Bahaipedia:Shortcut

Shortcuts

Shortcuts in Bahaipedia are a specialized type of redirection page that can be used to get to a Bahaipedia project reference page more quickly.

Procedures[edit]

Example: #REDIRECT [[Pagename]] {{R from shortcut}}.

How to use Bahaipedia shortcuts[edit]

A Bahaipedia shortcut can be entered into the Bahaipedia search box to quickly bring you to a reference page.
For example, you can type "B:R" into the search box and click the "Go" button to get to the Bahaipedia "Redirect" reference page, instead of having to type "Bahaipedia:Redirect".

Alternatively, you can use the shortcut in the URL (web address). For example, you are currently viewing the Bahaipedia:Shortcut page in English. The URL for the English-language page is:

//bahaipedia.org/Bahaipedia:Shortcut

You could get from here to the Bahaipedia:Redirect project reference page by replacing "Bahaipedia:Shortcut" with "B:R" in the URL (web address) field (followed by "Enter").

Shortcuts are presented in all capital letters ("All-Caps"), but the search box is case-insensitive. For example, in the search box, you can type "B:r" instead of "B:R".

However, using the URL method typically requires that you match the capitalization of the shortcut itself.

Readability[edit]

Shortcuts are often linked on talk pages without any piped text, although for the general reader this type of shortcut can decrease readability. Some editors are familiar with the bulk of Bahaipedia's project namespace shortcuts, recognizing what they stand for on sight. While shortcuts can help with linking, it is best not to use them as a title when referring to a page. For example, the link shortcuts uses a shortcut to link but gives readers an idea of the target, while quoting B:SHC is unhelpful to those unfamiliar with the page. One should be mindful of the intended audience, and when quoting a page one should consider using its proper title.

A proposed method to increase readability is using templates producing full meta links. Individually a registered user can use navigation popups, a JavaScript tool.

Adding shortcut link boxes[edit]

A shortcut link box can be added to a page by placing {{Shortcut|[[B:<x>]]}} at the top of the text while editing. A note from the "shortcut template" page:

Please do not use this template on other templates, e.g. to state that the shortcut to Template:Foo is in fact {{Foo}}. There's no need to state the obvious like that, each template uses its own name as a shortcut, by default.

Guidelines with shortcuts pointing to them typically use {{guideline|[[B:<x>]]}} instead of {{Shortcut}}, for an example see above. Another example is {{Style-guideline|[[B:<x>]]}}, see also Bahaipedia header templates.

How to create a shortcut[edit]

For an existing page like Bahaipedia:Template Standardisation create the desired new B:TS page with a single line: (example, this shortcut already exists)

#REDIRECT [[Bahaipedia:Template Standardisation]] {{R from shortcut}}

Many shortcuts are acronyms, others are abbreviations, quite a lot are simply B:BAD, but technically they are redirections.

Changing shortcuts[edit]

Technically that's easy, click on the shortcut wherever it is, on the page it leads to (a shortcut is a redirect) click on the "redirected from" link (forcing &redirect=no), edit the target #REDIRECT [[Bahaipedia:Whatever]], then add {{R from shortcut}} if that expression doesn't already appear. But there are some potential traps and pitfalls:

If the shortcut is already listed on Bahaipedia:List of shortcuts or a similar list like Bahaipedia:Shortcuts to talk pages, please update that entry showing the new target page.
If the old target page mentions its shortcut, then that also should be updated, typically in {{Shortcut}} or similar Bahaipedia header templates.
Above all check the shortcut backlinks with "what links here"; changing a shortcut used elsewhere can be highly disruptive.
If it has no backlink folks might still use it directly with search forms, if you're not 100% sure that the old target is unused; so ask about it on the shortcut's talk page.