This module helps avoid problems with templates that might exceed expand size or time and which might put a page in an error tracking category:
Using this module to replace a large list of entries can significantly reduce the resources required to generate the page, making editing and viewing an uncached page faster.
Some articles use to show lists of items in multiple columns. The module only supports cases using colwidth and no other parameters. Given that limitation, using the module requires an expansion size only a little more than the size of the wikitext, while the template requires an amount three times larger. The following example is from List of least concern fishes.
Wikitext
{{#invoke:biglist|columns-list|colwidth=30em|*[[Aptychotrema rostrata|Eastern shovelnose ray]] ''(Aptychotrema rostrata)''
*[[Aptychotrema vincentiana|Southern shovelnose ray]] ''(Aptychotrema vincentiana)''
*[[Rhinobatos annulatus|Lesser guitarfish]] ''(Rhinobatos annulatus)''
*[[Rhinobatos blochii|Bluntnose guitarfish]] ''(Rhinobatos blochii)''
*[[Rhinobatos sainsburyi|Goldeneye shovelnose ray]] ''(Rhinobatos sainsburyi)''
*[[Trygonorrhina dumerilli|Southern fiddler ray]] ''(Trygonorrhina dumerilli)''
*[[Trygonorrhina fasciata|Eastern fiddler ray]] ''(Trygonorrhina fasciata)''}}
Result
Some project pages list hundreds of topics using . An alternative would be to use the module as in the following example.
Wikitext
{{#invoke:biglist|topicsearch|prefix=*|list=
Aalenilla compressa
Aalenirhynchia
}}
Result
Some pages list hundreds of users using . An alternative would be to use the module as in the following example.
Wikitext
{{#invoke:biglist|userlinks|prefix=#|list=
Example
Jimbo Wales
}}
Result
List of cities by sunshine duration has many tables with cells that show the average hours of sunlight in a particular month and location; each cell is colored according to the number of hours. Using, the article had script errors which were removed by replacing entries such as:
| style="{{Weather box/cols|183.0 }};"|183.0
with
| {{#invoke:biglist|weatherboxcols|183.0}}
The policy section Wikipedia is not a crystal ball includes an example of an item from a "predetermined list" of names. The key point of the example is that an event may be likely to occur within a few months, but is not suitable for an article if no encyclopedic information is available. The storm function selects a suitable title from a built-in list. The title is not linked. From January to October (inclusive) in the current year, the entry for that year is shown. That entry should be for an event expected in the next year. In November and December of the current year, the entry for the following year is shown. The result is that the selected event is always at least two months in the future.
If the list that is built-in to the module is not updated before the last entry is used, the default entry is displayed.
The following example is supposed to show a red link for an article that should not be created until encyclopedic information is available.<nowiki>[[{{#invoke:biglist|storm}}]]</nowiki> → storm}}