Editing Template:Short description/doc

{{Documentation subpage}}
{{High risk|all-pages = yes}}
{{Warning|'''Please do not use redirects/shortcuts for this template''', as they cause problems with the [[Wikipedia:Shortdesc helper|short description editing gadget]] and other maintenance tools.}}
{{Lua|Module:Check for unknown parameters|Module:String}}

'''[[Template:Short description]]''' is used to add a [[Wikipedia:Short description|short description]] (which can be edited from within Wikipedia) to a Wikipedia page. These descriptions appear in Wikipedia searches and elsewhere, and help users identify the desired article.

== Usage ==
{{tld|Short description|''Write your short description here''}}

This should be limited to about 40 characters, as explained at [[WP:SDFORMAT]], along with the other guidance at [[WP:SDCONTENT]].

== Parameters ==
{{TemplateData header|noheader=1}}
<templatedata>
{
	"description": {
		"en": "Creates a short description for a Wikipedia page, which is displayed in search results and other locations.",
		"es": "Crea una breve descripción, para un artículo de Wikipedia, que se utiliza en el Editor Visual para proporcionar contexto en los wikilinks (wikienlaces)."
	},
	"params": {
		"1": {
			"label": {
				"en": "Description",
				"es": "Descripción"
			},
			"description": {
				"en": "The short description of the article or 'none'. It should be limited to about 40 characters.",
				"es": "La descripción corta del artículo"
			},
			"example": {
				"en": "Chinese encyclopedia writer (1947–2001)",
				"es": "La enciclopedia en línea que cualquiera puede editar"
			},
			"required": true,
			"type": "content"
		},
		"2": {
			"label": {
				"en": "No replace?",
				"es": "2"
			},
			"description": {
				"en": "Should be unused or 'noreplace'. Templates with noreplace will not replace a short description defined by an earlier template. Mainly for use within transcluded templates.",
				"es": "Se anula una descripción corta si se transcluye.  Debe estar sin usar o  con 'noreplace' (que significar no reemplazar)."
			},
			"example": {
				"es": "noreplace"
			},
			"required": false,
			"type": "string",
			"autovalue": "noreplace",
			"suggestedvalues": [
				"noreplace"
			]
		},
		"pagetype": {
			"type": "string",
			"description": {
				"en": "The type of page. This puts it in the appropriate category - Things with short description. Normally unneeded, since handled through namespace detection.",
				"es": "El tipo de página. La coloca en la categoría apropiada - Cosas con descripción corta"
			},
			"example": "Redirect, Disambiguation page",
			"required": false
		}
	},
	"format": "{{_|_ = _}}\n"
}
</templatedata>

== About writing good short descriptions ==
This page is about the short description {{em|template}}; it does not provide guidelines for writing a good short description. If you plan to use this template, you should make sure you read and follow the detailed guidance at [[WP:HOWTOSD]]. General information can be found at [[Wikipedia:Short description]].

== Template information ==
Eventually all articles should have a short description:
* by directly using this template, in which case the short description will be unique to the article
* transcluded in another template, such as a disambiguation template, where a generic short description is adequate for a large class of pages
* where the short description is assembled from data in an infobox

Automatically generated descriptions within templates should set the second parameter as {{code|noreplace}} so they do not override any short descriptions specifically added to the transcluding article.

Short descriptions are not normally needed for non-article pages, such as redirects, but can be added if useful.

If the article title alone is sufficient to ensure reliable identification of the desired article, a null value of {{tnull|Short description|none}} may be used.

Short descriptions do not necessarily serve the same function as the Wikidata description for an item and they do not have to be the same, but some overlap is expected in many cases. Some Wikidata descriptions may be unsuitable, and if imported must be checked for relevance, accuracy and fitness for purpose. Responsibility for such imports lies with the importer. {{crossref|(See also [[d:Help:Description|Wikidata:Help:Description]].)}}

=== Example ===
At [[Oxygen therapy]], add the following at the very top of the article, above everything else:
* {{tld|Short description|Use of oxygen as medical treatment}}

== Testing ==
For testing purposes, the display of this template can be enabled by adding a line to your [[Special:MyPage/common.css]]:
* <syntaxhighlight lang="CSS" inline>.shortdescription { display:block !important; }</syntaxhighlight>
This can be easily removed or disabled when testing is finished.

If you want to {{em|always}} see short descriptions, you may prefer a more utilitarian layout, such as:

<syntaxhighlight lang="CSS">
.shortdescription {
  display:block !important;
  white-space: pre-wrap;
}
.shortdescription::before { 
  content: "\A[Short description:\0020";
}
.shortdescription::after { 
  content: "]\A";
}
</syntaxhighlight>
There is a test version of this template available as [[Template:Short description/test]] which displays its text by default.
* {{tld|Short description/test}} displays the short description if supplied
* {{tld|Short description/test}} displays nothing if <code>none</code> is supplied
* {{tld|Short description/test}} displays the description from Wikidata if <code>wikidata</code> is supplied.

Taking {{Q|Q1096878}} as an example:
* <code><nowiki>{{short description/test|Underwater diving where breathing is from equipment independent of the surface}}</nowiki></code> → {{short description/test|Underwater diving where breathing is from equipment independent of the surface }}
* <code><nowiki>{{short description/test|none}}</nowiki></code> → {{short description/test|none}}
* <code><nowiki>{{short description/test|wikidata}}</nowiki></code> → {{short description/test|wikidata|qid=Q1096878}}

===Pagetype parameter===
If {{param|Pagetype}} is '''not''' set, then this template adds the article to a category based on the namespace:
* {{clc|Articles with short description}}
* {{clc|Redirects with short description}} {{--}} for redirects in any namespace

If {{param|Pagetype}} '''is''' set, then this template adds the article to a category matching the parameter. For example:
* {{cl|Redirects with short description}} {{--}} {{code|pagetype {{=}} Redirect }}

{{anchor|No-aliases}}

== Aliases ==
{{shortcut|WP:SDNOALIASES}}
While there are currently <span class="plainlinks">[{{fullurl:Special:WhatLinksHere/Template:Short_description|hidetrans=1&hidelinks=1&limit=500}} redirects to this template]</span>, '''they must not be used''', for the reasons below:

:* Other templates and gadgets attempt to extract short descriptions from pages by explicitly searching for the transclusions of the {{tl|Short description}} template.
:* For example, {{tl|Annotated link}} searches for the template in its uppercase "Short description" and lowercase form "short description".

'''Do not''' start the template with a space: {{code|<nowiki> {{ Short description...</nowiki>}}. While this does create a valid short description, the space will prevent searches for the {{code|<nowiki>{{Short description...</nowiki>}} text.

==Tracking categories==
* {{clc|Templates that generate short descriptions}}
* {{clc|Modules that create a short description}}
* {{clc|Short description matches Wikidata}}
* {{clc|Short description is different from Wikidata}}
* {{clc|Short description with empty Wikidata description}}

== Maintenance categories ==
* {{clc|Pages using short description with unknown parameters}}
* {{clc|Articles with long short description}}
* {{clc|Pages with lower-case short description}}

==See also ==
* {{tlx|Auto short description}}
* {{tlx|Annotated link}}
* {{tlx|laal}} – displays an article's pagelinks alongside its short description
* [[Wikipedia:Short descriptions]] — background information
* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Short descriptions]] — project to add Short descriptions to all articles

<includeonly>{{Sandbox other||
<!-- Categories below this line, please; interwikis at Wikidata -->
<!-- Category:Articles with short description (maintenance category)? -->
[[Category:Templates that add a tracking category]]
[[Category:Templates that generate short descriptions]]
}}</includeonly>