Usage

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This template presents version history tables in a standardized format.

Many articles on Wikipedia use color-coded tables to illustrate the version or release history of software. The template has been imported from German Wikipedia, where it is used as the current standard for color-coding history tables.

This template is used within Wikitables, making use of the pipe syntax. Legends can be added as tables, as floating or non-floating containers. As colors are not visible to blind or visually-impaired readers, this template uses replacement information when necessary to improve accessibility, e.g. using the "title" attribute. (See Wikipedia:WikiProject Accessibility.)

When creating a version history, please note that less is more: Wikipedia is not a directory or changelog. Only important or major releases should be documented in Wikipedia. See the Manual of Style for Computing topics for further guidelines.

General look

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Version Year Description
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.0 2021 EOL versions
Old version, yet still maintained: 2.0 2022 LTS versions
Current stable version: 3.0 2023 Current stable version
Latest preview version of a future release: 4.0beta2 2024 Latest beta version
Future release: 4.0 2025 Future release
Legend:
Old version, not maintained
Old version, still maintained
Latest version
Latest preview version
Future release

When to avoid

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Discontinued products
For a product that is neither supported nor developed, each version would have the "EOL versions" description. Since no distinction would exist between version stages, the use of this template would lack any basis. A simple sentence or a |discontinued=yes in the infobox would do admirably well.
When there is always one stable supported version
When there are no supported previous versions, preview versions, or announced future versions, the entire table would consist of red versions with a single green one at the very end. In such cases, the use of this template is discouraged.

Parameters

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Legend box

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Parameter Description Notes
1 Legend type Either of the following generates a legend box. Acceptable values include:
l: Horizontal legend
lv: Vertical legend
t: Horizontal legend, as a table
tv: Vertical legend, as a table
show Legend contents This parameter is optional. By default the legend box contains the following six items:
  1. Legend: (appears bold when the legend type is either "l", "lv", or "t")
  2. EOL versions
  3. LTS versions
  4. Current version (appears bold)
  5. Latest preview version
  6. Future release

This parameter allows each item to be displayed or hidden with digits. Each digit controls the state of its associated item in the above list.
Acceptable digits are "1" (displays the associated legend item) and "0" (hides the associated legend item).
The parameter is "show=XXX" where "XXX" is:

  • a six-digit number when the legend type is either "l" or "lv"
  • a five-digit number when the legend type is either "t" or "tv" because the first item ("Legend:") cannot be hidden.

Additional digits on the left are ignored.

style CSS styles This parameter is optional. Use it to change the template's formatting, style and layout via CSS syntax.

In combination with the legend the specified CSS applies to the entire block.

Table cells

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Parameter Description Notes
1 Data type Either of the following change the background color of the cell in which it is inserted:
o: Denotes EOL versions
co: Denotes LTS versions
c: Denotes latest stable version
cp: Denotes preview version
p: Denotes planned future version
2 Text Specifies the text to display on screen, usually a version number or name of a specific version.
style CSS styles This parameter is optional. Use it to change the template's formatting, style and layout via CSS syntax.

This parameter can be inserted into a table cell to enforce CSS definitions in that cell.

sortKey Sorting key This parameter is optional. A sortkey is an invisible string used to change the way a certain table cell is sorted. For instance, normally, the phrase "ACME's Bow" is sorted with phrases that start with A. Affixing a sortkey of "Bow" to the phrase causes the phrase to be sorted with other phrases that start with "B" (or, to be more accurate, with "Bow").

For general information on sorting tables, see Help:Tables.

Examples

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Legend box

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Description What you type What it looks like
Horizontal legend
{{Version |l |show=110111}}
Legend:
Old version
Old version, still maintained
Latest version
Latest preview version
Future release
Vertical legend
{{Version |lv |show=011101}}
Legend:
Old version
Old version, still maintained
Current stable version
Latest preview version
Future release

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Horizontal legend table
{{Version |t |show=11110}}
Legend: Old version, not maintained Old version, still maintained Current stable version Latest preview version Future release
Vertical legend table
{{Version |tv |show=01111}}
Legend:
Old version, not maintained
Old version, still maintained
Current stable version
Latest preview version
Future release

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Table cells

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Description What you type What it looks like
EOL versions
{{Version |o |1.0}}
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.0
LTS versions
{{Version |co |2.0}}
Old version, yet still maintained: 2.0
Latest stable version
{{Version |c |3.0}}
Current stable version: 3.0
Preview version
{{Version |cp |4.0}}
Latest preview version of a future release: 4.0
Planned future version
{{Version |p |5.0}}
Future release: 5.0

Sortable tables

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The template can be used in sortable tables. If the column version is sortable, the sort key defaults to the value of the version parameter. If you need differing sorting, add the sortKey parameter as follows:

What you type What it looks like
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Version !! Date !! Description
|-
| {{Version  |o  |1.0    |sortKey=1.0}}
| 2010-07-23 || [[end-of-life (product)|EOL]] versions
|-
| {{Version  |co |2.0    |sortKey=2.0}}
| 2011-06-27 || [[long-term support|LTS]] versions
|-
| {{Version  |cp |3.0 DP |sortKey=3.0 A}}
| 2012-03-02 || Developer's preview
|-
| {{Version  |cp |3.0 CP |sortKey=3.0 B}}
| 2012-04-01 || Consumers Preview
|-
| {{Version  |cp |3.0 RC |sortKey=3.0 C}}
| 2012-05-25 || Release candidate
|-
| {{Version  |c  |3.0    |sortKey=3.0 Z}}
| 2012-06-23 || Release to web
|-
| {{Version  |p  |4.0    |sortKey=4.0}}
| 2017-09-06 || Future version
|}
Version Date Description
Old version, no longer maintained: 1.0 2010-07-23 EOL versions
Old version, yet still maintained: 2.0 2011-06-27 LTS versions
Latest preview version of a future release: 3.0 DP 2012-03-02 Developer's preview
Latest preview version of a future release: 3.0 CP 2012-04-01 Consumers Preview
Latest preview version of a future release: 3.0 RC 2012-05-25 Release candidate
Current stable version: 3.0 2012-06-23 Release to web
Future release: 4.0 2017-09-06 Future version

TemplateData

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This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Version in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Version

This template presents version history tables in a standardized format. Note that you may have to insert it in source mode, not visual mode. Many articles on Wikipedia use color-coded tables to illustrate the version or release history of software. The template has been imported from German Wikipedia, where it is used as the current standard for color-coding history tables. This template is used within Wikitables, making use of the pipe syntax. Legends can be added as tables, as floating or non-floating containers. As colors are not visible to blind or visually-impaired readers, this template uses replacement information when necessary to improve accessibility, e.g. using the "title" attribute. (See Wikipedia:WikiProject Accessibility.) When creating a version history, please note that less is more: Wikipedia is not a directory or changelog. Only important or major releases should be documented in Wikipedia. See the Manual of Style for Computing topics for further guidelines.

Template parameters

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

ParameterDescriptionTypeStatus
Type1

For a table cell, this is "o", "co", "c", "cp", or "p", meaning EOL, LTS, current, preview, and future releases respectively. To create a table legend instead, use "l", "lv", "t", or "tv", meaning horizontal or vertical legend, or horizontal or vertical legend as a table, respectively.

Example
c
Stringrequired
Text (for cells)2

If this is a cell (see parameter 1), this is required. It is the text to display.

Example
1.0-alpha
Auto value
Contentsuggested
Custom CSSstyle

Custom CSS to apply to the template

Example
text-align: center;
Unknownoptional
Legend components shownshow

If this is a legend, a series of ones (on) and zeros (off) denoting the components of the legend in the order: Legend; EOL versions; LTS versions; Current version; Latest preview version; Future release. If displaying as a table, the text "Legend" must be shown and so the first digit should be omitted.

Default
All parts displayed. (111111)
Example
110110
Stringsuggested
Sort key (for cells)sortKey

When the cells of a table are sorted, this cell would normally be positioned by the visible cell content. If you set this parameter, this cell will be positioned when sorted as if this was its content.

Default
Normally the cell is sorted by its visible content.
Stringoptional

Limitations

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  • The current version of the template is known to fail creating correct cell contents when combined with the "colspan" keyword for table cell joining - except for the legend item.

See also

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