This template can be preloaded via the Gadgets, alternatively, one can preload Template:Header/preload

{{header
 | title      = 
 | author     = 
 | translator = 
 | section    = 
 | previous   = 
 | next       = 
 | year       = 
 | notes      = 
 | categories =
 | portal     =
}}

This template is meant to be used at the top of a work,[1] and its subsections. Fill in any relevant information, and leave unknown or inapplicable parameters empty. Don't remove unused parameters, as this will break the template and make bot maintenance difficult. For easy use, see also the header preloading script gadget in your preferences.

Documentation

Parameters

  • title = title of the work, for subpage use relative links
  • author = name of author, not wikilinked
  • editor = editor of the work, not wikilinked. Use override_editor for full control.
  • translator = name of translator, not wikilinked; or override_translator see Translations
  • section = name of subdivision of work, usually used on subpages
  • contributor = name of the author of this section, if not the same as author the overall work. Not wikilinked; use override_contributor if you need to specify the link target.
  • previous = name of previous part of work; relative links on subpages, full links otherwise
  • next = name of next part of work, relative links on subpages, full links otherwise
  • year = year of publication, adds work to the category for the year, see Category:Works by year.
    Enter "?" for a work with no known publication year, and leave blank if you simply don't have this information.
    Do not use AD or CE for any Anno Domini/Current Era works (year 1 to the present). Use BCE (do not use BC) for all years before year 1; leave a space between the number and the letters (e.g. 150 BCE).
    Approximate dates can be entered in one of the following ways:
    1. Decades, centuries or periods can be used instead of a year (e.g. 1060s, 11th century or Medieval).
    2. To use a year in the circa format, enter it as "c/Y" (e.g. c/1066 or c/150 BCE). (The use of "ca" or "circa" instead of "c" will also be recognised.) This will display as, for example, "c. 1066".
    3. To use a tenuous year, enter it as "Y/?" (e.g. 1066/?). This will display as, for example, "1066?"
    4. To use a approximate choice of two years, enter it as "Y/Y" (e.g. 1066/1067). This will display as it is written.
    The behaviour of this parameter can be further modified by:
    • noyear = will prevent the year being displayed in the header but will still add the work to the category for the year. For use in cases where the year is already included in the title of the work. Any use of this parameter, even without text, will work. Example: | noyear = yes. All pages with this parameter will be added to Category:Pages with noyear for tracking its usage.
    • noyearcat = will display the year but in the header but will not add the work to the category for the year. For use in cases where a specific subcategory exists for the type of work to avoid flooding the main category for the year. As above, any use of the parameter will trigger this action. Pages will be added to the tracking category Category:Pages with noyearcat.
    • override_year = will display the given text and will not attempt to add the work to the category for the year. For use in any other case not covered by the other parameters. Pages will be added to the tracking category Category:Pages with override year.
  • edition = yes to refer to further information on the work's talk page.
  • notes = notes to explain the work, to add context, or to impart concise information that adds value to the reader
  • categories = Forward-slash-separated list of categories
  • shortcut = The shortcut to this page, if it exists. This is normally reserved for very large reference works (e.g. EB11)
See Sister, related author, and portal wiki links
  • portal
  • related_author
  • wikipedia
  • commons
  • commonscat
  • wikiquote
  • wikinews
  • wiktionary
  • wikibooks
  • wikiversity
  • wikispecies
  • wikivoyage
  • wikidata
  • wikilivres
  • meta
{{header
 | title      = 
 | author     = 
 | translator = 
 | section    = 
 | previous   = 
 | next       = 
 | year       = 
 | portal     = 
 | wikipedia  = 
 | commons    = 
 | commonscat = 
 | wikiquote  = 
 | wikinews   = 
 | wiktionary = 
 | wikibooks  = 
 | wikiversity= 
 | wikispecies= 
 | wikivoyage = 
 | wikidata   = 
 | wikilivres = 
 | meta       = 
 | notes      = 
}}

With lengthy, multi-page works, using relative links is highly recommended. This shortens the code and ensures that a work remains linked together even if it is moved or reorganised. The three formats are [[/subpage]] (subpage), [[../]] (parent), and [[../sibling]] (sibling); see the example usage below. Note that [[../]] will expand to the title of the parent page, which is ideal if the work is renamed at a later time.

This depends on a page conforming to the page title standards in the Style guide, with works in the form [[Work title]] and [[Work title/Subpage]].

Chapter titles

In general, include chapter titles in the "section" field, but avoid including them in the "previous" and "next" fields. For example:

Special cases

Translations

 |translator=Joe

The name of the translator. This will automatically be linked to an author page unless it contains the "[" character.

(A value of "?" or "unknown" adds {{No translator info}} to the page.)

(A value of "not mentioned" adds translator not mentioned to the page.)

| author= |override_author=Joe

Displays the author's name without a link to an author page (for works that don't have traditional authors).

Usage examples

Normal

{{header
 | title    = [[../]]
 | author   = Lewis Carroll
 | section  = Chapter 3: A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale
 | previous = [[../Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
 | next     = [[../Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
 | year     = 1865
 | notes    =
}}
{{header
 | title    = Peerage Act 1963
 | author   = |override_author= the United Kingdom Parliament
 | section  =
 | previous =
 | next     =
 | year     = 1963
 | notes    =
}}

Translation

{{header
 | title    = Fables
 | author   = Jean de La Fontaine
 | translator= Elizur Wright
 | section  =
 | previous =
 | next     =
 | notes    =
}}
{{header
 | title    = Pantagruel
 | author   = François Rabelais
 | override_translator= [[Author:Thomas Urquhart|]] and [[Author:Peter Antony Motteux|]]
 | section  =
 | previous =
 | next     =
 | notes    =
}}

Categories

Topical categories should be added to the head page of every work, as follows (up to 10 categories supported):

 | categories = 1st category / 2nd category

You can link to Wikisource portals and other WMF projects using the optional wiki links parameters. These are:

  • portal, wikipedia, commons, commonscat, wikiquote, wikinews, wiktionary, wikibooks, wikiversity, wikispecies, meta

These links are generated using {{plain sister}}

{{header
 | title    = Kinematics of Machinery
 | author   = Franz Reuleaux
 | section  =
 | previous =
 | next     =
 | notes    =
 | portal  = Technology/Germany
 | wikipedia = Kinematics of Machinery
 | commonscat = Kinematics of Machinery
 | related_author = Albert Einstein
}}

Shortcuts

If a work has a shortcut, you can add it using the shortcut field. This should be in accordance with the shortcut guidelines, and shortcuts should not be used for every work.

{{header
 | title    = 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
 | author   = 
 | section  =
 | previous =
 | next     =
 | notes    =
 | shortcut = [[EB1911]]
}}


Advanced manipulation

Alternative headers

^ Certain projects have customised versions of {{header}} that are used to present these works, eg. {{DNB00}} is used for the project involved with Dictionary of National Biography. For these works it is permissible and recommended that these variations are used. New alternatives to {{header}} should be discussed on the talk page, and consequentially listed on each project's pages.

JavaScript extraction

The header values can be extracted using JavaScript by accessing the text values of their span wrappers:

value wrapper id
title header_title_text
author header_author_text
translator header_translator_text
previous headerprevious
next headernext
notes none

Microformat

The HTML markup produced by this template includes an hCard microformat, which makes the person's details parsable by computers, either acting automatically to catalogue articles across Wikipedia or via a browser tool operated by a reader, to (for example) add the subject to an address book or database. For more information about the use of microformats on Wikimedia projects, please see Wikipedia's microformat project.

Sub-templates

To include a URL, use {{URL}}.

Please do not remove instances of these sub-templates.

Classes

hCard uses HTML classes including:

  • adr
  • agent
  • bday
  • birthplace
  • category
  • country-name
  • deathdate
  • deathplace
  • extended-address
  • family-name
  • fn (required)
  • given-name
  • honorific-prefix
  • honorific-suffix
  • label
  • locality
  • n
  • nickname
  • note
  • org
  • role
  • url
  • vcard

Please do not rename or remove these classes; nor collapse nested elements which use them.

See also

  • {{textinfo}} for recording information on work's talk page
  • {{author}} for template header used in Author: namespace
  • {{process header}} for template header used in Wikisource: namespace
  • {{portal header}} for template header used in Portal: namespace
  • {{translation header}} for template header used in Translation: namespace
  • {{RunningHeader}} for the headers to be used in source texts