Help:Inputbox
The inputbox extension is a MediaWiki extension by Erik Möller to add predefined HTML forms to wiki pages. It was originally created for the purpose of adding a Create an article box to Wikinews. It requires MediaWiki 1.5 and an extensions script (see Installation below).
General syntax
Inputboxes are constructed like this:
<inputbox> type=box type parameter1=value parameter2=value </inputbox>
The type parameter is mandatory. All other parameters are optional.
Box types
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| type=search |
Generates a search box with a width of 50 characters. The button labels can be specified, see below; the defaults are MediaWiki:Tryexact and MediaWiki:Searchfulltext. The text field specifies the search criteria. |
|
| type=create |
Allows creating a new page. Note especially the preload= and editintro= options below. The button label can be specified, see below; the default is MediaWiki:Createarticle. The text field specifies which page is to be edited. |
|
| type=comment |
Add one or more sections to an existing page, or create a page, with an edit summary that is automatically the same as the (first) new section header. The button label can be specified, see below; the default is MediaWiki:Postcomment; note that this message is also used in the sidebar of the old "Standard" skin. The text field specifies which page is to be edited. |
Parameters
| Parameter Scope |
Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
bgcolor= |
Sets the table background color (HTML color values). Do not use quotes. |
<inputbox> type=search bgcolor=#eeeeff </inputbox> produces: |
|
width= |
Sets the width of the inputbox in characters. |
<inputbox> type=create width=6 </inputbox> produces: |
|
default= |
Default text to put in the inputbox. |
<inputbox> type=comment default=User talk:Eloquence </inputbox> produces: |
| preload= comment, create |
The text of the page under this title will be loaded into the blank editbox when a new page is created. Enter the title of a non-existent page in the example inputbox, and click "Create" to test this effect. |
<inputbox> type=create preload=Template:Standard content for new page </inputbox> produces: |
| editintro= comment, create |
The text of the page under this title will be added, as instructions, before the submission form for new pages or comments. Enter the title of a non-existent page in the example inputbox, and click "Create" to test this effect. |
<inputbox> type=create editintro=Template:Instructions </inputbox> produces: |
| buttonlabel= All types |
This label will be used for the main button of the form. |
<inputbox> type=comment buttonlabel=Add new rumor </inputbox> produces: |
| searchbuttonlabel= search |
This label will be used for the "Search full text" button of the search form. |
<inputbox> type=search searchbuttonlabel=Dig deeper </inputbox> produces: |
| break= yes |
Whether or not to insert a line break between the input box and the button(s). Defaults to using the line break unless set to no. |
<inputbox> type=create break=no </inputbox> produces: |
Applying create to an existing page simply gives the edit page. In that case editintro and preload are ignored.
Caveats
- Variables, parameters, and templates are not allowed in values of parameters of inputbox; see Template talk:Inputbox demo.
Installation
- Download and save the file inputbox.php to the extensions folder of your MediaWiki installation.
- Open and edit the LocalSettings.php file by adding the following line near the bottom:
require_once("extensions/inputbox.php");
NOTE: Make sure that it is still above the closing php tag so that it looks like this:
require_once("extensions/inputbox.php");
?>
Examples