Have you ever heard of a transformer template? I learned about this handy process on my first wiki like 15 years ago, that turns infoboxes into data lookup resources (similar to excel when cell values are placed in another cell). This is a slightly different way to do infoboxes but infoboxes still look the same on articles but would also have wrapping it.
The benefit when template tables or other templates are made for items that have a transformer infobox, when you update the resource aka the infobox all templates will automatically update the new information. You can have as many templates as you want, so if it is 2 or 12 templates all will be updated information wise at the infobox level of an item and all table/html style is done at the template level.
The template tables for example on pages now only need to have the simple template and the page with transform the information from the infobox to the template.
But this does mean, anything you want to display in a table this way needs it's own page, even small very short but technically not stubs because it is all the information on the item.
- Example
- w:c:dragonage:Template:ItemTransformer
- w:c:dragonage:Diamond Earrings
- w:c:dragonage:Gifts (Origins)#Generic gifts (view page source of that section to see the template display)
- Conditions
- Anything you want to display in a table this way needs it's own page and infobox wrapped in tags.
- Pros
- One place to update information and it will update everything it is linked to, no more mismatch information or finding all tables/templates that require the updated information.
- Easier to make table templates and no need to rewrite or copy information over and over again.
- Cleans up the html on pages.
- Cons
- Requires some set up.
- Less experienced people may not know how to make templates to use this and still resort to regular html tables. (unless experienced editors assist/help out)
- Less experienced editors may not know they have to edit the infobox to update a particular table. (unless experienced editors assist/help out)
- Not visual edit mode friendly.
If this is considered, I suggest trying testing just for recipes/food and/or plants to start. If loved it can be eventually moved to Sim templates. If only liked we can keep it to items/objects.
Why do I want this? Because I want to redo the recipe/food sections and when I first cleaned up/tidied it was very tedious and there is cross information that are on different pages that did not both get updated throughout the years. I think this will fix that and be very helpful. 
Discussion[]
Let me see if I understand this correctly...
You have a template, "x," that contains all the relevant information about x. You would have an article for x, which would display the x template sort of like an infobox. Then, on another page, you would have a template that would call for template:x to display within the template, so the template would transform how it displayed based on the parameters of the calling-for template?
I guess I'm just not familiar with the concept, so I don't know if I've completely wrapped my head around what you're talking about. -- LostInRiverview talk · blog · contribs 05:52, 29 October 2024 (UTC)
- Sort of more like infobox has parameter values a-z. Someone wants to make a template table to display item information for a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j and k for all plants for template table 1 on the gardening page but also wants to make a template table 2 to display all flowers for flower arranging on another article and only needs parameters a, b, c and x, and all herbalism plants template table 3 wants parameters a, b, c and y. Let's say an update changes the rarity of a plant from common to uncommon or vice versa (which lets say is parameter "c"). It is updated on the infobox only, no table edits required and you don't need to check which tables it affects because it will automatically update. This is more effective during the creation of new items from let's say a pack when wrong or missing information still might be added, and the time of info adding and correction are a bit higher. Sometimes people reference an existing table instead of looking up in game so a wrong price or missing price might only get updated on one table.
- You can also have parameters in the infobox that are not shown on the infobox but will on the template table in question. Helpful when over information is not needed on the actual infoxbox view/article page but helpful for lookup information for a corresponding table. Or if suddenly someone wants to add a new column to a template table with information that already exists in the infobox, they only have to edit the template not the article page(s) where this/theses template tables are displayed.
- Plus the page clean up for source view is very nice, similar to how when tables are put on sub pages and placed as a template on a main page. I used this in two old wikis I ran for small app games that no longer exist that used harvestable and recipes, there is no adding a row of html to an existing table, or worrying both the infobox and recipe page (or whatever) are showing the same information, just add the template with the new article name and the template style you want, any updates should then only fall to the infobox of the item you want to update or the template page to add/remove or rearrange columns or change the table style (which is so nice and super easy, imagine adding or remove a column for a 50+ item table in less than 2-5mins mins).
- This made it possible to have 1-2 people basically solo run an app wiki with game updates 1-3 times a month and eat not much of their time at all. When UPC came fandom staff threatened to stop wikis from using this (for some bogus reason and was never followed through on) and my fellow admin said blankly it would be too hard to keep up the wiki without it (he also solo ran the French version of the wiki). That wiki of course had different needs than this wiki but the dragon age wiki is probably closer in that there are multiple installments and eps for each installment, and it is still widely used on that wiki.
- I really hope people aren't going to go for this just because they don't understand it. This can be very useful and in the long run cut down on work.
- I really hope people aren't going to go for this just because they don't understand it. This can be very useful and in the long run cut down on work.
- I'll be honest; I really don't understand this. It seems like the templates would have to have information native to them (rather than something filled in by parameters) in order for this kind of thing to work. So if, for example, we were doing this for Sims, would that mean that each individual Sim would need their own dedicated template?
- I've looked at the Dragon Age wiki examples you mentioned, but having never played that game nor read that wiki, it still really isn't all that clear to me what the setup there is doing. It would be useful to see this implemented here on a limited basis so that it's more obvious what is being proposed. There is no reason not to just roll this out on a limited basis especially if what you're talking about is the creation of templates where none already exist and you aren't (yet) getting into an overhaul of existing things. -- LostInRiverview talk · blog · contribs 23:04, 4 November 2024 (UTC)
- Lucky for you I have been making a live example for you/anyone still struggling—in my sandbox, still tweaking some things but the basics are present. 1 infobox and 2 different template samples showing different types of things about the same item, and how the sources would be displayed.
- Lucky for you I have been making a live example for you/anyone still struggling—in my sandbox, still tweaking some things but the basics are present. 1 infobox and 2 different template samples showing different types of things about the same item, and how the sources would be displayed.
- Bumping in case no one saw my post, with the live on Sims wiki sample.
- Bumping in case no one saw my post, with the live on Sims wiki sample.