View source for Help:Shortened footnotes

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'''Shortened footnotes''' are a hybrid of standard [[Help:Footnotes|footnotes]] and Harvard-style [[Wikipedia:Parenthetical referencing|parenthetical referencing]]. Shortened footnotes, often with page numbers, appear in the reference section (wherever the reference list markup {{tl|reflist}} is placed) and usually link to the full citation for a source. These full citations usually appear in another list separate from the footnotes.

Shortened footnotes are used for several reasons: (a) they allow the editor to cite many different pages of the same source without having to copy the entire citation, (b) when full citations are gathered in a separate section the article text is uncluttered and much easier to work with, (c) the full citations can be sorted and alphabetized, and (d) it is easier to edit all the full citations at once.  Although  [[Wikipedia:List defined references|list-defined references]] using [[WP:REFNAME|REFNAMES]] also accomplishes (b) and (d), that method treats page numbers differently and does not allow for sorting the citations in published articles.

Please read [[Help:Footnotes]] first, as this guide builds upon the methods described there.

==Overview==
In this short example, note that an inline citation such as {{dummy ref}} links to the shortened footnote under "Notes", which in turn links to the long citation in the References list:

{{markup
|<nowiki>The brontosaurus is thin at one end.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=5}} Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=6}}
The Norwegian Blue Parrot will not move if its feet are nailed to the perch.{{sfn|Praline|1969|p=12}} Its metabolic processes are a matter of interest only to historians.{{sfn|Praline|1969|p=16}}
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972}}
* {{cite book |last=Praline |first=Eric |title=[[Dead Parrot sketch]] |date=December 7, 1969}}
{{refend}}</nowiki>
|The brontosaurus is thin at one end.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=5}} Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=6}}
The Norwegian Blue Parrot will not move if its feet are nailed to the perch.{{sfn|Praline|1969|p=12}} Its metabolic processes are a matter of interest only to historians.{{sfn|Praline|1969|p=16}}
{{fake heading|sub=3|Notes}}
{{reflist|2}}
{{fake heading|sub=3|References}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972}}
* {{cite book |last=Praline |first=Eric |title=[[Dead Parrot sketch]] |date=December 7, 1969}}
{{refend}}
}}

The browser back button or the backspace key can be used to navigate back.

==How to create shortened footnotes==
A shortened footnote can be created using standard {{tag|ref|o}} tags, but this will not link to the long citation:

{{markup
|<nowiki><ref>Elk 1972, p. 5.</ref>

{{reflist}}</nowiki>
|<ref>Elk 1972, p. 5.</ref>

{{reflist|close}}
}}

You can manually create a link to the long citation:

{{markup
|<nowiki><ref>[[#CITEREFElk1972|Elk 1972]], p.&nbsp;5.</ref>

{{reflist}}</nowiki>
|<ref>[[#CITEREFElk1972|Elk 1972]], p.&nbsp;5.</ref>

{{reflist|close}}
}}

Using the {{tl|sfn}} template allows linking with simplified markup:

{{markup
|<nowiki>{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=5}}

{{reflist}}</nowiki>
|{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=5}}

{{reflist|close}}
}}

The {{tl|sfnp}} template places the date in parenthesis:

{{markup
|<nowiki>{{sfnp|Elk|1972|p=5}}

{{reflist}}</nowiki>
|{{sfnp|Elk|1972|p=5}}

{{reflist|close}}
}}

The {{tl|sfnm}} template supports the inclusion of multiple sources in a single footnote.
{{markup
|<nowiki>{{sfnm |1a1=Elk |1y=1972 |1p=5 |2a1=Praline |2y=1969 |2p=12}}

{{reflist}}</nowiki>
|{{sfnm |1a1=Elk |1y=1972 |1p=5 |2a1=Praline |2y=1969 |2p=12}}

{{reflist|close}}
}}

Before {{tl|sfn}} was developed, {{tl|harvnb}} or a similar template was used in {{tag|ref|o}} tags:
{{markup
|<nowiki><ref>{{harvnb|Elk|1972|p=5}}</ref>

{{reflist}}</nowiki>
|<ref>{{harvnb|Elk|1972|p=5}}</ref>

{{reflist|close}}
}}
This method is still in place in many articles. Templates in this series include {{tl|harvnb}}, {{tl|harv}}, {{tl|harvtxt}}, {{tl|harvcoltxt}}, {{tl|harvcol}} and {{tl|harvcolnb}}.

The link is normally created from the authors' last names and the year of publication.

==List of footnotes==
The list of footnotes is created by using {{tl|reflist}}. When only shortened footnotes are used, then {{tlx|reflist|20em}} will show the list in an appropriate number of columns. Where shortened and long footnotes are mixed, use {{tlx|reflist|30em}}.

==Linking==
Citations in the References list are usually created with a "long" citation template, both with [[Help:Citation Style 1|Citation Style 1]] and [[Help:Citation Style 2|Citation Style 2]] templates. Anchor is automatically created from the authors' last names and the year of publication:

:<code><nowiki>{{</nowiki>cite book  |last='''Elk''' |first=Anne  |date=November 16, '''1972''' |title=<nowiki>[[</nowiki>Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]]}}</nowiki></code>
which allow to use a "short" citation template, like <code><nowiki>{{</nowiki>sfn|'''Elk'''|'''1972'''}}</code> in the article.
 
In many cases, there is no author, therefore the link and anchor must be created "manually" with use of {{tl|sfnref}}. For example:

:<code><nowiki>{{</nowiki>cite book |title=Lumberjack Song |date=December 14, 1969 <u>|ref=<nowiki>{{</nowiki>sfnref|'''Lumberjack Song'''|'''1969'''}}</u> }}</code>

Here the short inline citation can be created as:
:<code><nowiki>{{</nowiki>sfn|'''Lumberjack Song'''|'''1969'''}}</code>

==References list==
Full citations in the references list may be formatted manually or by use of templates. See the Wikipedia referencing navbox below for various citation styles.

The reference list is formatted by placing the citations in an unordered list using the * markup. Entries may be sorted by the author's last name. The text size may be formatted with {{tl|refbegin}} and {{tl|refend}}. The references list is normally displayed in one column with no indenting.
<pre>
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses |date=November 16, 1972}}
{{refend}}
</pre>
===Date===
The inline citation should include only the year. The full citation may include the year only or the full date. Most citation templates will extract the year from a full date to form the anchor. If both a date and a year are included, then the date is displayed, but the anchor is formed from the year.

If an author has multiple works in the same year, regardless of whether is a full date or only a year, then duplicate anchors will be generated. To resolve this, suffix the year with an alpha character. For example:
* <code><nowiki>{{cite book  |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses |date=November 16, 1972 |year=1972a}}</nowiki></code>
* <code><nowiki>{{cite book  |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=Anne Elk's Further Theory on Brontosauruses |date=December 20, 1972 |year=1972b}}</nowiki></code>

{{Anchor|NoAuthor}}
===No author===
Some sources do not have a single author with a last name, such as a magazine article or a report from a government institution. Options include:
* For a newspaper or periodical, use the name of the publication and the date, or set the author parameter to "''publication name'' staff".{{efn-lr|Setting the author parameter to something solves the problem of having to set the "ref&#61;" parameter to something other than that which is automatically generated.}}
* For a publication by an institution, use the name of the institution.
* Some style guides recommend using the title of the article (title-date).
* Other style guides recommend using "Anonymous" or "Anon."

==Explanatory notes==
Explanatory or content notes are used to add explanations, comments or other additional information relating to the main content. One of the reasons they may be used is to avoid making the text too long or awkward to read. Such notes may include supporting references.

===Shortened footnotes mixed with explanatory notes===
This section uses {{tl|sfn}} and {{tl|efn}}.
{{markup
|<nowiki>The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Miller|2005|page=23|ps=. But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.}} But the Moon{{efn|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena – see, for example Jones, ''The Solar System'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2001|page=46|ps=. Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large, see, for example {{harvnb|Peterson|2004|page=623}}}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smith|2005|page=334}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Miller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smith |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Peterson |title=Astronomy |publisher=MacMillan |year=2004}}
{{refend}}
</nowiki>
|The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Miller|2005|page=23|ps=. But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.}} But the Moon{{efn|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena – see, for example Jones, ''The Solar System'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2001|page=46|ps=. Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large, see, for example {{harvnb|Peterson|2004|page=623}}}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smith|2005|page=334}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|Notes}}
{{notelist}}
{{reflist}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|References}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Miller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smith |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Peterson |title=Astronomy |publisher=MacMillan |year=2004}}
{{refend}}
}}

===Shortened footnotes with separate explanatory notes===
This example creates a separate notes section by using [[Wikipedia:Citing sources#How to place an inline citation using ref tags|{{tag|ref|o}}]] and [[Help:Footnotes#Footnotes: groups|{{tag|ref|o|params=group=}}]].

{{markup
|<nowiki>The Sun is pretty big.<ref name=Foot01/><ref group=Note name=Note01/> But the Moon<ref group=Note name=Note02/> is not so big.<ref name=Foot02/><ref group=Note name=Note03/> The Sun is also quite hot.<ref name=Foot03/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note|refs=
<ref name=Note01>But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.</ref>
<ref name=Note02>The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena – see, for example Jones, ''The Solar System'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.</ref>
<ref name=Note03>Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large, see, for example, Peterson, ''Astronomy'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.</ref>
}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Foot01>Miller, p. 23</ref>
<ref name=Foot02>Brown, p. 46</ref>
<ref name=Foot03>Smith, p. 334</ref>
}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Brown, ''The Moon'', Penguin. 2001.
* Miller, ''The Sun'', Oxford, 2005.
* Smith, ''The Universe'', Random House, 2005.
{{refend}}</nowiki>
|The Sun is pretty big.<ref name=Foot01/><ref group=Note name=Note01/> But the Moon<ref group=Note name=Note02/> is not so big.<ref name=Foot02/><ref group=Note name=Note03/> The Sun is also quite hot.<ref name=Foot03/>

{{fake heading|sub=3|Notes}}
{{reflist|group=Note|refs=
<ref name=Note01>But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.</ref>
<ref name=Note02>The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena – see, for example Jones, ''The Solar System'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.</ref>
<ref name=Note03>Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large, see, for example, Peterson, ''Astronomy'', MacMillan, 2005, p 623.</ref>
}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|Citations}}
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Foot01>Miller, p. 23</ref>
<ref name=Foot02>Brown, p. 46</ref>
<ref name=Foot03>Smith, p. 334</ref>
}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|References}}
{{refbegin}}
* Brown, ''The Moon'', Penguin. 2001.
* Miller, ''The Sun'', Oxford, 2005.
* Smith, ''The Universe'', Random House, 2005.
{{refend}}
}}

===Separate explanatory notes with shortened footnotes and their references===
This method uses {{tl|sfn}} to create the main footnotes, {{tl|refn}} to create the explanatory notes and {{tl|sfn}} to create footnotes in the explanatory notes.

{{markup
|<nowiki>The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}}} But the Moon{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=63}}}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=46}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smith|2005|p=334}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Miller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smith |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}}</nowiki>
|The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}}} But the Moon{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=63}}}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=46}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smith|2005|p=334}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|Notes}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|Citations}}
{{reflist|close}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|References}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Miller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smith |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}}
}}

This method uses {{tl|sfn}} to create the main footnotes, {{tl|efn}} to create the explanatory notes, {{tl|sfn}} to create footnotes in the explanatory notes and {{tl|notelist}} to create the notes list.
{{markup
|<nowiki>The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}{{efn|But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}}} But the Moon{{efn|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=63}}}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=46}}{{efn|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smith|2005|p=334}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Miller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smith |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}}</nowiki>
|The Sun is pretty big.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}{{efn|But Miller points out that the Sun is not as large as some other stars.{{sfn|Miller|2005|p=23}}}} But the Moon{{efn|The Moon goes by other names, such as Selena.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=63}}}} is not so big.{{sfn|Brown|2001|p=46}}{{efn|Historically the Moon was not always considered to be large.}} The Sun is also quite hot.{{sfn|Smith|2005|p=334}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|Notes}}
{{notelist|close}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|Citations}}
{{reflist|close}}

{{fake heading|sub=3|References}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation |last=Brown |title=The Moon |publisher=Penguin |year=2001}}
* {{citation |last=Miller |title=The Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=2005}}
* {{citation |last=Smith |title=The Universe |publisher=Random House |year=2005}}
{{refend}}
}}

==Errors==
Errors involving {{tag|ref|o}} tags will be automatically displayed in article, user, template, category, help and file pages. To show error messages on talk and other pages, see [[Help:Reference display customization]].

It is very possible to create an inline citation that does not link to the full citation and to create full citations that do not have a matching inline citation. Often the link and anchor may not match for some reason. To catch these errors, use the [[User:Ucucha/HarvErrors]] script. When an inline citation does not have a matching full citation and cannot be readily resolved, then it can be tagged with {{tl|Citation not found}}.

It is also possible to create duplicate IDs for the inline citation, resulting in invalid HTML. See [[Help:Markup validation]] for help in validating and resolving issues.

==Examples==
These articles exemplify the use of shortened footnotes:
* {{oldid|QF 3.7 inch AA gun|451050443|QF 3.7 inch AA gun (23:05, September 17, 2011)}}; uses manually crafted short citations in {{tag|ref|o}} tags
* {{oldid|NBR 224 and 420 Classes|442508215|NBR 224 and 420 Classes (13:32, August 1, 2011)}}; uses {{tl|sfn}}

These articles illustrate improperly implemented shortened footnotes:
* {{oldid|Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|478256908|Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (14:53, February 22, 2012)}}
:The article uses {{tl|sfn}} (#10, 11, 12) to point to Rothenburg1976, which is a manually defined citation with no anchor (#9); the footnotes and shortened footnotes are mixed.

=={{tl|Sfn}} usage notes==

{{tl|Sfn}} and variant templates form the link from the author last name and the year. Up to four authors are supported, for example, {{tlx|sfn|Smith|Jones|1993}}. The full citation must create an [[WP:ANCHOR|anchor]] that matches the {{tl|sfn}} link. {{cs1}} and {{cs2}} templates always create this anchor. An "anchor" is a landing place for a link to jump to. It is automatically created by/from certain parameters in the full citation template.

If there is a need to cite two works by the same author published in the same year see [[Template:Sfn#More than one work in a year|more than one work in a year]] for advice on what to do.

==See also==
*[[Wikipedia:Citation templates and reference anchors]]

==Notes==
{{notelist-lr}}
{{reflist}}

{{Wikipedia referencing}}

[[Category:Footnote templates| ]]