Help:Cite link labels
This help page is a how-to guide. It explains concepts or processes used by the Wikipedia community. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, and may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
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 [1], [2], [3], etc. When grouped footnotes are used, the labels are [name 1], [name 2], 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 [i], [ii], etc. or [a], [b], etc.
Currently existing reserved group names are:
Group name | Style | Sample |
---|---|---|
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-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 |
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
{{reflist|group=lower-roman}}
Further examples, technical information and instructions for creating new reserved groups can be found below.
Technical
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
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 |
---|---|
|
|
Cite link sequence styles
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
Group name | Style | Sample | Interface page |
---|---|---|---|
decimal | Decimal numbers | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | MediaWiki:cite link label group-decimal |
lower-alpha | Alpha, lower case | a b c d e f g h i j | MediaWiki:cite link label group-lower-alpha |
upper-alpha | Alpha, upper case | A B C D E F G H I J | MediaWiki:cite link label group-upper-alpha |
lower-greek | Greek, lower case | α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ | MediaWiki:cite link label group-lower-greek |
lower-roman | Roman, lower case | i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x | MediaWiki:cite link label group-lower-roman |
upper-roman | Roman, upper case | I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X | MediaWiki:cite link label group-upper-roman |
error-test | test | first second last! | MediaWiki:cite link label group-error-test |
The list below is created automatically by Special:PrefixIndex:
Markup restriction
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
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.
Browser support
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.
Error messages
An error message indicates when there are more cites than there are link labels:
- Ran out of custom link labels for group "$1" (see the help page).
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.
Bugs
- 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
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
- ^ "CSS list-style-type Property". w3schools.com.
- ^ "List styles". QuirksMode.org.
- ^ "HTML id Attribute". w3schools.com.