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{{PD Help Page}}
{{anchor|What is TemplateData?}}
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">'''{{ll|Extension:TemplateData|TemplateData}}''' is an extension that stores information and parameters associated with a [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Templates|wikitext template]] and makes it available to an editing interface that can retrieve and present it in a template editor -- all of which helps users add and edit templates on pages.</span>
It also provides a user interface for {{ll|Help:TemplateData/Template discovery|discovering templates}}.

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">As of April 2019, template data functionality is part of the default user experience for all users on all Wikimedia wikis when they add a template, even unregistered users.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Both the default source and visual editors incorporate it in some way, as do many scripts, tools and gadgets.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If you want this functionality on your own wiki, install {{ll|Extension:TemplateData}}.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Adding template data to a template for this extension to use involves inserting a small, simple block of [[w:JSON|JSON]] (explained below) into the template's documentation page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can do this manually or with the template data editor, a graphical user interface you can access on a template's <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code>/<code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code> pages on wikis with the TemplateData extension installed.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The JSON contains a list of the template's parameters and information about those parameters and about the template as a whole (see below for details).</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Templates that contain template data will display this information in the user interface when a user adds the template.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In some cases, it will change how the editor behaves when you use it to edit or insert a given template, making it much easier for users to perform the steps needed to add a given template.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== History ==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Template data was originally developed in early 2013 with {{ll|VisualEditor|VisualEditor}} in mind, which was in MediaWiki testing stages at the time.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The visual editor is the main visual editing interface for Wikimedia wikis, and template data allows it to have a more useful interface when adding templates.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It was officially supported by the visual editor [[Special:MyLanguage/VisualEditor/Portal/TemplateData|immediately]].</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">As the visual editor was rolled out to the various major Wikimedia wikis as a default feature from 2013 through 2016, template data became a part of them as well.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In December 2016, the visual editor interface was made available for editing source code as a beta feature.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This was termed the {{ll|2017 wikitext editor}}.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This brought the features of template data to source editing for the first time.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In March 2018, [[User:Samwilson|Sam Wilson]] developed {{ll|Extension:TemplateWizard|nsp=0}}, a GUI template editor extension for the default Wikimedia source editor, {{ll|WikiEditor}} (otherwise known as the 2010 wikitext editor), designed to make the process of adding templates easier by using information from template data.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In [[w:Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2019-04-30/Technology report|April 2019]], TemplateWizard was made a default part of the 2010 wikitext editor on all Wikimedia wikis.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This meant that template data was now a default part of both the visual editor and the source editor on Wikimedia wikis.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== Adding or editing template data ==
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
To add or edit template data, first navigate to a template's page, located at "/Template:''Templatename''".
</div>

{{anchor|Prior checks}}
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
=== Checking the current state ===
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Before adding or editing template data, check whether the template has a '''documentation subpage'''.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Then check whether the template '''already contains template data''' and, if so, whether it's located on the template page or the documentation subpage.</span>

{{Note|1=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Be sure to check whether a subpage exists.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If you add template data to a template's main page while a subpage exists with template data, the template data in the main page will override the data on the subpage.</span>|2=warn}}

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

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
There are two main ways templates on most Wikimedia wikis store their usage notes and other data that shouldn't be included in the actual template itself, like categories the template should be contained in:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The vast majority of templates keep usage notes and other data that doesn't belong on the template page itself on a documentation subpage: "/Template:''Templatename''/doc".
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">On pages like this, the {{((}}{{ll|Template:Documentation|Documentation}}{{))}} template [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Transclusion|transcludes]] all the /doc page's content onto the template page, keeping the template's source code much cleaner.</span>
** <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">On templates with documentation subpages, the "[[File:Test Template Info-Icon - Version (2).svg|50px]] '''Template documentation'''" heading will be followed by links such as [view], [edit], [history] and [purge].</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* A few template pages have retained that information on the template's main page.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can spot it on these pages by looking for an occurrence of <code><nowiki>{{Documentation|content=</nowiki></code> between {{tag|noinclude|open}} tags.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Different wikis may present all this differently.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Rarely, main template pages may still contain documentation even when you've checked all of the foregoing;</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">here, a user will have added a custom /doc page title between "<code><nowiki>{{Documentation|</nowiki></code>" and "<code><nowiki>|content=</nowiki></code>" and then added content after "<code><nowiki>|content=</nowiki></code>".</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
You can also look for a notice at the bottom of the page similar to this: "The above documentation is transcluded from Template:''Templatename''/doc".
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==== Templates without documentation subpages ====
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If a template doesn't have a documentation subpage, create it and move the template's documentation there (or a placeholder for it).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Then you can add template data to the documentation subpage.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
===== Creating the subpage and moving the documentation =====
</div>
{{Note|1=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">On many Wikimedia wikis, you can only create a page if you have been a registered user there for a number of days and have made a minimum number of edits.</span>|2=info}}

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
To create the documentation subpage, click <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code>/<code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code> on the main template page; look for the {{tag|noinclude|open}} tags and their contents (usually at the bottom).
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
It should look something like this:
</div>

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
<noinclude>
{{Documentation|content=
== Usage ==

Information about usage.

== More example headings ==

More example contents

[[Category:Example category]]
[[Category:Example category 2]]
}}
</noinclude></syntaxhighlight>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You may also find that it already contains template data.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If so, it will look something like this:</span>

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
<noinclude>
{{Documentation|content=
...
<templatedata>
{
    "description": "",
    "params": {
        "1": {
            "label": "Example parameter",
            "description": "Example parameter description",
            "type": "string"
        }
    }
}
</templatedata>
</noinclude></syntaxhighlight>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Select everything after "<code><nowiki>|content=</nowiki></code>" and before "{{tag|noinclude|close}}" and cut it into your clipboard or save it in a temporary document.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Delete "<code><nowiki>|content=</nowiki></code>", leaving only the following:</span>

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
<noinclude>
{{Documentation}}
</noinclude></syntaxhighlight>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Save the template page.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Now, to create the new subpage, look at your browser's address bar and add /doc to the end of the URL.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Press {{Key press|Enter}}, then choose the option to create a new page.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If this wiki has a {{((}}{{ll|Template:Documentation_subpage|Documentation subpage}}{{))}} notice template, add it at the top of the new page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You may also wish to add other templates, such as a {{((}}{{ll|Template:Purge_button|Purge button}}{{))}} or {{((}}{{ll|Template:Purge|Purge}}{{))}} link (if supported by the wiki in question).</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Insert the text you cut or saved in the previous text (beneath the notice template, if applicable).
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Wrap any categories in {{tag|includeonly|open}} tags so that they apply only to the template's main page:
</div>

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
<includeonly>
[[Category:Example category]]
[[Category:Example category 2]]
</includeonly>
</syntaxhighlight>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Many wikis have a <code><nowiki>{{Sandbox other}}</nowiki></code> template.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Use this template here if it's likely that the template you're editing exists in a sandbox version (located at "Template:''Templatename''/sandbox") in order to prevent the categories from applying to the sandbox page:</span>

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
<includeonly>{{sandbox other||
[[Category:Example category]]
[[Category:Example category 2]]
}}</includeonly>
</syntaxhighlight>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Finally, publish the page.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
You can now add and edit the template data on the documentation subpage using the instructions described in [[#Methods|#Methods]].
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
===== Adding and editing template data on the main template page =====
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If you can't create the /doc page, you can add and edit template data on the template's main page by following the instructions in [[#Methods|#Methods]].
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If a template has a documentation subpage, check both the main page and the documentation subpage for the presence of template data (the {{tag|templatedata|open}} tag followed by an array inside curly brackets: <code>{}</code>).
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Alternatively, the TemplateData extension can perform this check for you.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Click <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code> or <code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code> on either page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the template already has template data on either page, you will see a yellow notice at the top of the page saying either:</span>

: ''{{int|templatedata-exists-on-related-page|2=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Template:Templatename/doc</span>}}''
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">or</span>
: ''{{int|templatedata-exists-on-related-page|2=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Template:Templatename</span>}}''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
'''If the template has template data on its documentation subpage'''
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the template has template data on its documentation subpage, this is the page you should edit.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can do this by clicking the "[edit]" located after the heading "[[File:Test Template Info-Icon - Version (2).svg|50px]] '''Template documentation'''" (or similar), or, if you are already on the /doc page, by clicking <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code> or <code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code> at the top.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Follow the guidance at [[#Methods|#Methods]] to add or edit the template data.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
'''If the template has template data on its main page'''
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If the template has template data on its main page, you once again have two options:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* You can either move to its documentation subpage. This is the preferred option.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* Or, you can edit it on the main template page.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
'''Moving template data to the documentation subpage'''
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">To do this, click <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code>/<code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code> on the main template page, and look for the {{tag|templatedata|open}} tags, enclosed within {{tag|noinclude|open}} tags.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It should look something like this:</span>

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
<noinclude>
{{Documentation}}
<templatedata>
{
    "description": "",
    "params": {
        "1": {
            "label": "Example parameter",
            "description": "Example parameter description",
            "type": "string"
        }
    }
}
</templatedata>
</noinclude>
</syntaxhighlight>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Cut only the {{tag|templatedata|open}} tags and their contents out of the code, then save the page.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Next, edit the documentation subpage by clicking the "[edit]" located after the heading "[[File:Test Template Info-Icon - Version (2).svg|50px]] '''Template documentation'''" (or similar).
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Type a heading, like "Template data", then beneath it paste the template data.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
You can now edit the template data based on the guidance at [[#Methods|#Methods]].
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
'''Editing template data on the main template page'''
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If you do not wish to move the template data to the /doc page, you can edit it on the main template page.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See [[#Methods|#Methods]] for how to edit template data.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
'''If the template does not yet have template data but has a doc subpage'''
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If the template does not yet have template data, you should add it to the documentation subpage.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Do this by clicking the "[edit]" located after the heading "[[File:Test Template Info-Icon - Version (2).svg|50px]] '''Template documentation'''" (or similar), or, if you are already on the /doc page, by clicking <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code> or <code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code> at the top.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Type a heading, like "Template data", then add it beneath this heading.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The section [[#Methods|#Methods]] explains how to add template data.</span>

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

{{anchor|TemplateData editor}}
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==== Template data editor method ====
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
This is a simple way to add or edit template data, recommended for less experienced users.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The template data editor is a graphical user interface for adding and editing template data.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It is part of the TemplateData extension, available on any template's page (or documentation subpage) by clicking <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code> or <code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code>.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
After clicking <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code> or <code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code>, you will see a button above the editing area and page title that says <code>{{int|templatedata-editbutton}}</code>.
</div>
{{Clear}}
[[{{lm|Manage template documentation button for TemplateData 2014|png|_}}|453px]]

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Clicking this button will take you to the '''template data editor'''.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the page you are on already contains template data, it will automatically appear here.</span>
{{Clear}}
[[{{lm|TemplateData GUI editor new|png|_}}|alt=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">A screenshot of the template data editing tool</span>|600px|<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The template data editing tool, on a page with no template data.</span>]]

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Features in the above window:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The top item chooses the language of the interface text. It allows you to enter text content in multiple languages, displayed to users based on their settings in Preferences, '''not based on the wiki's language'''; different wikis have entirely different template databases.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If no language template data exists, the interface will only offer users the wiki's own language, but users can click <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-add-language}}</code> to add more inputs.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The language code is displayed in brackets next to the parameters to which it can be applied, such as descriptions and labels.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The next item is the template description. This is the description of the template as a whole; it's shown to users in numerous places in the template editors while adding a template. This [[#Description|parameter and its effects are documented below]].
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The third item controls the wikitext formatting of the template.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This parameter determines how the wikitext will be laid out when the user clicks <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-apply}}</code>, the two main types being <code>"inline"</code> (on one line) and <code>"block"</code> (on new lines).</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This [[#Format|parameter and its effects are documented below]].</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
:If the user chooses <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-format-custom}}</code>, they can enter wikitext under <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-title-templateformatstring}}</code> according to [[#Custom formats|Custom formats rules documented below]], in order to create a custom layout for the template when the user clicks <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-apply}}</code>.
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The fourth item configures a template's parameters.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If parameters have already been defined in template data, this area displays them in a list.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the template's source code specifies parameters for which no template data exists, you may see a button labeled <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-table-param-importoption|2}}</code>.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The editor extracts these suggestions from the template's source code by looking for <code><nowiki>{{{parametername}}}</nowiki></code> or <code><nowiki>{{{parametername|}}}</nowiki></code>.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Clicking <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-table-param-importoption|2}}</code> will add these parameters using their names as defined in the source code.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">A green notice will also appear at the top, for example, "{{int|Templatedata-modal-notice-import-numparams|2|''names of parameters''}}".</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* At the bottom of the window you see an <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-addparam}}</code> button. This allows you to add a parameter manually with a custom name.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Continue to the next step by clicking any one of the parameters in the list. This will allow you to edit that parameter's info.
</div>

[[{{lm|TemplateData_GUI_editor_parameter_list|png|_}}|alt=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Screenshot of the template data editor, showing parameter options</span>|600px]]

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
All of these features and their effects are outlined in the section [[#Within the parameter's name|#Within a parameter's name]].
</div>

{{note|1=
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* The template data editor will not allow you to change a parameter to a blank "[[#Parameter name|{{int|Templatedata-modal-table-param-name}}]]".
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Parameters in template data that somehow acquire blank strings as names will not cause issues in the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard, but neither the visual editor nor the 2017 wikitext editor will display them at all.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This is the only mandatory field in the template data editor.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* Clicking <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-delparam}}</code> will delete the parameter and all its information from the template data.
</div> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can't retrieve or undo this in the template data unless you click "X" afterwards.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can undo any changes made after clicking <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-apply}}</code> by hitting {{Key press|Ctrl|Z}}.</span>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* Exiting the template data editor after making changes prompts you to confirm that you want to discard your changes.
</div>
}}

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">When finished, click <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-apply}}</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This will automatically insert the template data at the bottom of the page before the {{tag|noinclude|close}} tag; or, if already present, it will be updated with the new information without changing its position.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The template data text will also be selected when you click <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-apply}}</code>.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The template data editor creates a <code>"paramOrder"</code> parameter at the bottom of the template data (or updates it if it already exists).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><code>paramOrder</code> contains the current template data parameters in the order in which they were displayed by the template data editor.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can change the <code>paramOrder</code> by dragging the parameters up and down in the template data editor using the three horizontal bars on the left.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><code>[[#ParamOrder|paramOrder]]</code> and its effects are documented below.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
After this, click <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-saveparam}}</code> to save your revision of the page.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==== Manual method ====
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can also add or edit template data manually.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Template data is written in [[w:JSON|JSON]], but you do not need to learn JSON to learn how to create template data.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Template data follows a few very simple rules and accepts only a few dozen possible predefined parameters and values, typically following a <code><nowiki>"parameter": "value"</nowiki></code> format.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
'''Adding template data manually'''
</div>

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

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* If you're adding template data on a template's documentation subpage ('''recommended'''), you may add it anywhere on the page; check to see if your language's Wikipedia has a preferred location for it. For example, on the English Wikipedia, template data is typically near the bottom of the documentation page; on the German Wikipedia, it is typically at the top.
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* If you're adding template data on a template's main page ('''not recommended'''; see [[#Prior checks|#Prior checks]]), you must make sure to place it inside the {{tag|noinclude}} tags.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Click <code>{{int|vector-view-edit}}</code> or <code>{{int|visualeditor-ca-editsource}}</code> on the respective page, then move to the place in the page where you intend to add template data and write a heading: "Template data".
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Many wikis have a {{tl|TemplateData header}} template that adds a short notice regarding template data. If your wiki does, add it after the heading.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
To start adding template data, type an opening and closing {{tag|templatedata|open}} tag and a pair of curly brackets on new lines, with an empty line between them:
</div>

<syntaxhighlight lang="html">
<templatedata>
{

}
</templatedata></syntaxhighlight>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Next, add an indent on the empty line between the two curly brackets, and start adding parameters. Details for the parameters can be found at [[#Template data parameters|#Template data parameters]]. Most are optional; some are highly recommended.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Parameters can be in any order, but what follows is the order that best conforms to template data documentation and makes the content easiest to use for editors:
</div>

<syntaxhighlight lang="html">
<templatedata>
{
    "description": "",
    "format": "",
    "params": {
        "parameter1": {
            "aliases": ["",""]
            "label": "",
            "description": "",
            "type": ""
        }
    },
    "paramOrder": [
    	""
    ]
}
</templatedata></syntaxhighlight>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Make sure the parameters, for example, in the <code>"params"</code> object, remain inside that object; otherwise you will trigger an "[[#Unexpected property|{{int|templatedata-invalid-unknown|<var>propertyname</var>}}]]" error when you try to save.
</div>

{{anchor|Example}}
'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Example</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Here is some example template data for a hypothetical cleanup template.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Such a template would display a notice and place the page into a dated category based on the month and year entered.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The notice might also contain a link to a talk page section. The template data would look something like this:</span>

<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
<templatedata>
{
	"description": "Use this template to indicate that an article is in need of cleanup.",
	"format": "inline",
	"params": {
		"date": {
			"label": "Month and year",
			"description": "The month and year that the template was added",
			"type": "string",
			"autovalue": "{{SUBST:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{SUBST:CURRENTYEAR}}",
			"example": "January 2013",
			"suggested": true
		},
		"reason": {
			"aliases": ["1"],
			"label": "Reason",
			"description": "The reason the article is in need of cleanup",
			"type": "string"
		},
		"talk": {
			"aliases": ["talksection"],
			"label": "Talk page section",
			"description": "The section of the talk page containing relevant discussion",
			"type": "string"
		}
	},
	"paramOrder": [
		"date",
		"reason",
        "talk"
	]
}
</templatedata>
</syntaxhighlight>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
The corresponding template data documentation would display as follows:
</div>

<templatedata>
{
	"description": "Use this template to indicate that an article is in need of cleanup.",
	"format": "inline",
	"params": {
		"date": {
			"label": "Month and year",
			"description": "The month and year that the template was added",
			"type": "string",
			"autovalue": "{{SUBST:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{SUBST:CURRENTYEAR}}",
			"example": "January 2013",
			"suggested": true
		},
		"reason": {
			"aliases": ["1"],
			"label": "Reason",
			"description": "The reason the article is in need of cleanup",
			"type": "string"
		},
		"talk": {
			"aliases": ["talksection"],
			"label": "Talk page section",
			"description": "The section of the talk page containing relevant discussion",
			"type": "string"
		}
	},
	"paramOrder": [
		"date",
		"reason",
        "talk"
	]
}
</templatedata>

{{anchor|Description and parameters}}
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
== Template data parameters ==
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">All available template data parameters (i.e those between tags <code><nowiki><templatedata>...</templatedata></nowiki></code> of the wiki source) are listed below with a description and example.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">They are also listed in more technical detail at [[Special:MyLanguage/Extension:TemplateData#Format|Extension:TemplateData#Format]].</span>

{{note|1=<nowiki/>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This information is current as of November 2021 and may change if new parameters are added or the template editing interfaces get updates to support existing parameters or treat certain parameters differently.</span>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Wiki markup will not work in descriptions or labels.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">They are strictly plain text strings.</span>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">New lines ("<code>\n</code>") in descriptions, labels, examples or defaults will not show in any of the main editors (TemplateWizard, the visual editor or the 2017 wikitext editor), even though they show in the auto-generated template data documentation.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">They are replaced by a null string in input forms and by a space elsewhere.</span>
}}

{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:5%"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Parameter</span>
!style="width:75%"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Description</span>
!style="width:20%"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Example</span>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|description|Description|Template description}}
|-
! <code>description</code>
| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"description"</code> parameter describes what the template does.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It is optional but highly recommended.</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
On the template documentation page, the description will show in plain text below the "Template data for [template name]" subheading.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In all main editors ({{ll|VisualEditor}}, the {{ll|2017 wikitext editor}} and the {{ll|Extension:WikiEditor|nsp=0}} with [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Extension:TemplateWizard|TemplateWizard]]), the description shows in two main instances:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* below the template name in each search suggestion when the user is searching for a template
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* below the template name in the template editor, while they are adding values to parameters in the template.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the visual editor and 2017 wikitext editor, the description gets truncated to about 50 characters under each search suggestion, followed by a "...", but the whole description shows in the main template editor window.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Both are shown in grey text.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the main template editor window, descriptions longer than four lines (about 540 characters) are provided a separate scrollbar, and they are shown in black text.</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If not specified</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the description parameter does not exist or is not specified, the text <code>{{int|templatedata-doc-desc-empty}}</code> will be displayed in the template data documentation below the "Template data for [template name]" subheading.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Additionally:</span>

* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">in the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor, it will behave the same as a template that does not have template data; instead of a description, the following text will display:</span>

::<code>{{int|quotation-marks|2=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The "Template:''Templatename''" template doesn't yet have a description, but there might be some information on the template's page.</span>}}</code>

* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">in the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard, the following text will display where the description would be (except in search suggestions):</span>

:<code>{{int|quotation-marks|{{int|templatewizard-no-description}}}}</code>

:<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This is different from the two standard placeholder descriptions in cases when template data doesn't exist:</span>

:*<code>{{int|quotation-marks|2=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Due to missing template data, parameters for this template have been auto-generated.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Please be aware that they may not be accurate.</span>}}</code>
:*<code>{{int|quotation-marks|2=<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">No parameters could be determined for this template due to absence of template data documentation.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You may insert the template without parameters.</span>}}</code>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"description": "A template for linking to a commons category",
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
|colspan="3"| {{anchor|format|Format}}
|-
! <code>format</code>
| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"format"</code> parameter describes how the template's wikitext should be laid out.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This can be set to the standard formats of <code>"inline"</code> and <code>"block"</code>, or the user can input a set of wikitext symbols to create a custom format; these symbols and some examples are listed in the section [[#Custom formats|#Custom formats]].</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This parameter is not required, but it is recommended.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The default behavior when this parameter is not provided is preserving the existing formatting for existing parameters, or inline formatting for newly added parameters and templates.</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Inline:</span>''' (<code>"inline"</code>)

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
When inserted, the template will lay its wikitext out on a single line with no white space between elements, like so:
</div>

:<code><nowiki>{{Foo|bar=baz|longparameter=quux}}</nowiki></code>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Block:</span>''' (<code>"block"</code>)

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
When inserted, the template will distribute its parameters each on a new line, with single spaces between each element, like so:
</div>

<pre>{{Foo
| bar = baz
| longparameter = quux
}}</pre>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Custom formatting:</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Alternatively, if the parameter is set to a custom string of wikitext, as per the rules listed at [[#Custom formats|#Custom formats]], the template will lay its wikitext out as per the given wikitext.
</div>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"format": "inline"
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
|colspan="3"| {{anchor|params|Params|Multiple parameters}}
|-
! <code>params</code>
| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"params"</code> object contains the information for each parameter of the template. It is required, and its parameters can be viewed in the [[#Within params|#Within params]] section.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
It should contain the [[#Parameter name|name]] of each parameter followed by a set of template data sub-parameters listed in [[#Within the parameter's name|#Within a parameter's name]].
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If there are multiple parameters, place a comma ''between'' each parameter object, but do not add one after the last curly bracket (see example).
</div>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"params": {
    "parameter1": {
        ...    // parameter info
    },      // comma here
    "parameter2": {
        ...    // parameter info
    },      // and here
    "parameter3": {
        ...    // parameter info
    }       // but not here
}
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
|colspan="3"| {{anchor|paramOrder|ParamOrder|Paramorder}}
|-
! <code>paramOrder</code>
| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"paramOrder"</code> object is an optional object that causes the parameters of a template to be displayed in a specific order when added in the template editor.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Add the parameter <code>"paramOrder"</code>, followed by a colon, a space and an open square bracket, then type the name of each of the template's parameters in double quotation marks (<code>"</code>) in the desired order, separated by commas.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">End with a closed square bracket (creating an array).</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
The parameters need not be on new lines (they may be written as <code>"paramOrder": ["param1","param2","param3"]</code>), but placing them on new lines often helps readability.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">We recommend you place <code>"paramOrder"</code> after <code>"params"</code>, as the template data editor does; it isn't displayed in the template data documentation but simply forces the order of the parameters.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">A future editor may wish to quickly look through the parameter details and edit them rather than scrolling past the <code>"paramOrder"</code>, especially if there are a lot of parameters.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If you do choose to place paramOrder somewhere besides the end of the template data, end it with a comma.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
You must include every parameter mentioned in the template data; otherwise a "[[#Required property|{{int|templatedata-invalid-missing|''propertyname''}}]]" error will show.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
'''If not specified'''
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Without <code>"paramOrder"</code>, the template's parameters will display in the order in which the template's source code declares them.
If the source code contains objects inside objects, the parameters in outer objects will come first, followed by inner objects.
</div>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">With other parameters</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard:
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* <code>"[[#Required|required]]"</code> parameters always appear at the top, regardless of the order in <code>"paramOrder"</code>.
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* <code>"[[#Suggested|suggested]]"</code> parameters will always appear second, above <code>"optional"</code> ones.
</div>
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
* <code>"[[#Deprecated|deprecated]]"</code> parameters won't appear at all in this editor; see the description of <code>"deprecated"</code> for more info.
</div>
* <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><code>"paramOrder"</code> will only enforce its order within these categories (i.e., all <code>"required"</code> parameters will be in the order specified by <code>"paramOrder"</code>, and all <code>"suggested"</code> parameters will be too, but all <code>"suggested"</code> parameters will appear below all <code>"required"</code> parameters).</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor, <code>"paramOrder"</code> forces its order regardless of the status of each parameter.
</div>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"paramOrder": [
	"date",
	"reason",
	"talk"
]
</syntaxhighlight>
|}

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

{| class="wikitable"
!style="width:5%"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Parameter</span>
!style="width:75%"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Description</span>
!style="width:20%"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Example</span>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|Parameter name}}
|-
! ''{{int|templatedata-modal-placeholder-paramkey}}''
| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The only first-level item of the <code>params</code> object is the name of a parameter of the template.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
For example, in a template's source code, <code><nowiki>{{{date}}}</nowiki></code> denotes a parameter, and it should be added under <code>"params"</code> with the name <code>"date"</code>.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You may also see parameters named <code><nowiki>{{{1}}}</nowiki></code> or another number (whose template data name should be, for example, <code>"1"</code>).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Parameters like this prevent a user inserting a template from having to type the parameter name and the equals sign (i.e., <code><nowiki>|value|</nowiki></code> instead of <code><nowiki>|parametername=value|</nowiki></code>).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">When there are multiple unnamed parameters, the number identifies which [[Special:MyLanguage/Help:Templates#Anonymous parameters|unnamed parameter]] is being referred to.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">For example, in:</span>

:<code><nowiki>{{example template|value1|value2}}</nowiki></code>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><code><nowiki>value1</nowiki></code> is the value of parameter <code><nowiki>{{{1}}}</nowiki></code>, and <code><nowiki>value2</nowiki></code> is the value of parameter <code><nowiki>{{{2}}}</nowiki></code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Describe your template data parameters accordingly.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Note: a user can still force the use of <code><nowiki>{{{2}}}</nowiki></code> without <code><nowiki>{{{1}}}</nowiki></code> by inserting a parameter named "<code>2</code>" in the template editor or typing "<code><nowiki>|2=</nowiki></code>" in wikitext.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Finally, note that <code>"aliases"</code> creates alternatives to the parameter name which can be used interchangeably, and <code>"label"</code> replaces the parameter name '''in the user interface''' with the specified label (for situations in which the parameter name is not human readable or easily understood).</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Each of these <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-placeholder-paramkey}}</code> objects should contain all of the information about the parameter, in the form of more template data parameters.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">These are listed in the following section, [[#Within the parameter's name|Within a parameter's name]].</span>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"1": {     // name of the parameter
    ...    // information about the parameter goes here
}
</syntaxhighlight>
|}

{{anchor|Within the parameter's name|Within a parameter's name}}
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
==== Within the parameter's name ====
</div>

{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 5%;"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Parameter</span>
! style="width: 70%;"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Description</span>
! style="width: 25%;"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Example</span>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|aliases|Aliases|Parameter aliases}}
|-
! aliases
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The optional <code>"aliases"</code> parameter allows a template parameter to have multiple names.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can check this by going into the template's source code and looking for:</span>

:<code><nowiki>{{{parameter1|{{{parameter2}}}}}}</nowiki></code>

:<code><nowiki>{{{parameter1|{{{parameter2|}}}}}}</nowiki></code>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This means that if the user inserts either of these parameters with a value, they will perform the same function.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Literally, it translates to, "Value of parameter1. If parameter1 doesn't exist or have a value: value of parameter2."</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the second case, it also means, "If parameter2 doesn't exist or have a value: no value."</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">To insert the <code>"aliases"</code> parameter, add the text <code>"aliases"</code> followed by a colon, a space and an open square bracket, then typing the name of each of the parameter's aliases in quotation marks, separated by commas.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">End with a closed square bracket, creating an array.</span>
| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"aliases": ["1", "talk", "talksection"],
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|inherits|Inherits|Similar parameters}}
|-
! inherits
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><code>"inherits"</code> is an optional parameter for when a parameter should inherit all of the template data of another parameter.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This can then be overridden by any parameters specified for the inheriting parameter.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">To use this parameter, type <code>"inherits" :</code> followed by another template parameter's name, such as <code>"talk"</code> or <code>"1"</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can then type another specific setting for the parameter underneath if you wish, like <code>"label" : "A different label"</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The first parameter will inherit all of the second parameter's properties except this one.</span>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
    "params": {
        "topic1": {
            "label": "Topic",
            "description": "A topic mentioned on this disambiguation page",
            "type": "string"
        },
        "topic2": {
            "inherits": "topic1"
        },
        "topic3": {
            "inherits": "topic1",
            "label" : "A different label"
        }
    }
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|label|Label}}
|-
! label
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"label"</code> parameter is a human-readable title for the parameter that will be displayed within the template editor.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The label is displayed in place of the parameter's raw name at all times, including when an alias is used in the wikitext.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This parameter is optional but highly recommended.</span>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"label": "Month and year",
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|Parameter description}}
|-
! description
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Here, <code>"description"</code> is a description of the parameter, not the template as a whole.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This description appears below the parameter name (a long descriptions will be shortened with a button to optionally expand it).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It is optional but highly recommended.</span>

| <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"description": "The month and year that the template was inserted",
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|type|Type}}
|-
! type
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See the [[#Type parameter|#Type parameter]] section.</span>
|
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|default|Default}}
|-
! default
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Some template parameters have a default value which is used unless overridden by the user.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"default"</code> item is an optional item, documentary only, that is intended to communicate this default value to the user.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The value need not match the actual default (if there is one) and has '''no functional effect'''.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">(Not to be confused with <code>"autovalue"</code>, which '''is''' a functional parameter that fills in a field for the user.)</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In all main editors (the visual editor, the 2017 wikitext editor and the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard), the <code>"default"</code> text will show as grey text in the input box of any open parameter when it is empty, in the format <code>"Default: ''default text''"</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Additionally, it will show in plain black text in the [[#Parameter description|parameter description]] (when the user hovers over the "i" symbol).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor, this will be below the parameter description, below "Field is [[#Required|required]]"/"Field is [[#Deprecated|deprecated]]", if specified (the 2010 wikitext editor doesn't show this text), and above "[[#Example|example]]", if specified (<code>"example"</code> does not show in the parameter description in the 2010 wikitext editor).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard, the <code>"default"</code> text shows directly after the parameter description, on the same line, following a space.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It shows in the same format as the other editors (<code>"Default: ''default text''"</code>).</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">With other parameters</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In all main editors (the visual editor, the 2017 wikitext editor and the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard), if <code>"default"</code> is specified, the <code>"example"</code> value will not show in the input box.
</div>

|
<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"default": "Category:CommonsRoot",
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|autovalue|Autovalue|Auto value}}
|-
! autovalue
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">A parameter can be assigned an <code>"autovalue"</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">When a user adds the template to a page, this value will automatically appear in the input box.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">For example, many cleanup templates need the date added; setting the <code>"autovalue"</code> for the template's <code>date</code> parameter to be <code><nowiki>{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}</nowiki></code>, the month and year that the template was added will be filled in automatically.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This value can be overwritten by the user in the template editor.</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">With other parameters</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In all main editors (the visual editor, the 2017 wikitext editor and the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard), <code>"autovalue"</code> overrides the visible effects of <code>"url"</code> in the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See [[#Type|the description for <code>"type"</code>]] for more info.</span>

|
<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"autovalue": "{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}"
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|example|Example}}
|-
! example
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"example"</code> parameter is optional and documentary only; its value contains an example that helps the template's user understand the correct way to fill in the parameter (not to be confused with <code>"suggested"</code>; see that entry for more information).</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In all main editors (the visual editor, the 2017 wikitext editor and the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard), this property is displayed below the parameter description (and below the <code>"default"</code> text, if specified).</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">With other parameters</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In all main editors (the visual editor, the 2017 wikitext editor and the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard), <code>"example"</code> will not show in the input box if "default" is specified.
</div>

|
<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"example": "January 2013",
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|suggestedvalues}}
|-
! suggested values
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The parameter property <code>suggestedvalues</code> lets you define a list of parameter values to be shown to visual editor users in a dropdown for easy selection. This can be done either directly in JSON or using the template data editor (no coding required).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">You can add suggested values to be displayed in the visual editor for parameters which have their type set to one of the following options ([[Special:MyLanguage/Extension:TemplateData#Param object|reference]]):</span>
* {{int|templatedata-doc-param-type-content}}
* {{int|templatedata-doc-param-type-line}}
* {{int|templatedata-doc-param-type-string}}
* {{int|templatedata-doc-param-type-number}}
* {{int|templatedata-doc-param-type-unknown}}
* {{int|templatedata-doc-param-type-unbalanced-wikitext}}
<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Other types (file, page, template, user, date, boolean, URL) are not currently supported because they have special functionalities in the visual editor already, such as autocomplete, which would interfere with the drop-down menu for suggested values in the visual editor.
</div>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Editing template data as JSON in wikitext</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
To add suggested values to any parameter type, add the new property "suggestedvalues" to the parameter in JSON. The “suggestedvalues” attribute must be a list of strings.
</div>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Editing template data with the template data editor</span>'''

# <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Click on <code>{{int|templatedata-editbutton}}</code>.</span>
# <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Click on the name of the parameter you want to add suggested values to.</span>
# <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If it’s not already done, set parameter type to one of the following: content, line, string, number, unknown, unbalanced wikitext.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">A new input field <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-table-param-suggestedvalues}}</code> will appear.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the parameter is already set to one of these types, the input field should already be visible.</span>
# <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Type in the suggested value(s), including any spaces and special characters, and press enter to add the value(s) to the list.</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Once the values have been added to template data, the visual editor will display them in a combo box (a dropdown into which users can also enter a custom value) for the parameter types listed above. The user selects the desired value by clicking on it. If the list of values is long -- for example, a list of a country’s states -- the user can begin typing in the field, whereupon the list will be filtered to show only values containing the typed text. To change an entered value, the user must simply clear the field, and the full dropdown list will appear again. If the user needs a value not included in the list (for example, "message in a bottle") they can type it in manually.</span>
|<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
	"suggestedvalues": [
		"Journal",
		"Book",
		"Newspaper",
		"Magazine"
	]
</syntaxhighlight>
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 5%;"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Status option</span>
! style="width: 70%;"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Description</span>
! style="width: 25%;"| <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Example</span>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|required|Required}}
|-
! required
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"required"</code> parameter can be set to either <code>true</code> or <code>false</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">When unspecified the value defaults to <code>false</code>.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
It determines whether filling in the given parameter is mandatory for the template.
</div>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
This status has several effects in the visual editor and the {{ll|2017 wikitext editor}}:
</div>
*<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">it displays the parameter automatically when a user inserts the template;</span>
*<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">it shows a black asterisk within the input box, on the right;</span>
*<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">it shows the grey, italic text <code>{{int|Visualeditor-dialog-transclusion-required-parameter-description}}</code> below the parameter description;</span>
*<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">it makes the input box glow red if the user clicks away without entering a value;</span>
*<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">if a user attempts to insert the template without a value in the required parameter, it will show them a prompt, asking if they are sure.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If they confirm, it will insert the parameter with a blank value.</span> <span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It will not stop them from inserting the template, though, and it does not result in a visible error by itself (though templates can be programmed to display an error when a required parameter is not filled in).</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the {{ll|Extension:WikiEditor|nsp=0}} with {{ll|Help:Extension:TemplateWizard|nsp=0}}, as in the other editors, it displays the parameter automatically when a user inserts the template, but the parameter cannot be removed using this or any editor.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It also does not display <code>{{int|Visualeditor-dialog-transclusion-required-parameter-description}}</code> in the parameter description; rather, it lists the parameter on the side under <code>{{int|templatewizard-parameters-required}}</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Other than this, it generally behaves the same as in the other editors, except that the prompt says that the input doesn't "match the expected format".</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">With other parameters</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor, the <code>"deprecated"</code> status does not override the functionality of this parameter, but in the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard it does.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">See the description of <code>"deprecated"</code> for more info.</span>

|
<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"required": true
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|suggested|Suggested}}
|-
! suggested
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"suggested"</code> parameter can be set to either <code>true</code> or <code>false</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">When unspecified it defaults to <code>false</code>.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Use <code>"suggested"</code> for parameters that are not mandatory but strongly recommended for template users to provide. When filling in this parameter, a user will see this suggestion.
</div>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the visual editor and the {{ll|2017 wikitext editor}}, it causes the parameter to automatically show up when a user inserts a template.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If the parameter has an autovalue set, this will also automatically be in the parameter's input box.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It has no other effect and doesn't show any additional text or warnings.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In the {{ll|Extension:WikiEditor|nsp=0}} with TemplateWizard, it does not place the parameter in the template automatically but instead causes it to be listed on the side under <code>{{int|templatewizard-parameters-suggested}}</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The user can then click a "+" next to the parameter to add it to the template.</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">With other parameters</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"required"</code> status overrides the functionality of this status in all main editors (the visual editor, the 2017 wikitext editor and the 2010 wikitext editor).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It also overrides the displayed <code>"suggested"</code> status in template data documentation (it will display <code>"required"</code> if both <code>"required"</code> and "suggested" are set to <code>true</code>).</span>

|
<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"suggested": true
</syntaxhighlight>
|- style="visibility:collapse"
| colspan="3" | {{anchor|deprecated|Deprecated}}
|-
! deprecated
|
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Finally, there is <code>"deprecated"</code>, which can be set to <code>true</code>, <code>false</code>, or a string describing what users should instead do.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">When unspecified it defaults to <code>false</code>.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This is a status for parameters that should not be used any more but still exist for the time being.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This could be because uses of the template are being moved from one set of parameters to another.</span>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Effects</span>'''

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The effect of this parameter in the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor is that a grey exclamation mark shows next to the parameter's label when it is inserted, and in the parameter's information tooltip, the grey, italic text "{{int|Visualeditor-dialog-transclusion-deprecated-parameter-description|''deprecation reason''}}" is shown below the parameter description.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">It does not affect the functionality or usability of the parameter or show any additional warnings.</span>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Despite the fact that it can take a string, as of January 2020 none of the main editors (the visual editor, the 2017 wikitext editor or the 2010 wikitext editor) display the contents of the string anywhere to users.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Inputting a string has the same effect as <code>true</code>.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard, setting this value as <code>true</code> does not allow the parameter to be added or seen.
</div>

'''<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">With other parameters</span>'''

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
If you set both this and <code>"suggested"</code> as <code>true</code>, the parameter status will show as <code>"deprecated"</code> in the template data documentation, but in the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor both functionalities will be retained; the parameter will automatically show up when a user inserts a template, but it will have the <code>"deprecated"</code> warnings around it.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If you set both this and <code>"required"</code> as <code>true</code>, the parameter status will show as "deprecated" in the template data documentation, but in the visual editor and the 2017 wikitext editor it will have the same functionality as only <code>"required"</code>; the parameter will automatically show up when a user inserts a template, and it will have the <code>"required"</code> warnings around it.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This is the same for if you set <code>"deprecated"</code>, <code>"suggested"</code> and <code>"required"</code> as <code>true</code>.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
In the 2010 wikitext editor with TemplateWizard, <code>"deprecated"</code> overrides the parameters <code>"required"</code> and <code>"suggested"</code>.
</div>

|<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"deprecated": "Please use 'publicationDate' instead."
</syntaxhighlight>
|-
|}

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Note: if neither <code>"required"</code>, <code>"suggested"</code> nor <code>"deprecated"</code> are set as <code>true</code> for a parameter, its status will show as <code>"optional"</code> in the template data documentation.
</div>

<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Once you're done, hit <code>{{int|templatedata-modal-button-saveparam}}</code>.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">If you've made errors, it will not let you save (which is disruptive but means you can't break anything).</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">Should you run into errors, explain on the [[Special:MyLanguage/VisualEditor/Feedback|feedback page]] what you were trying to do, and we will be happy to help.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Note that if you are abusing a hack template to dynamically generate template data, it cannot be checked for errors before saving.
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
Note that each item of information is enclosed in quotation marks (except for <code>true</code> and <code>false</code>) and separated from the next item by a comma (unless it's the last one).
</div>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
===== Type parameter =====
</div>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">The <code>"type"</code> parameter is meant to signal to a template editor the nature of a parameter's value.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">In some cases, template editors have been programmed to modify the user interface for a certain parameter according to this template data value, such as to only allow the user to enter valid values that match the specified type.</span>
<span lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">This parameter does not have any functional effect on the template parameter or its value; it merely controls how template editors see and treat the parameter in editing mode.</span>

<div lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr">
It is used by adding the <code>"type"</code> parameter, followed by a colon and a space, then adding any of the values listed in the table below in quotation marks.
</div>

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

<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
"type": "string",
</syntaxhighlight>