Template:Merge/sandbox

This is the template sandbox page for Template:Merge (diff).
See also the companion subpage for test cases.

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Which merge template should I use?

Do not use this tag on a Wikipedia template or category—instead see below for instructions.

To merge at least two pages together at an unspecified location, use {{Merge|OtherPage}}
To merge the contents of the tagged page into another page, use {{Merge to|DestinationPage}}
If the contents of another page should be merged into the tagged page, use {{Merge from|SourcePage}} – the opposite of {{Merge to}};
To suggest merging only some material from one page to another, use {{Merge portions from|SourcePage}} and {{Split portions|DestinationPage}}

Terminology

Source page is the page that content is merged from.

Destination page or target page is the page that content is merged into.

Other page is any page involved in a merger.

When to use and when not to use

These templates are used primarily to identify potential merges that would benefit from discussion. If it is obvious that a merge would be appropriate, then you may boldly merge the pages yourself without tagging and without discussion. Some editors also use these tags to mark pages that obviously require merging in the hope that someone else will merge the pages.

After adding the merge tag, you are expected to create a section on the talk page of the appropriate article (see below for details) explaining your rationale for the merge proposal. If the rationale is so obvious that it requires no explanation, then you should consider boldly merging the pages yourself, or explain on the talk page why you didn't do so yourself.

If you want to propose merging a category, you must do so at Wikipedia:Categories for discussion, using the specific templates available there.
If you want to propose merging a template, you must do so at Wikipedia:Templates for discussion, using the specific templates available there.

How to use

Simple example

Tagging a single page, without specifying source or destination, is simple:

Markup

Renders as

{{Merge|OtherPage |date=September 2024 }}
or
{{Merge |OtherPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}

When you want to discuss a simple merge of one page into another, tag both source and destination page:

Markup

Renders as

{{Merge to |DestinationPage |date=September 2024 }}
or
{{Merge to |DestinationPage |{{subst:DATE}} }}

Markup

Renders as

{{Merge from |SourcePage |date=September 2024 }}
or
{{Merge from |SourcePage |{{subst:DATE}} }}

This allows editors at both pages to see the proposed source and destination.

Other options

By default, the Discuss link on the template links to the top of the destination page's talk page. To specify which section, or to name a different talk page entirely, use the |discuss= AKA |talk= parameter:

{{Merge|OtherPage |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merger discussion |date=September 2024}}

To name multiple pages to be merged, simply separate them with a vertical pipe. You can add up to 20 articles to be merged:

{{Merge|OtherPage1 |OtherPage2 |OtherPage3 |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merger discussion |date=September 2024}}

To name multiple pages to merge into a single page, use the |target= parameter. For example, to merge the tagged page, as well as SourcePage1, SourcePage2, and SourcePage3 into DestinationPage, use:

{{Merge|SourcePage1 |SourcePage2 |SourcePage3 |target=DestinationPage |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merger discussion |date=September 2024}}

If you are placing the template in a section, you can use |section=yes to change the wording to reflect this:

{{Merge|OtherPage |discuss=Talk:OtherPage#Merger discussion |date=September 2024 |section=yes}}

Do not link to the pages with square brackets.
For example, write {{Merge|OtherPage}}, not ~~{{Merge|[[OtherPage]]}}~~.
If you don't supply a date, a bot will add it later.
The date might not be shown in the box. Do not be concerned about this. It is used when grouping tagged pages together into categories by date.
These templates will add tagged articles to Category:Articles to be merged, while non-articles (files, templates, etc.) will be added to Category:Miscellany to be merged.
For {{Merge}}, if you are specifying a merge of two or more pages in different namespaces, the template supports this via specification of the full page name, including the namespace prefix. |nspace= can take on namespace values, which fixes all params to the namespace specified.
Do not subst: these templates.

Merges from XfD discussions

When a merge is being proposed as an option at an XfD discussion, the templates {{subst:Merge from AfD}}, {{subst:Merge from MfD}}, {{subst:Merge from CfD}}, and {{subst:Merge from TfD}} can be used to direct visitors at the merge target to the appropriate XfD discussion.

When to remove

There is no deadline for completing proposed merges (note the absence of any such deadlines at WP:MERGE). Pages that have been tagged for a long time (frequently more than one year) generally fall into these groups:

Discussion supported the proposed merge, but no one did it yet: Feel free to merge the pages yourself.
Discussion opposed merge, but nobody removed the tags: Feel free to remove the tags yourself.
No discussion found: Feel free to remove the tags if you believe the merge would be a poor choice, or to boldly merge the pages if you believe the merge would be appropriate. Or feel free to start a discussion if you are uncertain or feel it would be controversial.

Which merge template should I use?

Terminology

When to use and when not to use

How to use

Simple example

Other options

Merges from XfD discussions

When to remove

TemplateData

See also

Splitting

Merging