User blog:Thisismyrofl/Creating an old-new-style infobox

Hey! This is Thisismyrofl, an admin here on Community Central. I wanted to see if I could explain how to make a new infobox in the new style of Template:Infobox (new as in September 2012).

I'm referring here to the default styles, that is, those that were on the Starter Pages Wiki's Template:Infobox page. Since every newly created wiki, at the time of its creation, is given a copy of every page and template on Starter Pages Wiki, that means that there are thousands of wikis that came with the old style, and thousands founded after September 2012 that came with the new style.

Making an infobox can seem intimidating at first but it's not too hard! Let's do it. First, let's decide where we want the infobox to be. Once we have a bare-bones infobox at that location, we can customize it to our needs.

The whole point of the new infobox system is that you don't directly use Template:Infobox, but rather, you copy it to a new location and adapt it. Let's do that!

Step one: Think of an infobox you want.
Are you making an infobox for use on characters' pages? Or for songs? Think of a title for your infobox.

Here are some example infobox names. Pick one, or feel free to make your own! If you chose one listed above, you're in luck! That template is likely to already exist on your wiki. Go to the equivalent page on your wiki and work off of it. Skip step two and go on to step three.
 * Infobox album
 * Infobox book
 * Infobox character
 * Infobox episode
 * Infobox event
 * Infobox item
 * Infobox location
 * Infobox quest

Does the above list not have anything like what you need? Or do you need an item listed that's not actually on your wiki (this is possible)? That's OK. Just go through Step Two.

Step two: Copy "Template:Infobox" to your new location.
Let's say I want an infobox for levels from the game Wolfenstein 3D. I'll put my infobox at Infobox Wolf3D level. If I wanted to create such a template, here's the steps I'd follow.

There are two sets of instructions. Which one you should use depends on whether Template:Infobox on your wiki is the new ("First", "Second", "Third") format or the old format. If you don't know, just use the first (default) set of instructions or head to my other blog to know the difference.

...= Do you have the new format of Template:Infobox installed on your wiki? Click "No, or I don't know" or "Yes". No, or I don't know= Remember to substitute in the name of the infobox you want instead of "Wolf3D level"!
 * 1) Go to the page Template:Infobox Wolf3D level on your wiki and hit "Edit".
 * 1) Optional - As an edit summary, paste the following:

This custom edit summary is optional but a good idea. Remember to substitute in the name of the infobox you want instead of "Wolf3D level"!
 * 1) In another tab, go to the code for Template:Infobox on Starter Pages Wiki and copy the source code to the field for "Template:Infobox Wolf3D level" on your wiki.
 * 2) Save the page - I advise you don't edit the code any before you save it, so you have something clean to revert to if necessary,
 * -|Yes=
 * 1) Go to the page Template:Infobox Wolf3D level on your wiki and hit "Edit".
 * 1) Optional - As an edit summary, paste the following:

This custom edit summary is optional but a good idea.
 * 1) In another tab, go to Template:Infobox on your wiki and copy the source code to the field for "Template:Infobox Wolf3D level" on your wiki.
 * 2) Save the page - I advise you don't edit the code any before you save it, so you have something clean to revert to if necessary.

Step three: Customize your infobox!
This is kinda a big step, so I put it in its own blog: User blog:Thisismyrofl/Customizing a new-style infobox. Take a look!