(:title Page specific variables:)
(:description Documentation for "variables" that are associated with pages. :)
(:Summary: variables that are associated with pages:)
(:Audience: authors (intermediate) :)

[[#desc]]This page describes the "variables" that are associated with pages.  Page variables have the form @@{$''variable''}@@, and can be used in page markup or in certain formatting strings in PmWiki.  For example, the markup "[@{$Group}@]" renders in this page as "{$Group}".

Note: Do not confuse these variables (set and used only in PmWiki pages) with [[PmWiki/Variables|PHP variables]].  Page variables can be read in PHP with the [[Cookbook:Functions#PageVar|PageVar()]] function.

Note that these variables do not necessarily exist in the PHP code, because they have to be determined for a specific page.  (However, they are usable in [[FmtPageName]] strings.)

There is also the form @@{''pagename''$''variable''}@@, which returns the value of the variable for another page.  For example, "[@{MarkupMasterIndex$Title}@]" displays as "{MarkupMasterIndex$Title}".

[[#specialreferences]]
!! Special references
Special referenced variables are used to retain the context of the target page or main page for a [[variable(s)]] when:
* the variable is [[PmWiki/IncludeOtherPages|included]] into a destination (target) page)
* the variable is part of a sidebar, header, or footer for a main page

Prefixing the variable name with an asterisk (*) means the variable reflects the value related to the target page or main page.
* '''[@*$@]'''PageVariablename - prefixed by an asterisk (*) - value reflects target page context
Without the asterisk it reflects the value of the page in which it originates.
* '''[@$@]'''PageVariablename -  retains value in source page context

Special references are also used in [[page list templates(#specialreferences)]].

For example you can test to see if the page is part of another page
(:markup:)
(:if ! name {$FullName}:) 
%comment% name of this page is not the same as the page this text was sourced from
->[[{$FullName}#anchor | more ...]]
(:ifend:)
(:markupend:)
or refer to the main page in a sidebar, footer, or header
(:markup class=horiz:)
This page is [[{*$FullName}]]
(:markupend:)

[[#specialreferencesend]]

!! Default page variables

The page variables defined for PmWiki are:

->[@{$Group}@] - page's group name, as in "`{$Group}"
->[@{$Groupspaced}@] - spaced group name, as in "{$Groupspaced}"
->[@{$DefaultGroup}@] - default group name, as in "{$DefaultGroup}"
->[@{$SiteGroup}@] - default group name for e.g. RecentChanges, as in "{$SiteGroup}"
->[@{$Name}@] - page name, as in "`{$Name}"
->[@{$Namespaced}@] - spaced page name, as in "{$Namespaced}"
->[@{$DefaultName}@] - name of default page, as in "`{$DefaultName}"
->[@{$FullName}@] - page's full name, as in "`{$FullName}"
->[@{$BaseName}@] - page's "base" form (stripping any prefixes or suffixes defined via @@$BaseNamePatterns@@) as in "`{$BaseName}"
->[@{$Title}@] - page title (may differ from Name), as in "{$Title}"
->[@{$Titlespaced}@] - title/spaced page name, as in "{$Titlespaced}"
->[@{$Description}@] - page's description from the [@(:description:)@] markup, as in "{$Description}"

->[@{$LastModified}@] - date page was edited, as in "{$LastModified}"
->[@{$LastModifiedBy}@] - page's last editor, as in "{$LastModifiedBy}"
->[@{$LastModifiedTime}@] - time page was edited in unix-style timestamp, as in "{$LastModifiedTime}" %green%added version 2.2 beta 67%%
-->This can be used (preceded by '@') in [@{(ftime)}@] and other date/time markups.
->[@{$LastModifiedHost}@] - IP of page's last editor, as in "{$LastModifiedHost}"
->[@{$LastModifiedSummary}@] - Summary from last edit, as in "{$LastModifiedSummary}"
->[@{$PageUrl}@] - page's url, as in "{$PageUrl}"
->[@{$Action}@] - page's url action argument, as in "{$Action}"
->[@{$PasswdRead}@] - current password for read attr. e.g. "{$PasswdRead}"
->[@{$PasswdEdit}@] - current password for read attr. e.g. "{$PasswdEdit}"
->[@{$PasswdAttr}@] - current password for read attr. e.g. "{$PasswdAttr}"

In addition to the above, there are some page-invariant variables available through this markup:

->[@{$Author}@] - the name of the person currently interacting with the site, as in "{$Author}"
->[@{$AuthId}@] - current authenticated id, as in "{$AuthId}" %red%Please note the lower case 'd'.  [@{$AuthID}@] returns nothing

->[@{$Version}@] - PmWiki version, as in "{$Version}"
->[@{$VersionNum}@] - The internal version number, as in "{$VersionNum}"
->[@{$ScriptUrl}@] - The url to the pmwiki script, as in "{$ScriptUrl}"


!! Custom page variables

You may add custom page variables as a local customization. In a local configuration file or a recipe script, use the variable $FmtPV:

->[@
$FmtPV['$VarName'] = "'variable definition'";
$FmtPV['$CurrentSkin'] = '$GLOBALS["Skin"]';
$FmtPV['$WikiTitle'] = '$GLOBALS["WikiTitle"]';
@]

Defines new Page Variable of name $CurrentSkin, which can be used in the page with [@{$CurrentSkin}@] (also for [[Conditional markup]]).  It's necessary to use the single quotes nested inside double-quotes as shown above (preferred) or a double-quoted string nested inside single-quotes like ''[@'"this"'@]''.

If you want to have a Page Variable that returns the currently used password (more precisely, the last password entered), you can use

->[@
$FmtPV['$AuthPw'] = 'reset(array_keys((array)@$_SESSION["authpw"]))';
@]

!! See also

* [[Cookbook:More custom page variables]]
* [[PmWiki.Variables]] — about variables internal to PmWiki.
* [[PmWiki.MarkupMasterIndex]] — complete list of PmWiki markups.
* [[PmWiki/PageTextVariables]] — page variables automatically made available through natural page markup or explicit page markup within the wiki text of the page.
* [[PmWiki.Markup Expressions]] — markup expressions can manipulate page variables

>>faq<< [[#faq]]

Q:Is there a variable like $LastModified, but which shows me the creation time?
A:No, but you can create one in config.php. For instance:
->[@# add page variable {$PageCreationDate} in format yyyy-mm-dd
$FmtPV['$PageCreationDate'] = 'strftime("%Y-%m-%d", $page["ctime"])';@]

If you like the same format that you define in config.php with $TimeFmt use
[@ $FmtPV['$Created'] = "strftime(\$GLOBALS['TimeFmt'], \$page['ctime'])";
@]