Module:Redirect/sandbox/doc

This Lua module is used in system messages, and on approximately 4,970,000 pages, or roughly 8% of all pages. Changes to it can cause immediate changes to the Wikipedia user interface. To avoid major disruption and server load, any changes should be tested in the module's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own module sandbox. The tested changes can be added to this page in a single edit. Please discuss changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This module is rated as beta. It is considered ready for widespread use, but as it is still relatively new, it should be applied with some caution to ensure results are as expected.

The 'main' function of this module accepts the name of a single page. It determines if the page is a redirect; if so it looks up the page, extracts the target, and returns the target name as text. Its usage is {{#invoke:redirect|main|redirect-page-name}}.

The template normally neither takes nor gives square brackets, so to show the result asyty

a link use [[{{#invoke:redirect|main|redirect-page-name}}]].  An error is produced if the redirect does not exist, but for versatility no error is given if the file is not a redirect (returns the original text) or if the file name is blank (returns blank).

However, if the parameter bracket is given a nonblank value, brackets will be passed on if present.

See Module:Redirect/testcases

{{#invoke:redirect|main|WP:AFC}}

produces

Wikipedia:Articles for creation

{{#invoke:redirect|main|[[WP:AFD]]|bracket=yes}}

produces

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion

If the target isnt a redirect:

{{#invoke:redirect|main|Wikipedia:Articles for deletion|}}

produces

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion

The 'block' function replaces redirects with the actual names of articles in text entered either directly (using the text= parameter) or by specifying the name of an index page in the first unlabelled parameter. Because checking for redirects is WP:expensive, it only checks a limited number of links, so a feature is given to start only after reaching a link with a particular name. There is also a feature to limit replacements to piped links ([[A|B]] or unpiped links, or to make a piped link when an unpiped link is changed. This allows it to be used to make limited substitutions in articles without disrupting the text.

• 1 = provides the name of the page containing the multiple redirects to process. Ignored if text is specified.
• text = (or unnamed first parameter) provides a text on which to do substitutions
• 2 = (or unnamed second parameter) specifies the name of a wikilink (given in its original form, perhaps a redirect) at which to begin substitutions.
• pipe =

• If omitted, all links are processed: [[A]] -> [[X]], [[A|B]] -> [[X|B]]
• If no, unpiped links are processed: [[A]] -> [[X]], [[A|B]] -> [[A|B]]
• If yes, piped links are processed: [[A]] -> [[A]], [[A|B]] -> [[X|B]]
• If make, all links are processed, pipes are added on rename if absent: [[A]] -> [[A|X]], [[A|B]] -> [[X|B]]. Note that make is the setting most practical for article text to be subsequently screened for duplicate wikilinks.

• nowiki = (set to 'no' if some processing of the output is desired; usually you don't want this)

See Module talk:Redirect/sandbox/testcases