View source for Help:Subpage

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{{redirect-distinguish|WP:SP|Wikipedia:Sandbox{{!}}WP:SB}}
{{other uses|WP:SP (disambiguation)}}
}}
{{redirect|WP:SUB|template substitution|Wikipedia:Substitution}}
{{for|sections of long articles spun off into their own articles leaving summaries in their place|Wikipedia:Summary style}}
{{subcat guideline|editing guideline|Subpages|WP:SP|WP:SUB}}
{{Guideline list}}
Except in the main [[Wikipedia:Namespace|namespace]] ([[Wikipedia:Main namespace|article namespace]]), where the [[mw:Help:Subpages|subpage feature]] has been disabled in the English Wikipedia, '''subpages''' are pages separated with a "/" (a [[slash (punctuation)|slash]]) from their 'parent' page. 

Making a new {{elc|link}} that begins with a / (slash) is the common way to start a subpage. The page to which this link points is considered "subordinate" to its host page, and is titled and linked as {{elc|Parentpage/Subpage}}.  It is possible to create a subpage of a subpage (or a sub-subpage). At the top of each subpage or sub-subpage, you can find a [[backlink]] (a.k.a. [[breadcrumb navigation|breadcrumb]]) to the higher levels of the page.

==Allowed uses==
# Test pages, following the rules of the sandbox.
# User subpages—making extra pages within your own user namespace, e.g. {{elc|User:Example/Draft of article}} or {{elc|User:Example/About me}}.
# [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]] subpages—for project-specific [[Wikipedia:Templates|templates]], discussion, or guidelines pages.
# [[Wikipedia:Portal|Portal]] subpages—for Portal-specific templates and content.
# Dividing up Wikipedia process pages (e.g., [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion]]) which would otherwise get too big to be easily used.
# [[Wikipedia:Template documentation|Documentation subpages for templates]].
# Talk page archiving—both article Talk and User_talk pages are typically archived by moving discussion to numbered subpages.  This allows the discussion to still be searchable, rather than requiring a hunt through the [[Wikipedia:Page history|page history]].
# Talk page adjuncts, such as an article's [[Template:Todo|''/to do'' list]] or the ''/Comments'' pages used for [[WP:GAR|Good Article review]]. A particularly long and complicated ''{{tl|ArticleHistory}}'' may also be put on an ''/ArticleHistory'' transclude page.
# Temporary subpages in Talk namespace, usually formatted {{elc|Talk:Example Article/Temp}} or [[Wikipedia:Workpages|{{elc|Talk:Example Article/Dumping ground}}]], for example the kind of "/Temp" pages that can be created from [[Template:Copyvio]], which allow editors to begin creating an entirely new article from scratch while the copyright violation is being resolved.<br /> Avoid additional incoming and outward links that would make it appear as if this "/Temp" page is part of the encyclopedia: that is, in the case the Copyvio template is used, only this template, applied in article namespace, can link to the "/Temp" article from article or "main" namespace. See [[#Disallowed uses|Disallowed uses]] below for further recommendations on how to avoid creating the impression a "/Temp" page is an encyclopedia page.  Other common variants are {{elc|Talk:Example Article/Draft}} and {{elc|Talk:Example Article/Sandbox}}. Such temp pages are also sometimes used for template and Wikipedia-namespace development.

== Disallowed uses ==
# Writing a [[WP:POVFORK|content fork to avoid NPOV]].
# Writing drafts of major article revisions, e.g., {{elc|Example Article/Temp}} in the main namespace, as you can get there accidentally using [[Special:Random]]—write these in the talk namespace, e.g. {{elc|Talk:Example Article/Temp}}. See [[Wikipedia:Workpages]] for detail. Also, avoid incoming and outward links regarding such "Talk:.../Temp" page that might create the impression this is an encyclopedia page before it is, e.g.:
#* surround "category" links by "nowiki" tags, so that the temp page doesn't show up in a non-project category ''as if'' it were an article, example: {{xtag|nowiki|p|content={{elc|Category:Incredibly smart people}}}}. The "nowiki" tags should be removed only when the "temp" content is moved to its place in article namespace. (This is an ''outward link'' example.) Another solution: put a colon before word "Category", for example, write {{elc|:Category:Shamanism}} instead of {{elc|Category:Shamanism}}. In this case, [[:Category:Shamanism|it will be still linkable]], but it will prevent the subpage from appearing on category pages.
#* don't create navigational templates that make it appear as if this temp page is part of a series of encyclopedia articles, for example, don't do this: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>"... | [[John I of Doeland]] | [[Talk:John II of Doeland/Temp|John II of Doeland]] | [[John III of Doeland]] | ..."</syntaxhighlight>. (this is an ''incoming link'' example).
#* Draft pages mistakenly created in the main namespace should be moved as appropriate without creating a redirect to it from mainspace, or deleted if they are inactive and redundant to the main article.
# Using subpages for permanent content that is meant to be part of the encyclopedia.
# Pasting copies of copyrighted reliable sources to [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Resource Exchange|"share" with other editors]].  [[WP:COPYVIO|Copyright violations]] are not permitted on '''any''' page in Wikipedia.

==Using subpages==
*To create a user subpage, see {{Section link|Wikipedia:User pages#Creating a subpage}}.
*To delete a user subpage, see {{Section link|Wikipedia:User pages#Deleting user pages and subpages}}.
*To link subpages, see {{Section link|Help:Link#Subpage links}}.
*To use variables associated with subpages, see {{Section link|WP:Page name#Subpagename and basepagename}}.

==Finding subpages==
{{Also|Wikipedia:Tip of the day/March 8}}

The "'''All pages with prefix'''" report from [[Special:PrefixIndex]] shows subpages.
* Select "Page information" from Tools (in the sidebar). Then select the link about "subpages".
* Or navigate to {{space}} <kbd>Special:PrefixIndex/''[[wp:pgn|fullpagename]]''/</kbd> {{space}} by way of the search box.  For example, {{space}} <kbd>[[Special:PrefixIndex/wp:&nbsp;manual&nbsp;of&nbsp;style/]]</kbd> {{space}} or {{space}} <kbd>[[Special:PrefixIndex/wp:&nbsp;Manual&nbsp;of&nbsp;Style/]]</kbd>.
* Or visit the Special:PrefixIndex page, and run the report from there.  One way to get there is through [[Special:SpecialPages]] in Tools (in the sidebar).
* Or to save a click you can add a {{code|Subpages}} link to your version of Tools.<ref>
To add a Subpages link to your Tools in the sidebar,
add this line:
<syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
mw.util.addPortletLink ('p-tb', mw.config.get( 'wgServer' ) + mw.config.get( 'wgArticlePath' ).replace("$1", "Special:PrefixIndex/" + mw.config.get( 'wgPageName' )+"/"), 'Subpages');
</syntaxhighlight>
to [[Special:MyPage/common.js|your Common.js page]] and purge per the instructions at the top of the page.</ref>

The "'''Search'''" report from [[Special:Search]] similarly uses a ''[[H:S#Parameters|prefix]]'' search parameter to show subpages.
For example: {{space}} <kbd>{{nowrap|{{sl|prefix:wp: manual of style}}}}</kbd>. {{space}}

Comparing the two:
* Both reports can run with any number of initial characters as the "prefix" of the [[wp:pgn|pagename]], so excluding the final slash / character only adds the one pagename.
* Only the "All pages with prefix" report shows subpages that are redirects.  (The prefix search parameter does not find redirects.)
* Only the "Search" report is ''not'' case sensitive. (''Prefix'' is not case sensitive, ''PrefixIndex'' is.)
* Both reports accept [[wp:ns#Aliases|namespace alias]]es in the fullpagename.
* From a ''content'' point of view, rather than from a page name point of view, both reports require separate runs for each redirect.

To keep an ''active display'' of subpages, see {{tl|list subpages}}.
To keep a ''link'' to an "All pages..." report, use {{tl|subpages}} or [<nowiki/>[Special:PrefixIndex]].
To keep a link to a "Search" report, use a {{tl|search link}}.

Outside of a single page name, there is no direct method for finding subpages.
''Standard'' subpagenames are searchable using the ''[[H:S#Parameters|intitle]]'' parameter.
{|
|
*Template
** {{sl|template: intitle:doc|doc}}
** {{sl|template: intitle:testcases|testcases}}
** {{sl|template: intitle:sandbox|sandbox}} 
|
* Portal
** {{sl|portal: intitle: featured|featured}}
** {{sl|portal: intitle: selected|selected}}
** {{sl|portal: intitle: intro|intro}}
|style=vertical-align:top |
* Other
** {{sl|wp: intitle:infoboxes|infoboxes}}
** {{sl|talk: intitle:archive|archive}}
**  {{sl|category: intitle:subpage intitle:redirects|related categories}}
|}
There are {{sl|category: intitle: subpage|a few categories that track some types of subpages}}.

== Wikipedia namespaces that do not have sub-pages ==

The MediaWiki software (which runs Wikipedia) supports selectively allowing or disallowing the creation of subpages in various [[Wikipedia:Namespace|namespaces]].

The following namespaces in English Wikipedia do ''not'' have the subpage feature: 
*Main: This namespace (which is where articles reside) does not have this feature turned on because strictly hierarchical organisation of articles is discouraged, and other distinctions are better made by placing pages in other namespaces (e.g. discussions go in "Talk:", and templates in "Template:").
*File: Unnecessary, and hierarchy among files is bad.
*MediaWiki{{why}}

'''However, the corresponding talk namespaces for the above spaces do allow subpages.'''

All other namespaces allow subpages. You can create a subpage simply by linking to the name of the subpage, prefixed with a slash (e.g. {{elc|/Archive}}).

=== Slashes in article titles ===
{{shortcut|WP:TITLESLASH}}
Some topics have a slash in the name, and should be named accordingly—''e.g.'' [[OS/2]] or [[Providence/Stoughton Line]]. Care should be taken with the corresponding [[WP:Talk page|talk pages]], though, as subpages ''are'' enabled in talk space—for example, [[Talk:OS/2]] is treated by the software as a subpage of [[Talk:OS]].

==History of subpages==
Subpages were originally used on Wikipedia to differentiate between subjects to create topical hierarchies of articles, but this proved unworkable because articles tend to belong in more than one hierarchy. The present system of [[Wikipedia:disambiguation|disambiguation]] was adopted instead, and the [{{fullurl:Wikipedia:Do not use subpages|oldid=2836167}} Wikipedia:Do not use subpages] policy had to be rigorously enforced and retroactively applied.  Since 2004, the [[Wikipedia:category|category system]] has supported hierarchical organization while still allowing an article to belong to multiple categories.

The subpage titles that became redirects when mainspace subpages were moved, are to be left alone ({{Section link|WP:RFD#K4}}), in case there are any existing links on external pages pointing to them.

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
{{Wikipedia glossary}}
''Note that older discussions of subpages are generally concerned with articles named as subpages of other articles; this is no longer done.''

===In Meta===
* {{Section link|m:Help:Link#Subpage feature}}
* [[m:Accidental linking and hard-wired category schemes|Accidental linking and hard-wired category schemes]]
* [[m:Case against subpages|Case against subpages]]
* [[m:Get rid of subpages entirely|Get rid of subpages entirely]]
* [[m:Mysterious wikipedia user subpages|Mysterious wikipedia user subpages]]
* [[m:Why I am suspicious of subpages|Why I am suspicious of subpages]]

===In Wikipedia===
* {{tl|Workpage}}
* {{tl|Subpage link}} and {{tl|Subpage link implicit}}
* {{mfl|path|}}
* [[Help:Userspace draft]]
* [[Wikipedia:Subpages to be moved]]
* [[Wikipedia:Userfication]]
* [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions (long lists)]]
* [[Wikipedia:Editors are not mindreaders]]—Essay encouraging editors to create articles first in user space.
* [[Wikipedia:Articles with slashes in title]]
* [[Wikipedia:Do not use subpages]], a guideline from 2004 when subpages in article space were possible

{{Wikipedia policies and guidelines}}

[[Category:Wikipedia features]]
[[Category:Wikipedia how-to]]
[[Category:Wikipedia page help]]
[[Category:Wikipedia project content guidelines]]
[[Category:Wikipedia user space]]
[[Category:Wikipedia Manual of Style (related guidelines)]]