Forum:Importing templates from Wikipedia, some don't work properly

Related wiki: http://manga.wikia.com

First off, when I do import a template it looks like this: http://manga.wikia.com/wiki/Template:Citation/core instead of what it looked like on the Wikipedia as this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation/core
 * Difference here is you have not copied the /doc sub page (I.e the actual documentation) but see notes/warning below. !!! - BulldozerD11 17:09, August 20, 2010 (UTC)

Second problem is that the templates don't always work. There are some which cause minor problems, and others which are just a mess. Notice the absolute mess at http://manga.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Vampire_Knight_chapters#Volume_list where I end up with an unreadable article. How do I make that template work right? I hit the edit tab on an article, and it shows me all the templates used on that article page, so I know I have imported all of them. I imported thousands of manga related articles from Wikipedia, and looking through every single one of them and then fixing those affected by hand, isn't realistic. Is there a bot to go through and convert the information to something that'll load up properly, or preferably a way to make the necessary templates work? Please help.  D r e a m Focus  09:47, August 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * Copying wikipedia templates isn't ideal - as they reference a lot of other wikipedia templates, and also may rely on extentions that your wiki doesn't have installed. Have a look at templates that have been designed for Wikia before you copy a Wikipedia template. (Your wiki, doesn't have a span class of citation, or a Template:AuthorSep). Also, ask yourself if you need this template (do you need a complex citation template, or would a simple link to the citation be enough?) -- Random Time  10:06, August 20, 2010 (UTC)


 * Easier to import the templates being used, instead of having to rewrite thousands of different articles. So yeah, I need them.   D r e a m Focus  09:05, August 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * When you import them you need to remove all the interwiki links and alot of the internal links. As Randomtime says do you really need them. I made the mistake of importing aload before I understood how they (templates) worked fully (and some still dont) and it spirals out of control importing more and more to try to fix the problem. Some wikipedia code has problems with unclosed items that their MediaWiki version is more tolerant of & so the code displays OK on Wikipedia but not on Wikia.


 * Having checked the "Cite Web" template appears to be working on My wiki so It could be the missing class or a minor error i.e a space or return corrupting the code (or it may have been updated since i copied it & have change on wikipedia). Not all the Wikipedia templates i coped do yet (but as you found it is a pain fixing them - I asked some of ther original creators to help and got some tips but they are generally too buisy building even more complex one for wikipedia to replace lots of simple ones with an all singing all dancing meta version). Your PP-templates doc page is missing the border to the Box of related templates which is created by a entry in the common.css file. My PP-template (suite) displayed an error message that i have gave up trying to tracking down after several goes on every page it is used on. BTW Wikia now has a version of this template a the templates wiki as it is a waste of time coping the whole suite which is over complex as all it dose is put up an icon on protected pages. Just remove {PP-xxxxx} from all imported pages. I messed several templates up by adding  to disable it which them caused allsorts of problems in the templates as in some cases i put it after the  section which then gives a hidden 'newline' which can effect the Pharser working to process the code and pas it to the next template in nested ones !!


 * One template that is missing from your example page is Wikipedia to cite the source of the imported page as being from Wikipedia and attribute it under the CC / GFDL licences.


 * Most wikipedia templates also add loads of categories that need modification to match your wiki. At the minimum for a doc page as you have the {docuentation} template is to put aback link to the wikipedia doc page rather than copying the doc over (The docs add a need for even more templates and too many red links i found). On the Doc page add a note that the template is based on the WP one so other editors know were to look for updates & solutions to issues with the code in future. - BulldozerD11 17:04, August 20, 2010 (UTC)


 * http://manga.wikia.com/index.php?title=Template:Graphic_novel_list&action=edit shows only a few templates are used. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Graphic_novel_list&action=edit shows a great deal many.  Why doesn't it list everything I need?   D r e a m Focus  09:05, August 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * Because the list is of what is actually used, and the wiki can't use what it doesn't have. The list of templates you need is Special:WantedTemplates. Good luck. -- ◄mendel► 09:40, August 21, 2010 (UTC)
 * Previously if I didn't have it, there was a red link though. Why doesn't it do that all the time?  And that page gives me a massive list of things.  Is there somewhere on Wikipedia that list every template there is?  I went through and imported over various categories of some types of templates, but everything still isn't working yet, so I need more.  I think I'll just check the Wikipedia page that the article came from, and any templates listed there and not over on my wikia, I'll copy and paste that into the export thing, and see if that works.   D r e a m Focus  10:15, August 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * In Reply to the Graphic novel template links above the WP page shows also all the ones used by the Doc page which is transcluded into the template page So it calls more Templates & the actual template (on your wiki) may not be calling others yet as what it needs depends on the input data supplied to it when in a article page. . note one mission template may call 10 more so suddenly the list jumps. If you add succession box which is on the wanted list Mendel linked to you will then get more and more as it is made up of lots of little tempates that have been customised for specific Jobs but follow a similar pattern (just the wording shown is modified based on a few recurring modules.


 * Dont forget wikipedia has hundreds of thousands of editors and 1000's of template creators all adding to the bloat over the last 10 years or so. Some templates are an idea that started simple and spread and some are being systematically removed as they actual do very little.I did the same as you and started adding more templates to cure red links and then realised that some were better off eradicate from articles on import Unless you what to be a wikpedia clone site !!! as articles should be re-written/restructured for wikia anyway to give your wiki distinctive Look that differentiates it from wikipedia. - BulldozerD11 20:33, August 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * Having looked at your linked example page & the Graphic Novel template you recently linked the problem bit is the header which creates table is in HTML code & probably has an error in it (I'm not able to read HTML but I had a simila problem with a template displaying like that the somebody fixed for me). The alt solution is to create it in Wikimarkup instead which Newer templates on wikipedia are written in now. Some info boxes display similar ptoblems. (Can any body Fix the HTML coded Header to create the table header for Dreamfocus ?) - BulldozerD11 23:41, August 21, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, that's the problem. It seems horribly messed up. -- ◄mendel► 00:01, August 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'd appreciate any help. Importing over a few thousand templates from Wikipedia didn't solve the problem.   D r e a m Focus  00:03, August 22, 2010 (UTC)


 * I noticed on my Taylor Swift wiki and elsewhere, I have a problem with appearing at times. Wikia just can't handle apparently.  Any idea what that is for?  Do I need to import something for it?  All the templates that aren't working have that in them.  Other wikis have this problem as well.  If every single broken template that ends up just making a mess of stuff appear, begin with <tr then we need to understand that to figure out the problem.  Is there a place I should ask?  http://manga.wikia.com/wiki/Template:Graphic_novel_list/header starts with it.  Could that be changed to something else?   D r e a m Focus  02:17, August 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_tr.asp Its what lines things up. So it just has to be replaced with something that works on wikia.  Can someone do that please?   D r e a m Focus  02:24, August 22, 2010 (UTC)


 * Have a look at Wikipedia:Help:Table & recreate the header template in wiki code - There is a section explaining what the equivalents are part way down the page. So just copy the existing template into a new one (for testing) and replace the bits with wiki table code like |- etc. Note:In some templates the |- is replaced by template:| so that the pharser works in the correct order on a string of items passed through it. (sorry i've not got time to try and figure it out at the moment) - BulldozerD11 10:28, August 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * Do note that ! is only replacing the pipe character so you would need  . And is only used in side of a parser function like an #if. (common enough in an infobox.) -- 17:26, August 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * Well spotted Roqueblf that I missed the - out & thanks for clarifying that it relates to using the pipe in conditional strings - BulldozerD11 10:20, August 23, 2010 (UTC)
 * You can make a template either in HTML or in wikicode; if you mix the two, that won't work.
 * You see html tags when they're not properly used; ever opening tag (like &lt;tr>) must have a closing tag (like &lt;/tr>), and they must be properly nested, i.e. in brackets and braces, [a(b{cd}e)f] would be properly nested, and [a(b{cd)e]f} would not be. Wikicode is simpler, because it does not require things to be nested, but you need to use | for "|" when you're working in template calls or functions. -- ◄mendel► 18:57, August 22, 2010 (UTC)
 * I was not saying mix wikicode and HTML together but to replace the Html version with a wikicode version of the header. (HTML code templates on wikipedia are generaly being updated and replaced by Wikicode ones - you find anumber of infobox that are old that do not use the Meta Infobox template and are effectively 'hard coded' but they are slowly being replaced to give them more functionality and easier updating & be of a standardised design. - BulldozerD11 10:20, August 23, 2010 (UTC)

Copying ALL Wikipedia eventually ?
Dream Focus you a digging your self a Very big hole importing templates and other material in 'mass imports' e.g - Aircraft specs is totally irrelevant to your Manga wiki, so if you carry on like that you will end up copying ALL of wikipedia as it is all interlinked (the more you import the more missing pages and templates etc appear on the list of 'needed' pages). You are also importing totally irrelevant categories a well to compound it (looking at your recent changes list). You need to manually edit pages to remove links, templates, categories and interwikis on imported pages that have no relevance to you wikis subject or You will fill up all the special wanted pages lists with so much other stuff you cannot find pages that are really needed. (I speak from experience, as i added a load of navboxs to pages so now every page they are used on now appears in the wanted list making it harder to see the real number of redlinks to a page & thus create in the most wanted ones first). Look at the Special:Wanted pages / Categories and Templates lists but also look at the 'what links here' lists to see and remove links from non relevant pages etc. - BulldozerD11 10:20, August 23, 2010 (UTC)
 * Its easier to do it in batches than one by one. Thousands of relevant articles can't be done one at a time, obviously.  Any if I find anything that doesn't belong, I'll delete it.  No one will notice anything they don't go looking for, so it isn't a problem.  And are you telling me some people actually look at the Special:wanted pages?   D r e a m Focus  03:40, August 28, 2010 (UTC)

Create a Header MK II
I've started to try to create a MK II version of the Header template Here, But on digging into the main template it is more complex than I first thought as it has a large number of conditional selected versions of the header varying from 3 to 6 columns wide. The top of the page is the original with the new one below. Any help figuring it out would be appreciated, as my previous templates with condition sections was adding optional sections to an infobox based on wikimedia example code. (PS for some reason the wiki would not let me create a sandbox page linked to the original template ?) - BulldozerD11 13:17, August 23, 2010 (UTC)