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.

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.

• 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 - TWiki-4.1.2, Sat, 03 Mar 2007, build 13046 - expands the following variables (enclosed in % percent signs):

Variable:	Expanded to:
%WIKIHOMEURL%	The base script URL of TWiki, is the link of the Home icon in the upper left corner, is /twiki/bin/view
%SCRIPTURL%	The script URL of TWiki, is https://moglen.law.columbia.edu/twiki/bin
%SCRIPTURLPATH%	The path of the script URL of TWiki, is /twiki/bin
%SCRIPTSUFFIX%	The script suffix, ex: .pl, .cgi is
%PUBURL%	The public URL of TWiki, is https://moglen.law.columbia.edu/twiki/pub Example: You can refer to a file attached to another topic as %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/image.gif
%PUBURLPATH%	The path of the public URL of TWiki, is /twiki/pub
%ATTACHURL%	The attachment URL of the current topic, is https://moglen.law.columbia.edu/twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables Example: If you attach a file you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif
%ATTACHURLPATH%	The path of the attachment URL of the current topic, is /twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
%ICON{"type"}%	Small 16x16 pixel icon of common attachment types, like bmp, doc, gif, hlp, html, mp3, pdf, ppt, txt, xls, xml, zip, etc. Specify file type only, file name, or full path name. Example: %ICON{"pdf"}% returns
%URLPARAM{"name"}%	Returns the value of a URL parameter. Note that there is a risk that this variable could be misused for cross-scripting. 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. Is
%ENCODE{"string"}%	Encodes a 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 &#034; 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"}% returns spaced%20name
%WIKITOOLNAME%	The name of your TWiki site - TWiki
%WIKIVERSION%	Your current TWiki version - TWiki-4.1.2, Sat, 03 Mar 2007, build 13046
%USERNAME%	Your login username - guest
%WIKINAME%	Your Wiki username. Same as %USERNAME% if not defined in the TWikiUsers topic. Is TWikiGuest
%WIKIUSERNAME%	Your %WIKINAME% including the Main web name - always use full signatures - Main.TWikiGuest
%MAINWEB%	The web containing TWikiUsers, OfficeLocations? and TWikiGroups is Main
%TWIKIWEB%	The web containing all documentation and site-wide preference settings for TWiki - TWiki
%WEB%	The current web is TWiki
%BASEWEB%	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.
%INCLUDINGWEB%	The web name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %WEB% if there is no INCLUDE.
%HOMETOPIC%	The home topic in each web - WebHome
%NOTIFYTOPIC%	The notify topic in each web - WebNotify
%WIKIUSERSTOPIC%	The index topic of all registered users - TWikiUsers
%WIKIPREFSTOPIC%	The site-wide preferences topic - TWikiPreferences
%WEBPREFSTOPIC%	The local web preferences topic in each web - WebPreferences
%STATISTICSTOPIC%	The web statistics topic WebStatistics
%TOPIC%	The current topic name - TWikiVariables
%BASETOPIC%	The name of the topic where a single or nested INCLUDE started - same as %TOPIC% if there is no INCLUDE.
%INCLUDINGTOPIC%	The name of the topic that includes the current topic. Same as %TOPIC% in case there is no include.
%SPACEDTOPIC%	The current topic name with added spaces, for regular expression search of Ref-By, is TWiki%20*Variables
%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. Parameters are format, separator and web: 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 Examples: %TOPICLIST{"   * $web.$name"}% creates a bullet list of all topics. %TOPICLIST{separator=", "}% creates a comma separated list of all topics. %TOPICLIST{" <option>$name</option>"}% creates an option list (for drop down menus).
%WEBLIST{"format"}%	Web index, ex: 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. Parameters are format, separator and web: 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 $marker where item matches selection, otherwise equals "" "selected" selection="%WEB%" Current value to be selected in list section="%WEB%" Examples: %WEBLIST{"   * [[$name.WebHome]]"}% creates a bullet list of all webs. %WEBLIST{"<option $marker value=$qname>$name</option>" webs="Trash,public" selection="TWiki" separator=" "}% Dropdown of all public Webs + Trash Web, current Web highlighted.
%GMTIME%	GM time, is 08 Nov 2024 - 23:57
%GMTIME{"format"}%	Formatted GM time based on time 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 2024-11-08T23:57:21Z $rcs RCS format timestamp 2024/11/08 23:57:21 $http E-mail & http format timestamp Fri, 08 Nov 2024 23:57:21 GMT Variables can be shortened to 3 characters. Example: %GMTIME{"$day $month, $year - $hour:$min:$sec"}% is 08 Nov, 2024 - 23:57:21
%SERVERTIME%	Server time, is 08 Nov 2024 - 18:57
%SERVERTIME{"format"}%	Formatted server time. Same format qualifiers as %GMTIME% Example: %SERVERTIME{"$hou:$min"}% is 18:57
%DISPLAYTIME%	Display time, is 08 Nov 2024 - 23:57
%DISPLAYTIME{"format"}%	Formatted time - either GMT or Local server time, depending on setting in TWiki.cfg. Same format qualifiers as %GMTIME% Example: %DISPLAYTIME{"$hou:$min"}% is 23:57
%HTTP_HOST%	HTTP_HOST environment variable, is moglen.law.columbia.edu
%REMOTE_ADDR%	REMOTE_ADDR environment variable, is 13.59.46.85
%REMOTE_PORT%	REMOTE_PORT environment variable, is 1630
%REMOTE_USER%	REMOTE_USER environment variable, is
%INCLUDE{"page" ...}%	Server side include to IncludeTopicsAndWebPages: 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
%STARTINCLUDE%	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.
%STOPINCLUDE%	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.
%TOC%	Table of Contents of current topic.
%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 Examples: %TOC{depth="2"}%, %TOC{"TWikiDocumentation" web="TWiki" title="Contents:"}%
%SEARCH{"text" ...}%	Inline search, shows a search result embedded in a topic. Parameters are the search term, web, scope, order and many more: [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 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"}% Formatted example: %SEARCH{"FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="| *Topic: * | *Summary: * |" format="| $topic | $summary |"% (displays results in a table with header - details) 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%" }%
%METASEARCH{...}%	Special search of meta data 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: "}%, you may want to use this in WebTopicViewTemplate and WebTopicNonWikiTemplate %METASEARCH{type="parent" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="Children: "}%
%VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}%	Get a preference value from a web other then the current one. Example: To get %WEBBGCOLOR% of the Main web write %VAR{"WEBBGCOLOR" web="Main"}%, is #FFEFA6

[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.

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):

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 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 - 16 Mar 2004
-- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 12 May 2002