Editing Help:Magic words

{{see also|[[Help:Magic words for beginners]]}}
{{TOC right}}
'''Magic words''' (which include '''parser functions''', '''variables''' and '''behavior switches''')  are features of [[wikipedia:Help:Wiki markup|wiki markup]] that enable various instructions to be given to the [[wikipedia:Help:MediaWiki namespace|MediaWiki]] software. For example, the magic words may be used to suppress or position the table of contents, or to produce other variable outputs, as is often required in [[GP:Templates|templates]].

A quick reference for magic words can be found on this page. For more complete documentation, see the following pages on the MediaWiki site:
* '''[[mw:Help:Magic words]]''' for all standard magic words, including the "standard" parser functions
* '''[[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions]]''' for some additional parser functions, including conditional expressions

== General information ==

There are three types of magic words:
:# '''Behavior switches''': uppercase words surrounded by double underscores, e.g., <code><nowiki>__NOTOC__</nowiki></code> or other keywords using parser function syntax
:# '''Variables''': uppercase words surrounded by double braces (thus resembling [[Help:Template|templates]]), e.g. <code><nowiki>{{PAGENAME}}</nowiki></code>
:# '''Parser functions''': keywords in double braces with parameters after a colon (some beginning with #), e.g. <code><nowiki>{{#expr:2+2}}</nowiki></code>

Some magic words are case-insensitive, but not all. White space is stripped from the start and end of keywords and parameters, as in template syntax.

Page-dependent magic words will affect or return data about the ''current'' page, even if the word is added through a [[help:Transclusion|transcluded]] template or included system message.

It is possible to [[Help:Substitution|substitute]] parser functions and most variables in the same way that templates are substituted (using the <code>subst:</code> keyword). This causes their current value (as evaluated at the time of substitution) to be written into the wikitext.

== Behavior switches ==
: ''For documentation, see the [[mw:Help:Magic words#Behavior switches|Behavior switches]] section of the MediaWiki page, unless otherwise stated.''

{| class="wikitable"
! Code
! Notes
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __TOC__ </nowiki></code>
 | Places the page's [[Help:Table of contents|table of contents (TOC)]] at the word's position.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __FORCETOC__ </nowiki></code>
 | Forces the TOC to appear in its default position immediately before the page's first section (first heading). Can be used anywhere on a page.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __NOTOC__ </nowiki></code>
 | Suppresses the appearance of the page's TOC. Can be used anywhere on a page.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __NOEDITSECTION__ </nowiki></code>
 | Hides the "edit" links normally beside all headings on the page. To hide the edit link beside a particular heading, specify the heading using e.g. an HTML tag such as '''<nowiki><h2>[Heading]</h2></nowiki>''' rather than with the usual wiki equals-signs syntax (e.g. '''== [Heading] ==''').
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __NEWSECTIONLINK__ </nowiki></code>
 | On non-talk pages, adds a "{{int:vector-action-addsection}}" link as a means to add a new section to the page.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __NONEWSECTIONLINK__ </nowiki></code>
 | Removes the "{{int:vector-action-addsection}}" link (the add-new-section link) on talk pages.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __NOGALLERY__ </nowiki></code>
 | Replaces thumbnails on a category page with normal links.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __HIDDENCAT__ </nowiki></code>
 | Makes a category [[Categorization#Hiding_categories|hidden]] when included on that category's page.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __INDEX__ </nowiki></code>
 | Instructs search engines to index the page.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __NOINDEX__ </nowiki></code>
 | Instructs search engines not to index the page. See [[Wikipedia:Controlling search engine indexing]].
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __STATICREDIRECT__ </nowiki></code>
 | Prevents the link on a [[Help:Redirect|redirection]] page from being updated automatically when the page to which it redirects is moved (and "Update any redirects that point to the original title" is selected). Also instructs [[Help:Interwiki linking|interwiki]] [[Wikipedia:Bots|bots]] to treat the page as if an article.
|-
 | <code><nowiki> __DISAMBIG__ </nowiki></code>
 | Marks a page as a [[help:disambiguation|disambiguation page]], adds it to [[Special:DisambiguationPages]] and places inward links in [[Special:DisambiguationPageLinks]]. (See [[mw:Extension:Disambiguator]].)
|-
 | <code><nowiki>{{DEFAULTSORT:</nowiki></code>''sortkey''<code><nowiki>}}</nowiki></code>
 | Sets the default sort key (the index) under which the page is categorised.
|}

== Variables ==
{{Shortcut|WP:VAR}}
{{about|the MediaWiki variables used in Wikipedia|more documentation|mw:Help:Magic words#Variables}}

The example outputs in the following table are those that would be produced on the page "{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage".

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="clear:right"
 ! Variable&nbsp;
 ! Example output&nbsp;
 ! Notes&nbsp;
|-
 | {{wikivar|PAGENAME}}
 | {{PAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Current [[Help:Page name|page's name]] excluding [[Wikipedia:Namespaces|namespace]].
|-
 | {{wikivar|NAMESPACE}}
 | {{NAMESPACE:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Current page's namespace.
|-
 | {{wikivar|NAMESPACENUMBER}}
 | {{NAMESPACENUMBER:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | The namespace number of the current page.
|-
 | {{wikivar|FULLPAGENAME}}
 | {{FULLPAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Current page's name including namespace (i.e. FULLPAGENAME&nbsp;= NAMESPACE''':'''PAGENAME).
|-
 | {{wikivar|BASEPAGENAME}}
 | {{BASEPAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Current page's name excluding namespace and any subpage element or elements (i.e. the first forward-slash ("/") and anything following; in effect, a subpage's parent's name less its namespace).
|-
 | {{wikivar|ROOTPAGENAME}}
 | {{ROOTPAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Name of the root of the current page. Would return Foo on page Help:Foo/Bar/Baz
|-
 | {{wikivar|SUBPAGENAME}}
 | {{SUBPAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Returns either the [[Help:Subpages|subpage]] part of the page's name –&nbsp;i.e. whatever follows the last forward-slash ("/") in the page's name&nbsp;– or, if the page is not a subpage (i.e. its name contains no forward-slashes), <code><nowiki>{{BASEPAGENAME}}</nowiki></code> (PAGENAME&nbsp;= BASEPAGENAME/SUBPAGENAME).
|-
 | {{wikivar|ARTICLEPAGENAME}}<br/>{{wikivar|SUBJECTPAGENAME}}
 | {{ARTICLEPAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}<br/>{{SUBJECTPAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Current page's associated non-talk page.
|-
 | {{wikivar|ARTICLESPACE}}<br/>{{wikivar|SUBJECTSPACE}}
 | {{ARTICLESPACE:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}<br/>{{SUBJECTSPACE:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Current page's associated non-talk namespace.
|-
 | {{wikivar|TALKPAGENAME}}
 | {{TALKPAGENAME:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Name of talk page associated with current page.
|-
 | {{wikivar|TALKSPACE}}
 | {{TALKSPACE:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}}
 | Associated talk page's namespace.
|-
 | {{longitem|line-height:1.5em|{{wikivar|FULLPAGENAMEE}},<br/>{{wikivar|PAGENAMEE}},<br/>{{pad|0.4em}}(etc.)}}
 | {{longitem|line-height:1.5em|{{FULLPAGENAMEE:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}},<br/>{{PAGENAMEE:{{FULLPAGENAME}}/subpage}},<br/>(etc.)}}
 | Adding an E to the end of the above variables, renders the above encoded for use in MediaWiki [[URL]]s (i.e. with underscores replacing spaces).
|}<!--

-->''Note:'' The magic words above can also take a parameter, in order to parse values on a page other than the current page. A colon ({{thinsp|''':'''}}) is used to pass the parameter, rather than a pipe ({{thinsp|'''&#124;'''}}) that is used in templates, like <code><nowiki>{{MAGICWORD:value}}</nowiki></code>. For example, <code><nowiki>{{TALKPAGENAME:Wikipedia:MOS}}</nowiki></code> returns <code><nowiki>Wikipedia talk:MOS</nowiki></code> on any page. See [[meta:Help:Page name]] for more details of parser functions.

{| class=wikitable
! Code !! Example !! Notes
|-
 | {{wikivar|SITENAME}}       || {{SITENAME}}       ||
|-
 | {{wikivar|SERVER}}         || {{SERVER}}         ||
|-
 | {{wikivar|SERVERNAME}}     || {{SERVERNAME}}     ||
|-
 | {{wikivar|SCRIPTPATH}}     || {{SCRIPTPATH}}     ||
|-
 | {{wikivar|CURRENTVERSION}} || {{CURRENTVERSION}} || Returns current MediaWiki version.
|}

===Other variables by type===
{| class="wikitable"
! Date and time
! Revision data
! Statistics{{sup|b}}
|- style="vertical-align:top"
|
{|
| ''Universal time''
{{startplainlist}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTYEAR}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTMONTH}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTMONTHNAME}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTMONTHABBREV}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTDAY}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTDAY2}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTDOW}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTDAYNAME}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTTIME}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTHOUR}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTWEEK}}
* {{wikivar|CURRENTTIMESTAMP}}
{{endplainlist}}
| ''Local website time''
{{startplainlist}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALYEAR}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALMONTH}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALMONTHNAME}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALMONTHABBREV}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALDAY}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALDAY2}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALDOW}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALDAYNAME}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALTIME}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALHOUR}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALWEEK}}
* {{wikivar|LOCALTIMESTAMP}}
{{endplainlist}}
|}
|{{startplainlist}}
* {{wikivar|REVISIONID}}{{sup|a}}
* {{wikivar|REVISIONDAY}}
* {{wikivar|REVISIONDAY2}}
* {{wikivar|REVISIONMONTH}}
* {{wikivar|REVISIONYEAR}}
* {{wikivar|REVISIONTIMESTAMP}}
* {{wikivar|REVISIONUSER}}
|{{startplainlist}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFPAGES}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFARTICLES}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFFILES}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFEDITS}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFVIEWS}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFUSERS}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFADMINS}}
* {{wikivar|NUMBEROFACTIVEUSERS}}
{{endplainlist}}
|}
{{nowrap|{{sup|a}} {{wikivar|REVISIONID}} cannot be [[Wikipedia:Substitution|substituted]] and does not function in preview.<br/>{{sup|b}} English Wikipedia.}}

== Parser functions ==
: ''For documentation, see the [[mw:Help:Magic words|MediaWiki magic words page]] or the [[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions|ParserFunctions Extension page]], unless otherwise stated.

===Metadata===
{| class="wikitable"
! Code
! Notes
|-
 | {{wikivar|PAGEID}}
 | Unique page identifier number.
|-
 | {{wikivar|PAGESIZE|''pagename''}}
 | Size of page named ''pagename'' in bytes.
|-
| {{wikivar|PROTECTIONLEVEL|''action''{{pipe}}''pagename''}}
| [[gunsopedia:Protection policy|Protection level]] assigned to ''action'' ("edit", "move", etc) on page named ''pagename''.
|-
 | {{wikivar|PENDINGCHANGELEVEL}}
 | Protection level for [[gunsopedia:Pending changes|pending changes]] on the current page.
|-
 | {{wikivar|PAGESINCATEGORY|''categoryname''}}
 | Number of pages in the category named ''categoryname''.
|-
 | {{wikivar|NUMBERINGROUP|''groupname''}}
 | Number of users in the [[Help:User rights|usergroup]] named ''groupname''.
|}
To output numbers without comma separators (for example, as "123456789" rather than "123,456,789"), append the parameter <code>|R</code>.

===Formatting===
{| class="wikitable"
! Code
! Notes
|-
 | <code> {{((}}lc:''string''{{))}}      </code>
 | Converts all characters in ''string'' to lower case.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}lcfirst:''string''{{))}} </code>
 | Converts first character of ''string'' to lower case.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}uc:''string''{{))}}      </code>
 | Converts all characters in ''string'' to upper case.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}ucfirst:''string''{{))}} </code>
 | Converts first character of ''string'' to upper case.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}formatnum:''unformatted_number''{{))}} </code>
 | Adds comma separators to an ''unformatted_number'' (e.g. 123456789 becomes {{formatnum:123456789}}). To remove such formatting, use <code>{{((}}formatnum:''formatted_number''{{pipe}}R{{))}}</code> (i.e. <code>{{braces|formatnum:7,654,321{{pipe}}R}}</code>, for example, produces {{formatnum:7,654,321|R}}).
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#formatdate:''date''{{pipe}}''format''{{))}} </code>
 | Formats a date according to user preferences; a default can be given as an optional case-sensitive second parameter for users without date preference; can convert a date from an existing format to any of <code>dmy</code>, <code>mdy</code>, <code>ymd</code> or <code>ISO 8601</code> formats, with the user's preference overriding the specified format.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}padleft:xyz{{pipe}}''stringlength''{{))}} </code><br/><code> {{((}}padright:xyz{{pipe}}''stringlength''{{))}} </code>
 | Pad with zeros to the right or left; an alternative padding string can be given as a third parameter; the alternative padding string may be truncated if its length does not evenly divide the required number of characters.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}plural:''N'' {{pipe}}''singular'' {{pipe}}''plural''{{))}} </code>
 | Outputs ''singular'' if ''N'' is equal to 1, otherwise outputs ''plural''. See the [[mw:Help:Magic words#Localization|documentation at mediawiki.org]] for more details.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#time:''format''{{pipe}}''object''{{))}} </code><br/><code> {{braces|#timel:}} </code> (for local time)
 | Used to format dates and times. <code>#timel</code> is based on local time as defined for the entire wiki; for the English Wikipedia, where local time is set to UTC, this is identical to <code>#time</code>. (See [[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions##time]].)
|-
 | <code> {{((}}gender:''user'' {{pipe}}''m_out'' {{pipe}}''f_out'' {{pipe}}''u_out''{{))}} </code>
 | Outputs ''m_out'', ''f_out'' or ''u_out'' according to whether the gender specified in user's preferences is, respectively, male, female or unspecified. Other parameter permutations are available, see [[mw:Help:Magic words#gender]].
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#tag:''tag''{{pipe}}''content'' {{pipe}}''p1''=''v1'' {{pipe}}''p2''=''v2''{{))}} </code>
 | An equivalent to the HTML <code>&lt;''tag''>...&lt;/''tag''><code> that is useful when e.g. [[wikipedia:WP:REFNEST|nesting references]].
|}

===Paths===
{| class="wikitable"
! Code
! Notes
|-
 | <code> {{((}}localurl:''pagename'' {{pipe}}''query''{{))}} </code>
 | Relative [[Path (computing)|path]] to ''pagename''. The ''query'' parameter is optional.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}fullurl:''pagename'' {{pipe}}''query''{{))}} </code>
 | Absolute path, without [[Application layer|protocol prefix]] (i.e. without "{{thinsp|<nowiki>http://</nowiki>}}" etc), to ''pagename''. The ''query'' parameter is optional.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}canonicalurl:''pagename'' {{pipe}}''query''{{))}} </code>
 | Absolute path, including protocol prefix, to ''pagename''. The ''query'' parameter is optional.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}filepath:''filename''{{))}} </code>
 | Absolute path to the media file ''filename''.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}urlencode:''string''{{))}} </code>
 | Encodes ''string'' for use in URL query strings; <code>{{braces|urlencode:test string}}</code>, for example, produces: {{urlencode:test string}}. To encode ''string'' for use in URL paths or MediaWiki page names, append, respectively, {{para||PATH}} or {{para||WIKI}} (to produce "{{urlencode:test string|PATH}}" or "{{urlencode:test string|WIKI}}").
|-
 | <code> {{((}}anchorencode:''string''{{))}} </code>
 | Input encoded for use in MediaWiki URL [[Help:Anchor|section anchor]]s.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}ns:''n''{{))}} </code>
 | Returns the name of the [[Help:Namespace|namespace]] whose index is the number ''n''. For MediaWiki URLs, use <code>{{((}}nse:{{))}}</code>.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#rel2abs:''path''{{))}} </code>
 | Converts a relative file path to an absolute path. (See [[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions##rel2abs]].)
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#titleparts:''pgname''{{pipe}}''num''{{pipe}}''first_seg''{{))}} </code>
 | Splits the page ''pgname''{{thinsp}}'s title into a ''num''ber of ''seg''ments. (See [[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions##titleparts]].)
|}

===Conditional===
: ''Some parameters are optional. For documentation, see [[mw:Help:Extension:ParserFunctions]]. For #switch specifically, see [[Wikipedia:Help:Switch parser function]].

{| class="wikitable"
! Code
! Notes
|-
 |<code> {{((}}#expr:''expression''{{))}} </code>
 | Evaluates ''expression'' (see [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Calculation m:Help:Calculation]).
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#if:''string'' {{pipe}}''result1'' {{pipe}}''result2''{{))}} </code>
 | Outputs ''result2'' if ''string'' is empty, otherwise outputs ''result1''.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#ifeq:''string1''{{pipe}}''string2'' {{pipe}}''result1'' {{pipe}}''result2''{{))}} </code>
 | Outputs ''result1'' if ''string1'' and ''string2'' are equal (alphabetically or numerically), otherwise outputs ''result2''.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#iferror:''test_string'' {{pipe}}''result1'' {{pipe}}''result2''{{))}} </code>
 | Outputs ''result1'' if ''test_string'' generates a parsing error, otherwise outputs ''result2''.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#ifexpr:''expression'' {{pipe}}''result1'' {{pipe}}''result2''{{))}} </code>
 | Outputs ''result1'' if ''expression''{{thinsp}} is true, otherwise outputs ''result2''.
|-
 | <code> {{((}}#ifexist:''pagetitle'' {{pipe}}''result1'' {{pipe}}''result2''{{))}} </code>
 | Outputs ''result1'' if the page <nowiki>[[</nowiki>''pagetitle'']] exists, otherwise outputs ''result2''.  Note that underscores are needed for spaces in namespaces.
|-
 | style=white-space:nowrap| <code> {{((}}#switch:''string'' {{pipe}}''c1''=''r1'' {{pipe}}''c2''=''r2'' ... {{pipe}}''default''{{))}}</code>
 | Outputs ''r1'' if ''string'' is ''c1'', ''r2'' if ''string'' is ''c2'', etc, otherwise outputs ''default'' (if provided).
|}

If, in these conditional functions, empty unnamed parameters are to be parsed as empty rather than as text (i.e. as empty rather than as the text "{{{1}}}", "{{{2}}}", etc.), they will require trailing pipes (i.e. <code>{{{1{{pipe}}}}}</code>, <code>{{{2{{pipe}}}}}</code>, etc., rather than <code>{{{1}}}</code>, <code>{{{2}}}</code>, etc.).
* For the use of these functions in tables, see [[Wikipedia:Conditional tables]].
* For examples and further explanations, see [[Wikipedia:Help:Conditional expressions]] and [[Wikipedia:Help:Switch parser function]].

===Other===

== See also ==
* [[mw:Localisation]]
* [[mw:Manual:Extending wiki markup]]
* [http://svn.wikimedia.org/viewvc/mediawiki/trunk/phase3/includes/parser/CoreParserFunctions.php?view=log CoreParserFunctions.php]
* [[wikipedia:User:Cacycle/wikEd|wikEd]], a MediaWiki editor with syntax highlighting for templates and parser functions

[[Category:help pages]]