Wikipedia:WikiProject National Register of Historic Places/Improve NRHP tools and help pages

Things to do which would Improve NRHP tools, templates, and help pages.

Note: This is linked from WikiProject National Register of Historic Places/to do which is posted on the wikiproject's Talk page.

Feel free to add new items, and new sections. And please comment/!vote in support of any improvement ideas you'd like to see accomplished, as is or with modification (explain). But how about letting disagreements play out at Talk pages of the templates or help pages where change proposals must be made, instead of noting opposition here?

Documentation improvements
Add mention of known bugs to documentation pages such as Template:infobox NRHP/doc, so users are at least warned. It would be better to have the programming fixed and to eliminate the bug, but getting any change done for any NRHP template (which generally are "protected") seems to be either impossible or at least to require a lot of effort and persistence. But the documentation for users is generally not protected. See, for example, Template:Infobox_NRHP/doc which now explains one bug known at least since 2016. --Doncram (talk) 00:29, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

Mapping improvements

 * Per Module:Location_map/data/USA, it is possible for an infobox map to indicate multiple locations, rather than just one. For some NRHP articles, this would be useful.  Figure out how to get it working. --Doncram (talk) 00:42, 22 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Figure out what "locmapin=" arguments can be used to make an infobox background map smaller than a STATE map, and revise wp:NRHPHELP to provide a list of them and/or explain how to find what's available. (Perhaps the answer is "search the categories under [[:Category:
 * Identify NRHP articles which would benefit from smaller map areas (for example, in October 2022, most or all in Category:National Register of Historic Places in Denver would benefit) and
 * if a map does not exist, try to get one created. (For example, in October 2022, it seems there is no background map available for Denver, Colorado, while there is one for Colorado Springs.  See Category:Colorado location map templates)
 * if a map exists, put in the better "locmapin=" argument, perhaps using AutoWikiBrowser tool (wp:AWB) to find and change all relevant articles. Note that for historic places of national or world-wide significance, keeping a USA level map is usually helpful.  Apply the multiple maps feature to show USA by default, and allow users to click to see narrower map areas. --Doncram (talk) 00:49, 22 October 2022 (UTC)

NRHP generator improvements
The editor who developed and maintains the NRHP generator tool occasionally updates it. What would make it better? With </ref
 * Fix broken link to NRHP docs at NPS. The link from its report giving an NRHP infobox (such as "NRHP nomination and photos are probably at http://focus.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/86003166" which appears for Palmetto Historic District) has stopped working.  It always reports the docs are not available now, when they are.  A workaround is that one can paste the suggested reference, e.g. for Palmetto:
 * into an article and then check the links, and for Palmetto the links will work. But the link from the NRHP generator tool is very helpful when it is working, while it is misleading to users now. --Doncram (talk) 23:27, 13 September 2022 (UTC)


 * Is there any way to add a link to the NARA-provided versions of NRHP documents, which are online now for most states? NARA uses its own numbering system.  For NRHP doc for Palmetto Historic District the NARA i.d. is "77843020" while the NRHP reference number is "86003166".
 * Yes, just provide a search using the refnum, e.g. "Try this link at NARA" to see if the NRHP document is available there. --Doncram (talk) 23:27, 13 September 2022 (UTC)


 * If an actual area is not available, set up use of the convert template anyhow, putting in "area= NNNN acre ". Using the "NNNN" argument is allowable, does not display at all, as here: " NNNN acre".


 * Per bug description at Template:Infobox_NRHP/doc, for any historic district article add "Category:Historic districts in STATE".


 * It would be possibly very useful if queries for architectural styles were allowed. There is "Various queries that I've found useful - feel free to ask me for custom queries, and I'll see if I can make them" which offers architecture query for Beaux-Arts style, and one can select for ALL or just one STATE.  Could this be allowed to work for any architectural style?  Maybe has to be hard-coded for each of the __(how many?)__ architecture codes in NRIS (where are those listed?).  I would like to run it right now for WPA Moderne, but probably that is not one of the NRIS style codes. --Doncram (talk) 16:17, 25 October 2022 (UTC)

NRIS reference template

 * Like many other templates, revisions are occasionally needed. Getting improvements done to this is difficult, IMHO. It is locked to changes by administrators only, and should be unlocked, IMHO. There has never been any vandalism.  Unlocking it would require getting a consensus somehow. --Doncram (talk) 00:15, 14 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Currently, requests need to be made at its Talk page. There are some unresolved improvement requests there now; perhaps a new champion could get the issues resolved. --Doncram (talk) 00:15, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

NRHP infobox template

 * Get this template unlocked, too. Again there has never been any vandalism. --Doncram (talk) 00:15, 14 September 2022 (UTC)
 * When both "architect=" and "builder=" fields are given arguments, the infobox lists "Built by" before "Architect", while in almost all cases the architect is involved first. Switch.--Doncram (talk) 00:15, 14 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Per Template:Infobox_NRHP/doc, remove the often/usually erroneous addition of a category of historic districts done automatically.