Trichome

Templates for searching Wikipedia[edit]

Search links[edit]

A search link stores a query in a link that takes you to live search results for that stored search. They're found on user pages and talk pages. Use one to bring the full feature set of MediaWiki Search, or features of external search engines, to bear on users unfamiliar with their search parameters.

One type of search link is a wikilink with all the capabilities of Search (search box), and with standard wikilink syntax: [[Special:Search/query| label]]. So this search link will (1) navigate: [[Special:search/Wales]] → Special:search/Wales or (2) search: [[Special:search/~Wales | search/~Wales]] → search/~Wales if you prefix a ~ tilde character.

All other search links are made from a template that will build a URL instead of wikilink. A URL can for example can call off-site search engines to search Wikipedia.

  • {{Search link}} offers all the capabilities of Searching (search box), plus extra (URL) parameters for combinations of namespaces, and where you can escape the 20-results-per page-limitation, shareable: {{search link | et al | ''label'' | ns4 | ns5 | limit = 123}} label.
  • {{Regex}} – develop an advanced regex search. {{regex | \<--.*--> | label = Articles with comments missing the ! bang character | prefix=0}}Articles with comments missing the ! bang character
  • {{Template usage}} – develop a template regex search, and pinpoint specific template-call details. {{Template usage | Convert | \{{!}}C\{{!}}F | 0 | Articles that convert Celsius to Fahrenheit}}Articles that convert Celsius to Fahrenheit
  • {{ShortSearch}} – create three search links: {{ShortSearch | system operations research}}WP GWP G (search Wikipedia, "Google" Wikipedia, and Google search)
  • {{wpsearch}} – create five search links: {{wpsearch|collaborative search}}collaborative searchWikipedia search | Google search | Bing search | DuckDuckGo search | Yahoo search
  • {{Wikidata search link}} – creates a Wikidata search link for descriptions, entities, items, properties, etc. → https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Universe&title=Special:Search&fulltext=1

Search boxes[edit]

Search boxes are made by <inputbox> tags. See mw:Extension:InputBox.

Page title searches[edit]

  • {{Canned search}} – Link to automated search results for a given term
  • {{In title}} – Search for pages whose name contains given words
  • {{Look from}} – Search for pages whose name begins with a given word

For searches with exact matches, exact in upper and lower cases, or in punctuation marks, see Help:Searching § grep.

Other Wikipedia editor help[edit]

See also


Hereafter is within a set of <noinclude>...</noinclude> tags.


Description of this template[edit]

This template is transcluded into the documentation pages of some templates. You can modify the § See also section with the following parameters:

  • append: Items to be added to.
  • seealso: Changes the section altogether.

Example 1: {{Internal search templates common doc|append=
*Help:Searching
*Help:Template}}

Example 2: {{Internal search templates common doc|seealso=}}
This will delete the "See also" section.

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