Help:Cite link labels
{{Wikipedia how to|H:CL}}
{{notice|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 {{dummy ref|1}}, {{dummy ref|2}}, {{dummy ref|3}}, etc. When grouped footnotes are used, the labels are {{dummy ref|name 1}}, {{dummy ref|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 {{dummy ref|i}}, {{dummy ref|ii}}, etc. or {{dummy ref|a}}, {{dummy ref|b}}, etc.
Currently existing reserved group names are:
{{Cite link label styles}}
For example, a footnote which is to appear in the i, ii, iii... group can be written as:
- {{tag|ref|params=group=lower-roman}}
To generate the list of the footnotes in that group, use for example
- {{tlx|reflist|2=group=lower-roman}}
Further examples, technical information and instructions for creating new reserved groups can be found below.
==Technical==
Version r66749 of the {{Cite.php}} 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 {{code|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
|
but the Moon is not so big.Brown, R: "Size of the Moon", Scientific American, 51(78):46
The Sun is also quite hot.Miller, E: The Sun, page 34. Academic Press, 2005.
References
|The Sun is pretty big,Miller, E: The Sun, page 23. Academic Press, 2005.
but the Moon is not so big.Brown, R: "Size of the Moon", Scientific American, 51(78):46
The Sun is also quite hot.Miller, E: The Sun, page 34. Academic Press, 2005.
{{fake heading|sub=3|References}}
{{reflist|group="test"|close}}}}
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=
{{Cite link label styles|interface=y}}
The list below is created automatically by Special:PrefixIndex:
=Markup restriction=
These sequences will only work properly when using the {{tl|Reflist}} template. Although the {{tag|references|s}} tag supports the {{code|1=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 {{code|list-style-type}} element may be added.{{cite web |title=list-style-type |url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/list-style-type |work=developer.mozilla.org}} Not all styles are supported by all browsers— see the list below.{{cite web |title=List styles |work=QuirksMode.org |url=http://www.quirksmode.org/css/lists.html}}
- Decide on a name for the cite label style group name. It should match the associated CSS {{code|list-style-type}} value. Quotes may not be used in values in {{tl|Reflist}} therefore the name must comply with the rules for HTML ids.{{cite web |title=HTML id Attribute |work=w3schools.com |url=http://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_standard_id.asp}}
- 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 {{code|#REDIRECT Help talk:Cite errors}}.
- Edit {{tl|Reflist}} and add the {{code|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 {{code|list-style-type}} property. Not all browsers support all {{code|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:
- {{MediaWiki:cite error no link label group|nocat=yes}}
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
- {{phab|24265}}
- 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 {{tl|Reflist}} uses the {{para|group}} parameter to select the {{code|list-style-type}} style, and apply it to the {{code|.reflist}} class:
| lower-alpha
| lower-greek
| lower-roman = {{{group}}}
| #default = decimal}};
:Note that the decimal style is handled by the default {{code|list-style-type}}.
CSS rules in MediaWiki:Common.css then allow the {{code|.references}} class to inherit the {{code|list-style-type}}:
div.reflist ol.references {
list-style-type: inherit; /* Enable custom list style types */
}