Template documentation

This is the {{Cmbox }} ([C]ategory [m]essage [box]) metatemplate.

It is used to build message box templates for category pages. It offers several different colours, uses default images if no image parameter is given, and it has some other features.

This template works almost exactly like {{Ambox }} and uses the same parameters.

Usage

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Simple usage example:

{{cmbox | text = Some text.}}


Complex example:

{{cmbox
| type      = style
| image     = [[File:Emblem-question-yellow.svg|40px]]
| style     = width: 400px;
| textstyle = color: red; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;
| text      = The message body text.
}}


Category message box types

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The following examples use different type parameters but use no image parameters, thus they use the default images for each type.


Other images

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The default images shown above are mostly for convenience. In many cases it is more appropriate to use more specific images. These examples use the image parameter to specify an image other than the default images.


Special

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Some other parameter combinations.


Parameters

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List of all parameters:

{{cmbox
| type  = speedy / delete / content / style / notice / move / protection
| image = none / [[File:Some image.svg|40px]]
| imageright = [[File:Some image.svg|40px]]
| class = A custom CSS class to apply to the box
| style = CSS values
| textstyle = CSS values
| plainlinks  = no
| text  = The message body text.
}}

type

If no type parameter is given, the template defaults to type notice. That means it gets a blue background.

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 is usually about right depending on the image height-to-width ratio (but the message box can handle images of any size).
For example: image = [[File:Sub-arrows.svg|40px]]
none = Means that no image is used.

imageright

No parameter = If no imageright parameter is given, no image is shown on the right side.
An image = Should be an image with usual wiki notation. 40px - 50px width is usually about right depending on the image height-to-width ratio (but the message box can handle images of any size).
For example: imageright = [[File:Nuvola apps bookcase.svg|40px]]
Anything = Any other object that you want to show on the right side.

style

An optional CSS value used by the entire message box table. Without quotation marks " ".
For example: style = margin-bottom: 0.5em;

textstyle

An optional CSS value used by the text cell.
For example: textstyle = text-align: center;

plainlinks

Normally on Wikipedia, external links have an arrow icon next to them, like this: Example.com. However, in message boxes, the arrow icon is suppressed by default, like this: Example.com. To get the normal style of external link with the arrow icon, use |plainlinks=no.

text

The message body text.

Technical details

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If you need to use special characters in the text parameter then you need to escape them like this:

{{cmbox
| 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>
}}


This template uses the cmbox CSS classes in MediaWiki:Common.css for most of its looks, thus it is fully skinnable.

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 talk page. Since this template works almost exactly like the other mboxes, their talk pages and related pages might also contain more details (see the See also section below).

TemplateData

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[view · talk · edit]

This is the TemplateData documentation for this template used by VisualEditor and other tools.

Cmbox

This is the specialized version of the {{mbox}} or “multi namespace message box” meta-template.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

ParameterDescriptionTypeStatus
Typetype

no description

Suggested values
speedy delete content style notice move protection
Default
notice
Stringsuggested
Image (left)image

no description

Suggested values
none
Default
Depends on the “type” parameter.
Contentsuggested
Image (right)imageright

no description

Contentoptional
CSS Stylestyle

no description

Stringoptional
Text CSS Styletextstyle

no description

Stringoptional
Texttext

no description

Contentsuggested
Small?small

no description

Suggested values
{{{small|}}} left yes 1
Default
0
Booleanoptional
Small Image (left)smallimage

no description

Suggested values
none
Default
{{{image}}}
Contentoptional
Small Image (right)smallimageright

no description

Suggested values
none
Default
{{{imageright}}}
Contentoptional
Small Textsmalltext

no description

Default
{{{text}}}
Contentoptional