[[!template id=plugin name=sidebar author="Tuomo Valkonen"]]
[[!tag type/chrome]]
-If this plugin is enabled, then a sidebar is added to pages in the wiki.
-The content of the sidebar is simply the content of a page named
-"sidebar" (ie, create a "sidebar.mdwn").
+This plugin allows adding a sidebar to pages in the wiki.
+
+By default, and unless the `global_sidebars` setting is turned off,
+a sidebar is added to all pages in the wiki. The content of the sidebar
+is simply the content of a page named "sidebar" (ie, create a "sidebar.mdwn").
Typically this will be a page in the root of the wiki, but it can also be a
[[ikiwiki/SubPage]]. In fact, this page,
[[plugins/sidebar|plugins/sidebar]], will be treated as a sidebar for the
[[plugins]] page, and of all of its SubPages, if the plugin is enabled.
-Note that to disable a sidebar for a [[ikiwiki/SubPage]] of a page that has
-a sidebar, you can create a sidebar page that is completely empty. This
-will turn off the sidebar altogether.
+There is also a [[ikiwiki/directive/sidebar]] directive that can be used
+to provide a custom sidebar content for a page.
+
+----
+
+Warning: Any change to the sidebar page will cause a rebuild of the whole
+wiki, since every page includes a copy that has to be updated. This can
+especially be a problem if the sidebar includes an
+[[ikiwiki/directive/inline]] directive, since any changes to pages inlined
+into the sidebar will change the sidebar and cause a full wiki rebuild.
-Warning: Any change to the sidebar will cause a rebuild of the whole wiki,
-since every page includes a copy that has to be updated. This can
-especially be a problem if the sidebar includes [[inline]] or [[map]]
-directives, since any changes to pages inlined or mapped onto the sidebar
-will change the sidebar and cause a full wiki rebuild.
+Instead, if you include a [[ikiwiki/directive/map]] directive on the sidebar,
+and it does not use the `show` parameter, only adding or removing pages
+included in the map will cause a full rebuild. Modifying pages will not.