finiki:Template namespace

finiki:Template messages (Changes) contains an index of the most commonly used templates.

Introduction
Templates often look like text boxes with a different background color from that of normal text. They are in the template namespace, i.e. they are defined in pages with "Template:" in front of the name.

For example, consider the template Template:Expand (follow the link to see the page where it can be edited). To insert the template's content into an article, type  in the wiki page ("  " is called a template tag). Every article with that tag in it will display the following text:

This technique is commonly known as translusion. Templates can also include calculated and substituted elements, as well as parameters, allowing for complex usage. For a table of some useful templates, see finiki:Template messages.

Usage in discussions
Sometimes you will want to refer to a template, rather than actually invoking it. An easy way to do this is to use the "template link" template, Template:Tl. So to discuss the CleanupNeeded template rather than insert the template itself, typing " CleanupNeeded " yields the result "CleanupNeeded". This notation makes clear that you are discussing a template and gives a link to the template itself.

To include parameters in a template, use Template:Tlx, for example, yields the result "".