Difference between revisions of "Help:Subpages"

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'''Subpages''' introduce some hierarchical organisation into wiki page names, with levels of the hierarchy separated by slashes '/'.
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{{PD Help Page}}
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'''Subpages''' introduce some hierarchical organization into wiki pages, with levels of the hierarchy separated by slashes (<code>/</code>).
  
=== Namespaces ===
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=== Where it works ===
MediaWiki's '''subpage''' feature is turned '''off by default''' in the main namespace, but can be used on [[Help:Talk pages|talk pages]] and [[Help:User page|user pages]]. See [[Help:namespaces]]. In namespaces where the feature is switched off, any slashes (/) within a page name are simply part of the page name and do nothing special.
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By default, MediaWiki's subpage feature is turned off in the main namespace, but can be used on [[Help:Talk pages|talk pages]] and [[Help:User page|user pages]]. See [[Help:Namespaces]]. In namespaces where the feature is switched off, any slashes (/) within a page name are simply part of the page name and do nothing special.
  
=== Slashes within a page name ===
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=== How it works ===
Slashes (/) within a page name break the page into parent and subpages, recursively, eg:
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Slashes (/) within a page name break the page into parent and subpages, recursively, e.g.:
  
:[[Example page]]
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* [[Help:Subpages]] - this page
:[[Example page/Some sub-page]]
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* [[Help:Subpages/subpage]] - child page
:[[Example page/Some sub-page/Some sub-sub-page]]
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* [[Help:Subpages/subpage/sub-subpage]] - grandchild page
  
A '''link back to parent''' will automatically appear at the top of each subpage. In the case of sub-sub-pages, a set of breadcrumb navigation links will automatically be presented. Note that these links do not appear, however, if the parent page has not yet been created.
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Note that the part of page names after a slash is case sensitive '''including the first letter'''.
  
=== Using (and over-using) sub pages ===
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In subpages, a link back to antecedent pages will automatically appear at the top. These links do not appear, however, if the antecedent pages have not yet been created.
There are various uses for the subpage mechanism. The main two intended uses are:
 
* On a [[Help:Talk pages|talk page]] create a subpage (or several) for an archiving of old discussions
 
* On a [[Help:User page|user page]] create a subpage (or several) to use as a scratchpad editing space.
 
  
People instinctively think hierarchically when trying to organise information, so it may be tempting to use subpages all the time. However, subpages can be over-used. Remember that having a page name with a slash will generally make the name longer, harder to remember, and thus more difficult to link to. Some people find it more elegant to keep page naming simple. By sticking to a flat naming structure, with a manually maintained web of wiki links, a structure will emerge organically (and this can include a pseudo-hierarchy)
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=== Use of subpages ===
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There are various uses for the subpage feature. Some of the typical usages of subpages are:
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* to create archives of old discussions under a [[Help:Talk pages|talk page]]
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* to create scratchpad editing spaces under a [[Help:User page|user page]]
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* to create other language versions of a document in multilingual wikis
  
{{Admin tip|tip=Subpages can be activated within the 'main' namespace by adding to the [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgNamespacesWithSubpages $wgNamespacesWithSubpages] array.}}
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Subpages are useful for organising information hierarchically. On the other hand, subpages tend to have a long name that is hard to remember, so it may be more user-friendly to use them as little as possible. You can also organize pages with the [[Help:Category|category]] feature, which is more suitable for creating a hierarchical network of information.  
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
* [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Link#Subpage_feature Subpage feature]
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* [[Meta:Help:Link#Subpage feature]]
 
* [[Help:Variables#Page names]]
 
* [[Help:Variables#Page names]]
* [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:$wgNamespacesWithSubpages Manual:$wgNamespacesWithSubpages]
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* [[Special:PrefixIndex]] &ndash; Provides a list of subpages.
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{{languages}}
  
 
[[Category:Help|{{PAGENAME}}]]
 
[[Category:Help|{{PAGENAME}}]]
 
[[Category:Subpage|{{PAGENAME}}]]
 
[[Category:Subpage|{{PAGENAME}}]]

Latest revision as of 02:16, 7 December 2010

PD Important note: When you edit this page, you agree to release your contribution into the public domain. If you don't want this or can't do this because of license restrictions, please don't edit. This page is one of the Public Domain Help Pages, which can be freely copied into fresh wiki installations and/or distributed with MediaWiki software; see Help:Contents for an overview of all pages. See Project:PD help/Copying for instructions. PD

Subpages introduce some hierarchical organization into wiki pages, with levels of the hierarchy separated by slashes (/).

Where it works

By default, MediaWiki's subpage feature is turned off in the main namespace, but can be used on talk pages and user pages. See Help:Namespaces. In namespaces where the feature is switched off, any slashes (/) within a page name are simply part of the page name and do nothing special.

How it works

Slashes (/) within a page name break the page into parent and subpages, recursively, e.g.:

Note that the part of page names after a slash is case sensitive including the first letter.

In subpages, a link back to antecedent pages will automatically appear at the top. These links do not appear, however, if the antecedent pages have not yet been created.

Use of subpages

There are various uses for the subpage feature. Some of the typical usages of subpages are:

  • to create archives of old discussions under a talk page
  • to create scratchpad editing spaces under a user page
  • to create other language versions of a document in multilingual wikis

Subpages are useful for organising information hierarchically. On the other hand, subpages tend to have a long name that is hard to remember, so it may be more user-friendly to use them as little as possible. You can also organize pages with the category feature, which is more suitable for creating a hierarchical network of information.

See also