Include control

Three tags control which parts of a page are used when it’s included, and which parts show on the page itself. They’re most useful on template pages — documentation that shouldn’t be included, markup that should only be included.

The three tags


<noinclude>…</noinclude>       shown on the page itself; DROPPED when included
<includeonly>…</includeonly>   hidden on the page itself; included normally
<onlyinclude>…</onlyinclude>   if present, ONLY these fragments are included

The semantics in one table:

Content is inside…	On the page itself	When included
(no tag)	shown	included — unless an `<onlyinclude>` exists anywhere on the page
`<noinclude>`	shown	dropped
`<includeonly>`	hidden	included
`<onlyinclude>`	shown	included — and everything outside is dropped

The typical template page


<includeonly><div class="notice">{{{1}}}</div></includeonly><noinclude>
This template renders a notice banner. Usage:
 
  &#123;&#123;Notice|Your message&#125;&#125;
</noinclude>

Viewing the template page shows the documentation; including it produces only the banner. (The { entities show a literal {{…}} in the usage line — see Including pages.)

<onlyinclude> is the inverted tool: instead of marking what to hide, it marks what to share. If a page has any <onlyinclude> block, including that page pulls only those blocks — handy for reusing one section of a normal article (a shared intro, a stats box) without restructuring the article itself. Multiple <onlyinclude> blocks are all included, joined in order.

Details that matter

Tags don’t nest inside themselves, and each needs its closing tag — an unclosed <includeonly> won’t hide anything.
The editor’s preview shows the page view, never the included result: on a template page, preview hides <includeonly> content and shows <noinclude> content. To see the included result, preview an edit on a page that includes it.
Include control applies wherever a page is included from — Template namespace or a regular page via the fallback alike.