Extension:InputBox

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InputBox Release status: stable
Implementation	Tag, Page action, Search
Description	Allows users to add predefined HTML forms to wiki pages.
Author(s)	Erik Möller (EloquenceTalk)
MediaWiki	1.11
License	Public domain [1]
Download	Download snapshot Subversion [Help] Browse source code
Tags <inputbox>
Hooks used ParserFirstCallInit
check usage (experimental)

The InputBox extension is a MediaWiki extension that adds already created HTML forms to wiki pages. Users can "complete" a form (entering text, selecting menu items, etc.) by entering text into the box.

InputBox was originally created by Erik Möller for the purpose of adding a Create an article box to Wikinews.^[1] Extension:InputBox requires at least MediaWiki 1.5.

[edit] Installation

1. Create the folder InputBox in the extensions folder.

2. Download and save the files

1. InputBox.php
2. InputBox.i18n.php
3. InputBox.classes.php and
4. InputBox.hooks.php

...to the extensions/InputBox/ folder of your MediaWiki installation.

The most recent version of InputBox.php does not work on older MediaWiki installations.^[2]

3. In LocalSettings.php add the following line with the other "require_once" lines:

require_once($IP.'/extensions/InputBox/InputBox.php');

[edit] Example

<inputbox>
type=search
width=42
buttonlabel=Go
searchbuttonlabel=Search
break=no
</inputbox>

This kind was found on the main page of a Wikipedia. It could be used for starting new articles, since it doesn’t go to the edit box of articles that already exist.

[edit] General syntax

InputBoxes are constructed like this:

<inputbox>
type=
bgcolor=
width=
default=
preload=
editintro=
buttonlabel=
hidden=
searchbuttonlabel=
break=
namespaces=
prefix=
</inputbox>

The type parameter is mandatory. All other parameters are optional.

[edit] Box types

[edit] Parameters

<inputbox>
type=search
bgcolor=#eeeeff
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=create
width=24
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=comment
default=User talk:Eloquence
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=create
preload=Log
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=comment
editintro=MediaWiki:Missingcommenttext
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=comment
buttonlabel=Add new rumor
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=comment
editintro=Extension:InputBox/editintro comment
preload=Extension:InputBox/preload
hidden=yes
default=Extension talk:Inputbox
buttonlabel=Post a comment on the talk page
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=search
searchbuttonlabel=Dig deeper
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=create
width=24
break=no
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=search
namespaces=Main**,Help
</inputbox>

<inputbox>
type=search
prefix={{FULLPAGENAME}}/Archive
</inputbox>

Applying create  to an existing page simply gives the edit page. In that case preload is ignored. Applying comment  for a new page works.

The texts taken from the MediaWiki: namespace are of course only examples, any existing page can be used for editintro or preload. Unfortunately preload does not yet work for the Special:Upload summary.

Please note that variables, templates, parser functions and template parameters are not supported in InputBox parameters.

[edit] Alignment enhancement

An editor may find there is a need to define alignment each time they use an input box. One option is to just remove the div tag from the input box HTML and specified the div when posting the InputBox. Instead editors can add the following code which allows editors to change the alignment in the code, by installing an updated copy of the code then you can specify align=left, align=center, or align=right.

[edit] Using InputBox in a template

In order to create many similar input boxes, InputBox can be used in a template. However, passing template parameters to InputBox parameters only works if the <inputbox>...</inputbox> tag is written as {{#tag:inputbox | ...}} inside the template.

The following example is a template to create a new wiki page from a named template:

{{#tag:inputbox |
type=create
buttonlabel=Create new {{{1|article}}}
preload={{{2|Template:Article}}} }}

When instantiating the template, the first parameter gives the item that is created (default: article) as spelled out in the button, the second parameter gives the name of the template used to create the item (default: Template:Article).

E.g., the code for an input box to create a new project from a project template might look like this:

{{Template:CreateNew|project|Template:Project}}

[edit] Known bugs

• bugzilla:5210 – <noinclude> and <includeonly> tags are not respected from a preloaded template.
• bugzilla:11777 – Multiple InputBoxes make page invalid due to repetitive similar id
• bugzilla:6640 – Prefix option for InputBox.
• bugzilla:13909 – Trying to 'indent' an input box breaks the formatting on the rest of the page.
• bugzilla:13834 – Too much formatting!

[edit] Notes

1. ↑ July 2, 2005
2. ↑ Extension:InputBox version 1.17/1.18 doesn't work for MediaWiki 1.6.8, MediaWiki 1.7.1, or Mediawiki 1.9.3 (according to three users, one who upgraded to 1.11, and the extension then worked fine).
   
   For an older version of Extension:InputBox, see the repository folder at:
   https://svn.wikia-code.com/wikia/branches/Bartek/extensions/inputbox/

[edit] See also

• Extension:CreateArticle
• Extension:CreateBox
• Extension:Preloader
• Extension:DPL Page Name S/N Maker-A template to create pages with serial number page names.
• User:DaSch/InputBox — Little modified version

This extension is being used on one or more of Wikimedia's wikis. It means that the extension is stable and works well enough to be used by such high traffic websites. A full list of the extensions installed on a particular wiki is produced by Special:Version on that wiki.