Editing Incubator escapee wiki:Template namespace (section)

{{short description|Type of page within Wikimedia}}
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{{for|learning how templates work|Help:A quick guide to templates|Help:Template}}
{{for|extended technical information|m:Help:Template|m:Help:Advanced templates}}
:''This page not to be confused with [[Template:Namespaces]]''
{{Subcat guideline|project content guideline||WP:TMP|WP:NS10}}
{{Nutshell| 
* The Template: namespace on Wikipedia contains templates created for consistent formatting, maintenance, and navigation.
* Templates should not normally be used to store [[Wikipedia:What is an article?|article text]]. Such content belongs in the article pages themselves.
}}
{{Guideline list}}
{{namespaces}}
The '''Template namespace''' on Wikipedia is used to store [[Help:Template|templates]], which contain [[Help:Wiki markup|Wiki markup]] intended for inclusion on multiple pages, usually via [[Wikipedia:Transclusion|transclusion]]. Although the Template namespace is used for storing most templates, it is possible to transclude and substitute from other namespaces,<ref>Namespaces from which transclusion is not allowed are specified on a wiki by the variable [[mw:Manual:$wgNonincludableNamespaces|$wgNonincludableNamespaces]]</ref> and so some template pages are placed in other namespaces, such as the [[WP:User namespace|User namespace]].

Templates help maintain consistent formatting and aid navigation between articles. They often include optional and/or variable elements controlled by [[Help:Template#Parameters|parameters]] to allow for specialized use. Templates are also used to assist in a large variety of [[Wikipedia:Maintenance|Wikipedia maintenance]] tasks. Each template has a matching <code>Template talk:</code> page where editors can discuss the design and implementation of the associated template (see [[Help:Using talk pages]] for how to participate in talk page discussions).

A template is transcluded into another page by including a template tag in that page's content. A template tag contains the template [[WP:page name|page name]] surrounded by double curly braces, e.g. {{tlc|Disambiguation}}. If the template's page name does not begin with a namespace and colon, it is assumed to be in the Template namespace. 

Internal links to template pages may be made by using the <code>Template:</code> prefix, e.g. <code><nowiki>[[Template:Disambiguation]]</nowiki></code>. See {{slink||Linking to templates}} for other ways to link to a template.