Help:Footnotes

This page gives short introductions to two methods for making linked footnotes:

• Cite.php method, explained in detail at wikipedia:footnotes, wikipedia's current best practice for numbered footnotes;
• Semi-automatic templates, explained in detail at wikipedia:footnote3, apart for Harvard references this method is obsolete

Cite.php method

This page is intended supplement the information in Wikipedia:Footnotes. It provides a very simple explanation of how to use the Cite.php method for creating reference indicators and reference lists in Wikipedia articles.

Multiple insertion of the same reference

On the Edit page, this is placed at the first insertion point of citation:

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

This is placed at the second insertion point of citation:

<ref name=Perry/>

This is placed at the third insertion point of citation:

<ref name=Perry/> ..... and so forth for further insertion points

Single insertion of a reference

For the single insertion of a reference, the "name" parameter is not needed. On the Edit page, this is placed at the insertion point of citation:

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

What is produced at the points of insertion

These are what is produced and note that the reference numbers in blue are automatically generated. Clicking on any one of the reference numbers causes the screen display to scroll down to that reference number in the Reference List section:

First text word referenced to Perry's Handbook

Second text word referenced to Perry's Handbook

Third text word referenced to Perry's Handbook

The only text word referenced to the Excel book.

Producing the reference or footnote list

On the Edit page, this is placed in the References or the Footnotes section:

<references/>

This is what it produces and note that the list numbers are automatically generated:

Notes on the Cite.php method

• Clicking on the blue superscript a causes the screen display to scroll back up to the point where the first reference to Perry's Handbook was inserted. Clicking on the blue superscript b causes the screen display to scroll back up to the point where the the second reference to Perry's Handbook was inserted. Clicking on the blue superscript c causes the screen display to scroll back up to the point where the the third reference to Perry's Handbook was inserted ... and so forth.

• Clicking on any caret (^) that has no associated superscripts cause the screen display to scroll back up to the point where that single-use references was inserted.

Old system (with templates)

This system is deprecated, apart from use for harvard references

See also

• m:help:footnotes (cite.php method)
• m:Cite.php (technical details about cite.php technology)