Template:Find sources multi

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This is a meta-template for "find sources" templates. It is usually called from another template, but can be used on its own as well. It produces a series of links to various search interfaces to help find additional sources for articles. Using this meta-template has the advantage that if a search engine changes its parameters, it is only necessary to fix this one template rather than individual fixes to all the different source-finding templates. The syntax is also very flexible, allowing for a wide range of styles of daughter template, and it is possible to create new subtemplates to add additional search engines without altering the main template code.

This template, and other templates that are based on it, should not usually be used in articles themselves - see Wikipedia:EL#Links normally to be avoided.

Usage

Search values

No matter what invocation is used, the searching works in the same way. The first parameter is main search term, which will be treated as a literal string if multi-part (e.g. Albert Einstein will be searched as the single string "Albert Einstein" not "Albert" and "Einstein" separately).

Optional subsequent parameters (up to 4) are additional search terms. They can be enclosed in double quotation marks, preceded by an unspaced - (hyphen) to exclude them from the search results, or both (e.g. -"Marilyn Monroe" to exclude matches containing the phrase "Marilyn Monroe", but not either name by itself, from the search results). You do not need to add -wikipedia, as the template automatically does this for you. Also, there is usually no need to add words in plural form unless irregular, as most search interfaces will match (for example) billiards as well given a search term of billiard.

If no parameters are given, the name of the article is passed as the search string. Note that this may or may not be desirable with disambiguated article names (if the Wikipedia disambiguator is sensible, however, it may actually help refine the search results).

Search engine links

Search engine links are provided by the parameters link1, link2, link3 ... link20. These parameters may take the values g, gbooks, gscholar, jstor, gfreeimages, archive, bing, gnewsrecent, nyt, wrs, or ddg. The code gnews is also available, but it is not working as of December 2013. See #Link codes for the full list.

Simple usage

{{find sources multi}}

For example, the code:

{{find sources multi|Example|link1=g|link2=gbooks}}

Will produce:

Google · Google Books

Usage in templates

>
{{find sources multi<noinclude>/template</noinclude>
|class          = <!-- sets the span class -->
|style          = <!-- custom css style -->
|inarticle      = <!-- set to "yes" if the template is to be used in articles -->

|1              = {{{1|}}}
|2              = {{{2|}}}
|3              = {{{3|}}}
|4              = {{{4|}}}
|5              = {{{5|}}}

|introtext      = <!-- unlinked text that appears at the start of the template output -->
|introlink      = <!-- search engine link code for a link after the intro text but before the other links -->
|introdisplay   = <!-- text displayed for the intro link; the default value is the term searched for -->
|introseparator = <!-- unlinked text that appears after the intro link and before the other links -->

<!-- |separator =      custom separator value; if this is not used, the whole parameter should be removed -->

|link1          = <!-- search engine code for the first link -->
|display1       = <!-- display value for the first link -->
|link2          = <!-- search engine code for the second link -->
|display2       = <!-- display value for the second link -->
<!-- ... -->
|link20         = 
|display20      = 

|free           = {{{free|}}}

|endseparator   = <!-- unlinked text that appears after the last link but before the closing span tag -->

<noinclude>
|doc            = <!-- set to "yes" to use the automatically generated documentation -->
</noinclude>
}}

To create a template based on find sources multi, copy the code above and experiment with the parameters until it looks how you want it to. Make sure that you keep the top line as it is - the code on the top line allows the template to use {{find sources multi/template}} on the template page, but {{find sources multi}} everywhere else.

{{Find sources multi/template}} has a few special features that distinguish it from the main {{find sources multi}} template. First, it sets the search text in any links used to "Example", rather than the default of the current subpage. Second, it allows automatic checking of the link codes used in the template. If any of the codes do not exist, the template will generate an error message. Third, it can generate documentation for the template automatically. If you want to use the automatic documentation, set |doc=yes - the documentation itself is generated by {{find sources multi/doc/template}}.

If you want to add a shortcut to your template, you can specify it at {{find sources multi/doc/template}}, and any additional categories or instructions can be added to the /doc subpage as normal. If further customisation is desired, the template can be substituted - see here for instructions.

Parameters

Parameter name	Example values	Required	Description
class	smallcaps	no	Custom class values. The template already uses the "plainlinks" class by default; any other classes will be used in addition to this.
style	font-variant: small-caps;	no	Custom CSS styles. The template doesn't use any default styles.
unnamed parameter 1	{{{1|}}}	no	The first search term. This will be placed inside quotation marks in the search. If this parameter is left out, the name of the current subpage is used instead.
unnamed parameters 2-5	{{{2|}}}, {{{3|}}}, etc.	no	The other search terms. These will included in the search without quotation marks.
introtext	''Find sources:'' 	no	Unlinked text that appears at the start of the template output. If a space is desired at the end of this text it must be specified with   - other whitespace will be trimmed off.
introlink	gbooks	no	The search engine link code for the intro link. This link comes after the intro text but before the other links.
introdisplay	Google	no	The text displayed for the intro link. The default value is the term searched for.
introseparator	 - 	no	Unlinked text displayed between the intro link and the first link. If spaces are desired they must be specified with   - other whitespace will be trimmed off.
link1	gbooks	yes	The search engine link code for the first link.
link2, link3 ... link20	gscholar	no	The search engine link codes for the other links. Up to 20 links (plus the intro link) are allowed.
display1, display3 ... display20	Books	no	The text displayed for the links. These default to descriptive values such as "Google Books", "Archive.org", etc. The default display values are set by the individual subtemplates - see #Link codes for the full list.
free	{{{free|}}}	no	If |free=yes then only free (as in beer) results are returned for Google News. If your template uses a Google News search then you should probably pass this parameter through so that end users can set it as desired. If your template doesn't use Google News then you can leave this parameter out. Note: Google News search does not work as of December 2013.
separator	, 	no	This specifies a custom search link separator. It is unlinked text that goes between the links generated by the linkX parameters. If whitespace is desired it must be specified with   - other whitespace will be trimmed off. The default value is {{int:dot-separator}} (displays as  · ). If this parameter is not used, the parameter name must be completely removed from the template, otherwise an error message is generated. (This is due to limitations in MediaWiki's whitespace handling for templates.)
endseparator	.	no	Unlinked text displayed after the last search link. If spaces are desired they must be specified with   - other whitespace will be trimmed off.
inarticle	yes	no	If the template is designed to be used in articles, set this to "yes". If this parameter is not set and the template is used in the main namespace, it will generate an error message.
doc	yes	no	This is used only on template pages themselves, through {{find sources multi/template}}. If |doc=yes, the template will generate documentation for your template automatically.
demo	yes	no	This suppresses Category:Source-finding templates for examples that use {{find sources multi/template}}.

Link codes

Here is a list of currently supported values for the link parameters (up to 20 may be specified):

Code	Aliases	Preview	Search engine description	Subtemplate	Notes
g	google	Google	Google, the flagship search engine from Google Inc.	Template:Find sources multi/g
gnews	gn	Google News	Google News, Google's search engine for news sites.	Template:Find sources multi/gnews	Can be used with |free=yes to return free results only. Google News search does not work as of December 2013.
gbooks	gb	Google Books	Google Books, Google's search engine for books.	Template:Find sources multi/gbooks
gscholar	gs	Google Scholar	Google Scholar, Google's search engine for academic papers and other scholarly research.	Template:Find sources multi/gscholar
jstor		JSTOR	JSTOR, an online library containing digitised versions of academic journals. Requires a subscription.	Template:Find sources multi/jstor
gfreeimages	gfi	Free Google Images	Google Images, Google's search engine for images. Only images compatible with Wikipedia's licensing are included.	Template:Find sources multi/gfreeimages
archive	ia	Archive.org	The Internet Archive, a digital library of public websites.	Template:Find sources multi/archive
bing	msbooks, msacademic	Bing	Microsoft Bing, Microsoft's flagship search engine.	Template:Find sources multi/bing	This is a replacement for MS Books and MS Academic, which unfortunately have been discontinued by Microsoft.
gnewsrecent	gnr	Google News recent	Google News, Google's search engine for news sites. Only recent news stories will be searched for.	Template:Find sources multi/gnewsrecent
nyt	nytrecent, nytold	New York Times	The website of The New York Times, a highly respected newspaper.	Template:Find sources multi/nyt	This is a replacement for the NYT Recent and NYT Old searches; these two searches have now been combined into one search interface on the NYT website.
wrs		Wikipedia Reference Search	Wikipedia Reference Search, a Google search that only searches sites vetted by Wikipedians.	Template:Find sources multi/wrs
ddg		DuckDuckGo	DuckDuckGo, a search engine that uses information from crowd-sourced websites (such as Wikipedia) to provide its results.	Template:Find sources multi/ddg
vgrs		VGRS	Thibbs' Google RS, a custom Google search engine that limits the search to sites listed in Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games/Sources.	Template:Find sources multi/vgrs
gnewspapers	gnewspaper, gnp	Google Newspapers	Google Newspapers, a search of Google's digital archive of print newspapers.	Template:Find sources multi/gnewspapers

Examples

Without documentation or self-checks

Code

Template code

{{find sources multi
|1              = {{{1|}}}
|2              = {{{2|}}}
|3              = {{{3|}}}
|4              = {{{4|}}}
|5              = {{{5|}}}
|introtext      = Find sources: 
|introlink      = g
|introseparator =  - 
|link1          = gbooks
|display1       = books
|link2          = gscholar
|display2       = scholar
|link3          = jstor
|display3       = JSTOR
|link4         = gfreeimages
|display4       = free images
|free           = {{{free|}}}
}}

Output

Find sources: "Find sources multi" - books · scholar · JSTOR · free images

With self-checks but no documentation

Code

Template code

{{find sources multi<noinclude>/template</noinclude>
|1              = {{{1|}}}
|2              = {{{2|}}}
|3              = {{{3|}}}
|4              = {{{4|}}}
|5              = {{{5|}}}
|introtext      = Find sources:&amp;nbsp;
|introlink      = g
|introseparator = &amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;
|link1          = gbooks
|display1       = books
|link2          = gscholar
|display2       = scholar
|link3          = jstor
|display3       = JSTOR
|link4          = gfreeimages
|display4       = free images
|free           = {{{free|}}}
}}

Output

Find sources: "Example" - books · scholar · JSTOR · free images

With self-checks and documentation

(You need to visit the /doc subpage to see this working properly.)

Code

Template code

{{find sources multi<noinclude>/template</noinclude>
|1              = {{{1|}}}
|2              = {{{2|}}}
|3              = {{{3|}}}
|4              = {{{4|}}}
|5              = {{{5|}}}
|introtext      = Find sources:&amp;nbsp;
|introlink      = g
|introseparator = &amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;
|link1          = gbooks
|display1       = books
|link2          = gscholar
|display2       = scholar
|link3          = jstor
|display3       = JSTOR
|link4          = gfreeimages
|display4       = free images
|free           = {{{free|}}}
<noinclude>
|doc            = yes
</noinclude>
}}

Output

Find sources: "Find sources multi" - books · scholar · JSTOR · free images

Smallcaps style

Code

Template code

{{find sources multi
|class          = smallcaps
|style          = font-variant: small-caps;
|1              = {{{1|}}}
|2              = {{{2|}}}
|3              = {{{3|}}}
|4              = {{{4|}}}
|5              = {{{5|}}}
|introtext      = Find sources: 
|introlink      = g
|introseparator =  - 
|link1          = gbooks
|display1       = books
|link2          = gscholar
|display2       = scholar
|link3          = jstor
|display3       = jstor
|link4          = gfreeimages
|display4       = free images
|free           = {{{free|}}}
}}

Output

Find sources: "Find sources multi" - books · scholar · jstor · free images

Custom separator

Code

Template code

{{find sources multi
|1              = {{{1|}}}
|2              = {{{2|}}}
|3              = {{{3|}}}
|4              = {{{4|}}}
|5              = {{{5|}}}
|introtext      = Find sources: 
|introlink      = g
|introseparator =  - 
|separator      = , 
|link1          = gbooks
|display1       = books
|link2          = gscholar
|display2       = scholar
|link3          = jstor
|display3       = jstor
|link4          = gfreeimages
|display4      = free images
|free           = {{{free|}}}
}}

Output

Find sources: "Find sources multi" - books, scholar, jstor, free images

Bulleted list

Code

Template code

{{find sources multi
|1              = {{{1|}}}
|2              = {{{2|}}}
|3              = {{{3|}}}
|4              = {{{4|}}}
|5              = {{{5|}}}
|introtext      = Find sources for 
|introlink      = g
|introseparator = :<ul><li>
|separator      = </li><li>
|link1         = gbooks
|display1       = books
|link2          = gscholar
|display2       = scholar
|link3          = jstor
|display3       = jstor
|link4          = gfreeimages
|display4       = free images
|endseparator   = </li></ul>
|free           = {{{free|}}}
}}

Find sources for "Find sources multi":

• books
• scholar
• jstor
• free images

Adding new search subtemplates

To add a new search subtemplate, please follow these steps:

1. Create the subtemplate.
   • Subtemplate names should be kept short.
   • The subtemplate should have five unnamed parameters and one |display= parameter.
   • You can use {{find sources multi/g}} as a base for your code.
   • The documentation should be transcluded from Template:Find sources multi/doc/links.
2. Add the data about your subtemplate to {{find sources multi/linkinfo}}.
3. Create redirects for any aliases you specified in {{find sources multi/linkinfo}}. The pages of the form Template:Find sources multi/aliasname must redirect to your subtemplate.
4. Create any template shortcuts that you specified in {{find sources multi/linkinfo}}.

You can now use your new subtemplate directly from {{find sources multi}}.

See also

• Category:Source-finding templates
• Category:Find sources multi transclusions with errors
• Help:Find sources
• Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup/Verifiability and sources
• Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/Search links

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