GeezerVison

This page is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference.

Magic links were removed from the MediaWiki code in March 2021 (see this MediaWiki RfC). This March 2017 (English Wikipedia) RfC determined that these magic links on the English Wikipedia should be replaced by the {{ISBN}}, {{PMID}}, and {{IETF RFC}} templates.

This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines and may reflect varying levels of consensus.

Magic links are automatic links for certain unique identifiers that require no markup. This functionality is expected to be removed from the MediaWiki software; users are encouraged to use the corresponding templates.

The following instructions are deprecated. Editors should use the {{ISBN}} template to link ISBNs.

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. The created link is to Special:BookSources. The allowable formats are:

• 10 or 13 digits
• optional delimiting hyphens or spaces
• 1 check character

ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7

ISBN 1413304540

See Category:Pages using ISBN magic links.

The following instructions are deprecated. Editors should use the {{PMID}} template to link PMIDs.

A PMID (PubMed identifier or PubMed unique identifier) is a unique number assigned to a PubMed record.

PMID 11209037

See Category:Pages using PMID magic links.

The following instructions are deprecated. Editors should use the {{IETF RFC}} template to link IETF RFCs.

A Request for Comments (RFC) is a memorandum published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

RFC 5620

See Category:Pages using RFC magic links.

The following instructions will no longer be necessary when magic links are disabled.

If no link is desired, insert <nowiki /> between the identifier and the value.

ISBN <nowiki />978-0-306-40615-7

Or alternatively, wrap <nowiki>...</nowiki> around the entire magic link:

ISBN 978-0-306-40615-7

Magic links are rendered by Parser.php. The links for PMID and RFC are rendered by MediaWiki interface pages:

• PMID: MediaWiki:Pubmedurl
• RFC: MediaWiki:Rfcurl

• mw:Manual:$wgUrlProtocols, which creates automatic links for various protocols