Help:Wiki University Wikitext--Sidebars

What is a sidebar

 * The light gray elongated box to the left is a sidebar.
 * Sidebars contain a quick list of links to other pages that go into detail on the subject of the page you are on.
 * A place where you can navigate to the other pages without having to search for them.
 * Sidebars are very similar to infoboxes; they are templates as well.

Sidebars are templates

 * Side bars are really only templates with a special use.

How sidebars differ from infoboxes

 * They are usually saved on the left side of the page as opposed to the right for infoboxes.
 * They usually contain a list of clickable links (internal or external), as you see, on the sidebar to the left.
 * They sometimes have a place to add announcements or additional information of interest.
 * They are floated to the left so text and other material may float alongside on the right.

How to create a sidebar

 * Sidebars are templates and created in the same manner.
 * If the sidebar only contains a list of links, using list format will do in most cases.
 * The sidebar on this page was created with a one column table in order to generate a sortable list of internal links.

Adding News and Events
Let's create a sidebar with the ability to add announcements and we will format it with a one column table:
 * Sometimes these sidebars allow for announcements or additional information to be added and edited. Check out County Cork Genealogy.  If there were any announcements, they would be posted under News and Events on the sidebar on that page.
 * To add information to sidebars, we use our parameter coding.

Here is the coding; it should look familiar:

Saving the sidebar

 * Be sure to include the word "sidebar" somewhere in your title so people will know what the template is about.

Placing the sidebar

 * Same procedure as with infoboxes.
 * This time you will add the parameters for News and Events and Additional Information:

Try these out


 Exercises Here is an existing infobox. Copy and paste this coding in your sandbox and fill out the information for the county you were born in: Check your answers
 * This an existing infobox for US Counties. You will not need the brackets of word File to place the required images.

 Quick Quiz
 * Once the information after the equal signs is entered and saved, there is no changing the parameters.
 * A. True
 * B. False


 * Infoboxes can only be used on county pages.
 * A. True
 * B. False


 * Infoboxes are limited just to genealogical organizations.
 * A. True
 * B. False

Check your answers