View source for Template:Merge/doc

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== Which merge template should I use? ==
* To merge at least two articles together at an unspecified location, use {{tlx|Merge|OtherPage}}
* To merge the contents of the tagged article ''into'' the specified article, use {{tlx|Merge to|OtherPage}}
* If the contents of the specified article should be merged into the tagged article, use {{tlx|Merge from|OtherPage}} &ndash; the opposite of {{tlx|Merge to}};
* To suggest merging only some material from one article to another, use {{tlx|Merge portions from|SourcePage}} and {{tlx|Split portions|TargetPage}}

== When to use and when not to use==
These templates are used primarily to identify potential merges that would benefit from discussion.  If it is obvious that a merge would be appropriate, then you may [[WP:Be bold|boldly]] merge the pages yourself without tagging and without discussion.  Some editors also use these tags to mark pages that obviously require merging in the hope that someone else will merge the pages.

After adding the merge template, you are expected to create a section on the talk page of the appropriate article (see below for details) explaining your rationale for the merge proposal. If the rationale is so obvious that it requires no explanation, then you should consider boldly merging the pages yourself, or explain on the talk page why you didn't do so yourself.

== How to use ==
===Simple example===
Tagging a single page is simple:

{{markup
|<nowiki>{{Merge|OtherPage |date=</nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}<nowiki> }}
or
{{Merge |OtherPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}</nowiki>
|{{Mbox
 |name  = Merge
 |type  = move
 |image = [[File:Merge-arrows.svg|50px|alt=|link=]]
 |text  = It has been suggested that this {{#if:|section|{{#if:{{NAMESPACE}}|page|article}}}} be [[Wikipedia:Merging|merged]] with {{Pagelist|nspace=all|delim=''|OtherPage|||||||||||||||||||}}{{#if:|&nbsp;to ''[[:{{{target}}}|{{{target}}}]]''|}}. ([[:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|Discuss]]){{#if:October 2017|<small>'' Proposed since October 2017.''</small>}}
}}{{Merge partner|OtherPage}}

}}

When you want to discuss a simple merge of one page into another, tag both of them:
{{markup
|<nowiki>{{Merge to |FirstPage |date=</nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}<nowiki> }}
or
{{Merge to |FirstPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}</nowiki>
|{{Mbox
|name = Merge to
|demospace=
|type = move
|image=[[File:Merge-arrow.svg|alt=|link=]]
|text=It has been suggested that this {{#if:|section|{{#if:{{NAMESPACE}}|page|article}}}} be [[Wikipedia:Merging|merged]] into {{#if:|&nbsp;''[[:{{NAMESPACE}}:{{{target}}}|{{{target}}}]]''|{{Pagelist|nspace=all|delim=''|FirstPage|||||||||||||||||||}}}}. ([[{{TALKPAGENAME:FirstPage}}|Discuss]]){{#if:October 2017|<small>'' Proposed since October 2017.''</small>}}
}}{{Merge partner|FirstPage}}

}}

{{markup
|<nowiki>{{Merge from |SecondPage |date=</nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}<nowiki> }}
or
{{Merge from |SecondPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}</nowiki>
|{{Mbox
| name  = Merge from
| demospace=
| type  = move
| image = [[File:Mergefrom.svg|50px|alt=|link=]]
| text  = It has been suggested that {{#ifeq:{{{multiplesections}}}|yes|multiple sections of&nbsp;}}{{Pagelist|nspace=all|delim=''|SecondPage|||||||||||||||||||}} be [[Wikipedia:Merging|merged]] into this {{#if:|section|{{#if:{{NAMESPACE}}|page|article}}}}. ([[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|Discuss]]){{#if:October 2017|<small>'' Proposed since October 2017.''</small>}}
}}{{Merge partner|SecondPage}}

}}

This allows editors at both pages to see both the proposed source and target.

===Other options===
By default, the {{Color|#002BB8|Discuss}} link on the template links to the top of the destination page's [[Help:Talk pages|talk page]]. To specify which section, or to name a different talk page entirely, use the {{para|discuss}} parameter:

: {{tlx|{{BASEPAGENAME}} |OtherPage&nbsp;|discuss{{=}}Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion&nbsp;|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} }}

To name multiple pages to be merged, simply separate them with a vertical pipe. You can add up to 20 articles to be merged:

: {{tlx|{{BASEPAGENAME}} |OtherPage1&nbsp;|OtherPage2&nbsp;|OtherPage3&nbsp;|discuss{{=}}Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion&nbsp;|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} }}

{{#ifeq:{{BASEPAGENAME}}|Merge|To name multiple pages to merge ''into'' a single page, use the {{para|target}} parameter. For example, to merge the tagged page, as well as OtherPage1, OtherPage2, and OtherPage3 into OtherPage4, use:

: {{tlx|{{BASEPAGENAME}} |OtherPage1&nbsp;|OtherPage2&nbsp;|OtherPage3&nbsp;|target{{=}}OtherPage4&nbsp;|discuss{{=}}Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion&nbsp;|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} }}}}<!-- ifeq end -->

If you are placing the template in a section, you can use {{para|section|yes}} to change the wording to reflect this:
: {{tlx|{{BASEPAGENAME}} |OtherPage&nbsp;|discuss{{=}}Talk:OtherPage#Merge discussion&nbsp;|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}&nbsp;|section{{=}}yes}}

* '''Do not link to the pages''' with square brackets. <br>For example, write {{Tlx|Merge|OtherArticle}}, not {{Tlx|Merge|&#91;&#91;OtherArticle&#93;&#93;}}.
* If you don't supply a date, a [[WP:Bots|bot]] will add it later.
* The date ''may not'' be shown in the box. Do not be concerned about this. It is used when grouping tagged pages together into categories by date.
* These templates will add tagged articles to [[:Category:Articles to be merged]], while non-articles (files, templates, etc.) will be added to [[:Category:Items to be merged]].
* For {{tl|Merge}}, if you are specifying a merge of two or more pages in different namespaces, the template supports this via specification of the ''full'' page name, including the namespace prefix. {{para|nspace}} can take on namespace values, which fixes all params to the namespace specified.
* Do not <code>[[WP:Substitution|subst:]]</code> these templates.

==When to remove==
[[Wikipedia:There is no deadline|There is no deadline]] for completing proposed merges.  Pages that have been tagged for a long time (frequently more than one year) generally fall into these groups:

;Discussion supported the proposed merge, but no one did it yet:  Feel free to merge the pages yourself.
;Discussion opposed merge, but nobody removed the tags:  Feel free to remove the tags yourself.
;No discussion found:  Feel free to remove the tags if you believe the merge would be a poor choice, or to boldly merge the pages if you believe the merge would be appropriate.  Or feel free to start a discussion if you are uncertain or feel it would be controversial.

==TemplateData==
{{#switch: {{PAGENAME}}
|Merge/doc
|Merge =
{{TemplateData header|Merge}}
<templatedata>
{
	"description": "This is a hatnote template which proposes to merge the page it is applied to into one or more other pages.",
	"params": {
		"1": {
			"label": "Other page",
			"type": "wiki-page-name",
			"required": true,
			"description": "This is the page into which this article should be merged. Note: 19 additional pages to merge can be added manually as optional parameters."
		},
		"target": {
			"label": "Target page",
			"type": "wiki-page-name",
			"description": "When listing several pages to merge, name one proposed target page for the merger with this parameter."
		},
		"date": {
			"label": "Month and year",
			"type": "string",
			"description": "The date on which the article was tagged (month year; e.g. August 2013)",
			"autovalue": "{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}",
			"suggested": true
		},
		"discuss": {
			"label": "Discussion",
			"type": "wiki-page-name",
			"description": "Discussion related to the merge proposal; typically on the talk page for the target (other) page."
		},
		"section": {
			"label": "Section",
			"type": "string",
			"description": "If you are placing the template in a section, set this parameter to 'yes'."
		},
		"nspace": {
			"label": "Namespace",
			"type": "string",
			"description": "By default, nspace is \"all\", which allows specifying pages across multiple namespaces for merge. Can be customized according to the accepted nspace values at Template:Pagelist"
		}
	},
	"format": "inline"
}
</templatedata>
}}{{#switch: {{PAGENAME}}
|Merge/doc
|Merge to =
{{TemplateData header|Merge to}}
<templatedata>
{
	"description": "This is a hatnote template which proposes to merge the page it is applied into one or more specified pages. Use 'merge from' to tag the target page(s).",
	"params": {
		"1": {
			"label": "Other page",
			"type": "wiki-page-name",
			"required": true,
			"description": "This is the page into which this article should be merged. Note: 19 additional pages to merge into can be added manually as optional parameters."
		},
		"date": {
			"label": "Month and year",
			"type": "string",
			"description": "The date on which the article was tagged (month year; e.g. August 2013)",
            "autovalue": "{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}",
            "suggested": true
		},
		"discuss": {
			"label": "Discussion",
			"type": "wiki-page-name",
			"description": "Discussion related to the merge proposal; typically on the talk page for the target (other) page."
		},
		"section": {
			"label": "Section",
			"type": "string",
			"description": "If you are placing the template in a section, set this parameter to 'yes'."
		}
	}
}
</templatedata>
}}{{#switch: {{PAGENAME}}
|Merge/doc
|Merge from =
{{TemplateData header|Merge from}}
<templatedata>
{
	"description": "This is a hatnote template which proposes to merge one or more specified pages into the tagged page. Use 'merge to' to tag the source page(s).",
	"params": {
		"1": {
			"label": "Other page",
			"type": "wiki-page-name",
			"required": true,
			"description": "This is the page from which content should be merged into this article. Note: 19 additional pages to merge from can be added manually as optional parameters."
		},
		"date": {
			"label": "Month and year",
			"type": "string",
			"description": "The date on which the article was tagged (month year; e.g. August 2013)",
            "autovalue": "{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}",
            "suggested": true
		},
		"discuss": {
			"label": "Discussion",
			"type": "wiki-page-name",
			"description": "Discussion related to the merge proposal; typically on the talk page for the target page."
		},
		"section": {
			"label": "Section",
			"type": "string",
			"description": "If you are placing the template in a section, set this parameter to 'yes'."
		}
	}
}
</templatedata>
}}
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[[Category:Merge templates]]
[[Category:Exclude in print]]
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