{_:shortcut:param1:...}

Description

Calls a named, admin-defined alias - a reusable block of template code - and fills in its parameters. Aliases are created in the site Aliases manager; each stores template code under a name. Writing _:Name inserts that code in place; extra colon-separated values fill the placeholders _#P1, _#P2, ... inside the alias code, in order. The inserted code is then expanded in the current item context, so an alias can itself call views, fields and other commands, and aliases can be nested. Aliases are scoped to the current site (plus any sites it shares aliases with), so the same name can expand differently from one install to another. An unknown name, or an empty name, yields an empty string. Use the _ command to hide long view ids behind a short name, share a header or e-mail template across many views, or build small parameterised helpers.

Parameters

Name required

Name of the alias to call, exactly as it is stored in the site Aliases manager (case sensitive). The aliases code is looked up among the current sites aliases (and any sites it shares aliases with) and inserted in place. If no alias of this name exists, the whole _ command expands to an empty string.

param1, param2, ... optional

Optional colon-separated values passed to the alias. Inside the alias code they are available as _#P1, _#P2, ... in the order given, and substituted before the code is expanded. Aliases that take no parameters ignore these. To pass a literal colon inside one value, escape it as #: (hash before the colon).

Examples

test[{_:}]

Expected[]

Actual[]

Calling _ with no alias name returns an empty string, so the brackets close up to []. Useful to know when a name is built from a field that may be empty.

test[before]{_:NoSuchAlias_XYZ:ignored}[after]

Expected[before][after]

Actual[before][after]

When no alias of the given name is defined for the current site, the whole _ command - including any parameters - expands to an empty string. The surrounding [before] and [after] show that only the command itself disappears.

virtual{_:HelloMsg:Maria}

ExpectedHello, Maria! (when the HelloMsg alias is stored as Hello, _#P1!)

If the site has an alias named HelloMsg whose code is Hello, _#P1!, then _:HelloMsg:Maria fills _#P1 with Maria. The output is install-specific: with no such alias defined the command expands to an empty string, so this example is illustrative.

virtual{_:IssueRef}

Expectedthe current issue id, e.g. 4f2c...e9 (the alias code looks the id up with seo2ids)

Aliases need not take parameters. A parameterless alias is handy to give a long, hard-to-read view or slice id a short, memorable name and reuse it across many templates. Illustrative; the id returned is install-specific.

virtual{_:TogglePanel:More details}

ExpectedMore details (the alias guards the value with ifset, so the heading shows only when a value is passed)

An alias can treat a parameter as optional by wrapping it in an ifset on _#P1: the value prints when supplied and nothing prints when the parameter is omitted. Illustrative; the output depends on the stored TogglePanel alias.

virtual{item:{_:IssueRef}:headline........}

Expectedthe headline of the current issue, e.g. Spring 2026

The code an alias returns is expanded in the current item context, so an alias can call other commands and aliases can be nested. Here _:IssueRef supplies the id argument to the item command. Illustrative; the output depends on the stored alias and data.

virtual{_:ColourBox:Saved successfully:green}

ExpectedA green box reading Saved successfully (alias code: a div with style color:_#P2 wrapping _#P1)

Parameters fill _#P1, _#P2, ... in order. Here the first value is the message and the second the colour. The exact output depends on the stored alias, so this is illustrative.

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