Maintenance script: Archived wikitext recovered with documented compatibility adjustments from the WikiTeam export dated 20150707; original revision 13345 and attribution retained

2026-09-07T07:32:59Z

Archived wikitext recovered with documented compatibility adjustments from the WikiTeam export dated 20150707; original revision 13345 and attribution retained

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'''Translation switching''' is used on many templates and other message boxes across the wiki. The template '''{{tl|lang}}''' detects the name of the language page and ''switches'' the text. Its main purpose is to keep all localized versions of text centralized into one template.

In the past, translators would create pages like ''Template:Cleanup/ru'', which would lead to a lot of misplaced and inconsistent localized templates. Now all translators have to do is simply add a few lines of code to the existing [[Template:Cleanup]] page and whenever that template is used on a Russian page, the template will automatically switch to show the Russian text.

== What should use translation switching? ==

In general, all templates should use it. This includes infoboxes to maintenance messages, among others.

== How to add localized strings ==

# Select a template from the [[:Category:Templates that use translation switching|list of templates]] that use translation switching.
# Edit the template and add your strings (please use alphabetical ordering for convenience).
# Update the template {{tl|translation switching}} or {{tl|ts}} towards the bottom of the page and add your language code to the list.

=== Example ===
Let's say you're adding Italian strings to a template. The template might already look like this:
<pre><nowiki>
{{lang
| cs = Vítejte
| de = Willkommen
| en = Welcome
| ja = Irashaimasu
| ru = Добро пожаловать
}}

...

{{translation switching|cs, de, ja, ru}}
</nowiki></pre>

So add your lines, copying the style of the ones above and below, so it looks like this:

<nowiki>{{lang</nowiki>
| cs = Vítejte
| de = Willkommen
| en = Welcome
<span style="font-weight:bolder;font-size:110%;color:#006F00;">| it = Benvenuto</span>
| ja = Irashaimasu
| ru = Добро пожаловать
}}

...

<nowiki>{{</nowiki>translation switching|cs, de, <span style="font-weight:bolder;font-size:115%;color:#006F00;">it,</span> ja, ru}}

Make sure to add the language to the {{tl|translation switching}} template towards the bottom of the page, also.

:'''important''': Remember to add language strings in alphabetical order.

== Templates without translation switching ==
If you come across a particular template that requires translation switching and you want to add it, then feel free to make a start. The instructions below detail how to add {{tl|lang}} to templates.

You may also wish to take a look at the [[:Category:Templates that use translation switching|list of other templates]] that have localized strings to try and copy the layout. Be aware of more intricate templates such as [[:Category:Infobox templates|infobox templates]] as their uses of {{tl|lang}} can be appear to be quite complex.

If you need help with a particular template, simply post on the talk page of it or contact one of the [[Help:Group rights|moderators]] or [[Help:Group rights|admins]], as they'd be happy to help you.

=== Parts of templates ===
Let's say a template contains the text:

<pre style="margin-left:2em;"><nowiki>
Lorem ipsum dolor '''[[Welcome]]''' lorem ipsum.
</nowiki></pre>

Now after modifying it for translation switching:

<pre style="margin-left:2em;"><nowiki>
Lorem ipsum dolor '''[[{{lang
| en = Welcome
| ja = Irashaimasu
}}]]''' lorem ipsum.
</nowiki></pre>

Notice there are no extra line breaks or spaces, like there are in this example:

<pre style="margin-left:2em;"><nowiki>
Lorem ipsum dolor '''[[

{{lang
| en = Welcome
| ja = Irashaimasu
}}

]]''' lorem ipsum.
</nowiki></pre>

You can have as many line breaks as you want ''inside'' lang's {{code|{{}} brackets {{code|}}}}, but ''outside'' there must be no spaces, line breaks or gaps at all.

=== Language links ===
Sometimes you may need to switch a link based on the language. A template may look like this:

<pre style="margin-left:2em;"><nowiki>
[[Welcome|{{lang
| en = Welcome
| fr = Accueil
}}]]
</nowiki></pre>

But you want the link to go to [[Welcome/fr]] instead of [[Welcome]]. This does the job:

<pre style="margin-left:2em;"><nowiki>
[[Welcome{{if lang}}|{{lang
| en = Welcome
| fr = Accueil
}}]]
</nowiki></pre>

{{tl|if lang}} tests whether the page is a language page, and if it is, it'll output the language code (in this case, it's {{code|/fr}}). So the link in this example will go to [[Welcome/fr]], and the text displayed on the link will be French, as well.

It's important to not put a space in front of {{tl|if lang}} (for example {{code|1=[[Hats <nowiki>{{if lang}}</nowiki>]]}}) This is because, when used in a link, it will produce [[Hats_/fr]] instead of [[Hats/fr]].

<div class="kf-restoration-note">Archived wikitext recovered with documented compatibility adjustments from the WikiTeam export in the [https://archive.org/details/wiki-kf_wikicom archived KF-Wiki collection] (export 2015-07-07, original revision 13345). Credit: the original KF-Wiki contributors; the linked export preserves the original authorship and revision history. Restoration compatibility adjustment: the unavailable formatting-only c helper is replaced by simple emphasis, preserving its word.</div>

Help:Translation switching - Revision history

Maintenance script: Archived wikitext recovered with documented compatibility adjustments from the WikiTeam export dated 20150707; original revision 13345 and attribution retained