Template:Ombox
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 | This template uses Lua: |
This is the {{ombox}} or other pages message box meta-template.
It is used to build message box templates for pages of the types: User, Wikipedia, MediaWiki, Template, Help, Portal and any new future namespaces. That is, page types not covered by {{ambox}}, {{tmbox}}, {{imbox}} or {{cmbox}}. Thus it should not be used for boxes for articles, talk pages, image pages or category pages.
This template works almost exactly like {{ambox}} and uses the same parameters.
We are deploying!
After discussions on the Wikipedia talk page of this template and announcing it at several places for some time we are now deploying this template. Feel free to convert any message boxes used on "other pages" to use this meta-template. If you find any tricky cases then list them on the talk page of this template and you'll get help.
When this template is used to build other pages message boxes those boxes should contain explanatory texts just like before. (The same texts as before or new improved texts.) If there are more specific images in the boxes or you know a better image, then use them instead of the default images shown here.
Usage
Simple usage example:
{{ombox | text = Some text.}}
| Some text. |
Complex example:
{{ombox
| type = style
| image = [[Image:Emblem-question-yellow.svg|40px]]
| style = width: 400px;
| textstyle = color: red; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;
| text = The message body text.
}}
 | The message body text. |
Other pages message box types
The following examples use different type parameters but use no image parameters thus they use the default images for each type.
 | type=speedy – Speedy deletion templates. |
| type=delete – Deletion templates. |
 | type=content – Major warnings and problems, such as {{high-risk}}. |
 | type=style – Minor warnings and problems. {{intricate}} should perhaps use this type. |
| type=notice – Notices and messages of any kind, both permanent and temporary. Such as {{guideline}} and {{how-to}}. |
 | type=move – Merge, split, rename and transwiki messages and proposals. |
 | type=protection – Protection templates such as {{pp-protected}} when shown on "other pages". |
Examples
Some examples using the "notice" style:
| No type and no image given (default) |
| No type and image=none – No image is used and the text uses the whole message box area. |
 | image = [[Image:Gnome globe current event.svg|42px]] imageright = [[Image:Nuvola apps bookcase.svg|40px]] |  |
 | This page documents an English Wikipedia guideline. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should follow, though it should be treated with common sense and the occasional exception. When editing this page, please ensure that your revision reflects consensus. When in doubt, discuss on the talk page. |
 | This page in a nutshell: This template is used to build message boxes for all pages that are not articles, talk pages, image pages or category pages. |
Parameters
List of all parameters:
{{ombox
| type = speedy / delete / content / style / notice / move / protection
| image = none / [[Image:Some image.svg|40px]]
| imageright = [[Image:Some image.svg|40px]]
| style = CSS values
| textstyle = CSS values
| text = The message body text.
| small = {{{small|}}} / yes
| smallimage = none / [[Image:Some image.svg|30px]]
| smallimageright = none / [[Image:Some image.svg|30px]]
| smalltext = A shorter message body text.
}}
type
- If no type parameter is given the template defaults to type notice. That means it gets a gray border.
image
- No parameter = If no image parameter is given the template uses a default image. Which default image it uses depends on the type parameter.
- An image = Should be an image with usual wiki notation. 40px - 50px width are usually about right depending on the image height to width ratio. (But the message box can handle images of any size.) For example:
image = [[Image:Crystal package settings.png|40px]]
- none = Means that no image is used.
imageright
- No parameter = If no imageright parameter is given then no image is shown on the right side.
- An image = Should be an image with usual wiki notation. 40px - 50px width are usually about right depending on the image height to width ratio. (But the message box can handle images of any size.) For example:
imageright = [[Image:Nuvola apps bookcase.png|40px]]
- Anything = Any other object that you want to show on the right side.
style
- Optional CSS values used by the entire message box table. Without quotation marks
" "but with the ending semicolons;. For example:style = margin-bottom: 0.5em;
textstyle
- Optional CSS values used by the text cell. For example:
textstyle = text-align: center;
text
- The message body text.
The small parameters
 | small = yes |
 | type = style small = yes |
small
- yes = Makes it a smaller right floating message box. This also makes the default images smaller. Note that any data fed to the smallimage, smallimageright and smalltext parameters is only used if "small=yes". To make it so your template also understands the small parameter you can use this code:
small = {{{small|}}}
 | small = yes image = [[Image:Replacement filing cabinet.svg|50px]] smallimage = [[Image:Replacement filing cabinet.svg|32px]] |
smallimage
- No parameter = If no smallimage parameter is given then this template falls back to use the image parameter. If the image parameter also is empty then a small default image is used.
- An image = Should be an image with usual wiki notation. 30px width is usually about right. For example:
image = [[Image:Replacement filing cabinet.svg|30px]]
- none = Means that no image is used. This overrides any image fed to image, when "small=yes".
| small = yes imageright = [[Image:Nuvola apps bookcase.png|50px]] smallimageright = none |
smallimageright
- No parameter = If no smallimageright parameter is given then this template falls back to use the imageright parameter. If the imageright parameter also is empty then no image is shown on the right side.
- An image = Should be an image with usual wiki notation. 30px width is usually about right. For example:
imageright = [[Image:Nuvola apps bookcase.png|30px]]
- Anything = Any other object that you want to show on the right side.
- none = Means that no right side image is used. This overrides any image fed to imageright, when "small=yes".
smalltext
- A shorter version of the message body text. If no smalltext parameter is given then this template falls back to use the text parameter.
Technical details
If you need to use special characters in the text parameter then you need to escape them like this:
{{ombox
| text = <div>
Equal sign = and a start and end brace { } work fine as they are.
But here is a pipe {{!}} and two end braces <nowiki>}}</nowiki>.
And now a pipe and end braces <nowiki>|}}</nowiki>.
</div>
}}
| Equal sign = and a start and end brace { } work fine as they are. But here is a pipe | and two end braces }}. And now a pipe and end braces |}}. |
This template uses the ombox CSS classes in MediaWiki:Common.css for most of its looks, thus it is fully skinnable.
This template calls {{ombox/core}} which holds most of the code for {{ombox}}, while {{ombox}} itself does parameter preprocessing.
Internally this meta-template uses HTML markup instead of wiki markup for the table code. That is the usual way we make meta-templates since wiki markup has several drawbacks. For instance it makes it harder to use parser functions and special characters in parameters.
The default images for this meta-template are in png format instead of svg format. The main reason is that some older web browsers have trouble with the transparent background that MediaWiki renders for svg images. The png images here have hand optimised transparent background colour so they look good in all browsers. Note that svg icons only look somewhat bad in the old browsers, thus such hand optimisation is only worth the trouble for very widely used icons.
For more technical details see the Wikipedia talk page. Since this template works almost exactly like {{ambox}}, {{tmbox}}, {{imbox}} and {{cmbox}} their talk pages and related pages might also contain more details.
See also
There are several meta-templates in the mbox family:
- {{ambox}} – For article message boxes.
- {{tmbox}} – For talk page message boxes.
- {{imbox}} – For image page message boxes.
- {{cmbox}} – For category message boxes.
- {{ombox}} – For other pages message boxes.
- {{mbox}} – Has namespace detection, for message boxes that are used on several types of pages and thus need to change style depending on what page they are used on.
- {{fmbox}} – For header and footer message boxes.