Template:Reflist/doc

This citation template provides formatting and organizational features for footnotes. It encapsulates the <references /> tag used by the cite MediaWiki extension to show the list of references as defined by <ref> tags. It adds support for sizing the column width, groups and List-defined references.

Parameters

There are no required parameters; if none are supplied, a single-column list will be generated if there are fewer than 10 references in the list. If you have more than 10 references, it will use columns of 30em wide if your device allows this.

Optional parameters are:

• Unnamed parameter (must be the first one if used): the minimum width for each column of references, typically in ems. Syntax (for example) |30em with no space (i.e. not |30 em). Note that this replaces colwidth—see § Obsolete parameters.
• refs: used with List-defined references.
• group: identifies by name the subset of references to be rendered; the value should correspond to that used inline, e.g., {{Reflist|group=groupname}} renders all references with groupname as the group name (<ref group="groupname">). There are five pre-defined group names that style the list differently. See § Grouped references below.
• liststyle: specifies the style used when the reference list is rendered. The default is a numbered list. When set, it will override the style set by the |group= parameter, without affecting group functionality. See § List styles below.

Usage

Using only footnote-style references

Markup	Renders as
Lorem ipsum.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}}	Lorem ipsum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. References

Using only bibliographical style references (no direct references from the text)

Markup	Renders as
Lorem ipsum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. ==References== {{Refbegin}} * reference 1 * reference 2 {{Refend}}	Lorem ipsum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. References reference 1 reference 2

Using both footnote-style and bibliography-style references

Markup	Renders as
Lorem ipsum.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Refbegin}} * reference 1 * reference 2 {{Refend}}	Lorem ipsum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. References reference 1 reference 2

Columns

{{Reflist|30em}} (for example) instructs the browser to create as many columns as possible (of width at least 30 em, in this example) given the width of the display window. (Units supported are em, ex, in, cm, mm, pt, pc, px, but em is almost always used.) There must not be a space between the number and the unit. Percent is not supported.

Choose a width appropriate to the typical width of the references:

• Automatic columns (default when no width is specified): Where there are only a few footnotes
• 30em: Where there are many footnotes plus a page-width Bibliography subsection
• 20em: Where there are many footrnotes and/or you want to display them smaller than normal.

Example

15em wide columns (vary width of display window to see change in number of columns)

Markup	Renders as
Lorem ipsum.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> ==References== {{Reflist|15em}}	Lorem ipsum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. References

The syntax {{Reflist|2}} (for example), which specifies two columns of equal width regardless of the available display width, is deprecated. When you use 1 the template gives you a single column while 2 will pretend you specified 30em. When using higher column counts, it will pretend you specified 25em.

List-defined references

A list of references may be defined within {{Reflist}} using the |refs= parameter, just like including named <ref name="...">...</ref> elements inside the <references>...</references> container.

Example

Markup	Renders as
This is reference 1.<ref name="refname1" /> This is reference 2.<ref name="refname2" /> ==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="refname1">content1</ref> <ref name="refname2">content2</ref> }}	This is reference 1. This is reference 2. References

Grouped references

References can be grouped into separate sections (for explanatory notes, table references, and the like) via group=:

<ref group="groupname">

where groupname is (for example) notes or sources. The group name need not be enclosed in quotes; this differs from the footnote marker where quotes are required if the group name includes a space.

Each group used in the article must have a matching reference list:

{{Reflist|group=groupname}}

Predefined groups

There are predefined group names that automatically set the labels in the footnote markers and the reference list to other styles. Thus, setting {{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}} will set the group to lower-alpha and will style the reference list with lower alpha characters. The matching footnote marker can be formed by <ref group="lower-alpha">...</ref>. This is made easier by a series of templates to set the group/label styles for the footnote marker and the reference list: {{#section:Help:Footnotes|pregrouptable}}

List styles

As noted in § Predefined groups, there are predefined groups that automatically add list styling. Using the listed templates is more convenient than using |liststyle=.

Reference lists are by default numbered lists. By using the |liststyle= parameter, you can control how the list is rendered. For example, using |liststyle=upper-roman will result in references being labeled with Roman numerals instead of decimal numbers. The parameter accepts any valid CSS value defined for list-style-type as shown below.

It is possible to use |liststyle= so that the labels for the footnote marker and the reference list marker differ. This should be used with care as it can be confusing to readers. For example:

Markup	Renders as
<ref group="note">Reference</ref> {{Reflist|group=note|liststyle=lower-alpha}}

Interaction with images

In the unusual case of an image being placed to the left of a reference list, layout problems may occur on some browsers. This can be prevented by using the columns feature.

Markup	Renders as
Lorem ipsum.<ref>Source name, access date, etc.</ref> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. ==References== {{Reflist|10em}}	Lorem ipsum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. References

Template data

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools.

TemplateData for Reflist

This template displays the list of footnotes at the end of an article and provides additional formatting and organizing options. After hitting "Apply changes" and turning back to VE read mode, you will not see the references list. After hitting "Publish page" and turning back to normal read mode the reference list will reappear with the changes applied, see T53146.

Template parameters

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Columns / Column width	1 colwidth	Two modes supported. First mode (deprecated): integer number of fixed columns into which the reference list is to be rendered. Second mode: typographic unit of measurement such as 'em', specifying the width for the reference list columns, e.g. '33em'; spaced '33&nbsp;em' will not be recognized Default 1 if < 11 references; otherwise 30em	String	optional
Liststyle	liststyle	Specifies the style used when the reference list is enumerated; accepts any valid CSS value defined for list-style-type Default decimal	String	optional
Group	group	Group is an identifier which restricts the references that are shown. Without this parameter, this template only shows references with no group identifier. With a group identifier specified, only references with a matching group identifier are handled. The rest are left alone.	String	optional
List of references	refs	Provides a space to define named references for use in the article. References defined in this space are not shown unless used somewhere in the article.	String	optional

Limitations

Do not use {{Reflist}} or other templates or modules that use {{#tag:references}} in numbered or unnumbered lists if the list is inside an HTML div tag.

 No — :{{Reflist}}

 No — *{{Reflist}}

 No — #{{Reflist}}

 Yes — {{Reflist}}

See also

• {{Notelist}} – templates for use with footnotes
• {{Refbegin}} and {{Refend}} – format reference lists