Multiple lines in templates

Templates allow you to specify all arguments in line or in multiple lines, as the separator is the pipe character. This allows you to write the arguments for a template in a comprehensive way, especially for the query function. The arguments are trimmed.

However, this can be a problem if you want to have more than one line within an argument or preserve space at the end.

Say we have a template table like

<table border=1>
<tr><td valign=top>{{{1}}}</td><td valign=top>...{{{2}}}...</td></tr>
</table>

Normally, the space gets removed when you use it in the template:

{{table
| first cell
| first line 
second line

second paragraph
}}

first cell

...first line second line second paragraph...

Using the :: modifier the content of the argument is not trimmed, and the block starts with a paragraph like the start of a wiki page.

{{table
| first cell
|:: first line 
second line

second paragraph
}}

first cell

... first line second line second paragraph ...