Wiki Talk: New Infoboxes!

[Halomek]

Hey everyone!

I've been hard at work creating a new infobox template for characters. It's what's known as a portable infobox, which is a much improved form of the old infoboxes. I'm happy to say it's finally ready for everyone to use!

What makes it better? For one thing, we only need one template to cover the different character types and affiliations instead of the 26 or so we were using with the old ones. Instead we can plug in different "themes" to change up the colors and what not.

More good stuff:
* Unused fields and headers will be hidden if there is nothing entered for them.
* Images will be automatically resized to fit the size of the template without the need for brackets.
* Multiple images can be used for the infobox image. This can be useful to include different character appearances, such as how they might've aged from the Legends forum to the Legacy forum, or how a character might look in and out of armor. Whatever appeals to you.
* From a wiki administration perspective, it helps to cut down on clutter and makes it easier to do maintenance.
* The improvements mean that you don't necessarily need to choose between a government infobox or a Forcer infobox for a Force-using character. Instead all of the information will be present in both themes.
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I've also added two templates that can be used in conjunction with the new infobox:
*The "Info" template: This will add informative icons to the top of the article page similar to how Wookieepedia does it.
*The "Timeline" template: There's a new field for the infobox called "era" that will let you fill in what era a particular character existed in. This template will add informative icons for the eras.

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You can check out how the new infobox looks, along with the templates, by visiting Kalja's wiki entry: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki ... ru_Leidias
To see an example of an Imperial Force-user, check out the wiki entry for her son: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/James_Ardin_II

And the new template can be found here: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki ... er_Infobox. I recommend reading through the Field List to see what each data field is for.

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Lastly, if anyone has any suggestions for something to add or change, let me know and I'll see what I can do! I'm also happy to answer any questions you might have.

[Cazzik]

Halo! Those boxes are gorgeous. Thanks, buddy. You did some hard work.

[Halomek]

Glad you like them! I may still tweak them a bit here and there, but I'm happy with how they turned out.

I'll be working on upgrading the WoH Character Infoboxes next. Just like with the main ones, you'll only need one template and then you can just theme it for heroes or villains or whatever.

Also, if you have any suggestions to improve the new one over the old ones, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

[Cazzik]

How did you create the indicators? I'd like to get those for the WoH forum.

[Halomek]

You mean like this? https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/Template:WoH

I made one just today specifically for WoH stuff since that forum has the second most amount of content after our Star Wars articles. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like it to display.

I'm also almost finished with the new infobox for WoH characters. I'm working on putting together a complimentary template for the different classifications, similar to the timeline template I made for the Star Wars characters infoboxes.

EDIT: I should also mention that the indicator function is something that got added to the general wiki coding a few years ago. Apparently the way Wookieepedia does it is considered kind of backward and outdated now.

[Cazzik]

Those look great but could we add team and family specific indicators? This may be to much and if it is let me know.

TEAMS
Fantastic Four
X-Men
Titans
Justice League
Avengers
Thunderbolts
Heroes for Hire
Suicide Squad
Young Avengers
Young Justice
Birds of Prey

ORGANIZATIONS
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hydra
Red Room
Brotherhood of Mutants
Cabal

FAMILIES & GROUPS
Batman Family
Superman Family
Shazam Family
Spider Family
Iron Man Family
Wonder Woman Family
Gamma Family
Team Arrow
Super Soldiers
Wakanda

Like I said, that may be to much. If we could get the Teams though, that would be appreciated. I can help make these if you point me in the right direction. It's been a hot minute since I've done any type of template or wiki administration stuff.

[Halomek]

Making the template is simple enough. The most time consuming thing is making all the different icons that go along with it.

Did you want all the Team/Org/Family stuff to show up at the top of the page or be part of the infobox like the classification template?

[Cazzik]

I think at the top would be best. I like that you can see it right off the bat.

[Halomek]

Probably best to include it with the existing indicator template then. Trying to properly align two templates up there without them overlapping each other or any other text would be a bit of a headache.

I'll look into it.

[Halomek]

Alrighty, Cazzik. I got most of the team logos uploaded, but I couldn't find any good ones for Young Avengers or Young Justice, so right now the template is using the Avengers and Justice League logos as placeholders for those teams. If you can find or create some good logos for them, we can easily adjust the template to include them.

As far as icons for the organizations and families are concerned, why not take a crack at those yourself? Get Mir involved too if you like. You're both Wiki Admins and much more heavily involved in World of Heroes than I am.

It's pretty simple to adjust the templates now that they're all set up. To make the indicators work, there are two templates that have to be adjusted.

1) WoHIcon is used to provide all the icon data, such as the images used, their size, what they link to, and if they create any categories: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki ... te:WoHIcon

2) WoH is the template that pulls the data from WoHIcon and places it on the page. The big thing to keep in mind with the WoH template is to make sure it has the same number of spaces as the number of icons in WoHIcon (represented by this code: {{WoHIcon|{{{16|}}}}}). For example: Right now there are 16 icon slots in WoHIcon and 16 spaces to place them in WoH. The WoH template is here: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/Template:WoH

As for the icons, I'd suggest using one of the images I uploaded for the dimensions. To make them I've been tracking down the logos and using Photoshop to basically turn them Black and White and invert them. Here's the X-Men logo I made: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/File:XMIcon.png

If you have any questions, I'm happy to help out. Feel free to mess with those templates until you have them figured out. We can always revert the histories if stuff gets screwed up.

[Mir]

Hey mek, any chance you can upgrade my current account to admin?

[Halomek]

You need to be better about remembering your wiki accounts.

I checked and it looks like only Bureaucrats can give other members Admin privileges. Currently, I think the only Bureaucrats for our wiki are Jag and Cadden.

[Cazzik]

Okay Halo, I need some help. Tried to make a Batman Family icon. I mostly succeeded, I think. That said, my file is missing that little "shadow" behind it that all of yours has and it is throwing the icon off. I'm not a photoshop user so if you can explain how I fix that I think I can make the rest.

https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/File:BFIcon.png

You can see how it's not lining up correctly on both the Batman and Nightwing articles. Thanks!

[Halomek]

I have a photoshop layer that I use for the icon shadow.

The shadow is basically just a horizontal and vertical gray bar on the right and bottom edges, both offset slightly to give it that 3D effect. Probably the best way for you to replicate it without photoshop is to take one of the existing icons I uploaded and then resizing a new logo over it. As long as the new icon doesn't overlap those gray bars, it should work.

Give it a try! Hopefully that'll work.

I also went ahead and adjusted your Batman logo so it has the shadow. Let me know if it looks good to you.

[Cazzik]

That looks good! Thanks for fixing it.

I do have Photoshop and I've played with it a little bit. I was hoping you could just explain how to add the shadow in the program and then I can do it. I'm clearly not googling the correct question when I go searching.

[Halomek]

You might be overthinking it. Basically I make the logos with a layer sandwich.

Layer 1: Transparent. Canvas size should be 80 x 80 pixels.

Layer 2: All black. Cut off the bottom and right side of the black square with 5 pixel wide strips so layer 1 is visible.

These are your foundation layers. Everything else will go on top of them

Layer 3: Paste the icon here. Make sure it stays within the black box of Layer 2 and doesn't overlap the transparent strips.

Layer 4:
1) Select the transparent strips from Layer 2 with the Magic Wand.
2) Move to Layer 4 and use the Paint Bucket to fill in the selection with a light gray color. The specific tone I use is #CDCDCD, which you can enter manually with the Color Picker.
3) Cut a small hole on the bottom left and top right of the gray strips. The holes should be 5 x 5 pixel squares. You should be able to see Layer 1 through these holes.

If it's been assembled correctly, you'll have the layer sandwich ready to go for all your icon needs! Just keep pasting in new icons below the top layer. The gray bars up top help to finish the pseudo-3D effect and will act as the icon's "shadow."

Technically you could flatten layers 1,2, and 4 so they're all on the bottom, but I like to keep my base elements separate. Keeping the gray bars up top also helps to make it easier to align the icons without worrying about anything interfering with the icon shadow.

One you're happy with your icon, make sure to save it as a .png to preserve the transparency.

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I hope that helps you out, Cazzik! Probably the best way to set this up is to use one of the other icons I already made as a base. That'll give you the correct dimensions for everything I mentioned above.

[Cazzik]

Yeah.....I'm out. This isn't working for me. I'm just getting frustrated. I clearly do not have enough experience with photoshop. Thanks for trying to help me, Halo.

[Halomek]

I can try writing this up on the wiki with some visual aids.

Do you think that might help to clear things up?

[Cazzik]

I don't know. I can't even figure out the Layers on the program. Easy enough to change to B&W, Invert, and Alter Size but the layers are kicking my ass and I cannot find an appropriate YouTube video that shows me what I'm missing. It's really annoying.

I've got the wiki coding down too. Not too bad. I'm going to finish coding that stuff just so the slot is ready.

[Halomek]

I use Photoshop 7, because screw Adobe these days, so the interface might be a bit different than what I'm using, but here should be a few different ways to create layers...

Is there a menu option up top for Layers? If so, you should be able to create a new layer from that. Using the command Shift + Ctrl + N might also make a layer for you. Lastly, there might be a layer tab somewhere on your screen that'll have a button you can click to make a new layer.

[Cazzik]

Yeah....I have adobe. I keep trying and it just isn't working. I have found all the logos, made them black and white, inverted them appropriately, and uploaded them to the wiki. I've also coded them into the templates so they should be good to go.

Could you PRETTY PLEASE turn them into the appropriate icons? PRETTY PLEASE?! I will forever be in your debt.

Otherwise we are risking giving me an aneurism today......

[Cazzik]

Ha! I have figured out a work around. I think I'm good to go, Halo. Feel free to check any of them though and make correction as you see fit.

[Halomek]

I updated a few.

I did notice that your icons aren't centered. Otherwise they look good to me!

[Halomek]

I think I got them all, Cazzik! Let me know if I missed one.

[Cazzik]

You are an awesome human being, my friend! I think you got them all. Thanks!

[Halomek]

Happy to help!

The fact that you hunted down all those logos, and updated the template, was still a big timesaver on my end, so thank you for that.

[Halomek]

Something else to look at if you have a little free time...

I'm working on making a version of the power grid that will fit inside the infoboxes. This will prevent the power grid box from squishing article content. I've almost got it worked out, but I'm still working on sussing out the right parameters to fix stuff like the power grid bars from overlapping their borders.

You can see how it looks here: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/Void

I made a test power grid template so it wouldn't affect other pages: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki ... ower_Grid2

Feel free to experiment with it and see if you can fine tune it.

[Halomek]

Finished! Power Grid 2 not only fits inside the infoboxes, but it looks sharper and the numbers for the transformation grid will also create categories.

You can see what it looks like with both active here: https://starwars-exodus.fandom.com/wiki/Psionic

I might look into implementing something similar for our starship stats...

[Cazzik]

That looks snazzy, Halo! Nice work!

[Halomek]

Glad you like it! Just remember to remove the old power grid if you use the new one.

BTW, Mir, I've PM'd Jag to update your current wiki account to Admin status, so hopefully that'll happen soon.

[Mir]

Glad you like it! Just remember to remove the old power grid if you use the new one.

BTW, Mir, I've PM'd Jag to update your current wiki account to Admin status, so hopefully that'll happen soon.

awesome.

Is there a way we can add what the classification codes should be to the woh infobox instructions?

[Halomek]

That's a lot of text to add to the Infobox template, but maybe I can add a pop-up link to the WoH_Class template that has all that information...

EDIT: I adjusted the Infobox page with links to the WoH and WoH Class templates. Let me know if that works!