Help:Cite link labels

When automated footnotes are used on Wikipedia pages, the default form of the footnote labels is , , , etc. When grouped footnotes are used, the labels are , , 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 , , etc. or , , etc.

Currently existing reserved group names are:

Label styles

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
The Sun is pretty big,<ref group="test">Miller, E: ''The Sun'', page 23. Academic Press, 2005.</ref> but the Moon is not so big.<ref group="test">Brown, R: "Size of the Moon", ''Scientific American'', 51(78):46</ref> The Sun is also quite hot.<ref group="test">Miller, E: ''The Sun'', page 34. Academic Press, 2005.</ref> ==References== <references />	The Sun is pretty big, but the Moon is not so big. The Sun is also quite hot. References

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

Label styles

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:

• Cite link label group-decimal
• Cite link label group-error-test
• Cite link label group-lower-alpha
• Cite link label group-lower-greek
• Cite link label group-lower-roman
• Cite link label group-upper-alpha
• Cite link label group-upper-roman

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. Not all styles are supported by all browsers— see the list below.

1. 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.
2. Discuss the new style on the talk page and gain consensus.
3. 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.
4. Redirect the talk page to the central discussion page by creating the talk page with #REDIRECT [[Help talk:Cite errors]].
5. Edit {{Reflist}} and add the list-style-type that styles the reference list.
6. Add the style to the list above.
7. 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 */
}