Template:Navbox

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For vertically-aligned navigation, see Template:Sidebar.

This template allows a navigational template to be set up relatively quickly by supplying it with one or more lists of links. It comes equipped with default styles that should work for most navigational templates. Changing the default styles is possible, but not recommended. Using this template, or one of its "Navbox suite" sister templates, is highly recommended for standardization of navigational templates, and for ease of use.

Templates using the classes class=navbox ({{navbox}}) or class=nomobile ({{sidebar}}) are not displayed in article space on the mobile web site of English Wikipedia. Mobile page views account for approximately 68% of all page views (90-day average as of September 2024). Briefly, these templates are not included in articles because 1) they are not well designed for mobile, and 2) they significantly increase page sizes—bad for mobile downloads—in a way that is not useful for the mobile use case. You can review/watch phab:T124168 for further discussion.

Usage

Please remove the parameters that are left blank.

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="overflow: auto;">

</syntaxhighlight>

Parameter list

The navbox uses lowercase parameter names, as shown in the box (above). The required name and title will create a one-line box if other parameters are omitted.

Notice "group1" (etc.) is optional, as are sections named "above/below".

The basic and most common parameters are as follows (see below for the full list):

• name – the name (Wikipedia location) of the template.
• title – text in the title bar, such as: [[Widget stuff]].
• listclass – a CSS class for the list cells, usually hlist for horizontal lists. Alternatively, use bodyclass for the whole box.
• state – controls when a navbox is expanded or collapsed.
• titlestyle – a CSS style for the title-bar, such as: background: gray;
• groupstyle – a CSS style for the group-cells, such as: background: #eee;
• above – text to appear above the group/list section (could be a list of overall wikilinks).
• image – an optional right-side image, coded as the whole image, such as: [[File:XX.jpg|80px|alt=Alternate text]]

  Note that most of such images don't comply with MOS:DECOR and should be removed at sight.

• imageleft – an optional left-side image (code the same as the "image" parameter).
• groupn – the left-side text before list-n (if group-n omitted, list-n extends to the left edge of the box, and defaults to text-align:center styling).
• listn – text listing wikilinks using a wikilist format.
• below – optional text to appear below the group/list section.

Parameter descriptions

The following is a complete list of parameters for using {{Navbox}}. In most cases, the only required parameters are name, title, and list1, though child navboxes do not even require those to be set.

{{Navbox}} shares numerous common parameter names with its sister templates, {{Navbox with columns}} and {{Navbox with collapsible groups}}, for consistency and ease of use. Parameters marked with an asterisk (*) are common to all three master templates.

Setup parameters

name*

The name of the template, which is needed for the "V • T • E" ("View • Talk • Edit") links to work properly on all pages where the template is used. You can enter {{subst:PAGENAME}} for this value as a shortcut. The name parameter is only mandatory if a title is specified, and the border parameter is not set, and the navbar parameter is not used to disable the navbar.

state* [autocollapse, collapsed, expanded, plain, off]

• Defaults to autocollapse. A navbox with autocollapse will start out collapsed if there are two or more collapsible elements on the same page. Otherwise, the navbox will be expanded. For the technically minded, see MediaWiki:Common.js (search for "autocollapse").
• If set to collapsed, the navbox will always start out in a collapsed state.
• If set to expanded, the navbox will always start out in an expanded state.
• If set to plain, the navbox will always be expanded with no [hide] link on the right, and the title will remain centered (by using padding to offset the V • T • E links).
• If set to off, the navbox will always be expanded with no [hide] link on the right, but no padding will be used to keep the title centered. This is for advanced use only; the "plain" option should suffice for most applications where the [show]/[hide] button needs to be hidden.

To show the box when standalone (non-included) but then auto-hide contents when in an article, put "expanded" inside <noinclude>...</noinclude> tags. This setting will force the box to be visible when standalone (even when followed by other boxes), displaying "[hide]", but then it will auto-collapse the box when stacked inside an article:

|state=<noinclude>expanded</noinclude>

Often times, editors will want a default initial state for a navbox, which may be overridden in an article. Here is the trick to do this:

• In your intermediate template, create a parameter also named "state" as a pass-through like this:

  |state={{{state<includeonly>|your_desired_initial_state</includeonly>}}}

• The <includeonly>| will make the template expanded when viewing the template page by itself.
  • Example 1: {{Peso}} with autocollapse as the default initial state. Catalan peseta transcludes it and has only one navbox; thus, the peso navbox shows. Chilean peso has more than two navboxes; thus, the peso navbox collapses.
  • Example 2: {{Historical currencies of Hungary}} with expanded as the default initial state, as such:

    |state={{{state<includeonly>|expanded</includeonly>}}} All transcluding articles show the content by default, unless there is a hypothetical article that specifies {{templatename|state=collapsed}} when transcluding.

  • Example 3: {{Tourism}} with collapsed as the default initial state, as such:

    |state={{{state<includeonly>|collapsed</includeonly>}}} All transcluding articles will show the template as collapsed by default, but the template will still be uncollapsed when displayed on its own page.

• The template {{Collapsible option}} explains how to use the state parameter. It can be added to a <noinclude>...</noinclude> section after the template definition or to the instructions on the {{documentation subpage}}.

navbar*

If set to plain, the V • T • E links on the left side of the titlebar will not be displayed, and padding will be automatically used to keep the title centered. Use off to remove the V • T • E links, but not apply padding (this is for advanced use only; the "plain" option should suffice for most applications where a navbar is not desired). It is highly recommended that one not hide the navbar, in order to make it easier for users to edit the template, and to keep a standard style across pages.

border*

See later section on using navboxes within one another for examples and a more complete description. If set to child or subgroup, then the navbox can be used as a borderless child that fits snugly in another navbox. The border is hidden and there is no padding on the sides of the table, so it fits into the list area of its parent navbox. If set to none, then the border is hidden and padding is removed, and the navbox may be used as a child of another container (do not use the none option inside of another navbox; similarly, only use the child/subgroup option inside of another navbox). If set to anything else (default), then a regular navbox is displayed with a 1px border. An alternate way to specify the border to be a subgroup style is like this (i.e. use the first unnamed parameter instead of the named border parameter):

{{Navbox|child|...}}

Cells

title*

Text that appears centered in the top row of the table. It is usually the template's topic, i.e. a succinct description of the body contents. This should be a single line, but if a second line is needed, use {{-}} to ensure proper centering. This parameter is technically not mandatory, but using {{Navbox}} is rather pointless without a title.

above*

A full-width cell displayed between the titlebar and first group/list, i.e. above the template's body (groups, lists and image). In a template without an image, above behaves in the same way as the list1 parameter without the group1 parameter.

group_n*

(i.e. group1, group2, etc.) If specified, text appears in a header cell displayed to the left of list_n. If omitted, list_n uses the full width of the table.

list_n*

(i.e. list1, list2, etc.) The body of the template, usually a list of links. Format is inline, although the text can be entered on separate lines if the entire list is enclosed within <div>...</div>. At least one list parameter is required; each additional list is displayed in a separate row of the table. Each list_n may be preceded by a corresponding group_n parameter, if provided (see below).

Entries should be separated using a newline and an asterisk (*). If instead two asterisks are used, it provides nesting within the previous entry by enclosing the entry with brackets. Increasing the number of asterisks used increases the number of brackets around entries.

Set to the keyword child or subgroup to denote that the list is using the inline #Child navboxes (does not work with {{Navbox with columns}} or {{Navbox with collapsible groups}}).

image*

An image to be displayed in a cell below the title and to the right of the body (the groups/lists). For the image to display properly, the list1 parameter must be specified. The image parameter accepts standard wikicode for displaying an image, e.g.: [[File:XX.jpg|80px|link=|alt=]] nb: including |right will produce the usual left margin to provide separation from the list items and zebra striping.

Note that most of such images don't comply with MOS:DECOR and should be removed at sight. A rare example of a correct usage would be this one: a map shows (in green) the location of a region within the state of Kazakhstan, and this is consistently implemented for all state's regions.

imageleft*

An image to be displayed in a cell below the title and to the left of the body (lists). For the image to display properly, the list1 parameter must be specified and no groups can be specified. It accepts the same sort of parameter that image accepts.

below*

A full-width cell displayed below the template's body (groups, lists and image). In a template without an image, below behaves in the same way as the template's final list_n parameter without a group_n parameter. For an example of the below parameter in use, see this version of {{Lists of the provinces and territories of Canada}}. {{icon}} is often used for non-article links, for example {{icon|category}} [[:Category:name|Category]].

Style parameters

Styles are generally advised against, to maintain consistency among templates and pages in Wikipedia; but the option to modify styles is given.

bodystyle*

Specifies CSS styles to apply to the template body. This option should be used sparingly as it can lead to visual inconsistencies. Examples:

• bodystyle = background: #nnnnnn;
• bodystyle = width: N [em/%/px or width: auto];
• bodystyle = float: [left/right/none];
• bodystyle = clear: [right/left/both/none];

basestyle*

CSS styles to apply to the title, above, below, and group cells all at once. The styles are not applied to list cells. This is convenient for easily changing the basic color of the navbox without having to repeat the style specifications for the different parts of the navbox. Example: basestyle = background: lightskyblue;

titlestyle*

CSS styles to apply to title, most often the titlebar's background color:

• titlestyle = background: #nnnnnn;
• titlestyle = background: name;
• titlestyle = background: none; — for no background color

groupstyle*

CSS styles to apply to the groupN cells. This option overrides any styles that are applied to the entire table. Examples:

• groupstyle = background: #nnnnnn;
• groupstyle = text-align: [left/center/right];
• groupstyle = vertical-align: [top/middle/bottom];

group_nstyle*

CSS styles to apply to a specific group, in addition to any styles specified by the groupstyle parameter. This parameter should only be used when absolutely necessary in order to maintain standardization and simplicity. Example: group3style = background: red; color: white;

groupwidth

A number and unit specifying a uniform width for the group cells, in cases where little content in the list cells may cause group cells to be too wide. No default. However, may be overridden by the group(n)style parameter. Example: groupwidth = 9em

liststyle*

CSS styles to apply to all lists. Overruled by the oddstyle and evenstyle parameters (if specified) hereafter. When using backgound colors in the navbox, see the note hereafter.

list_nstyle*

CSS styles to apply to a specific list, in addition to any styles specified by the liststyle parameter. This parameter should only be used when absolutely necessary in order to maintain standardization and simplicity. Example: list5style = background: #ddddff;

listpadding*

A number and unit specifying the padding in each list cell. The list cells come equipped with a default padding of 0.25em on the left and right, and 0 on the top and bottom. Due to complex technical reasons, simply setting "liststyle = padding: 0.5em;" (or any other padding setting) will not work. Examples:

• listpadding = 0.5em 0; (sets 0.5em padding for the top/bottom, and 0 padding for the left/right.)
• listpadding = 0; (removes all list padding.)

oddstyle

evenstyle

Applies to odd/even list numbers. Overrules styles defined by liststyle. The default behavior is to add striped colors (white and gray) to odd/even rows, respectively, in order to improve readability. These should not be changed except in extraordinary circumstances.

evenodd [swap, even, odd, off]

If set to swap, then the automatic striping of even and odd rows is reversed. Normally, even rows get a light gray background for striping; when this parameter is used, the odd rows receive the gray striping instead of the even rows. Setting to even or odd sets all rows to have that striping color. Setting to off disables automatic row striping.

abovestyle*

belowstyle*

CSS styles to apply to the top cell (specified via the above parameter) and bottom cell (specified via the below parameter). Typically used to set background color or text alignment:

• abovestyle = background: #nnnnnn;
• abovestyle = text-align: [left/center/right];
• belowstyle = background: #nnnnnn;
• belowstyle = text-align: [left/center/right];

imagestyle*

imageleftstyle*

CSS styles to apply to the cells where the image/imageleft sits. These styles should only be used in exceptional circumstances, usually to fix width problems if the width of groups is set and the width of the image cell grows too large. Example: imagestyle = width:5em;

Default styles

The style settings listed here are those that editors using the navbox change most often. The other more complex style settings were left out of this list to keep it simple. Most styles are set in Module:Navbox/styles.css.

<syntaxhighlight lang="css"> bodystyle = background: #fdfdfd; width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; titlestyle = background: #ccccff; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; text-align: center; abovestyle = background: #ddddff; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; text-align: center; belowstyle = background: #ddddff; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; text-align: center; groupstyle = background: #ddddff; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; text-align: right; liststyle = background: transparent; text-align: left/center; oddstyle = background: transparent; evenstyle = background: #f7f7f7; </syntaxhighlight> Since liststyle and oddstyle are transparent, odd lists have the color of the bodystyle, which defaults to #fdfdfd (white with a hint of gray). A list defaults to text-align: left; if it has a group, if not it defaults to text-align: center;. Since only bodystyle has a vertical-align all the others inherit its vertical-align: middle;.

Advanced parameters

bodyclass

aboveclass

groupclass

listclass

belowclass

This enables attaching a CSS class to group or list cells. The most common use for listclass is to give it the hlist class that will cause lists to render horizontally. All these parameters accept the hlist class, but if more than one parameter is used for hlist, use |bodyclass=hlist instead.

{{navbox}} automatically adds the class nowraplinks which can be overridden, for example with |listclass=wraplinks.

innerstyle

A very advanced parameter to be used only for advanced meta-templates employing the navbox. Internally, the navbox uses an outer table to draw the border, and then an inner table for everything else (title/above/groups/lists/below/images, etc.). The style/bodystyle parameter sets the style for the outer table, which the inner table inherits, but in advanced cases (meta-templates) it may be necessary to directly set the style for the inner table. This parameter provides access to that inner table so styles can be applied. Use at your own risk.

nowrapitems

Setting |nowrapitems=yes applies nowrap to each line in a list item, and to any above or below item.

orphan

Setting |orphan=yes in a child navbox fixes odd/even striping and removes Category:Navbox orphans.

Microformats

bodyclass

This parameter is inserted into the "class" attribute for the navbox as a whole.

titleclass

This parameter is inserted into the "class" attribute for the navbox's title caption.

This template supports the addition of microformat information. This is done by adding "class" attributes to various data cells, indicating what kind of information is contained within. To flag a navbox as containing hCard information about a person, for example, add the following parameter:

| bodyclass = vcard

and

| titleclass = fn

or (for example):

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext"> | title = The books of Iain Banks </syntaxhighlight>

...and so forth.

See Wikipedia:WikiProject Microformats for more information on adding microformat information to Wikipedia, and microformat for more information on microformats in general.

Layout of table

Without image, above and below

Table generated by {{Navbox}} without image, above and below parameters (gray list background color added for illustration only):

With image, above and below

Table generated by {{Navbox}} with image, above and below parameters (gray list background color added for illustration only):

With image and without groups

Table generated by {{Navbox}} with image, imageleft, lists, and without groups, above, below (gray list background color added for illustration only):

Examples

No image

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="overflow: auto;">

</syntaxhighlight>

Child navboxes

It is possible to place multiple navboxes within a single border. These can either be specified inline or by using a nested navbox template, although the latter method can result in a significantly large post-expand include size.

To specify child navboxes inline, set the listn parameter to child or subgroup. Elements of the child navbox can be specified by prepending childn_, subgroupn_, or just n_ to the parameter names (e.g. 1_list1). Child navboxes can be nested by adding an additional prefix (e.g. 1_1_list1). The basic code for doing this is as follows (which adds a subgroup for the first group/list area):

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="overflow: auto;"> </syntaxhighlight>

To specify child navboxes using a nested template, use "child" as the first parameter or set the border parameter. The basic code for doing this is as follows (which adds a subgroup for the first group/list area):

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" style="overflow: auto;"> </syntaxhighlight>

Subgroups example

This example shows two subgroups and a sub-subgroup created using child and subgroup keywords (both are interchangible). The striping is alternated automatically. To remove the striping altogether, you can set childn_liststyle = background:transparent; in each.

Relationship with other Navbox templates

This navbox template works in conjunction with two other templates: {{Navbox with columns}} and {{Navbox with collapsible groups}}. All three of these templates share common parameters for consistency and ease of use (such parameters are marked with an asterisk (*) in the parameter descriptions list hereinbefore). Most importantly, each template can be used as a child of one another. Using the inline notation, the n_type= parameter can be set to with columns or with collapsible groups to set the type of that child navbox, as shown in the example below. Press the edit button for the section to view the code.

You can also nest these or other navbox templates by using the |border=child parameter, or by specifying the first unnamed parameter to be child. For example: {{Navbox|child ...}}, {{Navbox with columns|child ...}} or {{Navbox with collapsible groups|child ...}}. Note that this style of nesting can lead to a large increase in the template's post-expand include size.

Multiple show/hides in a single container

Main page: Template:Navbox with collapsible groups

The example below is generated using a regular navbox for the main container, then its list1, list2, and list3 parameters each contain the child keyword. The view (v), talk (t), edit (e) navbar links are hidden automatically because the "child" or "subgroup" keyword is used, so using navbar = plain for each of them is not necessary. The code <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>N_state = collapsed</syntaxhighlight> is used to replicate the <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>abbrN = ABBREVIATION</syntaxhighlight> functionality of {{Navbox with collapsible groups}}.

Technical details

• The links are produced by Template:Navbar. If you have a question about them, it is probably best to ask at Template talk:Navbar.
• The 2px wide border between groups and lists is drawn using the border-left property of the list cell. Thus, if you wish to change the background color of the template (for example bodystyle = background:purple;), then you'll need to make the border-left-color match the background color (i.e. liststyle = border-left-color: purple;). If you wish to have a border around each list cell, then the 2px border between the list cells and group cells will disappear; you'll have to come up with your own solution.
• Adjacent navboxes have only a 1 pixel border between them. If you set the top or bottom margin of style/bodystyle, then this will not work.
• The default margin-left and margin-right of the outer navbox table are set to "auto;". If you wish to use navbox as a float, you need to manually set the margin-left and margin-right values, because the auto margins interfere with the float option. For example, add the following code to use the navbox as a float:
  • bodystyle = width: 22em; float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0;
• Navbox templates, including this one, are a major contributor to the post-expand include size of pages, and can cause pages to exceed the limit and not render correctly. There are a few ways to mitigate this.
  • {{Navbox}} can be replaced with {{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}}, which approximately halves the include size.
  • Nesting other templates inside of a navbox can cause the include size increase by a factor of two or more. Using the in-line child syntax documented at #Child navboxes mitigates this, but only for plain Navboxes, Navboxes with columns, and Navboxes with collapsible groups (not other types of navboxes).

Copying to other projects or wikis

If you are trying to copy {{Navbox}} to your local wiki, there are several other things that must be installed or copied over as well:

• The Scribunto and TemplateStyles extensions must be installed.
• Module:Navbox and its module and TemplateStyles dependencies, listed at Module:Navbox/doc
• Optionally, the Add support to mw-collapsible for autocollapse, innercollapse and outercollapse script from MediaWiki:Common.js may be copied, if autocollapsing is desired.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Navbox in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Navbox

Creates a navigational box for links to other pages. Does not display in mobile.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Name	name	The name of the template. Needed for "View • Talk • Edit" links to work properly. Default {{subst:PAGENAME}}{{subst:void|Don't change anything on this line. It will change itself when you save.}}	String	suggested
Title	title	Text in the title bar; centered in the top row of the table. Usually the template's topic. Example [[Widget stuff]]	Unknown	suggested
Group 1	group1	If specified, text appears in a header cell displayed to the left of list 1. If omitted, list 1 uses the full width of the table.	Unknown	suggested
List 1	list1	Body of the template; usually a list of links. Format is inline. At least one list parameter is required; each additional list is displayed in a separate row of the table. Each listn may be preceded by a corresponding groupn parameter. Entries should be separated using a newline and an asterisk. If two asterisks are used, it provides nesting within the previous entry with brackets.	Unknown	required
List class	listclass	CSS class for the list cells, usually hlist for horizontal lists. Alternatively, use bodyclass for the whole box. Example hlist	String	optional
State	state	Controls when a navbox is expanded or collapsed Suggested values autocollapse collapsed expanded plain off Default autocollapse Example autocollapse	Unknown	suggested
Above	above	Full-width cell displayed between the titlebar and first group/list, i.e. above the template's body (groups, lists and image)	String	suggested
Below	below	Full-width cell displayed below the template's body.	Unknown	suggested
Image	image	Image to be displayed in a cell below the title and to the right of the body Example [[File:XX.jpg | 80px | link= | alt= ]]	File	suggested
group2	group2	no description	Unknown	suggested
list2	list2	no description	Unknown	suggested
group3	group3	no description	Unknown	suggested
list3	list3	no description	Unknown	suggested
group4	group4	no description	Unknown	optional
list4	list4	no description	Unknown	optional
Image left	imageleft	Image to be displayed in a cell below the title and to the left of the body. For the image to display properly, list1 parameter must be specified and no groups can be specified. Example [[File:XX.jpg | 80px | link= | alt= ]]	File	optional
Navbar status	navbar	no description Example plain, off	String	optional
Border status	border	no description Example child, subgroup, none	String	optional
bodystyle	bodystyle	no description	Unknown	optional
basestyle	basestyle	no description	Unknown	optional
titlestyle	titlestyle	no description	Unknown	optional
groupstyle	groupstyle	no description	Unknown	optional
liststyle	liststyle	no description	Unknown	optional
group1style	group1style	no description	Unknown	optional
list1style	list1style	no description	Unknown	optional
groupwidth	groupwidth	no description	Unknown	optional
listpadding	listpadding	no description	Unknown	optional
oddstyle	oddstyle	no description	Unknown	optional
evenstyle	evenstyle	no description	Unknown	optional
evenodd	evenodd	no description Suggested values swap even odd off	Unknown	optional
abovestyle	abovestyle	no description	Unknown	optional
belowstyle	belowstyle	no description	Unknown	optional
imagestyle	imagestyle	no description	Unknown	optional
imageleftstyle	imageleftstyle	no description	Unknown	optional

See also

• {{Navbox decade list}} — To create a row of ten evenly spaced year links.
• {{Navboxes}} — groups several navigation boxes together.
• {{Nobold}} — To display text at normal font-weight within a context where the default font-weight is bold, e.g. header cells in tables.
• {{Sidebar}} — Vertically-aligned navigation templates.
• {{Navbox documentation}} — Shows the standard documentation using {{Documentation}}.
• Template:Navbox/testcases — For additional examples of template code.
• Wikipedia:Line-break handling — The how-to guide about how to handle word wraps (line breaks) on Wikipedia, such as the wrapping of the link lists used in navboxes.
• Wikipedia:Template documentation — Guideline to creating the accompanying documentation
• {{Nowrap begin}}, {{·}} and {{•}} are deprecated in favor of the hlist class for formatting lists. See Flatlist for a technical explanation of how hlist works.

Tracking categories

• Category:Navbox orphans (0)
• Category:Navigational boxes without horizontal lists (4)
• Category:Navboxes using background colours (7)
• Category:Potentially illegible navboxes (0)
• Category:Navboxes using borders (0)

Navigation templates comparison

Template	Collapsible	Image	Groups	Style (body) parameter/s
{{Navbox}}	collapsible	Left/right of body	Yes	Yes
{{Navbox with collapsible groups}}	collapsible	Left/right of body and/or in each list	Yes	Yes
{{Navbox with columns}}	collapsible	Left/right of columns	No	Yes

Collapsible attributes

Type	CSS classes	JavaScript	Collapses when	Custom initial state	Nesting
Collapsible tables	mw-collapsible	jQuery.makeCollapsible	2 or more autocollapse on page	Yes	Yes

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Navbox/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.