Template talk:Infobox U.S. County/Archive 3

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[edit] Automatic calculations

The calculations I added for area and density are enabled if 'autocalc' is not null. It uses 'population', 'area land' (for sq. meters), 'area land km' (for sq. kilometers), and 'area land mi' (for sq. miles) to calculate density (in both sq. mi and sq. km). And it also uses 'area water', 'area water km', and 'area water mi' to calculate areas. Only one land and one water area needs to be specified. Examples:

  • |autocalc=yes|area land=1119749578|area water=7004395|population=16745|
  • |autocalc=yes|area land km=1119.75|area water km=7.00|population=16745|
  • |autocalc=yes|area land mi=432.3|area water mi=2.7|population=16745|

—Mike 05:01, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

It seems that the area section doesn't display correctly. See the counties of North Carolina (Beaufort County, North Carolina), for example). --Sir48 14:01, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
I tried to get it to work on your Beaufort example and I got a bunch of errors too. I think that in the future, I'll have my bot go though the 3,036 pages that transclude this template and standardize and format all the parameter names (and their values). This will make autocalc'ing much easier. —MJCdetroit 17:43, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
Should we make this bot request now? Timneu22 23:26, 11 November 2007 (UTC)
No need; it is my bot and it's approved for such a task. However, I may not be able to program it before December. I'll see what I can do. —MJCdetroit 00:33, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
Good luck with this... this template is pretty complex; it may be very difficult to get the cleanup 100% automated. Timneu22 23:52, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
It looks like I will have to roll back Mike's changes to simplify the code and have the code pick one or the other sq mi or km2 to convert based on what is available in the particular infobox. —MJCdetroit 02:59, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
I think that the bot is ready. What I am going to do is to edit the template to give the template better standardized parameter names (based on other templates). The bot will go through all the pages and change area to either area_total_sq_mi (if sq mi are present) or area_total_km2 (if only km² are present). It will make other similar changes. It will also go through and raw format the pop, density and area fields. This will make auto calc for all pages easily done from a central location—here. —MJCdetroit 03:44, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
I've got Detroiterbot going through the pages now. I've previewed about 50 pages and everything looks good. The formatting of the numbers will be fixed tomorrow. Some of the pages may have an "Expression Error" until the bot can fix it. All the pages should have their names standardized within a few hours.—MJCdetroit 05:37, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
I removed the some area and density fields. See doc page for whats left. For the new fields, only enter data in an unformatted fashion, i.e. no commas; 1000 and not 1,000. Some additional clean up of pages will still be needed. —MJCdetroit 04:44, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Shouldn't area_water_sq_mi = !-- Will convert automatically -- be removed from the doc, if it is determined automatically? Timneu22 11:39, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Thanks, I reworded that. It was supposed to be for all area fields. —MJCdetroit 13:27, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, I'm still a little confused. Which of these fields is mandatory? I mean, if I'm creating a new page, can't I just put in sq_mi and therefore the km2 will be filled in automatically, or vice versa?
| area_total_sq_mi = 
| area_total_km2   = 
| area_land_sq_mi  = <!--ALL AREA fields: ENTER in RAW format only, i.e. 10000 and NOT 10,000-->
| area_land_km2    = 
| area_water_sq_mi = <!-- ALL AREA fields: Units will convert automatically; km² to sq mi & vise versa-->
| area_water_km2   = 
| area percentage  =
Thanks again. Timneu22 18:38, 15 November 2007 (UTC)
Exactly. If there's a better way to word that then by all means please reword it.
For an example that has only English measurements see Jefferson County, New York; for a metric only example see Dallas County, Texas. However, the reality is that because of the way that the infobox was developed and has developed over time most infoboxes seem to be mixed with the areas entered in square miles and and the density per square kilometer. In any case the infobox will always display square miles first then (km²). —MJCdetroit 02:58, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
I was thinking that we just remove the overlapping parameters altogether. For instance, remove the English stuff from here, and the user can only input metric...then the page will display both. It probably doesn't matter, though — I'm pretty sure every US county is using this template (well, 95%+), so there probably won't be many pages where this template gets added. Timneu22 10:52, 16 November 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Error!

I randomly went to Lincoln County, Nevada and saw an infobox error. I hope you get a chance to take a look. Timneu22 (talk) 02:20, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Actually, I found the cause of the error: the "|" was missing from this line: density_sq_mi = |. Is it possible that the BOT missed this stuff? The "good way" to do templates is to add pipes at the front of the line. This page had the pipe at the end — could this formatting style cause the error on several other pages? Timneu22 (talk) 02:24, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
I'll look into it. It's an easy fix to add the pipe if it is missing. —MJCdetroit (talk) 13:13, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Courthouse Image

I'd like to propose the optional image of the County Courthouse as a variable within the template. It would serve to beautify the article and have a visual representation of the county. --Ichabod (talk) 03:05, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

I don't believe this is necessary or worthwhile, as not all counties have a good-looking courthouse. You can just add the image to the article right below the this infobox, it looks good there. Timneu22 (talk) 13:39, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
That's why it would be an optional part of the infobox. I realize many counties don't have attractive courthouses, but I believe in far many more the courthouse is almost a de facto symbol of the county itself, similar to a capitol building of a country. — Michael J 21:56, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
Why don't we just have an "other image"... would that work? Maybe it is a courthouse, maybe it's a police station, maybe it's a tree... Timneu22 (talk) 22:03, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
<Ahem> I was going to add this but this template is locked? I'll figure it out.Timneu22 (talk) 22:05, 30 December 2007 (UTC)
DONE. New variables added to the template:
  • ex image - the name of the "extra" image
  • ex image size - defaults to 200 if not specified
  • ex image cap - caption of the extra image
Let me know if you see any issues with this. I updated Montgomery County, Tennessee to show the courthouse within the infobox. Timneu22 (talk) 14:15, 31 December 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for your help. I've already gone in and replaced a handful of ones. It is too bad that the variables won't automatically appear within each article's entry. Maybe a bot could be geared to do this. --Ichabod (talk) 23:03, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Please unlock

{{editprotected|I would like to add the image variable to the template as discussed. It's not a bad idea keeping this template locked — I'll request to lock it after the edit is done.}} Timneu22 (talk) 22:11, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

Done. —MJCdetroit (talk) 02:27, 31 December 2007 (UTC)
Protected again, at your request. —MJCdetroit (talk) 20:24, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sample

Moved the sample image to Template talk:Infobox U.S. County/Sample Timneu22 (talk) 13:27, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Please rename reference to "county flag"

Louisiana and Alaska do not use counties. Calling flags "county flags" is inaccurate and a slightly irksome. I suggest changing the text to just "flag". ~~----

[edit] Small

{{editprotected}}

The Named For field really doesn't need to be small. I'm watching this page if you're not sure. Reywas92Talk 02:07, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't necessarily agree with that. Sometimes, "named for" has a one- or two-sentence description. Smallness helps in that situation. Timneu22 (talk) 15:48, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
Good point, but those I've seen only had the name, which can and should be full size. In case there's a description, the small tag can be manually added,. Reywas92Talk 16:45, 17 February 2008 (UTC)
I don't feel strongly about it one way or the other. I tend to agree with you, however. Timneu22 (talk) 17:56, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Note when unprotected... change:

|-
{{#if: {{{web|}}}|
{{!}} colspan="2" style="text-align: left; border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9;" {{!}} '''Website:''' <span class="url">[http://{{{web|}}} {{{web|}}}]</span>}}
|- class="note"
{{#if: {{{named for|}}}|
{{!}} colspan="2" style="text-align: left; border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9;" {{!}} <small>'''Named for:''' {{{named for}}}</small>}}
|-

to:

|-
{{#if: {{{named for|}}}|
! style="background:#efefef" {{!}} Named for
{{!}} {{{named for}}} }}
|-
{{#if: {{{web|}}}|
{{!}} colspan="2" style="text-align: left; border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9;" {{!}} '''Website:''' <span class="url">[http://{{{web|}}} {{{web|}}}]</span>}}
|-

It looks better to change the order of WEB and NAMED FOR, as I have done here. Timneu22 (talk) 18:12, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Y Done the primary request. I do not see the merit of incorporating the 'named for' parameter into the table in the manner you advocate, Timneu22. Happy‑melon 11:07, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Largest city

Shouldn't "Largest city" read some other way? "Largest" to me says area. "Most populous city" is cumbersome, though. Davewho2 (talk) 02:30, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

eh, on second thought, I guess it does sound right. Davewho2 (talk) 00:33, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] iw Norway

{{editprotected}}

no:Mal:Infoboks amerikanske fylker. --EivindJohnsen (talk) 08:32, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

Y Done Moved interwikis to doc page, so updates can be done without requesting admin assistance in the future. --CapitalR (talk) 11:53, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Edit request

{{editprotected}}

Please move the metadata from the bottom of the template page to the <includeonly> section at the bottom of the /doc page and update [[Category:United States county templates]] to [[Category:United States county infobox templates| ]]. Sardanaphalus (talk) 09:20, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Y Done --CapitalR (talk) 11:53, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Map size parameter

Would it be possible to have a parameter that overrides the default map size? For counties like New Castle County, Delaware, the map is rather big, and it would be useful to be able to reduce its size. Replacing the 200px in the Image part with something like {{{map_size|200px}}} would work. Tompw (talk) (review) 11:25, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

Was that map changed recently? I don't remember this issue from before. Almost all the maps fit at 200px; we decided not to allow the parameter for consistency: you could end up with Sussex County at one size and Kent County at another. Honestly, I haven't figured out why that map looks so awkward — Sussex County, New Jersey doesn't have this problem, but its state map is about the same. I'll look into it. Timneu22 (talk) 16:48, 29 May 2008 (UTC)
Whoopsie. I see. We need to add this to the switch statement. Timneu22 (talk) 17:05, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

{{editprotected}}

To whomever unlocks this page... please modify the following:

New Jersey =120px|Vermont =120px|Maine=130px|New Hampshire=110px|Illinois=130px|Alabama=120px|Mississippi=120px|Ohio=180px|Indiana=130px|Nevada=130px|Idaho=130px|200px}}

... to include Delaware ...

New Jersey =120px|Vermont =120px|Delaware=120px|Maine=130px|New Hampshire=110px|Illinois=130px|Alabama=120px|Mississippi=120px|Ohio=180px|Indiana=130px|Nevada=130px|Idaho=130px|200px}}
Y Done --CapitalR (talk) 18:42, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Founded" not applicable description for most counties

I asked about this once a while back. The term "founded" is really not applicable to most counties, which are administrative subdivisions of a state rather than settlements "founded" by some group of people. More typically counties were first "set off" while remaining attached to an existing county for administrative purposes and then at a later date county government was organized. Would it be possible to use less prescribed fields in this template, analogous to the generic "established_title" and "established_date" in {{Infobox Settlement}}? older ≠ wiser 11:57, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't see a need to change the parameter, as this would require edits to all articles incorporating this template. I do agree that there's a purpose for an "established title" type thing to make the word "Founded" display as something else. Timneu22 (talk) 16:50, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

{{editprotected}}

While you're at it... change:

!style="background:#efefef;"| Founded

... to ...

!style="background:#efefef;"| {{{founded title|Founded}}}

Thanks Timneu22 (talk) 17:10, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Y Done --CapitalR (talk) 18:42, 30 May 2008 (UTC)