Out of Ore Wiki:DPL Tricks

DPL3 Date Formatting in Tables

When using [[1](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension):DynamicPageList3 DynamicPageList3 (DPL3)] to build version history or changelog tables, you may run into issues where the date values appear unformatted, even when using a helper template like {{OOO date}} that works elsewhere.

This page documents the root cause and solution.

Problem

DPL3 inserts data (like %% placeholders) after MediaWiki's parser has already run. So if you try this in a tablerow:

| tablerow = [[%PAGE%|%%]], {{OOO date|%%}}, %% , %%

...the template {{OOO date|%%}} is not parsed as a real template call. It just outputs as literal text, or sometimes breaks the row entirely.

Solution

Use DPL’s delayed evaluation syntax:

| tablerow = [[%PAGE%|%%]], ²{OOO date¦%%}², %% , %%

Explanation:

²{ and }² (superscript 2) tells DPL to defer the parsing of the template call.
¦ (section divider character) replaces the normal | pipe so DPL doesn't misinterpret it as a column split.
The result is equivalent to {{OOO date|2023-12-03}} at render time — and the date displays correctly as, for example, "December 3, 2023".

Example

If you're using an infobox like Template:Version infobox with a date field, and you want that formatted in your auto-generated table using the parser function form of DPL:

{{#dpl:
 | category    = Updates
 | namespace   = Main
 | ordermethod = sortkey
 | order       = descending
 | include     = {Version infobox}:version:date:type:summary
 | table       = class="wikitable sortable",-,Version,Date,Type,Summary
 | tablerow    = [[%PAGE%|%%]], ²{OOO date¦%%}², %% , %%
}}

This ensures every row uses the same readable date format consistently.

Notes

The Template:OOO date template should handle fallback and formatting via #time safely.
This technique works with both {{#dpl:}} and (in theory) <dpl> tag usage, though this example uses the parser function form.
The ²{...}² technique is also useful for wrapping #arraymap, #iferror, or even #invoke calls inside DPL output.