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Question

I manage a One Name Study. In the study, I have created free-space profiles for various places where the surname "originates." I provide links to these free-space profiles on the Name Study Profile page. I would like to provide this list on each of the free-space profiles as well, but not have to manually edit each list every time there are changes. Is there a way to provide these links on each of the free-space profiles such that updating on the Name Study Profile page will automatically update the list on each free-space profile?

Answer 1

If you make them subcategories, then any profile on which you put the subcategory will show up inside it.  For instance,
[[Category:Australia, Christopher Name Study]] and
[[Category:Iowa, Christopher Name Study]]

This is the ONS standard way of grouping profiles.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:One_Name_Studies#Other_categorization

When you create the ones above, you would nest them within [[Category:Christopher Name Study]]

The profiles always update when they change, but you have them already on your Category page. They will not appear on a freespace page unless you manually link them there.

Comments

I honestly don't understand what you're talking about, but I'm kind of thick and need things spelled out. The words "they" and "it" don't mean anything to me. In fact, when my students use these words, I ask "Who are they?" and "What is it?"

How do I create new categories? How do I nest the new categories? 

You stated:

The profiles always update when they change, but you have them already on your Category page. They will not appear on a freespace page unless you manually link them there.

I don't understand what you mean. To which profiles are you referring?

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If you make your freespace pages into subcategories instead, then any profile on which you put the subcategory will show up inside the group you have placed on your category page. (This is how you include any profile in any category in your Name Study.)  For instance,
[[Category:Australia, Christopher Name Study]] and
[[Category:Iowa, Christopher Name Study]]

To learn how to nest categories, why not go back to the ONS Project page, where it tells you how step-by-step.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:One_Name_Studies#Categorization

The profiles to which I was referring were all the profiles you have linked into your Christopher Name Study.  You know, like Ada Pearl (Christopher) Nowlin, and Orin Sidney Christopher, or Fred Rayfield Christopher.  You have put them in your Name Study by adding [[Category:Christopher Name Study]] to their profiles.  You can see them all if you scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on 'Christopher Name Study' - that is your Category page.  If, just say, you wanted to group all of the profiles that were born in Oklahoma, you would create [[Category:Oklahoma, Christopher Name Study]] and add that category to the profiles.  I have done one for you, so you can see what it looks like (I chose Ada Pearl).  Can you see just how useful this could be?  These subcategories could be more useful than freespace pages.

Take a look at my Haywood Name Study (remember, scroll right down to the bottom and find the category 'Haywood Name Study' and then click on that) and see how I have used subcategories to group profiles.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Haywood_Name_Study

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OK. But this doesn't answer my original question, which has nothing to do with linking individual profiles to the name study.

I read the instructions. I don't understand them.

So - I don't need to create free-space pages? Then how do I add content without clogging up the main page? I'm just doing what others have done.

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You can certainly create freespace profiles if you really want to and have lots of content which would overwhelm the main page.  I have created freespace pages on the 1881 census for the Haywood Name Study, and migration and heraldry for the Stanton Name Study.  

But just be aware that you can also create subcategories (either instead of or as well as) which will do a nice job of grouping, although of course you won't be able to put content next to their names.

I had to read the instructions on categories over and over and over - then suddenly one day the penny dropped and I 'got' how to do it. ;)

Is the list in your question a list of places, or a list of freespace pages, or something else? Then once they are linked, they are linked - it won't matter if something changes on one of these freespace pages, because it will be permanently linked.  

Try linking to your own profile, then go and change something like the name of your school.  The link won't care.  All it will know is that it is linked to your profile, not whether the profile has been changed or not.

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I have a list of the free-space pages on my main study page, with links to the free-space pages.

I want to put that list of linked free-space pages on EACH of the free-space pages without having to update each one manually. For example, there are 50+ US states/territories. Each time I create a new-free space page (when study members want/need for content), I want to be able to update the list in one place and have that update "trickle-down" to all the other pages.

I don't see how sub-categories will help eliminate the need for free-space pages (or even remotely substitute). All the sub-category does is provide a place for a list of profiles that carry the sub-category. There is no content on the category pages.

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It won't trickle down.  You'll have to do it manually.  

You are right: categories will not replace these FSPs, but you will find them useful.  That's why I said 'either instead of or as well as' in my earlier reply.

Remember to check the US Project, who probably already have a set of pages-per-State.  You might like to link to them as well.