topic end

TWiki Variables

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

TWikiVariables are text strings - %VARIABLE% - that expand into content whenever a page is opened. When a topic is rendered for viewing, VARIABLES are replaced by data, either user-entered, or info automatically generated by TWiki (like the date, or the current username). There are predefined variables, and Preference variables that you configure. You can also define custom variables, with new names and values.

Note: To leave a variable unexpanded, preceed it with an exclamation point, e.g. type !%TOPIC% to get %TOPIC%.

Predefined Variables

Most predefined variables return values that were either set in the lib/twiki.cfg file, when TWiki was installed, or taken from server info (like current username, or date and time). Many of the variables let you format the appearance of the display results.

  • TIP Take the time to thoroughly read through ALL preference variables. If you actively configure your site, review variables periodically. They cover a wide range of functions, and it can be easy to miss the one perfect variable for something you have in mind. For example, see %INCLUDINGTOPIC%, %INCLUDE%, and the mighty %SEARCH%.

This version of TWiki - 01 Sep 2004 $Rev: 1742 $ - expands the following variables (enclosed in % percent signs):

ATTACHURL -- attachment URL of the current topic

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

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
  • 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.
  • Syntax: %BASEWEB%
  • Related: BASETOPIC, INCLUDINGWEB, INCLUDE, WEB

DISPLAYTIME -- display time

DISPLAYTIME{"format"} -- formatted display time

  • Formatted time - either GMT or Local server time, depending on setting in TWiki.cfg. Same format qualifiers as %GMTIME%
  • Syntax: %DISPLAYTIME{"format"}%
  • Example: %DISPLAYTIME{"$hou:$min"}% expands to 19:47
  • Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME, SERVERTIME

ENCODE{"string"} -- encodes a string

  • Syntax: %ENCODE{"string"}%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    "string" String to encode required (can be empty)
    type="entity" Encode special characters into HTML entities, like a double quote into " URL encoding
    type="url" Encode special characters for URL parameter use, like a double quote into %22 (this is the default)
  • Example: %ENCODE{"spaced name"}% expands to spaced%20name
  • Related: URLPARAM

GMTIME -- GM time

GMTIME{"format"} -- formatted GM time

  • Syntax: %GMTIME{"format"}%
  • Supported variables:
    Variable: Unit: Example
    $seconds seconds 59
    $minutes minutes 59
    $hours hours 23
    $day day of month 31
    $wday day of the Week (Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat) Thu
    $month month in ISO format Dec
    $mo 2 digit month 12
    $year 4 digit year 1999
    $ye 2 digit year 99
    $tz either "GMT" (if set to gmtime), or "Local" (if set to servertime) GMT
    $iso ISO format timestamp 2024-11-24T19:47Z
    $rcs RCS format timestamp 2024/11/24 19:47:40
    $http E-mail & http format timestamp Sun, 24 Nov 2024 19:47:40 GMT
  • Variables can be shortened to 3 characters
  • Example: %GMTIME{"$day $month, $year - $hour:$min:$sec"}% expands to 24 Nov, 2024 - 19:47:40
  • Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME, SERVERTIME

HOMETOPIC -- home topic in each web

HTTP_HOST -- environment variable

ICON{"type"} -- small icon of common attachment types

  • Small 16x16 pixel icon of common attachment types. Specify file type only, file name, or full path name
  • Syntax: %ICON{"type"}%
  • Samples: bmp, doc, gif, hlp, html, mp3, pdf, ppt, txt, xls, xml, zip
  • Example: %ICON{"pdf"}% expands to
  • Related: TWikiPreferences, FileAttachments, TWikiDocGraphics

INCLUDE{"page"} -- include other topics or web pages

  • Syntax: %INCLUDE{"page" ...}%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    "SomeTopic" The name of a topic located in the current web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"WebNotify"}%  
    "Web.Topic" A topic in another web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"TWiki.SiteMap"}%  
    "http://..." A full qualified URL, i.e. %INCLUDE{"http://twiki.org/"}%  
    pattern="..." A RegularExpression pattern to include a subset of a topic or page none
    rev="1.2" Include a previous topic revision; N/A for URLs top revision
    warn="off" Warn if topic include fails: Fail silently (if off); output default warning (if set to on); else, output specific text (use $topic for topic name) %INCLUDE- WARNING% preferences setting
  • Related: BASETOPIC, BASEWEB, INCLUDINGTOPIC, INCLUDINGWEB, IncludeTopicsAndWebPages

INCLUDINGTOPIC -- name of topic that includes current topic

  • The name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %TOPIC% in case there is no include
  • Syntax: %INCLUDINGTOPIC%
  • Related: BASETOPIC, INCLUDINGWEB, INCLUDE, TOPIC

INCLUDINGWEB -- web that includes current topic

  • The web name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %WEB% if there is no INCLUDE.
  • Syntax: %INCLUDINGWEB%
  • Related: BASEWEB, INCLUDINGTOPIC, INCLUDE, WEB

MAINWEB -- name of Main web

METASEARCH -- special search of meta data

  • Syntax: %METASEARCH{...}%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    type="topicmoved" What sort of search is required?
    "topicmoved" if search for a topic that may have been moved
    "parent" if searching for topics that have a specific parent i.e. its children     		required
    web="%WEB%" Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. required
    topic="%TOPIC%" The topic the search relates to required
    title="Title" Text that is prepended to any search results required
  • Example: %METASEARCH{type="topicmoved" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="This topic used to exist and was moved to: "}%
  • Example: You may want to use this in WebTopicViewTemplate and WebTopicNonWikiTemplate:
    %METASEARCH{type="parent" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="Children: "}%
  • Related: SEARCH

NOTIFYTOPIC -- name of the notify topic

PUBURL -- the base URL of attachments

  • Syntax: %PUBURL%
  • Expands to: http://www.clausbrod.de/twiki/pub
  • Example: You can refer to a file attached to another topic with %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/image.gif
  • Related: ATTACHURL, PUBURLPATH, SCRIPTURL, FileAttachments

PUBURLPATH -- the base URL path of attachments

REMOTE_ADDR -- environment variable

REMOTE_PORT -- environment variable

REMOTE_USER -- environment variable

SCRIPTURL -- script URL of TWiki

  • Syntax: %SCRIPTURL%
  • Expands to: http://www.clausbrod.de/cgi-bin
  • Example: To get the authenticated version of current topic write %SCRIPTURL%/viewauth%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/%TOPIC% which expands to http://www.clausbrod.de/cgi-bin/viewauth.pl/TWiki/TWikiVariables
  • Related: PUBURL, SCRIPTSUFFIX, SCRIPTURLPATH

SCRIPTURLPATH -- script URL path of TWiki

SCRIPTSUFFIX -- script suffix

  • Some TWiki installations require a file extension for CGI scripts like .pl or .cgi
  • Syntax: %SCRIPTSUFFIX%
  • Expands to: .pl
  • Related: SCRIPTURL

SEARCH{"text"} -- search content

  • Inline search, shows a search result embedded in a topic
  • Syntax: %SEARCH{"text" ...}%
  • Supported parameters: [1]
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    "text" Search term. Is a keyword search, literal search or regular expression search, depending on the type parameter. SearchHelp has more required
    search="text" (Alternative to above) N/A
    web="Name"
    web="Main, Know"
    web="all"     		Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by comma, or all webs. [2] Current web
    topic="WebPreferences"
    topic="*Bug"     		Limit search to topics: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma. All topics in a web
    excludetopic="Web*"
    excludetopic="WebHome, WebChanges"     		Exclude topics from search: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma. None
    type="keyword"
    type="literal"
    type="regex"     		Do a keyword search like soap "web service" -shampoo; a literal search like web service; or RegularExpression search like soap;web service;!shampoo %SEARCHVAR- DEFAULTTYPE% preferences setting (literal)
    scope="topic"
    scope="text"
    scope="all"     		Search topic name (title); the text (body) of topic; or all (both) "text"
    order="topic"
    order="created"
    order="modified"
    order="editby"
    order=
     "formfield(name)"         		Sort the results of search by the topic names, topic creation time, last modified time, last editor, or named field of TWikiForms. The sorting is done web by web; in case you want to sort across webs, create a formatted table and sort it with TablePlugin's initsort Sort by topic name
    limit="all"
    limit="16"     		Limit the number of results returned. This is done after sorting in case order is specified All results
    reverse="on" Reverse the direction of the search Ascending search
    casesensitive="on" Case sensitive search Ignore case
    nosummary="on" Show topic title only Show topic summary
    bookview="on" BookView search, e.g. show complete topic text Show topic summary
    nosearch="on" Suppress search string Show search string
    noheader="on" Suppress search header
    Topics: Changed: By:     		Show search header
    nototal="on" Do not show number of topics found Show number
    header="..."
    format="..."     		Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples Results in table
    expandvariables="on" Expand variables before applying a FormattedSearch on a search hit. Useful to show the expanded text, e.g. to show the result of a SpreadSheetPlugin %CALC{}% instead of the formula Raw text
    multiple="on" Multiple hits per topic. Each hit can be formatted. The last token is used in case of a regular expression ";" and search Only one hit per topic
    separator=", " Line separator between hits Newline "$n"
  • Example: %SEARCH{"wiki" web="Main" scope="topic"}%
  • Example with format: %SEARCH{"FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="| *Topic: * | *Summary: * |" format="| $topic | $summary |"% (displays results in a table with header - details)
  • HELP If the TWiki:Plugins.TablePlugin is installed, you may set a %TABLE{}% variable just before the %SEARCH{}% to alter the output of a search. Example: %TABLE{ tablewidth="90%" }%
  • Related: METASEARCH, TOPICLIST, WEBLIST, FormattedSearch

  • [1] Note: The search form uses identical names for input fields.
  • [2] Note: A web can be excluded from a web="all" search if you define a NOSEARCHALL=on variable in its WebPreferences

SERVERTIME -- server time

SERVERTIME{"format"} -- formatted server time

  • Same format qualifiers as %GMTIME%
  • Syntax: %SERVERTIME{"format"}%
  • Example: %SERVERTIME{"$hou:$min"}% expands to 20:47
  • Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME, SERVERTIME

SPACEDTOPIC -- topic name, spaced and encoded

  • The current topic name with added spaces, for regular expression search of Ref-By
  • Syntax: %SPACEDTOPIC%
  • Expands to: TWiki%20*Variables
  • Related: TOPIC

STARTINCLUDE -- start position of topic text if included

  • If present in included topic, start to include text from this location up to the end, or up to the location of the %STOPINCLUDE% variable. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STARTINCLUDE% variable itself.
  • Syntax: %STARTINCLUDE%
  • Related: INCLUDE, STOPINCLUDE

STATISTICSTOPIC -- name of statistics topic

STOPINCLUDE -- end position of topic text if included

  • If present in included topic, stop to include text at this location and ignore the remaining text. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STOPINCLUDE% variable itself.
  • Syntax: %STOPINCLUDE%
  • Related: INCLUDE, STARTINCLUDE

TOC -- table of contents of current topic

TOC{"Topic"} -- table of contents

  • Syntax: %TOC{"SomeTopic" ...}%
  • Table of Contents. Shows a TOC that is generated automatically based on headings of a topic. Headings in WikiSyntax ("---++ text") and HTML ("<h2>text</h2>") are taken into account. Any heading text after "!!" is excluded from the TOC; for example, write "---+!! text" if you do not want to list a header in the TOC
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    "TopicName" topic name Current topic
    web="Name" Name of web Current web
    depth="2" Limit depth of headings shown in TOC 6
    title="Some text" Title to appear at top of TOC none
  • Example: %TOC{depth="2"}%
  • Example: %TOC{"TWikiDocumentation" web="TWiki" title="Contents:"}%
  • Related: TOC

TOPIC -- name of current topic

TOPICLIST{"format"} -- topic index of a web

  • The "format" defines the format of one topic item. It may include variables: The $name variable gets expanded to the topic name; the $web variable gets expanded to the name of the web.
  • Syntax: %TOPICLIST{"format" ...}%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    "format" Format of one line, may include $name and $web variables "$name"
    format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
    separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
    web="Name" Name of web Current web
  • Example: %TOPICLIST{"   * $web.$name"}% creates a bullet list of all topics
  • Example: %TOPICLIST{separator=", "}% creates a comma separated list of all topics
  • Example: %TOPICLIST{" <option>$name</option>"}% creates an option list (for drop down menus)
  • Related: SEARCH, WEBLIST

TWIKIWEB -- name of TWiki documentation web

  • The web containing all documentation and site-wide preference settings for TWiki
  • Syntax: %TWIKIWEB%
  • Expands to: TWiki
  • Related: MAINWEB

URLPARAM{"name"} -- get value of a URL parameter

  • Returns the value of a URL parameter. Note that there is a risk that this variable could be misused for cross-scripting
  • Syntax: %URLPARAM{"name"}%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    "name" The name of a URL parameter required
    default="..." Default value in case parameter is empty or missing empty string
    newline="<br />" Convert newlines in textarea to other delimiters no conversion
    encode="entity" Encode special characters into HTML entities, like a double quote into &#034;. This is needed if text is put into an HTML form field no encoding
    encode="url" Encode special characters for URL parameter use, like a double quote into %22 no encoding
    multiple="on"
    multiple="[[$item]]"     		If set, gets all selected elements of a <select multiple="multiple"> tag. A format can be specified, with $item indicating the element, e.g. multiple="Option: $item" first element
    separator=", " Separator between multiple selections. Only relevant if multiple is specified "\n" (new line)
  • Example: %URLPARAM{"skin"}% returns print for a .../view/TWiki/TWikiVariables?skin=print URL. Test this:
  • Related: SEARCH, FormattedSearch

USERNAME -- your login username

VAR{"NAME" web="Web"} -- get a preference value from another web

  • Syntax: %VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}%
  • Example: To get %WEBBGCOLOR% of the Main web write %VAR{"WEBBGCOLOR" web="Main"}%, which expands to #FFEFA6
  • Related: WEBPREFSTOPIC

WEB -- name of current web

WEBLIST{"format"} -- index of all webs

  • List of all webs. Hidden webs are excluded, e.g. webs with a NOSEARCHALL=on preference variable. The "format" defines the format of one web item. The $name variable gets expanded to the name of the web, $qname gets expanded to double quoted name, $marker to marker where web matches selection.
  • Syntax: %WEBLIST{"format" ...}%
  • Supported parameters:
    Parameter: Description: Default:
    "format" Format of one line, may include $name variable "$name"
    format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
    separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
    webs="public" comma sep list of Web, public expands to all non-hidden "public"
    marker="selected" Text for $marker where item matches selection, otherwise equals "" "selected"
    selection="%WEB%" Current value to be selected in list section="%WEB%"
  • Example: %WEBLIST{"   * [[$name.WebHome]]"}% creates a bullet list of all webs.
  • Example: %WEBLIST{"<option $marker value=$qname>$name</option>" webs="Trash,public" selection="TWiki" separator=" "}% Dropdown of all public Webs + Trash Web, current Web highlighted.
  • Related: TOPICLIST, SEARCH

WEBPREFSTOPIC -- name of web preferences topic

WIKIHOMEURL -- site home URL

  • The base URL of TWiki, is the link of the Home icon in the upper left corner, defined in TWiki.cfg
  • Syntax: %WIKIHOMEURL%
  • Expands to: http://your.domain.com/twiki
  • Related: WIKITOOLNAME

WIKINAME -- your Wiki username

WIKIPREFSTOPIC -- name of site-wide preferences topic

WIKITOOLNAME -- name of your TWiki site

WIKIUSERNAME -- your Wiki username with web prefix

  • Your %WIKINAME% with Main web prefix, useful to point to your TWiki home page
  • Syntax: %WIKIUSERNAME%
  • Expands to: Main.TWikiGuest, renders as TWikiGuest
  • Related: REMOTE_USER, USERNAME, WIKINAME

WIKIUSERSTOPIC -- name of topic listing all registers users

  • Syntax: %WIKIUSERSTOPIC%
  • Expands to: TWikiUsers, with Main prefix renders as TWikiUsers
  • Related: WIKIUSERNAME

WIKIVERSION -- the version of the installed TWiki engine

  • Syntax: %WIKIVERSION%
  • Expands to: 01 Sep 2004 $Rev: 1742 $
  • Related: WIKITOOLNAME

Preferences Variables

Additional variables are defined in the preferences ( site-level ( SL ) in TWikiPreferences, web-level ( WL ) in WebPreferences of each web, and user level ( UL ) preferences in individual user topics):

Variable: Level: What:
%ALLOWTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ATTACHLINKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the link check box in the attach file page. Check box is initially checked if value is set to CHECKED , unchecked if empty. If checked, a link is created to the attached file at the end of the topic. Value is:
%DENYTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Minor Changes, Don't Notify" (DontNotify) check box in preview. Check box is initially checked if Set DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. Value is:
%EDITBOXHEIGHT% SL , UL Vertical size of edit box, is 17
%EDITBOXWIDTH% SL , UL Horizontal size of edit box, is 70
%EDITBOXSTYLE% SL , UL Style of text edit box. Set to width: 99% for full window width (default; overwrites the EDITBOXWIDTH setting), or width: auto to disable. Value is: width: 99%
%FINALPREFERENCES% SL , WL List of preferences that are not allowed to be overridden by next level preferences
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_EDIT% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for edit script.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_PREVIEW% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for preview script.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_VIEW% SL http-equiv meta tags for view, rdiff, attach, search* scripts.
%NEWTOPICBGCOLOR% SL , UL Background color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%NEWTOPICFONTCOLOR% SL , UL Font color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%NOSEARCHALL% WL Exclude web from a web="all" search (set variable to on for hidden webs)
%RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Release edit lock" (UnlockTopic) check box in preview. Checkbox is initially checked if Set RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. If checked, make sure to click on Edit to do more changes; do not go back in your browser to the edit page, or you risk that someone else will edit the topic at the same time! Value is:
%WEBBGCOLOR% WL Background color of web
%WEBCOPYRIGHT% SL , WL Copyright notice (bottom right corner of topics)
%WEBTOPICLIST% WL Common links of web (second line of topics)
%WIKIWEBLIST% SL List of TWiki webs (in upper right corner of topics)
%WIKIWEBMASTER% SL Webmaster email address (sender of email notifications) , is twikiadmin@clausbrod.de

Note: There are some more useful variables defined in the TWikiPreferences like %BR% for line break, colors like %RED% for colored text and small icons like %H% for a HELP Help icon.

Setting Preferences

  • The syntax for Preferences Variables is the same anywhere in TWiki (on its own TWiki bullet line, including nested bullets):
    [multiple of 3 spaces] * [space] Set [space] VARIABLENAME [space] = [value]
    Examples:
  • Set VARIABLENAME = value
    • Set VARIABLENAME = value

Creating Custom Variables

  • You can add your own Preference Variables for us across an entire site or a single web, using the standard Preferences syntax. Whatever you include in your Variable will be expanded on display, exactly as if it had been entered directly. You can place formatted text, page links, image paths.

Example: Create a custom logo variable the TWiki web
  • To place a logo anywhere in a web by typing %MYLOGO%, define the Variable on the web's WebPreferences page, 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, ex: LogoTopic:
    • Set MYLOGO = %PUBURL%/TWiki/LogoTopic/mylogo.gif

-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 09 May 2004
-- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 12 May 2002
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