This is a documentation subpage for Template:Infobox former subdivision. It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

This template is used on approximately 3,400 pages and changes may be widely noticed. Test changes in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This template uses Lua: Module:Check for unknown parameters (sandbox)

This template uses TemplateStyles: Template:Infobox former subdivision/styles.css

(({conventional_long_name))} (({native_name))}
(({year_start))}–(({year_end))}
(({flag_type))} (({symbol_type))}
(({image_map_caption))}
Anthem
(({anthem))}
Capital	(({capital))}
Demonym	(({demonym))}
Government
• Type	(({government_type))}
• Motto	(({motto))}
President
• (({year_leader1))}	(({leader1))}
Prime minister
• (({year_deputy1))}	(({deputy1))}
Legislature	(({legislature))}
• Upper house	(({house1))}
• Lower house	(({house2))}
Historical era	(({era))}
• (({event_pre))}	(({date_pre))}
• (({event_start))}	(({date_start))} (({year_start))}
• (({event1))}	(({date_event1))}
• (({event_end))}	(({date_end))} (({year_end))}
• (({event_post))}	(({date_post))}
Political subdivisions	(({political_subdiv))}
Preceded by Succeeded by [[(({p1))}]] [[(({s1))}]]
Today part of	(({today))}
(({footnotes))}

This infobox is part of WikiProject Former countries run by the Subdivisions bureau. It is based on Template:Infobox former country adjusted to suit subdivisions of former countries.

NOTE: This infobox should be used if the state in question was always a subdivision of some larger entity. For all other cases, use ((Infobox former country)) to place articles into various "Former countries" categories that would not be suitable for subdivisions of former countries.
Exception: states of the Holy Roman Empire should also use ((Infobox former country)) with |empire=HRE + |status=vassal, |status=city or |status=abbey, depending on the state type.

Notes

• Many variables concern generated categories. When categories are discussed below, it is referring to this list of currently supported categories.
• This is a rather complicated template, and should be used with care to ensure functionality. Note that most fields are optional for the infobox to function correctly. If you are unsure about anything, just skip all the optional fields and ask a developer for help.
• Anyone is welcome to use the infobox. But since it is still under construction, developers may make changes to your work. This is nothing personal. Normally this is for functionality reasons, sometimes it is to test new features of the infobox.
• Some variables below may be marked as test variables. Use these with caution and remember that these variables may be changed or deleted without notice.
• Certain historical entities may inspire heated debate among some people. Neutrality and sensitivity are required when implementing this infobox.
• If you are unsure about the usage of this template, or you have any suggestions for modifications to the infobox, or if you want to know why a certain modification was made, please contact a developer or leave a comment at the talk page. Your comments and questions assist the developers in creating, improving and documenting infobox features. Your comments and questions assist the developers in creating, improving and documenting infobox features.

This infobox is under constant development. For many entries, the infobox has been implemented by one of the main developers. Other users are welcome to implement the infobox themselves, but developers might make modifications later on largely for functionality reasons.

The main developers are:

• 52 Pickup (talk)
• Domino theory (talk)
• MJCdetroit (talk)

Usage

1. Almost all fields are optional, some fields are more optional than others. It is not expected that you fill in every single field that is shown here.
2. Some fields are hidden but necessary for infobox functionality. Not all fields are displayed here.
3. If a state has a high number of leaders (>5), do not modify this template to fit them all in. It is not the intention of this infobox to do them all; that makes the infobox way too big (any extra slots added here without previous discussion will be reverted). Instead, list only the first and last title holder, with (first) or (last) placed after the person's name.
4. Some fields place the article into certain categories: see list of supported categories.
5. Area (in km²) and population statistics must be given without spaces, commas, or other code.
6. Keep event text as short as possible, ideally only 1 line in length.
7. For many entries, the infobox has been implemented by one of the main developers. Other users are welcome to implement the infobox themselves, but developers might make modifications later on, largely for functionality reasons.
8. If you are unsure about the usage of this template, or if you want to know why a certain modification was made, let us know via the template talk page. Your comments and questions assist the developers in creating, improving, and documenting infobox features.

((Infobox former subdivision
|_noautocat             = <!-- "no" for no automatic categorization -->
|native_name            = <!-- Name in native language(s). Leave blank if name is only in English. Separate with line breaks<br> If language uses Latin characters, place name(s) in italics. -->
|conventional_long_name = <!-- Full name in English -->
|common_name            = <!-- Used to resolve location within categories and name of flags and coat of arms -->
|subdivision            = <!-- Status: see Category list on template page -->
|nation                 = <!-- The empire or country to which the entity was in a state of dependency -->
|demonym                = <!-- The name of the group of people residing there -->
|status_text            = <!-- A free text to describe status the top of the infobox. Use sparingly. -->
|government_type        = <!-- To generate categories: "Monarchy", "Republic", etc. to generate categories -->
<!-- Titles and names of the first and last leaders and their deputies -->
|title_leader           = <!-- Default: "King" for monarchy, otherwise leave blank for default "President" -->
|title_deputy           = <!-- Default: "Prime minister" -->
|leader1                = <!-- Name of leader (up to six) -->
|year_leader1           = <!-- Years served -->
|deputy1                = <!-- Name of prime minister (up to six) -->
|year_deputy1           = <!-- Years served -->
<!-- Legislature -->
|legislature            = <!-- Name of legislature -->
|house1                 = <!-- Name of first chamber -->
|house2                 = <!-- Name of second chamber -->
|type_house1            = <!-- Default: "Upper house" -->
|type_house2            = <!-- Default: "Lower house" -->
<!-- General information -->
|capital                = 
|coordinates            = <!-- Use ((Coord)) -->
|motto                  = <!-- Accepts wikilinks -->
|anthem                 = <!-- Accepts wikilinks -->
|political_subdiv       = <!-- Accepts wikilinks -->
|today                  = <!-- The countries to which this historic entity belongs today, if no more than four of these --><!-- Do NOT add flags, per MOS:INFOBOXFLAG -->
<!-- Rise and fall, events, years and dates -->
<!-- Only fill in the start/end event entry if a specific article exists. Don't just say "abolition" or "declaration". -->
|year_start             = <!-- Year of establishment -->
|year_end               = <!-- Year of disestablishment -->
|event_start            = <!-- Default: "Established" -->
|date_start             = <!-- Optional: Date of establishment-->
|event_end              = <!-- Default: "Disestablished" -->
|date_end               = <!-- Optional: Date of disestablishment -->
|event1                 = <!-- Optional: other events between "start" and "end" -->
|date_event1            = 
|event2                 = 
|date_event2            = 
|event3                 = 
|date_event3            = 
|event4                 = 
|date_event4            = 
|event5                 = 
|date_event5            = 
|life_span              = 
|era                    = <!-- Use: "Napoleonic Wars", etc. -->
|event_pre              = <!-- Optional: A crucial event that took place before before "event_start" -->
|date_pre               = 
|event_post             = <!-- Optional: A crucial event that took place before after "event_end" -->
|date_post              = 
<!-- Images -->
|image_flag             = <!-- Default: Flag of (({common_name))}.svg -->
|image_border           = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|flag_type              = <!-- Displayed text for link under flag. Default "Flag" -->
|flag                   = <!-- Link target under flag image. Default: Flag of (({common_name))} -->
|image_coat             = <!-- Default: Coat of arms of (({common_name))}.svg -->
|symbol_type            = <!-- Displayed text for link under symbol. Default "Coat of arms" -->
|symbol                 = <!-- Link target under symbol image. Default: Coat of arms of (({common_name))} -->
|image_map              = 
|image_map_caption      = 
<!-- Flag navigation: Preceding and succeeding entities "p1" to "p5" and "s1" to "s8" -->
|p1                     = <!-- Name of the article for preceding entity, numbered 1–5 -->
|flag_p1                = <!-- Default: "Flag of (({p1))}.svg" (size 30) -->
|border_p1              = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|image_p1               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
|s1                     = <!-- Name of the article for succeeding entity, numbered 1–8 -->
|flag_s1                = <!-- Default: "Flag of (({s1))}.svg" (size 30) -->
|border_s1              = <!-- Default: "border"; for non-rectangular flag, type "no" -->
|image_s1               = <!-- Use: [[Image:Sin escudo.svg|20px|Image missing]] -->
<!-- Area and population of a given year (up to 5) -->
|stat_year1             = <!-- year of the statistic, specify either area, population or both, numbered 1–5 -->
|stat_area1             = <!-- area in square kilometres (w/o commas or spaces), area in square miles is calculated -->
|stat_pop1              = <!-- population (w/o commas or spaces), population density is calculated if area is also given -->
|area_lost1             = Significant areas the territory lost
|lost_to1               = Where it transferred to
|area_lost_year1        = The year it happened
|area_gained1           = Significant areas the territory gained
|gained_from1           = Where it transferred from
|area_gained_year1      = The year it happened
<!-- Governance -->
|Status                 = The status(es) the unit held
|Government             = The name of the local government
|government_type        = The category/type of local government
|Arms                   = Coat of arms (display option 2)
|arms_caption           = 
|Civic                  = Civic seal, logo or other
|civic_caption          = 
|HQ                     = Headquarters
|CodeName               = Reference code series name
|Code                   = Unique reference code for unit in the series
<!-- Subdivisions -->
|Divisions              = The name of the subdivision type it had, for example parishes or wards
|DivisionsNames         = The names of the subdivisions
|DivisionsMap           = Map of the subdivisions
|divisions_map_caption = 
<!-- Memberships -->
|membership_title1      = Type of unit it was part of
|membership1            = Name of the unit it was part of
|membership_title2      = 
|membership2            = 
|membership_title3      = 
|membership3            = 
|membership_title4      = 
|membership4            = 
|membership_title5      = 
|membership5            = 
|footnotes              = <!-- Accepts wikilinks -->
))

Detailed instructions

These are the fields of information in the Infobox former countries template with a set of instructions on how to use them. Here is a brief explanation on how to read the table:

• Field name
  • the fields of information that carry information used by the template
• Usage
  • required means that the template will not work properly if it is excluded
  • optional means that the template will work properly without it, but available information should be entered to make it as complete as possible (actively excluding or deleting information is not endorsed just because it is called optional in this table)
• Type
  • variable means that the template will only take fixed values; this can be dates, years, numerical or according to a defined list
  • free means that the template will accept values given freely without having to adhere to the strict discipline required for variables
  • wikilink means that a working wikilink must be entered either to an article or to the file name of an image
• Value
  • examples or lists of values accepted by variables
  • free text with wikilinks means that text and wikilinks can be entered freely without the kind of restrictions that applies to variables
    • label is a short label typically fitting in a single line (no line break)
    • entry is one or a few short labels separated by commas or line breaks (no more than a few lines)
    • sentence is a short descriptive sentence (no more than a few lines)
  • free text means that text can be entered, but wikilinks must not be used
• Description
  • an instruction or a small guide how the particular field of information is used

Style parameters

The template allows some optional parameters that control the style of the infobox for size and coloring when displayed on a page:

|width =  <!-- sets the width of the infobox (default: 290px) -->
|boxstyle =  <!-- sets the style properties of the whole infobox -->
|titlestyle =  <!-- sets the style properties of the top title/name area of the infobox -->

Some specific styles for the whole infobox are as follows:

|boxstyle = background:lightgray; <!-- sets the color behind all areas of the infobox -->
|boxstyle = border-color:blue; <!-- sets the line around the infobox to the color blue -->
|boxstyle = border-width:5px; <!-- sets line width around box to 5 pixels (default: 1px) -->
|boxstyle = margin-left:1px; margin-right:7px; <!-- resets the left/right margins of the infobox for similar alignment in both browsers [[Mozilla Firefox]] and [[Internet Explorer]] -->

Some specific styles for the title/name are as follows:

|titlestyle = background:lightgray; <!-- sets the color behind the top title/name area of the infobox -->
|titlestyle = color:gold; <!-- sets the text color in top title/name area -->
|titlestyle = text-align:left; <!-- shifts title/name text to the left (default: center) -->

For multiple settings, combine all on one line as follows:

|titlestyle = background:lightgray; color:darkgreen;

The properties are separated by semicolons (;), and beware that accidentally omitting semicolons will cause the settings to be ignored. Some style properties cannot be changed such as, setting |titlestyle=margin-left:25px might be ignored, because margin-left is a property, instead, of the whole box, using |boxstyle.

Establishment dates

• First the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories established in the (({year_start))}" exists. If so, it is added.
• If not, the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories established in (({year_start))}" exists. If so, it is added.
• If not, the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories established in the DECADEs" where DECADE is the decade containing (({year_start))} (e.g. Category:States and territories established in the 110s). If so, it is added.
• If not, the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories established in the Nth century" where N is the century containing (({year_start))} (e.g. Category:States and territories established in the 1st century BC). If so, it is added.

The reason for the first case is in case an imprecise date is entered, such as "the 820s" or "the 18th century", before trying exact dates like "1820".

Disestablishment dates

• First the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories disestablished in the (({year_end))}" exists. If so, it is added.
• If not, the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories disestablished in (({year_end))}" exists. If so, it is added.
• If not, the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories disestablished in the DECADEs" where DECADE is the decade containing (({year_end))} (e.g. Category:States and territories disestablished in the 530s). If so, it is added.
• If not, the template tests to see if "Category:States and territories disestablished in the Nth century" where N is the century containing (({year_end))} (e.g. Category:States and territories disestablished in the 1st century BC). If so, it is added.

The reason for the first case is in case an imprecise date is entered, such as "the 820s" or "the 18th century", before trying exact dates like "1820".

Banner

To allow project members to keep track of articles, any page that uses this infobox must be labeled with the WPFC banner. To do this, go to the article's talk page, and add ((WPFC)) to the top of the talk page, if the banner is not there already. See the banner page for more information about the extra parameters that the banner supports. At the absolute minimum, the talk page should contain ((WPFC)).

Tracking category

• Category:Pages using infobox former subdivision with unknown parameters (4)
• Category:Former country articles requiring maintenance (1,370)

TemplateData