Wiki Macros

Trac macros are plugins to extend the Trac engine with custom 'functions' written in Python. A macro inserts dynamic HTML data in any context supporting WikiFormatting.

Another kind of macros are WikiProcessors. They typically deal with alternate markup formats and representation of larger blocks of information (like source code highlighting). See also: WikiProcessors.

Using Macros

Macro calls are enclosed in two square brackets. Like python functions, macros can also have arguments, a comma separated list within parentheses.

Examples

 [[Timestamp]]

Display:

Mon Dec 1 12:46:07 2008 

 [[HelloWorld(Testing)]]

Display:

Hello World, args = Testing

Available Macros

Macros are still a relatively new feature, and the list of available (and distributed) macros is admittedly not very impressive. In future Trac releases, we hope to build a library of useful macros, and will of course happily include contributed macros (see below).

[[TicketQuery]]

Macro that lists tickets that match certain criteria.

This macro accepts two parameters, the second of which is optional.

The first parameter is the query itself, and uses the same syntax as for query: wiki links. The second parameter determines how the list of tickets is presented: the default presentation is to list the ticket ID next to the summary, with each ticket on a separate line. If the second parameter is given and set to compact then the tickets are presented as a comma-separated list of ticket IDs.

[[TitleIndex]]

Inserts an alphabetic list of all wiki pages into the output.

Accepts a prefix string as parameter: if provided, only pages with names that start with the prefix are included in the resulting list. If this parameter is omitted, all pages are listed.

[[RecentChanges]]

Lists all pages that have recently been modified, grouping them by the day they were last modified.

This macro accepts two parameters. The first is a prefix string: if provided, only pages with names that start with the prefix are included in the resulting list. If this parameter is omitted, all pages are listed.

The second parameter is a number for limiting the number of pages returned. For example, specifying a limit of 5 will result in only the five most recently changed pages to be included in the list.

[[PageOutline]]

Displays a structural outline of the current wiki page, each item in the outline being a link to the corresponding heading.

This macro accepts three optional parameters:

  • The first is a number or range that allows configuring the minimum and maximum level of headings that should be included in the outline. For example, specifying "1" here will result in only the top-level headings being included in the outline. Specifying "2-3" will make the outline include all headings of level 2 and 3, as a nested list. The default is to include all heading levels.
  • The second parameter can be used to specify a custom title (the default is no title).
  • The third parameter selects the style of the outline. This can be either inline or pullout (the latter being the default). The inline style renders the outline as normal part of the content, while pullout causes the outline to be rendered in a box that is by default floated to the right side of the other content.
[[Image]]

Embed an image in wiki-formatted text.

The first argument is the file specification. The file specification may reference attachments or files in three ways:

  • module:id:file, where module can be either wiki or ticket, to refer to the attachment named file of the specified wiki page or ticket.
  • id:file: same as above, but id is either a ticket shorthand or a Wiki page name.
  • file to refer to a local attachment named 'file'. This only works from within that wiki page or a ticket.

Also, the file specification may refer to repository files, using the source:file syntax.

The remaining arguments are optional and allow configuring the attributes and style of the rendered <img> element:

  • digits and unit are interpreted as the size (ex. 120, 25%) for the image
  • right, left, top or bottom are interpreted as the alignment for the image
  • key=value style are interpreted as HTML attributes for the image
  • key:value style are interpreted as CSS style indications for the image

Examples: 

    [[Image(photo.jpg)]]                           # simplest
    [[Image(photo.jpg, 120px)]]                    # with size
    [[Image(photo.jpg, right)]]                    # aligned by keyword
    [[Image(photo.jpg, align=right)]]              # aligned by attribute
    [[Image(photo.jpg, float:right)]]              # aligned by style
    [[Image(photo.jpg, float:right, border:solid 5px green)]] # 2 style specs

You can use image from other page, other ticket or other module. 

    [[Image(OtherPage:foo.bmp)]]    # if current module is wiki
    [[Image(base/sub:bar.bmp)]]     # from hierarchical wiki page
    [[Image(#3:baz.bmp)]]           # if in a ticket, point to #3
    [[Image(ticket:36:boo.jpg)]]
    [[Image(source:/images/bee.jpg)]] # straight from the repository!

Adapted from the Image.py macro created by Shun-ichi Goto <gotoh@taiyo.co.jp>

[[MacroList]]

Displays a list of all installed Wiki macros, including documentation if available.

[[HelloWorld]]

Example macro.

[[Timestamp]]

Inserts the current time (in seconds) into the wiki page.

[[TracGuideToc]]

This macro shows a quick and dirty way to make a table-of-contents for a set of wiki pages.

[[WikiCalendar]]
[[formula]]

Convert a latex formula into an image. by Valient Gough <vgough@pobox.com>

Changes:

2005-10-03:

        • make image format selectable via 'image_format' configuration option (defaults to 'jpg')
        • allow paths to executables to be specified in configuration by setting 'latex_path', 'dvips_path', 'convert_path' to point to executable. Based on code by Reed Cartwright.

2005-10-01:

        • add #display and #fleqn options to add html formatting around image (Christian Marquardt).

2005-09-21:

        • add #center and #indent options to add html formatting around image.

2005-08-02:

        • remove hard-coded paths, read from configuration. Fixes #26

2005-07-27:

        • figured out how to get rid of the annoying internal error after latex

was run. Redirected latex output to /dev/null..

        • found out that #!figure ... runs wiki macro, and doesn't have

the problem of not being able to use paranthesis. So this is the default usage now. Can still use formula for simple formula.

        • add "nomode" command, which can be used to turn off automatic enclosure of commands in display-math mode ("$$ ... $$")

2005-07-26: first release

Installation:

    1. Copy into wiki-macros directory.
    2. Edit conf/trac.ini and add a [latex] group with three values:

[latex] # temp_dir points to directory where temporary files are created temp_dir = /var/tmp/trac # image_path is directory where final images are written image_path = /var/www/html/formula # display_path is URL where formula images can be accessed display_path = http://foo.net/formula # Set to 1 for fleqn style equations (default is centered) fleqn = 0 # Indentation width for fleqn style equations fleqn_width = '5%'

Usage:

formula

or, additional keywords can be specified before the latex code:

formula

Optional keywords (must be specified before the latex code):

#density=100

Density defaults to 100. Larger values produces larger images.

#nomode

Disable the default display mode setting. Use this if you want to include things outside of tex's display mode.

#display

Create a displayed equation (either centered or fleqn style, depending on the fleqn variable in the config file.

#center

Center the equation on the page.

#fleqn

fleqn style equation; indentation is controlled by fleqn_witdh in conf/trac.ini.

#indent [=class name]

places image link in a paragraph <p>...</p> If class name is specified, then it is used to specify a CSS class for the paragraph.

Notes:

A matrix macro is included in the tex code. This allows you to do things like:

\mat{1&2\3&4} to get a 2x2 matrix. The "\" separates rows, and "&" separates columns. Any size up to around 25? will work..

Images are automatically named based on a sha1 hash of the formula, the density, and the script version. This way the image doesn't have to be regenerated every time it is used, and if anything is changed then a new image is created.

Note that temporary files can build up in the tmpdir, and every time a formula is modified, a new image will be created in the imagePath directory. These can be considered as cached files. You can safely let the tmp file cleaner process remove old files from these directories.

PS. This is my first python program, so it is probably pretty ugly by python standards (whatever those may be). Feedback is welcome, but complaints about ugliness will be redirected to /dev/null.

[[Blog]]

Blog macro 0.1-alpha Usage sample 1:

      Usage sample 2:

      [[Poll]]

      Macros from around the world

      The Trac Project has a section dedicated to user-contributed macros, MacroBazaar?. If you're looking for new macros, or have written new ones to share with the world, don't hesitate adding it to the MacroBazaar? wiki page.

      http://projects.edgewall.com/trac/wiki/MacroBazaar

      Developing New Macros

      Macros, like Trac itself, are written in the Python programming language. They are very simple modules, identified by the filename and should contain a single entry point function. Trac will display the returned data inserted into the HTML where the macro was called.

      It's easiest to learn from an example: 

      # MyMacro.py -- The world's simplest macro

def execute(hdf, args, env):
    return "Hello World called with args: %s" % args

      Advanced Topics: Template-enabled Macros

      For advanced uses, macros can also render structured output in HDF, to be rendered to HTML using clearsilver templates - like most Trac output. In short, this allows more generic and well-designed advanced macros.

      Macros gain direct access to the main HDF tree, and are free to manipulate it.

      Example: 

      def execute(hdf, args, env):
    # Currently hdf is set only when the macro is called
    # from a wiki page.
    if hdf:
        hdf.setValue('wiki.macro.greeting', 'Hello World')
        
    # args will be null if the macro is called without parentheses.
    args = args or 'No arguments'
    return 'Hello World, args = ' + args

      You can also use the environment (env) object to access configuration data.

      Example. 

      def execute(hdf, txt, env):
    return env.get_config('trac', 'repository_dir')

      Here is information on the different WikiMacroObjects?.

      See also: WikiProcessors, WikiFormatting, TracGuide, WikiMacroObjects?