Template:Plain link/doc

This is a documentation subpage for Template:Plain link.
It contains usage information, categories and other informational content that is best arranged so that it is not part of the original template page, such as in many cases, examples of how to use the template in question. Documentation subpages were developed to reduce server demands, or to protect the code version of widely used templates.

Purpose of Template:Plain link (edit talk links history)

• Create a 'Pretty-Print' external url link inside text.

• This template will allow you to create a local or interwiki link (such as a link to the history of a page) on a page without having the [" "] follow the link.

• This can be used, for example, when internal or interwiki links appear as external links.
• See Help:URL#URLs on_other Wikimedia projects for more information.

Caution

You can use [MW magicword] to generate URLs to Wikipedia pages.

Pass parameters

Arguments or 'positional/default pass parameters' are separated by the pipe character in Wiki markup language, so the first default parameter (placeholder is {{{1}}}) is assigned the link url address. The second ( {{{2}}}) is the 'pretty text' for how you want to have it appear.

1. '|1=' is the same as '| url = ' (or in wiki template code: {{{1}}} = {{{url}}})
2. '|2=' is the same as '|name=' (or in wiki template code: {{{2}}} = {{name}}})

Examples

• {{Plain link|http://www.google.co.uk|Google}} gives Google

compare normal external wiki-link:

• [http://www.google.co.uk Google] gives Google

Caution on url insides

Note that if your url or link title contains an equals sign = you must use named parameters:

• {{ Plainlink | url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Equals_sign&oldid=282228764 | name="this edit" }} gives "this edit"

whereas

• {{Plain link|http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?14511-Having-Problems-with-Multiple-industry-New-Setup&highlight=%26lt%3Bkuid%3A107727%3A100012%26gt%3B |Having Problems}} gives
  [Having Problems ] 'which link-to-be'... is clearly broken with a mal-formed url due to the internal equals sign, whilst:
• {{Plain link|url=http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?14511-Having-Problems-with-Multiple-industry-New-Setup&highlight=%26lt%3Bkuid%3A107727%3A100012%26gt%3B |2=Having Problems}} gives Having Problems works the same as if default parameter '|1=' and '|name=' are defined, since url is just an alternative that is a bit more explicit to {{{1}}}, and the default parameter {{{2}}} is used (mapped) the same as the '|name=' parameter.