Template talk:Infobox building

Deprecating parameters

I am going to start the process of cleaning up this Infobox so that there are fewer conflicting parameters. This will involve deprecating some of the aliases parameters in favor of the more standard parameter (for example |logo_width= → |logo_size=). This will not break any existing transclusions (unless I do something dumb, in which case, please trout me). Any questions, comments or concerns, please let me know! Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 23:19, 22 February 2026 (UTC)

Why are the default parameters given with the template on the documentation page are the ones that are deprecated? Traumnovelle (talk) 19:55, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

I think there might be at least one error here. Why is |image_caption=, which is parallel in name to |logo_caption=, deprecated in favor of the ambiguous |caption=? Same question with |image_alt=? – Jonesey95 (talk) 01:09, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

@Jonesey95: IMHO this level of specificity is not needed for the caption and alt of the primary image, which is more commonly used. The very fact that |image_caption= and |caption= are aliases illustrates my point. However, you make a totally valid point. If nothing else, this is subject to interpretation and differing opinion. I am happy to flip the deprecation and make the |image_...= params the correct param moving forward. I shall do that now! Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 04:25, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

@Jonesey95: so upon reflection, I've kind of changed my mind. Over 18,000 pages use |caption=. I don't think it makes sense to change that to a longer param name of |image_caption=. So I'm thinking the best solution is to allow the use of both. Keep them as conflicting parameters but allow for both to work. Not idea but it seems kinda like it might be the best way forward. Thoughts? Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 17:56, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Agree. – Jonesey95 (talk) 19:45, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

I copied the blank template into my sandbox and this is what shows up as errors:

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "image_alt". Replace with "alt". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "stop_date". Replace with "construction_stop_date". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "demolition_date". Replace with "demolished_date". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "relief". Replace with "pushpin_relief". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "map_type". Replace with "pushpin_map". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "map_alt". Replace with "pushpin_map_alt". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "start_date". Replace with "construction_start_date". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "map_dot_label". Replace with "pushpin_label". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "image_caption". Replace with "caption". Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox building with deprecated parameter "map_size". Replace with "pushpin_mapsize". Traumnovelle (talk) 01:43, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

@Traumnovelle: You really didn't need to dump all that in here... It is because the documentation has yet to be updated as this is very much a work in progress. I would refer you to WP:FIXIT... Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 03:07, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

I cannot fix it because the template is protected. If you can change a parameter you can also change the documentation. No one asked for this change, you went ahead and did it yourself so you should be willing to address issues. I don't care (and I imagine most editors don't either) whether I have to use 'map_alt' or 'pushpin_map_alt' in an infobox, but I do not want to have to see a bunch of errors take up most of the article preview for no good reason. Traumnovelle (talk) 03:11, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

The documentation page is NOT protected... Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 03:16, 11 March 2026 (UTC)

@Traumnovelle: in any case, the documentation should now be fixed. If you find anything that I have overlooked, you are free to fix it yourself as documentation pages are almost never protected (this one certainly isn't). Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 04:29, 12 March 2026 (UTC)

For clarity here are the current parameters being replaced:

Remove	Replace with
building_name	name
hotel_name	name
native_building_name	native_name
logo_width	logo_size
image_width	image_size
alt	image_alt
caption	image_caption
map_type	pushpin_map
map_alt	pushpin_map_alt
map_dot_label	pushpin_label
map_dot_mark	pushpin_mark
relief	pushpin_relief
map_size	pushpin_mapsize
chain	hotel_chain
style	architectural_style
start_date	construction_start_date
stop_date	construction_stop_date
opened	opened_date
opening	opening_date
date_demolished	demolished_date
demolition_date	demolished_date
destroyed	destruction_date
management	operator
floors	floor_count
capacity	seating_capacity
unit_count	number_of_units
room_count	number_of_rooms
rooms	number_of_rooms
suite_count	number_of_suites
suites	number_of_suites

--Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 03:58, 15 March 2026 (UTC)

Link to Commons

Is there some reason that this template doesn't support link to Commons? Pko (talk) 08:42, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

That information doesn't go in the infobox. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 16:33, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

Links to Commons go at the bottom of an article. Traumnovelle (talk) 20:41, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

Discussion notice

There is currently a discussion at Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals) regarding removing public transit parameters from infoboxes. The thread is RFC: Should we remove mentions of public transport access from infoboxes. Please chime in and share your thoughts! Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 21:37, 22 May 2026 (UTC)

Status parameter for closed properties

It looks like there is no |status=closed option, and the status parameter includes the description "useful to show the construction status of new buildings". But it does have a |status=destroyed option. Is the parameter meant to be used for buildings that have closed but not been destroyed, or only for new buildings under construction? Sdkb ^talk 16:57, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

I mean you can always do |status=Closed and the #default option of the switch statement will run. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 17:28, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Sdkb: sorry for the thread hijaking... Does my comment above make sense? I think the switch statement is only there for some consistency. So, for example, "Built", "Completed", "Finished" and "Complete" will all display as "Completed". Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 20:08, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

No worries! And yeah, that makes sense. I was looking more at the documentation — if "Closed" is acceptable, then it should probably be added to the autocomplete options. And if not (which one could argue for, as it is somewhat redundant to |closing_date=), then that should be documented, too. When I recently encountered this in the wild, the value used was "permanently closed," rather than just "closed," so we could also strive for some consistency there (I don't think "permanently" is really needed, and it's a bit WP:CRYSTAL). Cheers, Sdkb ^talk 20:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Sounds good. If changes are needed/desired to the template, let me know and I'm happy to make them happen. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 20:18, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Sdkb

Please accept my apologies.

I have no intention of hijacking your query.

I just see changes being made to the Infobox Building template, most of which I confess I don't understand, or wish to understand, but most of the recent ones have seemed to make no improvement, and in most cases, just make life more difficult.

Martin Ojsyork (talk) 20:07, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Comment from Ojsyork

I wish you would all stop messing about with this.

I create Lifeboat Station pages. The Address parameter is now useless, and the pin map caption doesn't work either.

Martin Ojsyork (talk) 18:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Ojsyork: if you have issues, please explain them here and we will be happy to address them. Complaining that we are messing about with this doesn't help anyone or anything. Can you please link to a page that is broken? I would be more than happy to help figure out the problem. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 18:16, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Zackmann08

I just see changes being made. I don't necessarily understand what you are doing.

BUT, take ANY lifeboat station page

e.g. Castletownbere_Lifeboat_Station

The pin map just shows "Location within Ireland", despite the entry being "Map of Ireland showing Castletownbere"

The Location is "The Pier"

The Address is "Castletownbere, Co. Cork, P75 EC44"

But it no longer shows ADDRESS, it all just rolls into Location

MartinOjsyork (talk) 18:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC).

@Ojsyork: Again when you have questions, ask them. If you don't understand template code, ask for help. Don't just accuse people of making changes that you don't like or understand.

1. On Castletownbere Lifeboat Station, that IS a map of Ireland, hence the caption. If you want to use a custom caption for the pushpin map, you need to use |pushpin_map_caption=.
2. An address is part of the location... I'm failing to see what the issue is here?

--Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 18:28, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Zackmann08

I'm sorry

Location is NOT the same as an Address

For example,

Location: At the end of the Path

Address: Front Street

If there are parameters to show Location and Address, then it should show Location AND Address

Since when did I need to change to use pushpin_map_caption, when map caption worked perfectly well previously. Oh, Yes, since you changed it all!

So don't start having a go at me when you're the one making changes which don't work.

MartinOjsyork (talk) 19:48, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Ojsyork: Your attitude makes it clear you do not want to collaborate. If you want to come back with a different attitude, I would be happy to try to figure out the issues you are having including reverting changes I may have made that are causing the problem. With your current attitude, I have zero interest in investigating further. I wish you the best of luck with your editing. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 19:51, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

I have split this off into a separate thread as it doesn't appear to have anything to do with my query above. Ojsyork, in the future I'd encourage you to start a new thread when you have a new concern, as some editors may get annoyed at a perceived hijacking of a thread intended to focus on something else. (For context, it took me several minutes to make the split, as it has to be done manually, and I was on mobile and encountered an edit conflict. All just to avoid receiving notifications on a topic I did not consent to engage with.) Sdkb ^talk 19:57, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

The below copied from User talk:Zackmann08 to keep the conversation in one place. --Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 20:40, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Zackmann08 I thought it was probably better if we start again. My apologies for causing you any distress. If I have an attitude problem, it is probably bourne out of the frustration I feel, with things being changed for no apparent reason. I'm a reasonable chap normally. I know you've put a lot of work into this template, although I don't necessarily understand what drives your need to change stuff. 1. As previously stated, Location and Address are two different things. There are two parameters to fill in. It used to work. It doesn't now. 2. Why should I now need to change every page to "pushpin_map_caption=" when "map_caption" should be perfectly adequate, and used to work well? MartinOjsyork (talk) 20:34, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Ojsyork: these are valid concerns. Let me explain the goal here and see if we can't find a good solution.

1. The issue with the map caption comes down to WP:CONFLICTINGPARAMS. Prior to my change here, you had multiple parameters doing the same thing. This can and does cause issues. If you had supplied both | map_caption= & |pushpin_map_caption= you get a conflict and only one parameter would have functioned as intended. |map_caption= is supposed to be paired with |image_map= where you are supplying a static map NOT a pushpin map. This was a long standing issue that we were trying to resolve. Sounds like there have been some issues with the resolution so let us see if we can't resolve those. I have an idea of how to do that.
2. The goal with the location was to, once again, reduce bloat. I would remind you that we discussed this months ago. What was happening is that there were a LARGE number of infoboxes that had duplicated information in the location and address fields. At the end of the day, this field should tell the reader where the building is located. I don't see how telling them that it is located at the end of the path is relevant vs giving an actual address. Either a building has a definite address, which is all you need to supply OR it has no fixed address (maybe a fire tower?) and then you can specify |location=At the summit of Mountain X. Again going back to your example of Castletownbere Lifeboat Station, I am not seeing any issue at all with saying in the Infobox that the station's Location is "The Pier, Castletownbere, Co. Cork, P75 EC44, Ireland".

Sounds like your passion here is lifeboat stations in Ireland? Or is it all of the UK? Help me understand where you are seeing these issues. If you can provide a couple of relevant page links I will be happy to look at them and figure this out. --Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 20:55, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Ojsyork: quick follow up. I think you need to take into account the actual content of these captions as well. I looked at Achill Island Lifeboat Station, for example... The caption being supplied with the now not working parameter is Achill Island, County Mayo but that is NOT what the map is showing. It is showing a pushpin of the location of Achill Island Lifeboat Station within the country of Ireland. That is why the currently displayed caption is Location within Ireland. Now if you want to override all those captions, you are free to do so, not the hill I want to die on. But the currently displayed caption is completely accurate. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 21:00, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

@Zackmann08

Yes, the passion is UK and Ireland Lifeboats and Stations, RNLI and Independent.

I've created over 270 pages in the last 2 years

Either of the issues are not the end of the world.

1:

As you said, 'Location in Ireland' is still correct.

I'm guessing that changing the pushpin parameter a couple of months back, has indirectly created a default for the map_caption.

Its just that having made specific entries on most of the pages, I find its now been overridden.

2:

Yes, I see your point about location=Address, and given that most lifeboat stations are the only one in the town, an address may well be, for example, Lifeboat Station, Castletownbere, and that would get you there.

But having a location is a nice extra, 'next to the clock tower', or 'on the headland', or '1 mile south of the town' , 'at the north harbour'. etc.

The point is though, having filled in a location and an address, it is displayed just as location.

Martin Ojsyork (talk) 22:14, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Infobox building
General information
Location	{{{location}}}, {{{address}}}

Infobox building
General information
Location	On the headland, 123 Main Street, Some Town, Ireland

@Ojsyork:

1. Yes, with no value being supplied to |pushpin_map_caption=, the default caption is Location in MAPNAME, so in this case "Location in Ireland". If a different map is used, that map's name will be displayed. If you need to override the name, you can use |pushpin_map_caption= to display whatever caption you want. I would encourage you to take this opportunity to make sure that the custom captions make sense. As I said above, the custom caption on Achill Island Lifeboat Station of Achill Island, County Mayo is not as good a caption for the map. Map is not a map of Achill Island, County Mayo. It is a map showing the location of the station in Ireland.
2. To be clear, you can still supply both. This is NOT an either/or situation... See the two examples at right. The values you supply for |location= and |address= are BOTH displayed. Just are just merged under one heading.

Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 22:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Please add cornerstone

The date that a cornerstone was laid, while niche, is still encyclopedic for many buildings, especially those with bases made of stone. The laying of a cornerstone is not a Groundbreaking, Start, or a Renovation. In the modern era, some sort of ceremony also accompanies the laying of a cornerstone. Guylaen (talk) 22:34, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

Oppose can absolutely mention in the article, but doesn't belong in the Infobox per MOS:INFOBOXPURPOSE. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 22:41, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

OK, then I would greatly appreciate a new infobox called { {Masonic building} }. Most lodge and temple buildings have documented cornerstone layings, but can be sketchier on groundbreaking dates. Groundbreaking just isn't as important to these buildings, and so it isn't as well documented. Guylaen (talk) 22:48, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

I think I can build the infobox. But would there be any objection. Guylaen (talk) 22:52, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

Is there a reason that |construction_start_date= cannot be used? The date of the cornerstone being laid would be the start of construction... Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 23:09, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

Cornerstones are several feet above the pavement. Often, the basement, the parking, and the foundations have all been built before the cornerstone is laid. Guylaen (talk) 23:13, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

Sometimes they're the same. But not always. For Masonic buildings, they're not the same. Guylaen (talk) 23:14, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

Could add a |construction_start_label=Cornerstone laid that would change "Construction started" to "Cornerstone laid"? Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 23:46, 3 July 2026 (UTC)

Not particularly. That's just removing a parameter that, while less symbolically important to a Masonic building, is still important to architectural history. If both are known, both should be written. Also, the United States Capitol has TWO cornerstone dates.

But I've thought of several other parameters that belong in a Masonic building template and not a normal building. Guylaen (talk) 00:36, 4 July 2026 (UTC)

Pushpin map cleanup

As part of a larger refactor of Module:Location map, I will be refactoring the way that this Infobox calls the location map code. The only noticeable change for most will be that the parameter names related to the pushpin maps will now all start with |pushpin_...=. This is part of a larger effort to make things consistent across Infoboxes. When this is done, ALL infoboxes using pushpin maps will use the same parameters. For more information about this, please see this post. As part of this cleanup, I am also going to resolving any conflicting parameters that I can find and cleaning up parameter names that fail to conform to MOS:INFOBOXNAME. Note that this follows a long list of similar clean ups that I have done on countless other Infoboxes. The parameters I plan to replace are the following:

Deprecate	Replace with
|pushpin_map_alt=	|pushpin_alt=
|pushpin_map_caption=	|pushpin_caption=
|pushpin_mapsize=	|pushpin_map_size=

Please chime in below with any questions, comments or concerns about this cleanup. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 05:07, 12 July 2026 (UTC)

Image size documentation

The doc for the image parameter says, "for most users the image will display at 240px; for logged-in users who have changed the setting at Special:Preferences the displayed image could range from 130px to 440px". But that's no longer true, right? If the default is still upright=1.1 then it should say 275px? GA-RT-22 (talk) 07:16, 17 July 2026 (UTC)

Multiple native names

For multiple native names, e.g., for Palace of Justice, Brussels, {{Native name list}} should be used. Could the documentation be updated to reflect that? Snowman304|talk 00:50, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

WP:SOFIXIT? Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 02:47, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, the template is protected, and I thought the documentation was, too. Snowman304|talk 03:05, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

Documentation is almost never protected. Zackmann (^{Talk to me}/_{What I been doing}) 03:12, 22 July 2026 (UTC)