Template:TrainzLinkNeeded/doc
 | This is a documentation subpage for Template:TrainzLinkNeeded It contains usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page. |
Usage[edit source]
Template:Trainz_Link_Needed is used instead of {{plain link|arg1 is a full url|Pretty link title}} in the form:
{{TrainzLinkNeeded || Desired inline 'pretty title'}}
— where the 'desired inline pretty title' is formulated into the flow of the prose in the topic being discussed in the Trainz Wikibook page.
- Using the template in this manner allows formatting of the message, and later patching to insert the correct links.
- Using the template will also auto-categorize the page to the maintenance category: Category:Trainz Links Fixups needed, where all pages needing link fixups will be cataloged, provided this template is used to compose (or fix broken) links in the prose.
- If fixing a link, it is recommended the old bad url just be neutralized by prefixing '3=' to the url, which will disarm it.
The 'empty' first argument (the url) which should be between the first and second pipe characters ('|' so "||" appears) will cause a default link to the message page Template:Trainz_Link_Needed.
- Note that adding a '3=' prefix will displace the default {{{1}}} and {{{2}}} arguements so the natural edited line for a broken link might appear:
{{TrainzLinkNeeded|3=http://some-bad-url_now_disconnected* || Desired inline 'pretty title'}}
* Trainz themed sites which are disconnected are quite frequently links to specific pages of a site, so finding the same topic after a site's host has been changed, or the htm source page has been reorganized to a different place is the most common type of bad links in the Trainz world.
- Occasionally, a privately hosted site will also redirect to a different page for a while the owner/host transitions his site.
- One 'happy-now' recent example of this was various urls to The Razorback-Railways user group site:
http://jenolan.org/tag/razorback-railway/ which for several months before June 2013 redirected one's clicking a link to his personal home page: jenolan.org