Subpages are used to organize and group pages of related information. It also permits large single pages to be divided into smaller, more manageable and readable pages.
Definitions
- / (forward slash): this character separates the levels of each page.
- Basepage: The top-most page that does not include any forward slash in the name.
- Breadcrumbs: Navigation links at the top of a subpage automatically generated to enable users to easily return or link to parent pages.
- Child page: A subpage of a higher level page. A Child page can also have one or more Child pages below it.
- Parent page: A higher level page than a Child page. A Parent page can also be a Child page of an even higher level Parent page. Any subpage can only have one Parent page.
- Subpage: Any page created with a forward slash (/) in the page name. Subpages can be created under other subpages just by including the forward slash to separate the names.
When to use
Typically a Wiki will have subpages disabled for the main Namespace, but the Waze Wiki has them enabled to help organize the data.
The primary purpose of subpages for the Waze Wiki is:
- To group related information that is too large to put on a single page.
- Isolate content that is only relevant to certain readers of the Wiki.
Subpages can be created under subpages as deeply as required.
Examples
Because the guidelines for naming roads around the world is very different, a common basepage was created for all countries with Road names. From there if an editor wants to know the recommended naming for just the United States, they select the subpage Road names/USA.
In the state of Connecticut, there are additional detailed pages that only cover information for Connecticut. For that reason subpages were created under the one state page creating:
- Connecticut/Cities and towns
- Connecticut/Construction
- Connecticut/Landmarks
- Connecticut/Landmarks/To do
- Connecticut/Roads by type
- Connecticut/To do
Difference from other page types
Subpages act like and can be used similarly to other page types.
Transcluded pages
Transclusion will take the content of one page and display it directly into another page. The purpose is to have a single common source of that information requiring only one place to maintain changes, but still allow the exact same information to be displayed in multiple places.
Transcluding information from other pages will increase the size of the page using the transclusion. The Waze Wiki Main Page incorporates a number of transcluded pages.
Templates
Templates are pages with text and/or code that reside on a different page and get transcluded into other pages. Templates are often used to allow parameters to be sent to the template so that the content can be altered as it gets transcluded into the calling page.
Namespaces
The Wiki Namespaces are used to separate the content of the Wiki into different groups like the Main, User, File, and associated Talk pages to each of those, to name a few. All primary namespaces in this Wiki will support subpages.
Translated pages
The Translate Extension enables common pages to be translated into local languages. Subpages are created with the translated text through the associated Translate tools. Because subpages can exist under subpages, the translate feature works with subpages as well.
How to create one
To create a subpage, type the full name of the basepage name with the slash and desired subpage name into the search box. When the search returns no exact match for that page, select the link to create that page. The basepage name is not required to exist before the subpage can be created, but it will lead to confusing results in the breadcrumbs and other basepage related templates and operations. The basepage can be a redirect to another page if desired.
How to convert a current page
If a current page should be made into a subpage, it is best to use the Wiki "page move" feature in order to keep the complete change log history. The page move feature is much like a rename operation.
From the page that needs to be moved, select the move option. On that screen type the new basepage and subpage name using the forward slash (/) to separate them. If a subpage of a subpage is desired, use multiple forward slash characters as necessary.
Related special pages
Use Special:PrefixIndex to enter the basepage name including the forward slash (/) in the search box. It will list all pages with that basepage name. Using Connecticut as an example, this link will display all Connecticut subpages.
Related templates
The following templates help with subpage formatting and navigation.
{{subpages}}: Produces{{BASEPAGENAME}}: A page name Magic Word that produces the current name of the highest page in the hierarchy.{{SUBPAGENAME}}: A page name Magic Word that produces the current subpage name.- {{#titleparts:}}: A parser function enabling finer control of page names including pages between the base page and deepest subpage.
See also
Refer to the Mediawiki page on Subpages for more information.