Manual:MagicWords

A "Magic word" is a string of text that is recognized by the MediaWiki software. It triggers the software to return the value of a function, such as dates, website statistics or page names.

Magic words are inserted directly in the source code.

Types of Magic words

There are basically four different types of Magic words:

• Behavior switch (or "Double underscore"): __TOC__
• Variable: {{FULLPAGENAME}}
• Tag: <gallery>
• Parser function: {{#ifeq:x|y|true|false}}

Behavior switch

Behaviour switchers allow you to control the appearance or behaviour of a page. It is also known as "double underscore".

It is used to specify desired omissions or insertions in the content. Behavioural switches can theoretically be entered anywhere in the wikicode, but this depends on the function. For example, the magic word that creates a table of contents is typically at the top of the article.

Most behavioural switches can be inserted via the Options () menu item in the visual editor.

Behaviour switch	Explanation
__FORCETOC__	Forces a table of contents in the usual place at the top of the page (before the first heading)
__HIDETITLE__	Hides the title area of a page. This is often used on portal pages.
__NEWSECTIONLINK__	Inserts a link (usually "+") next to the "Edit" link, which can be used to create a new section (only on non-discussion pages)
__NODISCUSSION__	Hides the discussion section at the bottom of the page.
__NOEDITSECTION__	Hides the "Edit" link next to a heading.
__NOTOC__	Hides the table of contents (TOC) on this page
__TOC__	You can use this to move the table of contents to any position in the article. If a __NOTOC__ exists, this will be "overwritten". However, only one table of contents can be inserted. If several are inserted, only the first (topmost) one is displayed.
__NOSTASH__	Hides the section for file attachments at the bottom of the page

Variable

Variables contain (simple) dynamic data. If a template name conflicts with a variable, the variable is used. For example, you have the variable {{PAGENAME}}. In that case, you have to transclude the template with the same name as {{Template:PAGENAME}}.

Variable	Output	Description
{{SITENAME}}	BlueSpice Helpdesk	Name of the wiki
{{CURRENTTIME}}	19:23	Time (24-hour HH:mm format)
{{CURRENTDAY}}	24	Current day (no preceding zero)
{{CURRENTMONTH}}	05	Month (with preceding zero)
{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}	595	Shows the number of all existing articles in the wiki (in the main namespace)
{{NAMESPACE}}	Manual	Shows the namespace of the article
{{PAGENAME}}	MagicWords	Shows the page name as it was created (cf. changing article titles)

Parser Function

Characteristics of a parser function

• Purpose: simple "programming language" for page content (mainly in templates)
• Syntax: {{#if:{{{field|}}} | {{{field|}}} | N/A }}

Description

Parser functions are similar to variables, but take one or more parameters.

Example:

{{#ifeq:{{{type}}}|warning
|This is a warning!
|
}}

They are used for simple logic only, since they are hard to read and to maintain on a larger scale. If complex logic is required, consider Lua scripts in the "Module" namespace (mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Scribunto) and invoke using {{#invoke:...}}

Parser functions can also be "tag-like", e.g. {{#ask:...}} from SemanticMediaWiki. For more information, refer to the MediaWiki help pages mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:ParserFunctions and mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Magic_words#Parser_functions.

Tag

Characteristics of a tag

• Purpose: often used for custom development to process dynamic content
• Syntax: <smartlist />

Description

Tags are implemented in PHP as part of a MediaWiki extension. Tags with "bs:" prefix come from BlueSpice. All others come from MediaWiki or from third-party extensions, e.g. the extension SyntaxHighlight.

Related info

• mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Magic_words
• Extension:BlueSpiceInsertMagic

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