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This template is used for documenting country data meta-templates used by the flag template system. The output of this template can be seen by directly viewing any of the templates in Category:Country data templates.
See Wikipedia:WikiProject Flag Template for the main documentation and discussion page for the flag template system.
This template is automatically invoked by the standard syntax of a country data template:
{{ {{{1<noinclude>|country showdata</noinclude>}}}
| alias = Countryname
| shortname alias = Shortcountryname <!-- only necessary if Shortcountryname ≠ Countryname, otherwise omit -->
| flag alias = Flag of Countryname.svg
| size = {{{size|}}}
| name = {{{name|}}}
| variant = {{{variant|}}} <!-- only necessary if there is one or more flag alias-variant parameters, otherwise omit -->
}}
The first parameter to a country data template is usually the name of a formatting meta-template. For example, Template:Flag uses Template:Flag/core to actually render the flag icon and wikilink. If the first parameter is missing, which is the case when a country data template is viewed directly, the template code fragment {{{1<noinclude>|country showdata</noinclude>}}} ensures that this template will be used as the default first parameter. This technique ensures that country data templates are "self-documenting" if they use the standard syntax.
Many country data templates require additional documentation beyond the standard mandatory alias and flag alias parameters. This template will automatically document standard optional parameters (such as shortname alias) if present, and can document unique optional parameters (such as flag variants) if instructed to. This latter method uses documentation-specific parameters in the country data template to activate the additional output from this template. These documentation parameters are set off from the rest of the parameters in the country data template by a <noinclude> section:
<noinclude>
| var1 = ...
| redir1 = ...
| related1 = ...
</noinclude>
If a brief hatnote is needed, then it can be added to the top of the documentation page by including the |hatnote= parameter with any of the existing hatnote templates. Example:
|hatnote={{Hatnote|This template contains data that applies to the [[Republic of Ireland|sovereign state]]. For the island of [[Ireland]], see [[Template:Country data Ireland]].}}results in:
See also {{Country data Georgia}} for another hatnote example.
Flag variants are added to a country data template by the inclusion of one or more flag alias-label parameters, where each label is a unique identifier that is subsequently used as an input parameter to {{flag|...}}, {{flagicon|...}}, etc. To document these flag variants, use the varN documentation parameters to identify each label.
For example, Template:Country data Seychelles identifies three flag variants (in addition to the current flag) with the following code:
| flag alias-1976 = Flag of the Seychelles 1976.svg
| flag alias-1977 = Flag of the Seychelles 1977.svg
| flag alias-colonial = Government Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg
These three variants are documented by the following code segment later in the template:
<noinclude>
| var1 = 1976
| var2 = 1977
| var3 = colonial
...
</noinclude>
Up to forty flag variants can be documented by this method (using var1tovar40). If more are present, these can be listed on a separate documentation subpage as described below.
Note that you do not have to use a varN parameter for the standard optional variant labels naval, air force and army (used for the country's naval, air force and army ensigns, respectively). If present, they will automatically be documented.
Many country data templates have alias names that can be used instead of the usual country name with all of the main flag templates. These are usually, but not exclusively, standard country code abbreviations such as those specified in ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 or by the IOCorFIFA. These are implemented as redirects, and are listed in Category:Country data redirects.
For example, Template:Country data DEU and Template:Country data GER both redirect to Template:Country data Germany, because DEU is the ISO code and GER is the IOC and FIFA code for Germany. Therefore, {{flagicon|DEU}}, {{flagicon|GER}}, and {{flagicon|Germany}} all have the same result. These redirect aliases are documented by the following template code fragment:
<noinclude>
...
| redir1 = DEU
| redir2 = GER
...
</noinclude>
Up to five flag redirects can be documented by this method (using redir1toredir5).
Several country data templates are used for alternative forms to the common country data template for the nation, usually but not exclusively for historic nations. Pointers to these alternative templates are useful additions to the template documentation so that editors can use the correct template for their specific purposes.
For example, Template:Country data Serbia and Montenegro includes the following code to document three other related country data templates:
<noinclude>
...
| related1 = Serbia
| related2 = Montenegro
| related3 = FR Yugoslavia
...
</noinclude>
Up to six related flags can be documented by this method (using related1torelated6).
This template shows a large flag image on the right of the documentation box, with a link to an article about the flag in the caption if it exists. The page that it evaluates is "Flag of {{{alias}}}", with the value of |alias= in the template code replacing {{{alias}}}. If there is an article about the flag even though "Flag of {{{alias}}}" does not exist, either create the latter as a redirect to the correct page or add the following parameter:
<noinclude>
...
| flag link = ''Article name''
...
</noinclude>
This can also be used to override the automatic link if "Flag of {{{alias}}}" does exist but leads to the wrong article.
For situations where the automatic documentation method is not completely adequate, additional documentation can be displayed by country showdata. Simply create a documentation subpage (named as Template:Country data Countryname/doc) with the additional material, and it will be transcluded to a section called "Other information" at or near the end of the automatic documentation. This "extra" documentation page can usually be edited even if the country data template is edit-protected.
For example:
This template automatically categorizes pages it is transcluded on in Category:All country data templates and in the tracking categories in Category:Country data tracking categories. Content categories, such as those by countryorby type/status, should be added manually by putting them inside <includeonly>...</includeonly> tags on a template's documentation subpage. If a template does not have a documentation page yet, click on the "/doc" link at the bottom of the automatic documentation, add categories between the preloaded <includeonly> tags and save the page.
The default sort key used for the automatic categories is the part after Template:Country data in the page title. The parameter |cat= can be used to specify a custom ASCII sorting key for these categories. For example, Template:Country data Åland Islands and Template:Country data Republic of Ireland use this parameter to sort them under "A" and "I" respectively.
Automatically added by this template:
Manually added to templates or documentation pages:
