The Official Website for Mark Eitzel & American Music Club - User contributions [en]

Help:Footnotes

2007-07-31T13:11:02Z

86.134.114.139: /* Single citation of a reference or footnote */ minor

__NOTOC__
This page explains very briefly how to create numbered footnotes and references using the '''<nowiki><ref> ... </ref></nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki><references/></nowiki>''' syntax, which is the current best-practice method in most circumstances. See [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for more detail.

An older method, using '''<nowiki>{{ref}}</nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki>{{note}}</nowiki>''' templates, is explained at [[Wikipedia:Footnote3]]. Apart from Harvard references, this method is obsolete. See [[Wikipedia:Embedded citations]] for a third approach.

===Single citation of a reference or footnote===

At the point of citation in the main text, enter the reference or footnote like this:

:'''<nowiki><ref>Excel For Dummies, First Edition, Hungry Minds, Inc., 1980.</ref></nowiki>'''

You can include formatting and links in the footnote or reference text in the usual way.

When you want to note that a reference is needed, use the '''{{[[Template:fact|fact]]}}''' template instead.

===Multiple citations of the same reference or footnote===

To cite the same reference or footnote several times, identify it using the '''name''' [[parameter]] of the '''<nowiki><ref></nowiki>''' tag.

At ''one'' of the citation points (it makes sense to choose the first), enter the reference like this:

:'''<nowiki><ref name="Perry">Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984.</ref></nowiki>'''

Then, at all the other citation points just enter:

:'''<nowiki><ref name="Perry"/></nowiki>'''

===Producing the reference or footnote list===

At the point where you want the text of the footnotes or references to appear (usually at the end of the article in a "Notes" or "References" section), insert the tag:

:'''<nowiki><references/></nowiki>'''

===What it looks like ===

The '''<nowiki><ref></nowiki>''' tags in the main text are converted to auto-numbered superscripts, and '''{{[[Template:fact|fact]]}}''' is expanded to "citation needed", like this:

{|class=wikitable
|
:The only reference to Excel For Dummies.<ref>Excel For Dummies, First Edition, Hungry Minds, Inc., 1980.</ref>

:The first reference to Perry's Handbook.<ref name="Perry">Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984.</ref>

:The second reference to Perry's Handbook.<ref name="Perry"/>   

:The third reference to Perry's Handbook and to another, related book.<ref name="Perry"/><ref>Nuclear Chemical Engineering (2nd Edition), McGraw-Hill Co., 1981.</ref>

:The only reference to Linux in a Nutshell.<ref>Linux in a Nutshell, O'Reily Co., 2003.</ref>

:A statement that requires a reference.{{fact}}
|}

Clicking on a numbered superscript takes you straight to the text of the corresponding footnote or reference.

The '''<nowiki><references/></nowiki>''' tag is expanded to show the text of the footnotes or references against their corresponding numbers, like this:

{|class=wikitable
|
<references/>
|}

For single citations, clicking on the caret ('''^''') takes you to the point of citation in the main text.

For multiple citations, the links back to the main text are distinguished by letter superscripts ('''''a''''', '''''b''''', '''''c''''' etc.). Clicking on a letter superscript takes you to the corresponding citation in the main text.

=== Using templates to insert reference text ===
A number of templates, such as '''<nowiki>{{cite book}}</nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki>{{cite web}}</nowiki>''', are available to format the text between the '''<nowiki><ref></nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki></ref></nowiki>''' tags in a more structured way. These are described at [[Wikipedia:Citation templates]]. Their use is optional: they do aid with consistent formatting, but on the other hand they can make editing more cumbersome.

== See also ==

* [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] (Further details on this method, specific to wikipedia)
* [[m:help:footnotes]] (General MediaWiki footnotes documentation)
* [[m:Cite.php]] (technical details about cite.php technology)

[[Category:Wikipedia how-to|Footnotes]]
[[Category:Editor handbook]]
[[nl:help:voetnoot]]

Help:Footnotes

2007-07-31T13:10:16Z

86.134.114.139: minor formatting + clarification

__NOTOC__
This page explains very briefly how to create numbered footnotes and references using the '''<nowiki><ref> ... </ref></nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki><references/></nowiki>''' syntax, which is the current best-practice method in most circumstances. See [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for more detail.

An older method, using '''<nowiki>{{ref}}</nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki>{{note}}</nowiki>''' templates, is explained at [[Wikipedia:Footnote3]]. Apart from Harvard references, this method is obsolete. See [[Wikipedia:Embedded citations]] for a third approach.

===Single citation of a reference or footnote===

At the point of citation in the main text, enter the reference or footnote like this:

:'''<nowiki><ref>Excel For Dummies, First Edition, Hungry Minds, Inc., 1980.</ref></nowiki>'''

You can include formatting and links in the footnote or reference text in the usual way.

When you want to note that a reference would be needed, use instead the '''{{[[Template:fact|fact]]}}''' template.

===Multiple citations of the same reference or footnote===

To cite the same reference or footnote several times, identify it using the '''name''' [[parameter]] of the '''<nowiki><ref></nowiki>''' tag.

At ''one'' of the citation points (it makes sense to choose the first), enter the reference like this:

:'''<nowiki><ref name="Perry">Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984.</ref></nowiki>'''

Then, at all the other citation points just enter:

:'''<nowiki><ref name="Perry"/></nowiki>'''

===Producing the reference or footnote list===

At the point where you want the text of the footnotes or references to appear (usually at the end of the article in a "Notes" or "References" section), insert the tag:

:'''<nowiki><references/></nowiki>'''

===What it looks like ===

The '''<nowiki><ref></nowiki>''' tags in the main text are converted to auto-numbered superscripts, and '''{{[[Template:fact|fact]]}}''' is expanded to "citation needed", like this:

{|class=wikitable
|
:The only reference to Excel For Dummies.<ref>Excel For Dummies, First Edition, Hungry Minds, Inc., 1980.</ref>

:The first reference to Perry's Handbook.<ref name="Perry">Perry's Handbook, Sixth Edition, McGraw-Hill Co., 1984.</ref>

:The second reference to Perry's Handbook.<ref name="Perry"/>   

:The third reference to Perry's Handbook and to another, related book.<ref name="Perry"/><ref>Nuclear Chemical Engineering (2nd Edition), McGraw-Hill Co., 1981.</ref>

:The only reference to Linux in a Nutshell.<ref>Linux in a Nutshell, O'Reily Co., 2003.</ref>

:A statement that requires a reference.{{fact}}
|}

Clicking on a numbered superscript takes you straight to the text of the corresponding footnote or reference.

The '''<nowiki><references/></nowiki>''' tag is expanded to show the text of the footnotes or references against their corresponding numbers, like this:

{|class=wikitable
|
<references/>
|}

For single citations, clicking on the caret ('''^''') takes you to the point of citation in the main text.

For multiple citations, the links back to the main text are distinguished by letter superscripts ('''''a''''', '''''b''''', '''''c''''' etc.). Clicking on a letter superscript takes you to the corresponding citation in the main text.

=== Using templates to insert reference text ===
A number of templates, such as '''<nowiki>{{cite book}}</nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki>{{cite web}}</nowiki>''', are available to format the text between the '''<nowiki><ref></nowiki>''' and '''<nowiki></ref></nowiki>''' tags in a more structured way. These are described at [[Wikipedia:Citation templates]]. Their use is optional: they do aid with consistent formatting, but on the other hand they can make editing more cumbersome.

== See also ==

* [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] (Further details on this method, specific to wikipedia)
* [[m:help:footnotes]] (General MediaWiki footnotes documentation)
* [[m:Cite.php]] (technical details about cite.php technology)

[[Category:Wikipedia how-to|Footnotes]]
[[Category:Editor handbook]]
[[nl:help:voetnoot]]