Editing Template:S-start/doc (section)

==Templates examined in this page==

Template ''s-start'' is to be used with the rest of the ''succession templates''. The following is a list of all succession templates:

*[[Template:s-start]]: Start a succession box
*[[Template:s-end]]: End a succession box
*[[Template:s-break]]: For creating breaks (a replacement for hard-coding "|-")
*[[Template:s-bef]]: For listing predecessors
*[[Template:s-aft]]: For listing successors
*[[Template:s-ttl]]: For listing titles and years
*[[Template:s-new]]: For new titles
*[[Template:s-non]]: For no successors
*[[Template:s-inc]]: For incumbents
*[[Template:s-vac]]: For vacant titles (predecessor or successor)
*[[Template:s-tul]]: For titular monarchs (legitimate but not ruling)
*[[Template:s-hou]]: For royal house/individual information
*[[Template:s-ref]]: For citations of succession boxes

The first five items on the list are the most basic for the creation of succession boxes; the others (with the exception of ''s-hou'') are used as substitutes for one of the first five, depending on the circumstances.

===Parameters===
Most templates work in the same way: the template's name is written between double curly brackets, and the text or code of the template appears in the page. A basic difference of succession templates is that most of them require the editor to include names, titles, or other text that will be displayed in the boxes, and which is different every time.

Such text is inserted into the templates by means of ''parameters'', fields separated from the template name and from each other with ''pipes'' ( | ). The function of parameters is to alter the appearance of the cells created by these templates, usually by adding specially formatted text or changing the text already present. Although some parameters simply accept the desired text and are told apart by their place within the template, many parameters have names, separated from the text by an equal sign ( = ); while in the first case empty parameters must still be included if before one with text, many (but not all) named parameters can be omitted if they are not used, irrespective of their position. Furthermore, some named parameters do not require text at all; the simple inclusion of their name will activate a feature of the template. Blank spaces may be inserted between the text and the pipes, equal signs, and double curly brackets, but this is not necessary and can sometimes even be confusing.

In the following example, "s-vac" is the name of the template, "abeyance" is a parameter without any text but its name, and "last" is a parameter with both a name and text, in this case enclosed in double square brackets (thus wiki-linked).

:<nowiki>{{s-vac|abeyance|last=[[George Smith]]}}</nowiki>

Most succession templates accept parameters; the inclusion of some of them is essential for the correct function of the templates, while the inclusion of others is optional. The only templates from the list of the previous section that do not accept any parameters are ''s-start''/''start'' and ''end''/''s-end''.

There are various types of parameters. There are parameters that allow for the inclusion of names, titles, and dates, both obligatory and optional. The row parameter allows for the creation of complex tables and is described [[#Counting the rows|lower in this page]]. And the title parameters change the text normally appearing in ''s-new'', ''s-inc'', and ''s-vac''.