# வார்ப்புரு:Infobox Former Country/doc



This template provides comparative information for countries which no longer exist.  

### Notes
- Many variables concern generated categories. When categories are discussed below, it is referring to this list of currently supported categories.
- This is a rather complicated template, and should be used with care to ensure functionality. Note that most fields are optional for the infobox to function correctly. If you are unsure about anything, just skip all the optional fields and ask a developer for help.
- Anyone is welcome to use the infobox. But since it is still under construction, developers may make changes to your work. This is nothing personal. Normally this is for functionality reasons, sometimes it is to test new features of the infobox.
- Some variables below may be marked as test variables. Use these with caution and remember that these variables may be changed or deleted without notice.
- Certain historical entities may inspire heated debate among some people. Neutrality and sensitivity are required when implementing this infobox.
- If you are unsure about the usage of this template, or you have any suggestions for modifications to the infobox, or if you want to know why a certain modification was made, please contact a developer or leave a comment at the talk page. Your comments and questions assist the developers in creating, improving and documenting infobox features. Your comments and questions assist the developers in creating, improving and documenting infobox features.

This infobox is a part of .  

### Usage
1. Almost all fields are optional, some fields are more optional than others. It is not expected that you fill in every single field that is shown here.
1. Some fields are hidden but necessary for infobox functionality. Not all fields are displayed here.
1. Some fields place the article into certain categories: see **list of supported categories**.
1. Area (in km<sup>2</sup>) and population statistics must be given without spaces, commas or other code.
1. Keep event text as short as possible—ideally only 1 line in length.
1. For many entries, the infobox has been implemented by one of the main developers. Other users are welcome to implement the infobox themselves, but developers might make modifications later on—largely for functionality reasons.
1. If you are unsure about the usage of this template, or if you want to know why a certain modification was made, let us know via the template talk page. Your comments and questions assist the developers in creating, improving and documenting infobox features.

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### Example syntax
An example from German Empire:  

<pre>  

</pre>  

### Detailed instructions
These are the fields of information in the Infobox former countries template with a set of instructions on how to use them. Here is a brief explanation on how to read the table:  

- Field name
  - the fields of information that carry information used by the template
- Usage
  - **required** means that the template will not work properly if it is excluded
  - **optional** means that the template will work properly without it, but available information should be entered to make it as complete as possible (actively excluding or deleting information is not endorsed because it is called optional in this table)
- Type
  - **variable** means that the template will only take fixed values; this can be dates, years, numerical or according to a defined list
  - **free** means that the template will accept values given freely without having to adhere to the strict discipline required for variables
  - **wikilink** means that a working wikilink must be entered either to an article or to the file name of an image
- Value
  - examples or lists of values accepted by variables
  - **free text with wikilinks** means that text and wikilinks can be entered freely without the kind of restrictions that applies to variables
    - **label** is a short label typically fitting in a single line (no line break)
    - **entry** is one or a few short labels separated by commas or line breaks (no more than a few lines)
    - **sentence** is a short descriptive sentence (no more than a few lines)
  - **free text** means that text can be entered, but wikilinks must not be used
- Description
  - an instruction or a small guide how the particular field of information is used

| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ==== Location ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| These variables are only used for generating categories for this article |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| ==== Status ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| The entries here again determine category placement. For some values, related text will be displayed in a bar underneath the name. |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| ==== Politics ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| ==== General information ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| ==== History ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| **Start and end** |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| ==== Images ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| All of these variables are optional (but some are more optional than others). If there is no available image, place the WPFC banner on the article's talk page (if it isn't there already), with the parameters (including only the relevant parameters) |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| **Flag** |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Heraldry** |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Map** |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| ==== Preceding and succeeding entities ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| These fields are optional, but very important. Entries here affect the flag-navigation feature of the date bar at the top of the infobox. |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| ==== To which entries should I link? ====
It is not the intention here to list every single previous/following entity—that would make the infobox look very silly in many cases. Here are some guidleines for what to do (and what not to do). There are no strict rules so please exercise caution and common sense when using this feature.
#For most cases, the main and/or official predecessor/successor (under international law) is sufficient, since that is what most readers would expect to see. In the case of any potential confusion, list only this.
#**Example:* not every single state formed after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire should be listed in the infobox for the Ottoman Empire. Such a list is better described in the article text. Instead, only the official successor state would be given (Turkey)
#In some cases, most readers would expect to see every state that was formed, not just the official predecessor/successor. If so, list all states. If only parts of other countries were taken to form the new entity (or if an already existing entity received some of the land from a dissolved entity), list these states only when there are not so many other states to list.
#**Example:* the official successors of Austria-Hungary would be only Austria and Hungary. But from the breakup of Austria-Hungary, two other new states were completely formed (Czechoslovakia and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs), one state was formed from part of Austria-Hungary (Poland, including territory ceded from Germany and relinquished from Russian rule), and two already-existing states gained territory from Austria-Hungary (Italy and Romania). This gives a total of 7 successor states, which is rather high. In order of priority, the states listed should be: [Austria and Hungary], [Czechoslovakia and the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs], [Poland], and finally [Italy and Romania].
#Do not list entities that were formed/dissolved outside the life-span of the discussed state.
#**Example:* the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia does require the listing of all countries involved, since that is what people would expect. But only the states formed at the time when the SFYR broke up should be given. Therefore, "Serbia and Montenegro" is a successor entity, not "Serbia" and "Montenegro" separately since that breakup occurred later.
#If an entity simply became a subdivision of another country (state, province, etc.), then link to that subdivision. Only do this if it the transition is very clear.
#**Example:* the Republic of Texas was annexed by the USA and reconstituted as the US state of Texas. The successor here is not the USA, but the modern state of Texas.
#If the entity did not exist for a period before reforming (specified when you use the life_span parameter above), do not list the intermediate states.
#If the predecessor and successor are the same, and this predecessor/successor continued to exist during this period, do not list either. Instead, make it clear what this state was somewhere in the events section (if necessary).
#**Example:* the Confederate States of America broke away from the United States of America before becoming again part of the USA after the American Civil War. Detailing predecessor and successor states here as the USA is redundant, since the USA still existed in some form during this period, so say nothing. |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| ==== Area and population ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| ==== Footnotes ==== |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| **Field Name** | **Usage** | **Type** | **Values** | **Description** |  |  |
| - valign=top | **footnote_a**
**footnote_b**
...
**footnote_h** | optional | free | sentence | Fields for footnotes identified using lowercase letters "a" to "h" (Example<sup>a</sup>). All support wikilinks. | } |

#### Style parameters
The template allows some optional parameters that control the style of the infobox, for size and coloring, when displayed on a page:  

:* <code>width = </code>: sets the width of the infobox (default: ).  
:* <code>boxstyle = . . .</code>: sets the style properties of the whole infobox.  
:* <code>titlestyle = . . .</code>: sets the style properties of the top title/name area of the infobox.  

Some specific styles for the whole infobox are as follows:  
:* <code>boxstyle = background:lightgray</code>: sets the color behind all areas of the infobox.  
:* <code>boxstyle = -color:blue;</code>: sets the line around the infobox to the color blue.  
:* <code>boxstyle = -width:;</code>: sets line width around box to 5 pixels (default: ).  
:* <code>boxstyle = margin-:; margin-:;</code>: resets the / margins of the infobox for similar alignment in both browsers Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.  

Some specific styles for the title/name are as follows:  
:* <code>titlestyle = background:lightgray</code>: sets the color behind the top title/name area of the infobox.  
:* <code>titlestyle = color:gold</code>: sets the text color in top title/name area.  
:* <code>titlestyle = text-align:</code>: shifts title/name text to the (default: ).  

For multiple settings, combine all on one line, as follows:  
:::* <code>titlestyle = background:lightgray; color:darkgreen;</code>  

The properties are separated by semicolons (";"), and beware that accidentally omitting semicolons will cause the settings to be ignored. Some style properties cannot be changed, such as setting "titlestyle=margin-:" might be ignored, because "margin-" is a property, instead, of the whole box, using *boxstyle*.  

### Banner
To allow to keep track of articles, any page that uses this infobox **must** be labeled with the WPFC banner. To do this, go to the article's talk page and add to the top of the talk page, if the banner is not there already. See the banner page for more information about the extra parameters that the banner supports. At the absolute minimum, the talk page should contain .  

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