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Difference: TWikiVariables (r2 vs. r1)

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Macros

Special text strings expand on the fly to display user data or system info

Macros are text strings in one of two forms: 

%MACRONAME%
%MACRONAME{ parameter="value" }%

These usually expand into content when a topic is rendered for viewing. There are two types of macros:

  1. Preference settings: May be defined and modified by the user
  2. Registered macros: Defined by the system or by Plugins (for example, the SpreadSheetPlugin introduces a %CALC{}% macro)

Using Macros

To use a macro type its name. For example,

Note:

  • To leave a macro unexpanded, precede it with an exclamation point, e.g. type !%TOPIC% to get %TOPIC%
    • Alternatively, insert a anywhere in the macro, Eg. %TOPIC%
  • Macros are expanded relative to the topic they are used in, not the topic they are defined in
  • Type %ALLVARIABLES% to get a full listing of all macros defined for a particular topic
  • If a macro is not defined, then it will be left in the text unless it is called with a default parameter, in which case the value of the default parameter will replace the macro call in the output. For example, %UNDEFINED{default="blank"}% will expand to blank.

Order of expansion

The following describes only these types of macros:

Standard form

The key to understanding nested expressions in Foswiki is to understand that macros are expanded "inside-out, left-to-right". Example:

%MACRO1{
   something="%MACRO2{
      somethingelse="%MACRO3%, %MACRO4%"
   }%"
}%

The macros are expanded in this order: MACRO3, MACRO4, MACRO2, MACRO1.

Animated Example 
%INCLUDE{
    "%QUERY{
        "'%THETOPIC%'/%THEFIELD%"
    }%"
    section="Summary"
}%
   * Set THETOPIC = %SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki
   * Set THEFIELD = System.TopicClassification

%INCLUDE{
    "%QUERY{
        "'%SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki'/%THEFIELD%"
    }%"
    section="Summary"
}%
   * Set THETOPIC = %SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki
   * Set THEFIELD = System.TopicClassification

%INCLUDE{
    "%QUERY{
        "'%SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki'/TopicClassification"
    }%"
    section="Summary"
}%
   * Set THETOPIC = %SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki
   * Set THEFIELD = System.TopicClassification

%INCLUDE{
    "%QUERY{
        "'System.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki'/TopicClassification"
    }%"
    section="Summary"
}%
   * Set THETOPIC = %SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki
   * Set THEFIELD = System.TopicClassification

%INCLUDE{
    "FrequentlyAskedQuestion"
    section="Summary"
}%
   * Set THETOPIC = %SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki
   * Set THEFIELD = System.TopicClassification


These topics are for frequently
asked questions including answers.

   * Set THETOPIC = %SYSTEMWEB%.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki
   * Set THEFIELD = System.TopicClassification


These topics are for frequently
asked questions including answers.

   * Set THETOPIC = System.FAQWhatIsWikiWiki
   * Set THEFIELD = System.TopicClassification

Delayed form

Standard form macros can nearly always be used to build the parameter string of another macro; however, sometimes it is desirable to bypass the inside-out expansion order and delay the inner macro until after the outer macro has finished expansion. This is accomplished by using the $percent format token instead of %, and escaping any " character it uses (becomes \")

TIP When working with a given macro, consult its documentation to determine which parameters support the $percent/$percnt format tokens. Generally only output parameters like header, format and footer support format tokens.

Example:

%MACRO1{
   format="$percentMACRO2{
      format=\"%MACRO3%, %MACRO4%\"
   }$percent"
}%

The macros are expanded in this order: MACRO3, MACRO4, MACRO1, MACRO2.

Animated Example

From the conditional output example: 

%SEARCH{
  "info.date >= d2n('2009-01-01') AND info.date <= d2n('2009-12-31')"
  type="query"
  limit="2"
  nonoise="on"
  format="   * $percentICON{
    \"$percentIF{
      \"'$topic'/parent.name='%PARENT%'\"
      then=\"info\" else=\"gear\"
    }$percent\"
  }$percent [[$topic]]"
}%
----
   * Set PARENT = UserDocumentationCategory

%SEARCH{
  "info.date >= d2n('2009-01-01') AND info.date <= d2n('2009-12-31')"
  type="query"
  limit="2"
  nonoise="on"
  format="   * $percentICON{
    \"$percentIF{
      \"'$topic'/parent.name='UserDocumentationCategory'\"
      then=\"info\" else=\"gear\"
    }$percent\"
  }$percent [[System.$topic][$topic]]"
}%
----
   * Set PARENT = System.UserDocumentationCategory

   * %ICON{
    "%IF{
      "'ProjectContributor'/parent.name='UserDocumentationCategory'"
      then="info" else="gear"
    }%"
  }% [[System.ProjectContributor][ProjectContributor]]
   * %ICON{
    "%IF{
      "'UnknownUser'/parent.name='UserDocumentationCategory'"
      then="info" else="gear"
    }%"
  }% [[System.UnknownUser][UnknownUser]]
----
   * Set PARENT = System.UserDocumentationCategory

   * %ICON{
    "gear"
  }% [[System.ProjectContributor][ProjectContributor]]
   * %ICON{
    "gear"
  }% [[System.UnknownUser][UnknownUser]]
----
   * Set PARENT = System.UserDocumentationCategory

   *  [[System.ProjectContributor][ProjectContributor]]
   *  [[System.UnknownUser][UnknownUser]]
----
   * Set PARENT = System.UserDocumentationCategory

See also: FormattedSearch

Macro Names

Macro names must start with a letter. The following characters can be letters, numbers and the underscore '_'. Letters may be upper or lower-case, E.g. %MYVAR%, %MyVar%, %My2ndVar%, and %My_Var% are all separate, valid macro names (macros are case sensitive - %MyVAR% and %MYVAR% are not the same).

By convention all settings, predefined macros and macros registered by plugins are always UPPER-CASE. %META:TOPICPARENT{name="AdminToolsCategory"}% #SettingPrefs

Preference Settings

A preference setting lets you define a simple macro that will be expanded in your output. A preference setting looks like this:

[multiple of 3 spaces] * [space] Set [space] MACRONAME [space] = [space] value

Example: 

   * Set WEBBGCOLOR = #FFFFC0

Macros defined using preference settings are expanded by enclosing their name in percent signs. So when you write %WEBBGCOLOR%, it gets expanded to #FFEFA6

A preference macro is always taken from the most current topic revision, even when accessing previous revisions of a topic.

Preferences can be defined in a number of places:

  1. DefaultPreferences (Foswiki upgrades overwrite this topic)
  2. In (some) plugin documentation topics. (Deprecated)
  3. SitePreferences
  4. In user topics, if the user has one (yours is WikiGuest)
  5. WebPreferences
  6. Sub-webs inherit the WebPreferences of their parent
  7. In the topic being accessed

In this list, Set statements which occur at numerically higher locations override macros of the same name defined at lower numbered levels, unless the macro was listed in a finalpreferences setting (finalised) at a lower-numbered level. in this case, the macro is locked to the value at that level; set statements at higher-numbered levels are ignored.

prefs-stack.jpg

Writing preference settings

Preference settings are written as a simple bullet. In TML, they are written as 3-spaces,asterisk,equals,value

   * Set MYSETTING = My setting value

When using the Wysiwyg editor, click the "Bullet" button and write the setting as a simple bullet. Don't include the asterisk.

Spaces between the = sign and the value will be ignored. You can split a value over several lines by indenting following lines with spaces - as long as you don't try to use * as the first character on the following line.

Example:

   * Set MACRONAME = value starts here
     and continues here

Whatever you include in your macro will be expanded on display, exactly as if it had been entered directly (though see Parameters, below).

Example: Create a custom logo macro

  • To place a logo anywhere in a web by typing %MYLOGO%, define the preference settings in the web's WebPreferences topic, and upload a logo file, ex: mylogo.gif. You can upload by attaching the file to WebPreferences, or, to avoid clutter, to any other topic in the same web, e.g. LogoTopic. Sample preference setting in WebPreferences: 
   * Set MYLOGO = %PUBURL%/%WEB%/LogoTopic/mylogo.gif

Preference settings are case sensitive. (Foswiki by convention always writes settings in upper case.) 

   * Set lower = This is LOWER
   * Set LOWER = This is UPPER
   * Set System.LoWeR = This is MIXED
Expand %lower%, %LOWER% and %LoWeR%

Expand %lower%, %LOWER% and %LoWeR%.

IDEA! preference settings can easily be disabled with a # sign. Example:

   * #Set DENYWEBCHANGE = %USERSWEB%.UnknownUser

Hiding preference settings

IDEA! You can hide preference settings in the output by enclosing them in HTML comments; for example,

You can also set preference settings in a topic by clicking the link Edit topic preference settings under More topic actions. Preferences set in this manner are known as 'meta' preferences and are not visible in the topic text, but take effect nevertheless.

ALERT! Caution If your topic will be used in an INCLUDE, it is recommended to not use HTML comments. instead, set preferences into the topic metadata by using the "Edit Settings for this topic" button on the "More topic actions" page. Settings in an included topic are always ignored, but nested comments will break the HTML.

Order of perference settings

If you are setting a preference and using it in the same topic, note that Foswiki reads all the preference settings from the saved version of the topic before it displays anything. This means you can use a setting anywhere in the topic, even if you set it at the very end. But beware: it also means that if you change the setting of a macro you are using in the same topic, Preview will show the wrong thing, and you must Save the topic to see it correctly.

Preference settings and topic revision history

Foswiki always reads the settings from the most current topic revision, so viewing older revisions of a topic can show unexpected results.

And especially important, preference settings are never overridden or set in "%INCLUDE{" topics. in the below example about weather conditions, note the difference in the CONDITIONS expansion

Parameters

Note that %CONDITIONS% expands differently when this example is viewed in Macros. This is because Set statement are not active in included topics. The including topic's set statements are used.

Macros defined using preference settings can take parameters. These are symbols passed in the call to the macro to define local macros that will be expanded in the output. For example, 

   * Set CONDITIONS = According to [[System.%BASETOPIC%][%BASETOPIC%]] the %WHAT% is %STATE% today (Set in ...).

You can call this macro passing in values for WHAT and STATE. For example:

  • %CONDITIONS{WHAT="sea" STATE="choppy"}%
    • expands to %CONDITIONS{WHAT="sea" STATE="choppy"}%.

Parameter defaults

  • The special parameter name DEFAULT gets the value of any unnamed parameter in the macro call.
  • Parameter macros can accept a default parameter so that they expand to something even when a value isn't passed for them in the call.

Example: 

   * Set WEATHER = It's %DEFAULT{default="raining"}%.
  • %WEATHER% expands to %WEATHER%
  • %WEATHER{"sunny"}% expands to %WEATHER{"sunny"}%

The standard formatting tokens can be used in parameters. They will be expanded immediately when the macro is instantiated.

ALERT! Note that parameters override all other macros, including system defined macros, in the expansion of the macro where they are used.

Access Control Settings

These are special types of preference settings to control access to content. AccessControl explains these security settings in detail. Parameters are not available in access control settings.

Local values for preferences

Certain topics (user, plugin, web, site and default preferences topics) have a problem; macros defined in those topics can have two meanings. For example, consider a user topic. A user may want to use a double-height edit box when they are editing their home topic - but only when editing their home topic. The rest of the time, they want to have a normal edit box. This separation is achieved using Local in place of Set in the macro definition. For example, if the user sets the following in their home topic: 

   * Set EDITBOXHEIGHT = 10
   * Local EDITBOXHEIGHT = 20

Then, when they are editing any other topic, they will get a 10 high edit box. However, when they are editing their home topic they will get a 20 high edit box. Local can be used wherever a preference needs to take a different value depending on where the current operation is being performed.

Use this powerful feature with great care! %ALLVARIABLES% can be used to get a listing of the values of all macros in their evaluation order, so you can see macro scope if you get confused.

Deprecation warning. The setting used in this example, EDITBOXHEIGHT, is being deprecated and will be remove from Foswiki 1.2. Note that if the edit box size is changed using the javascript controls in the lower right corner of the edit box window, those settings will be used, and the EDITBOX* settings will be ignored.

Predefined Macros

Most predefined macros return values that were either set in the configuration when Foswiki was installed, or taken from server info (such as current username, or date and time). Some, like %SEARCH%, are powerful and general tools.

ALERT! Predefined macros can be overridden by preference settings (except TOPIC and WEB) ALERT! Plugins may extend the set of predefined macros (see individual Plugins topics for details) TIP Take the time to thoroughly read through ALL preference macros. If you actively configure your site, review macros periodically. They cover a wide range of functions, and it can be easy to miss the one perfect macro for something you have in mind. For example, see %BASETOPIC%, %INCLUDE%, and the mighty %SEARCH%.

Your installation of Foswiki v1.1.9 has the following registered macros:

ACTIVATEDPLUGINS -- list of currently activated plugins

ADDTOHEAD

This macro is deprecated. Please use VarADDTOZONE instead. It effecively is a shortcut for %ADDTOZONE{"head" ...}%

ADDTOZONE 

%ADDTOZONE{
  "zone"
  ...
}%

Parameters:

  • "zone" optional, comma-separated list of the names of zones that the content should be added to. The only zones guaranteed to exist are head and script. Defaults to head.
  • id optional, identifier for the text being added with the ADDTOZONE call, to be used in the requires parameter of other ADDTOZONE calls.
    • HELP Multiple ADDTOZONE calls with the same id parameter will simply overwrite the earlier ADDTOZONE call.
  • requires="..." optional, comma separated string of ids of text within this zone that this content should follow when the zone is rendered. The content will be rendered even if a specified id is missing.
  • text="..." optional, text to be added to the named zone, mutually exclusive with topic.
  • topic="..." optional, full qualified web.topic name that contains the text to be added, mutually exclusive with text. Defaults to %BASETOPIC%
  • section="..." optional, section of the topic to be added, defaults to the default section between STARTINCLUDE and STOPINCLUDE.

What is a "Zone"?

Zones are specific places in the output HTML that are marked by calls to the RENDERZONE macro. Zones are used to collect various content together, such as Javascript and CSS, that must be included in the output HTML in a specific order, and in a specific place.

There are two special zones called head and script. The head zone is rendered as part of the HTML head section. It is the catch-all container for any content supposed to be placed into the HTML head section, except Javascript, which is collected in the script zone.

All Javascript must always be added to the script zone exclusively, in order to grant ordering constraints among scripts are resolved properly. Never add Javascript to the head zone -- never add non-Javascript content to the script zone.

Both zones are added to the HTML head section automatically just before the closing tag as if they were specified explicitly in the skin templates using: 


...
%RENDERZONE{"head"}%
%RENDERZONE{"script"}%

You may create as many zones in addition to the standard head and script zones as you like. For any non-standard zone specified in ADDTOZONE you will also need to provide an appropriate RENDERZONE.

Interesting use cases in wiki applications:

  • Create a sidebar zone to add widgets,
  • Create a toolbar zone to add buttons icons
  • Create a menu zone to add menu entries

Adding content to a zone

ADDTOZONE adds content to a zone identified with the id parameter. An id identifier is unique within the zone that they are added to. When the same id is used in multiple calls to ADDTOZONE the last call will win, that is previous content of the same id will be overwritten.

Enforcing a linear order of content within a zone

An ADDTOZONE call may ensure that its content appears after the content of some other ADDTOZONE calls by specifying their ids in the requires parameter. The requires parameter constraints the linear order of content added to a zone. When a zone is rendered, all ordering constraints expressed via requires are satisfied. Those ids not found in a zone don't have any influence on the final ordering. Missing ids aren't considered an error rather than an over-specified ordering problem.

Working with {MergeHeadAndScriptZones} disabled (default)

In this mode, the head and script zones are treated separately.

Even when head and script zones are treated separately, the head zone will always be rendered before the script zone, unless otherwise specified using RENDERZONE explicitly. So any content in the script zone that depends on content placed into the head zone is satisfied intrinsicly as they are both rendered as specified above.

Working with {MergeHeadAndScriptZones} enabled

In this mode, the head and script zones are separate when adding to them, but may be treated as merged when you call RENDERZONE if there are any dependencies specified that only exist in the opposite zone. This allows an ADDTOZONE{"head"...} to to successfully require an id that has been added to script.

ALERT! {MergeHeadAndScriptZones} is provided to maintain compatibility with legacy extensions that use ADDTOHEAD to add " requires="some-id-that-exists-in-script" id="MY::TEST" }%

Result

Example: Adding Javascript to a page

Make sure that all inline Javascript code in the topic (if it is allowed) is added to the page using %ADDTOZONE{"script"...requires="library-id"}% with the appropriate library-id to guarantee a correct load order. For example, jQuery code should be added as follows: 

%JQREQUIRE{"shake"}%
%ADDTOZONE{
   "script"
   id="MyApp::ShakePart"
   text="
   "
   requires="JQUERYPLUGIN::SHAKE"
}%

where "MyApp::ShakePart" is a unique id to identify the text added to script; and JQUERYPLUGIN::SHAKE signifies that the content added with that identifier should appear beforehand.

Example: Adding CSS to a page 

%ADDTOZONE{"head"
   id="MyCSS"
   text="
      "
}%

See also RENDERZONE, Using ADDTOZONE, Updating applications to use script zone

ALLVARIABLES -- list of currently defined macros

  • Syntax: %ALLVARIABLES%
  • Expands to: a table showing all defined macros in the current context

Deprecated 2009-04-29 in favour of SHOWPREFERENCE

AQUA -- start aqua colored text

  • AQUA is one of the shortcut macros predefined in DefaultPreferences. See the section shortcut macros in that topic for a complete list of colors.
    Example: 
    %AQUA% aqua text %ENDCOLOR%
    Expands to: aqua text
    ALERT! %% text must end with %ENDCOLOR%. If you want to switch from one color to another one you first need to end the active color with %ENDCOLOR%, e.g. write 
    %RED% some text %ENDCOLOR% %GREEN% more text %ENDCOLOR%

Related: ENDCOLOR, DefaultPreferences, StandardColors

ATTACHURL -- full URL for attachments in the current topic

ATTACHURLPATH -- path of the attachment URL of the current topic

AUTHREALM -- authentication realm

BASETOPIC -- base topic where an INCLUDE started

  • The name of the topic where a single or nested INCLUDE started - same as %TOPIC% if there is no INCLUDE
  • This is the name of the topic requested by the user.
  • Syntax: %BASETOPIC%
  • Related: BASEWEB, INCLUDINGTOPIC, INCLUDE, TOPIC

BASEWEB -- base web where an INCLUDE started

  • The web name where the includes started, e.g. the web of the first topic of nested includes. Same as %WEB% in case there is no include.
  • This is the name of the web requested by the user.
  • Syntax: %BASEWEB%
  • Related: BASETOPIC, INCLUDINGWEB, INCLUDE, WEB

BB -- bullet with line break

BB2 -- level 2 bullet with line break

  • Line break and bullet, level 2.
  • Current value: BB2 =
      •
  • Related: BR, BULLET, BB, BB3, BB4, VBAR

BB3 -- level 3 bullet with line break

  • Line break and bullet, level 3.
  • Current value: BB3 =
        •
  • Related: BR, BULLET, BB, BB2, BB4, VBAR

BB4 -- level 4 bullet with line break

  • Line break and bullet, level 4.
  • Current value: BB4 =
          •
  • Related: BR, BULLET, BB, BB2, BB3, VBAR

BLACK -- start black colored text

  • BLACK is one of the shortcut macros predefined in DefaultPreferences. See the section shortcut macros in that topic for a complete list of colors.
    Example: 
    %BLACK% black text %ENDCOLOR%
    Expands to: black text
    ALERT! %% text must end with %ENDCOLOR%. If you want to switch from one color to another one you first need to end the active color with %ENDCOLOR%, e.g. write 
    %RED% some text %ENDCOLOR% %GREEN% more text %ENDCOLOR%

Related: ENDCOLOR, DefaultPreferences, StandardColors

BLUE -- start blue colored text

  • BLUE is one of the shortcut macros predefined in DefaultPreferences. See the section shortcut macros in that topic for a complete list of colors.
    Example: 
    %BLUE% blue text %ENDCOLOR%
    Expands to: blue text
    ALERT! %% text must end with %ENDCOLOR%. If you want to switch from one color to another one you first need to end the active color with %ENDCOLOR%, e.g. write 
    %RED% some text %ENDCOLOR% %GREEN% more text %ENDCOLOR%

Related: ENDCOLOR, DefaultPreferences, StandardColors

BR -- line break

BROWN -- start brown colored text

  • BROWN is one of the shortcut macros predefined in DefaultPreferences. See the section shortcut macros in that topic for a complete list of colors.
    Example: 
    %BROWN% brown text %ENDCOLOR%
    Expands to: brown text
    ALERT! %% text must end with %ENDCOLOR%. If you want to switch from one color to another one you first need to end the active color with %ENDCOLOR%, e.g. write 
    %RED% some text %ENDCOLOR% %GREEN% more text %ENDCOLOR%

Related: ENDCOLOR, DefaultPreferences, StandardColors

BULLET -- bullet character

BUTTON{"text" ...} -- renders a nice button

  • Parameters:
    Parameter:Description:Default:
    "text", value="text" text to be put on this button  
    accesskey access key used for this button  
    class extra class: use foswikiRight or foswikiLeft to specify aligment; use cyan, red, green for different background colors; use simple for a non-3D button  
    href url of the click target #
    icon icon to be put on the left; note, this can be any icon attached to the {IconSearchPath}; see also VarJQICON  
    id html id for this button  
    onclick javascript event triggered when clicking the button  
    onmouseout javascript event triggered when the pointer leaves the button  
    onmouseover javascript event triggered when the pointer hovers over the button  
    target topic to open when clicking on the button  
    title popup title displayed when hovering over the button  
    type type of action to be performed; available actions are
    • button: (default) normal click button, target specified in target or href parameter
    • clear: clears all input fields in the form that contains the button
    • reset: resets all input fields in a form to their initial value
    • submit: submits the form that contains the button
    • save: same as submit but takes care of extra validation steps when saving a wiki topic
    		button
  • Example: 
    %BUTTON{
    "%MAKETEXT{"Submit"}%"
    onclick="confirm('Are your sure?')"
  }%
  %BUTTON{
    "%MAKETEXT{"Cancel"}%"
    icon="cross"
    target="%WEB%.%TOPIC%"
  }% %CLEAR%
  • Expands as:
    Submit Cancel
  • Note: BUTTONS are floating to the left by default. Take care to add a %CLEAR% after the %BUTTON{...}% so that further content does not overlap with the button.
  • Related: JQueryButton

CALC{"formula"} -- add spreadsheet calculations to tables and outside tables

  • The %CALC{"formula"}% macro is handled by the SpreadSheetPlugin. There are around 90 formulae, such as $ABS(), $EXACT(), $EXISTS(), $GET()/$SET(), $IF(), $LOG(), $LOWER(), $PERCENTILE(), $TIME(), $VALUE().
  • Syntax: %CALC{"formula"}%
  • Examples:
    • %CALC{"$SUM($ABOVE())"}% returns the sum of all cells above the current cell
    • %CALC{"$EXISTS(Web.SomeTopic)"}% returns 1 if the topic exists
    • %CALC{"$UPPER(Collaboration)"}% returns COLLABORATION
  • Related: IF, SpreadSheetPlugin

CARET -- caret symbol

CODE{…} -- format and highlight syntax for displaying code fragments

  • The %CODE% macro and its companion %ENDCODE% macro are provided by the BeautifierPlugin and are used together to mark the beginning and ending of a code fragment to be beautifully displayed.
  • Syntax: %CODE% … %ENDCODE% or %CODE{…}% … %ENDCODE%
  • %CODE% … %ENDCODE% encapsulates a code fragment to be displayed using the default language syntax and CSS styling
  • %CODE{…}% … %ENDCODE% encapsulates a code fragment to be displayed allowing the language syntax and CSS styling to be overridden according to any parameters supplied
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter:Description:Default
    "language" The language syntax identifier "cpp"
    css="URL" The URL of a CSS stylesheet that extends the plugin's default styling for code fragments  
  • Supported language syntaxes:
    Language:Identifier:Language:Identifier:Language:Identifier:
    bash "bash"   Lua "lua"   Scheme "scheme"
    C++ "cpp"   Makefile "makefile"   TCL "tcl"
    C# "csharp"   Perl "perl"   Verilog "verilog"
    HTML "html"   PHP3 "php3"   VHDL "vhdl"
    Java "java"   PL/SQL "plsql"   XML "xml"
    JavaScript "javascript"   Python "python"      
    • The Beautifier package supports many, many more language syntaxes but only the languages above have been ported to Foswiki at this point. If you need support for an additional syntax, please open an Enhancement Request to request the syntax you require.
  • DOM Structure: The beautified code fragment is encapsulated within a 
     element which, in turn, is encapulated within a 
     element which has two CSS class selectors, "fragment" and the language syntax identifier, which is itself encapsulated within a 
     element with the CSS class selector "BeautifierPlugin" as illustrated below. 
    •  
      • language fragment"> 
        •  
          • … beautified code fragment …

  • COMMENT{ attributes } -- insert an edit box into the topic to easily add comments.

    • A %COMMENT% without parameters shows a simple text box.
    • The following standard attributes are recognized
      NameDescriptionDefault
      type This is the name of the template to use for this comment. Comment templates are defined in a Foswiki template - see Customisation, below. If this attribute is not defined, the type is whatever is defined by COMMENTPLUGIN_DEFAULT_TYPE, either in this topic or in your WebPreferences. below
      default Default text to put into the textarea of the prompt.  
      target Name of the topic to add the comment to the current topic
      location Regular expression specifying the comment location in the target topic. Read carefully the CommentPlugin documentation!  
      mode For compatibility with older versions only, synonymous with type  
      nonotify Set to "on" to disable change notification for target topics off
      noform Set to "on" to disable the automatic form that encloses your comment block - remember to insert
      tags yourself! See CommentPluginExamples:noform for an example.
      		off
      nopost Set to "on" to disable insertion of the posted text into the topic. off
      remove Set to "on" to remove the comment prompt after the first time it is clicked. off
      button Button label text Add comment

    COVER -- current skin cover

    • %COVER% extends the skin search path. For instance, if SKIN is set to catskin, bearskin, and COVER is set to ruskin, the skin search path becomes ruskin, catskin, bearskin.
    • The COVER setting can be overridden using the URL parameter cover, such as ?cover=ruskin
    • Syntax: %COVER%
    • Expands to: %COVER%
    • See Skins for more information

    DATE -- signature format date

    DISPLAYTIME{"format"} -- formatted display time

    • Formatted time - either GMT or Local server time, depending on {DisplayTimeValues} setting in configure. Same format qualifiers as %GMTIME%
    • Syntax: %DISPLAYTIME% OR %DISPLAYTIME{"format"}%
    • %DISPLAYTIME% The time is shown as hh:mm (24 hour clock)
      • Expands to: 23 May 2022 - 11:46
    • Example: 
      %DISPLAYTIME{"$hou:$min"}%
      expands to 11:46
    • Related: GMTIME, SERVERTIME

    EDITACTION -- Selects an edit template

    • The EDITACTION preference setting lets you define the use of an editaction template instead of the standard edit. If EDITACTION is defined as text, then hide the form. If EDITACTION is defined as form hide the normal text area and only edit the form.
    • Syntax: 
         * Set EDITACTION = text|form
    • Expands to: %EDITACTION%
      ALERT! When EDITACTION is defined as text or form the Edit and Edit Raw buttons simply add ;action=text or ;action=form to the URL for the edit script. If you have defined an EDITACTION preference setting you can still edit the topic content or the form by removing the ;action=form or ;action=text from the edit URL in the browser and reload.
    • Related: CommandAndCGIScripts

    EDITTABLE{ attributes } -- edit tables using edit fields and other input fields

    • The %EDITTABLE{}% macro is handled by the EditTablePlugin
    • Syntax: %EDITTABLE{ attributes }%
    • Supported attributes:
      AttributeCommentDefault
      header Specify the header format of a new table like "|*Food*|*Drink*|". Useful to start a table with only a button (no header)
      format The format of one column when editing the table. A cell can be a text input field, or any of these edit field types:

      • Text input field (1 line):
        | text, , |

      • Textarea input field:
        | textarea, x, |

      • Drop down box:
        | select, ,
        * only one item can be selected

      • Radio buttons:
        | radio, ,
        * size indicates the number of buttons per line in edit mode

      • Checkboxes:
        | checkbox, ,
        * size indicates the number of checkboxes per line in edit mode

      • Fixed label:
        | label, 0,

      • Row number:
        | row, |

      • Date:
        | date, , , | (see Date Field Type)       		"text, 16"
      for all cells
      changerows Rows can be added and removed if "on"
      Rows can be added but not removed if "add"
      Rows cannot be added or removed if "off"      		CHANGEROWS
      plugin setting
      quietsave Quiet Save button is shown if "on", hidden if "off"QUIETSAVE
      plugin setting
      include Other topic defining the EDITTABLE parameters. The first %EDITTABLE% in the topic is used. This is useful if you have many topics with the same table format and you want to update the format in one place. Use topic or web.topic notation. (none)
      helptopic Topic name containing help text shown below the table when editing a table. The %STARTINCLUDE% and %STOPINCLUDE% macros can be used in the topic to specify what is shown. (no help text)
      headerislabel Table header cells are read-only (labels) if "on"; header cells can be edited if "off" or "0" "on"
      editbutton Set edit button text, e.g. "Edit this table"; set button image with alt text, e.g. "Edit table, %PUBURL%/%SYSTEMWEB%/DocumentGraphics/edittopic.gif"; hide edit button at the end of the table with "hide" (Note: Button is automatically hidden if an edit button is present in a cell) EDITBUTTON
      plugin setting
      buttonrow Set to top to put the edit buttons above the table. bottom
      javascriptinterface Use javascript to directly move and delete row without page refresh. Enable with "on", disable with "off". JAVASCRIPTINTERFACE
      plugin setting

    Example:

    %EDITTABLE{ format="| text, 20 | select, 1, one, two, three |" changerows="on" }%
| *Name* | *Type* |
| Foo    | two    |

    Produces:

    NameType
    Foo two

    Related: See EditTablePlugin for more details

    ENCODE{"string"} -- encodes a string

    • Encode character sequences in "string", by mapping characters (or sequences of characters) to an alternative character (or sequence of characters). This macro can be used to encode strings for use in URLs, to encode to HTML entities, to protect quotes, and for as many other uses as you can imagine.
    • Syntax: %ENCODE{"string"}%
    • Parameters:
      ParameterDescriptionDefault
      "string" String to encode "" (empty string)
      type="encodingname" Use a predefined encoding (see below). Default is 'url'. Parameter type not be used if old or new are given.
      old="tokenlist" Comma-separated list of tokens to replace. Tokens are normally single characters, but can also be sequences of characters. The standard format tokens may be used in this list. Each token must be unique - you cannot list the same token twice. May not be used with type; required if new is used
      new="tokenlist" comma-separated list of replacement tokens. The elements in this list match 1:1 with the elements in the old list. Again, the standard format tokens may be used. An empty element in the new list will result in the corresponding token in the old list being deleted from the string. If the new list is shorter than the old list it will be extended to the same length using the empty element. Tokens do not have to be unique.
      ALERT! When using old and new, be aware that the results of applying earlier tokens are not processed again using later tokens. (see examples below)
      		 May not be used with type; required if old is used
    • If ENCODE is called with no optional parameters (e.g. %ENCODE{"string"}%) then the default type="url" encoding will be used.
    • Predefined encodings.
      • Unless otherwise specified, the type parameter encodes the following "special characters"
        • all non-printable ASCII characters below space, except newline ("\n") and carriage return ("\r")
        • HTML special characters "<", ">", "&", single quote (') and double quote (")
        • TML special characters "%", "[", "]", "@", "_", "*", "=" and "|"
      • type="entity" or type="entities" Encode special characters into HTML entities, like a double quote into ". Does not encode \n (newline).
      • type="html" As type="entity" except it also encodes \n (newline)
      • type="safe" Encode just the characters '"<>% into HTML entities.
      • type="quote" or type="quotes" Escapes double quotes with backslashes (\"), does not change any other characters
      • type="url" Encode special characters for use in URL parameters, like a double quote into %22
    • Examples 
         %ENCODE{"spaced name"}%= expands to
      spaced%20name
   %ENCODE{"| Blah | | More blah |" old="|,$n" new="|,
      "}% expands to
      | Blah | | More blah |
      - this encoding is useful to protect special TML characters in tables.
   %ENCODE{"10xx1x01x" old="1,x,0" new="A,,B"}% expands to
      ABABA
   %ENCODE{"1,2" old="$comma" new=";"}% expands to
      1;2
    • Values for HTML input fields must be entity encoded.
      Example:
    • ENCODE can be used to filter user input from URL parameters and similar to help protect against cross-site scripting. The safest approach is to use type="entity". This can however prevent an application from fully working. You can alternatively use type="safe" which encodes only the characters '"<>% into HTML entities. When ENCODE is passing a string inside another macro always use double quotes ("") type="quote". For maximum protection against cross-site scripting you are advised to install the Foswiki:Extensions.SafeWikiPlugin.
    • Double quotes in strings must be escaped when passed into other macros.
      Example: 
      %SEARCH{ "%ENCODE{ "string with "quotes"" type="quotes" }%" noheader="on" }%
      ALERT! When using old and new, be aware that the results of applying earlier tokens are not processed again using later tokens. For example:
         %ENCODE{"A" old="A,B" new="B,C"}% will result in 'B' (not 'C'),
   %ENCODE{"asd" old="as,d" new="d,f"}% will yield 'df', and
   %ENCODE{"A" old="A,AA" new="AA,B"}% will give 'AA' and.
   %ENCODE{"asdf" old="a,asdf" new="a,2"}% will give 'asdf'
    • Related: URLPARAM

    ENDCODE -- end a code fragment

  • ENDCOLOR -- end colored text

    ENDSECTION{"name"} -- marks the end of a named section within a topic

    ENDTAB -- ending marker for a tab of a tabpane

    ENDTABPANE -- ending tag for tabpane widget

    ENDTWISTY

    Twisty closure, complements the opening TWISTY tag.

    ENDTWISTYTOGGLE

    The Twisty closure

    ENV{"varname"} -- inspect the value of an environment variable

    EXAMPLETAG -- example variable

    EXPAND{"expression" scope="topictoexpandin" ...}%

    Expands macros in expression as if they were used in the topic topictoexpandin. The viewer must have VIEW access to topictoexpandin for this to work. All the standard formatting macros can be used in expression, such as $percent and $quot.

    EXPAND can be useful when you want to pick up the value of macros defined in another topic. For example, you might want to define a set of preferences in one topic, but pick up their value in another topic (this is very useful when building reusable applications). In this case you can write: 

       * Set MYPREFERENCE = value

    in "SettingsTopic" and then, in "MyTopic", write: 

    %EXPAND{"$percentMYPREFERENCE$percent" scope="SettingsTopic"}%

    Of course we can also write: 

    %EXPAND{"$percentMYPREFERENCE$percent" scope="%OTHERTOPIC%"}%

    which lets us select which other topic to get the preference value from.

    Additional parameters can be passed to the macro being expanded using the standard macro syntax in the name of the macro; for example, 

    %EXPAND{"$percentMYPREFERENCE{$quotdefault$quot param=$quotvalue$quot}" scope="SettingsTopic"}%

    Notes:

    FAILEDPLUGINS -- debugging for plugins that failed to load, and handler list

    FORMAT{"list" format="" header="" footer="" separator=""} -- format a list of objects

    Supported formatting tokens

    If type="topic" (the default) the format string can contain any of the topic-specific format tokens specified in FormattedSearch ($web, $topic, $parent, $text, $locked, $date, $isodate, $index, $item, $rev, $username, $wikiname, $wikiusername, $createdate, $createusername, $createwikiname, $createwikiusername, $summary, $changes, $formname, $formfield, $pattern, $count, $ntopics, $nhits, $pager). In addition, the macro supports all the standard format tokens.

    If type="string" then the comma separated list is treated as a list of strings. In this case, the format tokens $index and $item will return the position of the item in the list (1-based), and the item itself, respectively. Note that a comma can be embedded in the data using the standard formatting token $comma.

    The FORMAT macro is currently only of use in formatting lists of topics, or of simple strings. It will be extended in future releases to add the capability to render other object types.

    IDEA! For more sophisticated handling of string lists, consider installing Foswiki:Extensions.FilterPlugin.

    FORMFIELD{"fieldname"} -- renders a field in the form attached to some topic

    GENPDF -- Insert a link that generated a PDF for the current or identified topic

    GMTIME{"format"} -- formatted GM time

    GRAY -- start gray colored text

    Related: ENDCOLOR, DefaultPreferences, StandardColors

    GREEN -- start green colored text

    Related: ENDCOLOR, DefaultPreferences, StandardColors

    GROUPINFO{"name"} -- retrieve details about a group

    ALERT! Note: GROUPINFO will not list members that are hidden from the current authenticated user. If the current user does not have VIEW authority for a user's topic, then the user will not be shown as a group member.

    GROUPS -- a formatted list of groups

    Deprecated - do not use. Use VarGROUPINFO instead

    H -- help icon

    HISTORY{ attributes } -- control attributes of tables and sorting of table columns

    Argument Description Default value
    none Default layout: a simple list of topic revisions using the default format (see below)  
    "format" or format="string" Format of one line, may include any variable which is supported by macro REVINFO"r$rev - $date - $wikiusername"
    topic="topic" Topic name, can be in web.topic format current topic
    web="web" Web name current web
    versions="number or range" Number or range (format: from..to). Examples:
    To get version 2, write: versions="2"
    To get version 2 to 3, write: versions="2..3"
    To get version 2 to the latest, write: versions="2.."
    To get all versions up to version 5, write: versions="..5"
    To get all versions up to but not including the latest, write: versions="..-1"
    To get the versions from 1 to 5 in reverse order, write: versions="5..1"    		 all versions in the order latest to first
    header="text" Text to print before the list.
    May contain the tokens $next and $previous which will be evaluated if there are newer or older revisions available for the topic that are not listed according to versions (or rev1, rev2, nrev).
    These tokens take the syntax $next{'some text' url='url'} (the same for $previous). 'some text' is the text which should be printed, 'url' is the url for the corresponding link.
    The tokens $rev1, $rev2, $nrev in 'text' or 'url' will be replaced by appropriate values for the next or previous block of revisions. See the attached oopshistory.tmpl for an example of how to use this.     		"$next"
    footer="text" Text to print after the list. May contain the tokens $next and $previous (see header) "$previous"

    Deprecated (but supported) parameters:

    Argument Description Default value
    nrev="number" Number of revisions to show. Ignored if versions is specified, or if both rev1 and rev2 are specified. 10
    rev2="number" Newest revision to show rev1+nrev if rev1 is specified, latest revision otherwise
    rev1="number" Oldest revision to show rev2-nrev
    reverse="boolean" Show newest revisions first, if on"on"

    Additional macros

    The following macros are replaced only if there is a corresponding %HISTORY% on the page. If more than one %HISTORY% is used on the same page, the values from the last one will be used.

    HOLIDAYLIST -- add a vacation list to a topic

    HOMETOPIC -- home topic in each web

    HTTP -- get HTTP headers

    HTTP_HOST -- environment variable

    HTTPS -- get HTTPS headers

    I -- idea icon

    ICON{"name" alt="" default="name"} -- small documentation graphic or icon of common attachment types

    ICONURL{"name" default="name"} -- URL of small documentation graphic or icon

    ICONURLPATH{"name" default="name"} -- URL path of small documentation graphic or icon

    IF{"condition" ...} -- simple conditionals

    INCLUDE{"topic"} -- include other topic.

    INCLUDE{"url"} -- include a web page