Template:!
|
Usage
This template exists provide a way to easily escape the raw pipe character (the "|" that shares the backslash "\" key on the keyboard) in a situation where markup containing it (i.e. a wikitable) needs to be passed as a parameter to a template. Parser functions will mangle wikitable syntax and pipe characters, treating all the raw pipe characters as parameter dividers. In other words, the software looks at the pipe and thinks that it's time for a new parameter instead of seeing it as just a new cell in a table.
This template 'hides' the pipe from the MediaWiki parser, ensuring that it is not considered until after all the templates and variables on a page have been expanded. It will then be interpreted as a table row or column separator.
As of mediawiki version 1.24, this template has been incorporated directly into the mediawiki code as a magic word.
