Template:In use

Template documentationviewedithistorypurge

This template notice is intended for pages actively undergoing a major edit process. When this message is placed, the article remains open to editing, but courteous users should leave it alone until you're done. Bots such as User:AnomieBOT usually honor this template and don't make changes until it's removed. Wikipedia does not use pre-emptive software article locks on pages, because this would be contrary to the policies of Wikipedia and spirit of openness.

You are expected to remove this message in a relatively short while. If you plan to take a break from your major edit activity longer than two hours, please replace it with {{Under construction}} or remove it during the break.

Usage

See also: Help:Editing, Wikipedia:Template messages, and Wikipedia:Template messages/Maintenance

The template is placed at the top of a page you are actively editing for a short period of time, no greater than a few hours at a time. The tag is intended to inform people and bots that someone is currently working on the article, thereby reducing edit conflicts. Please do not leave it in place for longer than necessary, as doing so may unnecessarily discourage others from contributing to the article. Specifying periods of around a day or longer for this template goes against the spirit of simply avoiding edit conflicts; please only use it for sessions where you are actively editing the article.

Using this template will place the including article in Category:Pages actively undergoing a major edit.

Basic usage

{{In use}}

This puts a notice saying the major edit is undergoing "for a little while", adding the time of last edit.

Estimated time needed

{{In use|40 minutes}}

This replaces "a little while" with the supplied unnamed parameter. In this case you believe you need about 40 minutes (from the time of last edit), signaling that any user may remove this notice after such time.

This notice was added

{{In use|time=~~~~~}}

The |time= parameter adds the text "This notice was added" followed by the value of the parameter at the start of the notice. While you could supply any value, you are recommended to supply the current time stamp: {{In use|time=~~~~~}} at the top of any page you want to work on. The five tildes converts to a datestamp of the current time (see WP:5TILDES).

section notice

{{In use|section}}

If a specific section of the page is being edited, adding "section" as the first unnamed parameter changes the notice from "This article" (or "this template" etc) to "This section".

You can alternatively use {{In use section}}. It used to be a stand-alone template but when this template gained the section notice ability in 2009 it was converted to a call to {{In use|section}} with "a little while" supplied as the default parameter for the estimated time needed unnamed parameter. While currently superfluous since this template's default message is the same, the defaults are independent of each other.

section notice and estimated time needed

{{In use|section|40 minutes}}

If you want to estimate a time needed for a section notice, you must supply "section" as the first unnamed parameter.

all three parameters

{{In use|section|40 minutes|time=~~~~~}}

Alternatives

If you wish to indicate that an article is being rebuilt over a longer period of time consider the {{Under construction}} template. That template encourages others to edit the article while indicating that it is a work in progress.

"Freezing" a page from further edits

Main page: Wikipedia:Edit lock

Please be aware that this template does not actually prevent further edits or lock out other editors. It asks other editors to hold off editing as a courtesy.

Wikipedia does not use pre-emptive software article locks on pages, because this would be contrary to the policies of Wikipedia and spirit of openness. Page protection is never to be used for closing down an article's normal development and community editing, and should be used only to prevent actual disruption.

Accessing a "frozen" or stable page version

So you cannot or should not freeze pages. But what about accessing a stable page version? For instance, if you are creating a spoken Wikipedia reading of an article, you definitely want to access the one and same version of that page between recording sessions; you don't want the text you are recording to change half-way through.

Wikipedia offers the Help:Permanent link functionality, where you are assured page stability. Instead of working on the regular version of any article, first click "Permanent link" which you will find in the Tools section of the left sidebar of each Wikipedia article. You can access this page, share it with others, bookmark it etc and you will get the exact same version of the page each time, no matter how much other editors change the actual live page.

Removal

If this template has been left in place for more than two hours since the last edit as reported by this template.

This template uses {{time ago}} to round and display time passed, so once the time since last edit exceeds 2 1/2 hours, the message changes from "2 hours ago" to "3 hours ago", and you can safely assume the placing editor has forgotten to remove it, and you may remove it yourself.

TemplateData

No description.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
1	1	no description	Unknown	optional
2	2	no description	Unknown	optional
time	time	no description Auto value ~~~~~	Unknown	required
category	category	no description	Unknown	optional

See also

During active editing sessions

{{In use}}

{{In use}} tags can be used to alert people that you are in the process of making a larger edit. The article remains open to editing, but courteous users should leave it alone until you're done. The template looks like this:

{{In use section}}

This version is placed at the top of a section you are actively editing for a short period of time. The tag is intended to inform people that someone is currently working on a section of the article, thereby reducing edit conflicts.

{{GOCE in use}}

The {{GOCE in use}} template is for pages actively undergoing a major edit by the Guild of Copy Editors. Typically, a copy editor who wishes to notify other potential editors that an article is being copy-edited will place the template on the article in order to reduce potential edit conflicts.

{{Being created}}

The {{Being created}} template is used by editors who have made an article and will be adding content within a matter of minutes or hours.

{{Being translated}}

{{Being translated}} is the same as {{in use}}, but it's used when an article is in the process of being translated from another Wikipedia language into the English one. Again, it should only be used while you are improving the article.

Over multiple days

{{Under construction}}

This template is for articles actively undergoing construction, i.e., continuous improvements spread out over hours, days, or longer. The intent is to signal to other editors that while they may edit the article, they should be a little more forgiving than usual.

{{List under construction}}

This template is for lists that have been created but not completed to the creator's intention of completion. Since many lists are very long and creation in a single session is impractical, this template allows the page to be placed in main namespace while it is still being constructed.

{{Recently revised}}

The {{Recently revised}} template can be a helpful tool for bringing a page up to Good article or Featured article status through a secondary review. It is not meant to be placed on a page long-term and should not remain on a given page for more than several days.

ㅤ

Talk page banners

{{Being closed}}

If a formal page discussion or a formal XfD discussion is actively being closed, add {{Being closed}} to the top so editors know they shouldn't comment.

{{Being archived}}

If a talk page is actively being archived, add {{Being archived}} to the top so the archival doesn't clobber edits.

{{Being rewritten}}

This template is used at the top of an article's talk page to indicate that the article is being rewritten in a sandbox or subpage.

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