Template that returns an error message if the first argument is not valid for use with other helper templates.

When using a string that is not a valid element name or symbol or "x" or "element", an error message is returned, like so:

  • {{CheckElement|C}} will return ""
  • {{CheckElement|Carbon}} will return ""
  • {{CheckElement|Blablabla}} will return "unknown element Blablabla."

The "link=yes" argument is also supported; if the element name or symbol has no associated link, an error message is returned, like so:

  • {{CheckElement|link=yes|C}} will return ""
  • {{CheckElement|link=yes|Carbon}} will return ""
  • {{CheckElement|link=yes|X}} will return "The generic element 'X' does not have a page to link to."

When using a common name for an element that goes against the Wikipedia style guide for element names, a warning message will be returned. There are currently three such names:

  • {{CheckElement|Aluminum}} will return "Aluminum is not a valid way to spell aluminium."
  • {{CheckElement|Sulphur}} will return "Sulphur is not a valid way to spell sulfur."
  • {{CheckElement|Cesium}} will return "Cesium is not a valid way to spell caesium."

This template can be used in other templates to check for error before calling other templates that require a valid element or symbol like so:

{{#ifexpr:{{CheckElement|{{{element argument}}}|link={{{link|}}} }}
 | {{Element2|{{{element argument}}} }} is the best element in the whole world
 | Bad input for element name or symbol
}}