Template:Wikipedia how to
 | This help page is mainly of technical interest to those who are creating new label styles. For the use of defined styles, refer to WP:CITELABEL. |
When automated footnotes are used on Wikipedia pages, the default form of the footnote labels is Template:Dummy ref, Template:Dummy ref, Template:Dummy ref, etc. When grouped footnotes are used, the labels are Template:Dummy ref, Template:Dummy ref, etc., where name is the name given to the group. However, by using certain reserved group names, it is possible to make the labels appear in a different form, such as Template:Dummy ref, Template:Dummy ref, etc. or Template:Dummy ref, Template:Dummy ref, etc.
Currently existing reserved group names are:
Label styles
Group name |
Style |
Sample
|
|
Decimal numbers (default) |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
|
decimal |
Decimal numbers |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
|
lower-alpha |
Alpha, lower case |
a b c d e f g h i j
|
upper-alpha |
Alpha, upper case |
A B C D E F G H I J
|
lower-greek |
Greek, lower case |
α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ [lower-alpha 1]
|
lower-roman |
Roman, lower case |
i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x
|
upper-roman |
Roman, upper case |
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X
|
- ↑ Not supported by Internet Explorer 7 and below
For example, a footnote which is to appear in the i, ii, iii... group can be written as:
<ref group=lower-roman>...</ref>
To generate the list of the footnotes in that group, use for example
Further examples, technical information and instructions for creating new reserved groups can be found below.
Technical[edit]
Version r66749 of the Cite extension implements the ability to create styles for the cite link labels. Although the ability to create in-text cite label styles is unlimited, the matching reference list label styles are currently limited to those supported by the CSS list-style-type
property and to browser support.
Numeric labels[edit]
The default in-text cite links and reference list backlinks use numeric labels automatically generated by the software. The labels are linked to provide a connection between the in-text cite and the reference list cite.
In this example, the super-scripted, in-text cites use a numeric label that matches the citation in the reference list:
Markup |
Renders as
|
The Sun is pretty big,<ref>Miller, E: ''The Sun'', page 23. Academic Press, 2005.</ref>
but the Moon is not so big.<ref>Brown, R: "Size of the Moon", ''Scientific American'', 51(78):46</ref>
The Sun is also quite hot.<ref>Miller, E: ''The Sun'', page 34. Academic Press, 2005.</ref>
==References==
<references />
|
The Sun is pretty big,[test 1]
but the Moon is not so big.[test 2]
The Sun is also quite hot.[test 3]
References
- ↑ Miller, E: The Sun, page 23. Academic Press, 2005.
- ↑ Brown, R: "Size of the Moon", Scientific American, 51(78):46
- ↑ Miller, E: The Sun, page 34. Academic Press, 2005.
|
|
|
Cite link sequence styles[edit]
Special group names have been defined which give alternative sequences, such as alphabetical and roman numerals, instead of Arabic numerals.
List of custom link label sequences[edit]
- ↑ Not supported by Internet Explorer 7 and below
The list below is created automatically by Special:PrefixIndex:
Markup restriction[edit]
These sequences will only work properly when using the {{Reflist}} template. Although the <references />
tag supports the group=
attribute, the footnotes will be displayed with the default Arabic numerals.
Creating cite label sequence styles[edit]
Only admins can perform these actions. Non-admins may request additions on the talk page.
Currently, only styles supported by the CSS list-style-type
element may be added.[1] Not all styles are supported by all browsers— see the list below.[2]
- Decide on a name for the cite label style group name. It should match the associated CSS
list-style-type
value. Quotes may not be used in values in {{Reflist}} therefore the name must comply with the rules for HTML ids.[3]
- Discuss the new style on the talk page and gain consensus.
- Create the style list at MediaWiki:cite_link_label_group-groupname. Ensure each label is separated with a space. For example, create MediaWiki:cite link label group-lower-greek and populate it with the Greek alphabet. Then use "lower-greek" as the groupname.
- Redirect the talk page to the central discussion page by creating the talk page with
#REDIRECT [[Help talk:Cite errors]]
.
- Edit {{Reflist}} and add the
list-style-type
that styles the reference list.
- Add the style to the list above.
- If there are browser limitations, document them in the notice at the top of the page.
CSS list-style-type values
CSS 2.1
list-style-type
values
[4]
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
decimal-leading-zero
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
lower-roman
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
upper-roman
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
lower-alpha
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
upper-alpha
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
lower-greek
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
armenian
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
georgian
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
CSS2
list-style-type
values deprecated in CSS 2.1
[5]
...but still supported by some browsers.
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
cjk-ideographic
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
hiragana
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
katakana
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
hiragana-iroha
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
katakana-iroha
|
- text
- text
- text
- text
|
Internet Explorer
|
Firefox
|
Safari
|
Chrome
|
Opera
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Browser support[edit]
The in-text link labels will be retrieved from the MediaWiki label page, thus they should show regardless of browser. The reference list labels are styled by the CSS list-style-type
property. Not all browsers support all list-style-type
values. A browser that does not support the value will revert to the default decimal label in the reference list. See the table above for values and browser support.
Error messages[edit]
An error message indicates when there are more cites than there are link labels:
- Ran out of custom link labels for group "$1". Define more in the MediaWiki:$2 message.
This message is invoked through MediaWiki:cite error no link label group; the help page is at Help:Cite errors/Cite error no link label group.
- T24265
- The error message at MediaWiki:Cite error no link label group gets classed as a reference, so you can't use a wikilink in the message to link to a help page
- The reference list is an ordered list and uses numbers that don't match the in-text cite labels
Classes and templates[edit]
The {{Reflist}} uses the |group=
parameter to select the list-style-type
style, and apply it to the .reflist
class:
list-style-type: <!--
-->{{#switch: {{{group|}}}
| lower-alpha
| lower-greek
| lower-roman = {{{group}}}
| #default = decimal}};
- Note that the decimal style is handled by the default
list-style-type
.
CSS rules in MediaWiki:Common.css then allow the .references
class to inherit the list-style-type
:
div.reflist ol.references {
list-style-type: inherit; /* Enable custom list style types */
}
References[edit]
Cite error: <ref>
tags exist for a group named "lower-alpha", but no corresponding <references group="lower-alpha"/>
tag was found