en.wikipedia.org&platform=all-access&agent=user&range=latest-20&sort=views&direction=1&view=list&page=Wikipedia:Be_bold
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Cases of inclusion==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Whether there is a link from A to C is relevant for backlinks as well as Related changes.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If C does not exist, only backlinks are applicable.</span>

* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Inclusion is listed as such.</span>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">A link from A to C counts as such even if the link is not explicit in the wikitext of A, but due to the inclusion of B, which links to C.</span>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If A calls B and there is a link in B to C within noinclude tags then B links to C, but A does not.</span>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If A calls B and there is a link in B to C within includeonly tags then A links to C, but B does not.</span>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If A calls B and B links to a page C that depends on a variable or parameter, then:</span>
** <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The question whether A links to C depends on the value of the variable on page A, or the parameter with which A calls B.</span>
** <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The question whether B links to C depends on the value of the variable on page B; in the case of a parameter, considered from page B, the page may e.g. not call a valid page name (because it calls one with a name with braces), so B does not link to any valid C, or a name depending on the default value of the parameter.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Thus a link from A to C may be due to the inclusion of B, even when B, considered by itself, does not link to C.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Thus, to find out what templates cause pages to link to C, it is not sufficient to check for templates in the backlinks of C.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If some pages link to C due to the inclusion of B, it is more convenient if B is in the list of backlinks of C.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">One can assure this by putting an appropriate example of usage of B on page B, inside noinclude tags (B includes B, but without recursion).</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Otherwise a page like B, which causes pages which include B to link to C, can only be found by looking for pages which directly or indirectly are  included in these backlink pages of C.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Examples:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
*[[m:Template:H:f|Template:H:f]] calls Template:h:f <nowiki>{{</nowiki>NAMESPACE}}.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Considered by itself that is [[m:Template:H:f_Template|Template:H:f Template]]</span> [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Recentchangeslinked&target=Template:H:f&days=3000&limit=500 <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Related changes of Template:H:f</span>], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Whatlinkshere&target=Template:H:f_Template <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">What links to Template:H:f Template</span>]
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
*This page '''Help:What links here''' links through [[m:Template:H:f|Template:H:f]] to [[m:Template:H:f Help|Template:H:f Help]]
</div> [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Recentchangeslinked&target=Help:What%20links%20here&days=3000&limit=500 <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Related changes of Help:What links here</span>], [https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Whatlinkshere&target=Template%3AH%3Af_Help <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">What links to Template:H:f Help</span>] <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This page is therefore a backlink of the latter, but Template:H:f is not listed.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Even without a template name depending on a variable or parameter, if page A links to page C due to the inclusion of template B1 which redirects to B2, which links to C, A is in the list of backlinks of C but B1 is not.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Summarizing, for the purpose of backlinks and Related changes, A links to C if there is, in that order, a chain of template calls, a single redirect, template calls, a single redirect, etc., template calls, and a chain of redirects.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If a page is conditionally embedded through #if, #ifeq, #ifexist, #ifexpr, or #switch, it is counted as embedded, even if the condition is not fulfilled
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If on page A the name of an embedded page is time-dependent, e.g. <nowiki>{{abc{{CURRENTDOW}}}}</nowiki>, currently giving {{abc{{CURRENTDOW}}}}, the "{{int|whatlinkshere}}" list of one of the possibly embedded pages shows page A: the current one, or, depending on caching issues, perhaps an older one.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Thus, although the same functionality is obtained with <nowiki>{{#switch:{{CURRENTDOW}}|0={{abc0}}|1={{abc1}}|..}}</nowiki>, these methods differ in whether the seven templates all count as embedded, or just one.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In the case of an image, using it in a page is listed in the third section of the image description page, but not in "{{int|whatlinkshere}}" of that page
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==User styles==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
The page body has selector body.mw-special-Whatlinkshere, so we can e.g. use the following CSS to number the backlinks:
</div>

<syntaxhighlight lang="css">
body.mw-special-Whatlinkshere ul { list-style: decimal }
</syntaxhighlight>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Order; query==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
"{{int|whatlinkshere}}" sorts by page namespace then id,<ref name="order"/> i.e., by date of creation of the page.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Comparison with [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Query#backlinks|m:Query#backlinks]] and [[m:Special:MyLanguage/Query#embeddedin|m:Query#embeddedin]]:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Compare [[Special:Whatlinkshere/Template:T]] with 
https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/api.php?what=backlinks%7Cembeddedin&titles=template:t&bllimit=500&eilimit=500&blfilter=all&eifilter=all
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Differences demonstrated:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
*Query sorts by function first (backlinks and inclusions), then by [[Special:MyLanguage/page table|page id]], <code>{{int|whatlinkshere}}</code> sorts by page id.
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
*Query distinguishes between B being only included in A, and B also being linked from A.
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
*Query does not indicate which backlinks are redirects, and does not include ''their'' backlinks.
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
*Query provides page ids.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Another difference:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
*Query allows restriction to a specified namespace.
</div>
{{#dpl:linksto  = ''pagename''}}
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">using {{ll|Extension:DynamicPageList3}}, produces backlinks sorted in alphabetic order.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Other sorting  options are also available.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==In-page list of backlinks==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
You can display all the links to a page directly within a page by embedding the page "Special:Whatlinkshere"; see {{ll|Help:Transclusion}}.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
This can also be done using any of the {{ll|Extension:DynamicPageList (disambiguation)}} extensions.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Two extensions, {{ll|Extension:Semantic MediaWiki}} and {{ll|Extension:Cargo}}, can be used to make more detailed lists of incoming links, grouped by the specific relationship between the two pages, but only for relationships that are encoded via those extensions.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Finding external links to a page==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">For a given source wiki we can find the external links to any URL with [[Special:Linksearch|Special:Linksearch]] (if installed).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Thus, in particular, we can find e.g. pages on the English Wikipedia having an external link to this page or even to an old version, an edit or history page, etc. (provided that the parameter "title" comes first):</span>
[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALinksearch&target=meta.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FHelp%3AWhat_links_here]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALinksearch&target=meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Help:What_links_here]

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">There is no such feature for interwiki links.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This may be a reason to prefer external link style.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Limitations==
</div>
# <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The special page doesn't account for {{ll|Help:Links#External links|External links}} within the same wiki.</span>
# <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The special page doesn't account for {{ll|Help:Links#Interwiki links|Interwiki_links}}.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==Notes==
</div>
<references />

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==See also==
</div>
* [[Special:Mostlinked]] – <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">shows the number of links</span>
* [[Special:Mostlinkedtemplates]] – <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">shows the number of pages in which each template is transcluded, not counting transclusions through redirects</span>
* {{ll|API:Backlinks}}

[[Category:Help{{#translation:}}]]