Template:Messagebox/doc

This template is for generating nicely formatted message boxes in articles, or even other templates.

Usage

The template takes three named parameters that can be given in any order.

text

(required) is the message

type

(optional) determines the presentation using pre-defined styling. One of

• success - to indicate what success means
• warning - to alert the user about preventing problems
• failure - to dialog about when something fails
• restricted - shows the keys graphic, to advise of a restricted access area or restricted authoring
• forbidden - for messages about policies about things you should not do
• normal (default)

style

(optional) is CSS that will be passed through.

Literal Code Example

{{Messagebox
| type = success
| style = width:50%;
| text = your message content
}}

For a more complex (up to 80 parameters) template, see the Infobox template Template_talk:Infobox

Visual Examples

{{Messagebox
| text = no type, uses default (normal)
| style = width:50%;
}}

no type, uses default (normal)

{{Messagebox
| type = normal
| text = Why be normal?
}}

Why be normal?

{{Messagebox
| type = success
| text = You won!
}}

You won!

{{Messagebox
| type = warning
| text = Do not spit into the wind
}}

Do not spit into the wind

{{Messagebox
|type = failure
|text = Something went wrong.
}}

Something went wrong.

{{Messagebox
| type = forbidden
| text = You can't do that!
}}

You can't do that!

{{Messagebox
| type = restricted
| text = You must be a registered user to create or edit articles.  Contact the [[User:Freephile|WikiSysop]] for an account!
}}

You must be a registered user to create or edit articles. Contact the WikiSysop for an account!

Making this template

The parser code (how to do switch statements) is based on the example of the Ambox template from Mediawiki

The CSS is added to Template:Messagebox/styles.css to make this template complete by incorporating the TemplateStyles extension.

Messagebox is for creating call-outs of text in a bordered box. This visually distinguishes the text from other content on the page. There are multiple "types" that are predefined - basically red, yellow green.

Template parameters

This template prefers block formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Type of box	type	Type determines the decoration of the message box Suggested values success warning failure restricted forbidden normal Default normal	String	optional
CSS markup	style	Add CSS if desired. This will be passed to the "style" attribute of the containing div. Example width:50%;	String	optional
Your message	text	The text (and wiki markup) displayed in the message box.	String	required

Cascading Style Sheets = A technology that deals with the presentation of content on the web