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[[File:Wiki 3 bell image.jpg|right|200px]]

OK, you've now mastered most of the routine parts of MediaWiki.  What about using some bells and whistles?

The first of these is the '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Template template variable]''', which is a number or word surrounded by three curly brackets, such as <nowiki>{{{1}}}</nowiki>.  With this feature, you can customize your template, by allowing you to input different values for the template to process.  Take a look at '''[[:Template:Birthday|this example]]''', which has the following code (excluding the category info) on the template page:
 <nowiki>[[File:Birthday cake (fun).png|left|50px]]
</nowiki>
 <nowiki><span style="color:green">'''{{{Name}}}'''</span> has a birthday on {{{Month}}} {{{Date}}}!
</nowiki>
When you use this template on a page, the variables are named explicitly as '''''Name''''', '''''Month''''' and '''''Date'''''.  We can enter these parameters in any order, using the | symbol to separate them, thus:


'''<nowiki>{{Birthday|Name=Michael Jones|Date=12th|Month=June}}</nowiki>''' produces 

{{Birthday|Name=Michael Jones|Date=12th|Month=June}}


You can also use unnamed parameters, in which case the variables must be entered in the standard order.  In these cases, the template contains numerical parser functions <nowiki>{{{1}}}, {{{2}}}</nowiki>, etc.

There are also certain '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Magic_words Magic words]''' that provide shortcuts to useful functions or data, such as TOCs, today's date, the page name, etc.

'''Parser functions''' provide a more elaborate way to work with template variables, using logic commands such as "If".  These can be quite simple, but they can quickly get quite ridiculous in the hands of a real expert - take a look at one of the most widely used templates on Wikipedia, '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:WPBannerMeta&action=edit the WPBannerMeta template]'''.  

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