Template:Main

Main article: Main

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When a Wikipedia article is large, it is often rewritten in summary style. This template is used after the heading of the summary, to link to the sub-article that has been (or will be) summarised. This template can also be used in the Category namespace, but the preferred template for categories is {{Cat main}}.

This template can also be used in articles leads when an article is not the "main" article for its subject. When there are multiple articles, distinct enough to warrant separate articles, but not enough to be very separate subjects. One to be the main article describing the topic, and the others avoiding unnecessary duplication of the main article. A good example would be geography articles where two terms have somewhat different meanings or "contexts", but refer to roughly the same geographic area, e.g. Balkans and Southeast Europe. The Balkans article is the main article, the Southeast Europe article doesn't try to be a duplicate of the Balkans article by having much info on History, natural resources, etc, it leaves that to the Balkans article. This can be thought of as a halfway point between having fully separate articles, and heaving a redirect.

This template is not to be used as a substitute for inline links or as a "see also". Its usage should be restricted to the purposes described hereinbefore.

Usage

{{Main
|Article 1
}}

You may also include additional links, up to ten in total:

{{Main
|Article 1
|Article 2
|Article 3
|Article 4
|Article 5
|Article 6
|Article 7
|Article 8
|Article 9
|Article 10
}}

For each link, you may optionally specify a link appearance (this is for articles where a piped link would be used). Note that the extra parameters use a lower case 'L', for example, l1, not 11:

{{Main
|Article 1
|Article 2
|Article 3
|Article 4
|Article 5
|Article 6
|Article 7
|Article 8
|Article 9
|Article 10
|l1=Article 1 link appearance
|l2=Article 2 link appearance
|l3=Article 3 link appearance
|l4=Article 4 link appearance
|l5=Article 5 link appearance
|l6=Article 6 link appearance
|l7=Article 7 link appearance
|l8=Article 8 link appearance
|l9=Article 9 link appearance
|l10=Article 10 link appearance
}}

Examples

Code	Result
{{Main|Article}}	Main article: Article
{{Main|Article 1|Article 2|Article 3}}	Main articles: Article 1, Article 2, and Article 3
{{Main|Article 1|Article 2|Article 3|Article 4|Article 5}}	Main articles: Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, Article 4, and Article 5
{{Main|Article|l1=Alternative title}}	Main article: Alternative title
{{Main|(15760) 1992 QB1|l1={{mp|(15760) 1992 QB|1}}}}	Main article: (15760) 1992 QB1

• {{main other}}, to create main space only (article space only) content

Hatnote templates

· <span style="" title="<translate nowrap> Edit this template</translate>"><translate> edit</translate>

For a summary page on how to use these templates, see the example page here. For the full editing guideline on hatnotes, see Wikipedia:Hatnote.

Generic

• {{Hatnote|CUSTOM TEXT}} →
  CUSTOM TEXT

{{Hatnote|For other senses of this term, see [[etc…]]}} →

For other senses of this term, see etc…

More pages on the same topic ("Further information ...")

"Main article: …"

{{Main}} is used to make summary style explicit, when used in a summary section for which there is also a separate article on the subject:

• {{Main|Main Article}} →
  Main article: Main Article
• {{Main|Main Article|Article2}} →
  Main articles: Main Article and Article2
• {{Main list|Article1}} →
  For a more comprehensive list, see Article1.

"For more details on …, see …"

{{Details}} can supplement {{Main}} in summary sections, or can indicate more details in nonsummary sections:

• {{Details|PAGE1}} →
  For more details on this topic, see PAGE1.

• {{Details|PAGE1|TOPIC}} →
  For more details on TOPIC, see PAGE1.

{{Details3}} allows any text to links:

• {{Details3|[[article 1|Article 1]], [[article 2|Article 2]], and [[article 3|Article 3]]|TOPIC}} →
  For more details on TOPIC, see Article 1, Article 2, and Article 3.

"See also …"

• {{See also|TOPIC PAGE|OTHER TOPIC PAGE}} →
  See also: TOPIC PAGE and OTHER TOPIC PAGE

Note: use only when OTHER TOPIC PAGE is related to current article and contains a self-explanatory parenthetical.

• {{See also2|[[OTHER TOPIC]]|[[OTHER TOPIC2]]|[[OTHER TOPIC3]] and other text}} →
  See also: OTHER TOPIC, OTHER TOPIC2, and OTHER TOPIC3 and other text

"Further information: …"

• {{Further|PAGE}} →
  Further information: PAGE
• {{Further|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3}} →
  Further information: PAGE1, PAGE2, and PAGE3
• {{Further2|[[PAGE1]], [[PAGE2]], and [[PAGE#3|PAGE3]]}} →
  Further information: PAGE1, PAGE2, and PAGE3

Other uses of the same title

"This page is about … For other uses …"

{{About}} is the main template for noting other uses.

Note. When used in main namespace, the word "page" in the following hatnotes is replaced by "article".

• {{About|USE1}} →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{About|USE1||PAGE2}} (When the disambiguation page has a different name – Note the empty second parameter) →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For other uses, see PAGE2.
• {{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2}} (When there is only one other use) →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2.
• {{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|and|PAGE3}} (Two pages for USE2) →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2 and PAGE3.
• {{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2#SUBSECTION{{!}}PAGE2TITLE}} (Using the {{!}} template to give the link a different title) →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2TITLE.
• {{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|USE4|PAGE4|USE5|PAGE5}} (When there are up to four other uses – You should generally create a disambiguation page at this point) →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For USE4, see PAGE4. For USE5, see PAGE5.
• {{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|other uses}} (When there are several standard other uses and also a disambiguation page with default name – Note that the last page name is not specified) →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|other uses|PAGE4}} (When there are several standard other uses and also a disambiguation page with non-default name) →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see PAGE4.
• {{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|other uses|PAGE4|and}} →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see PAGE4 and Main (disambiguation).
• {{About||USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|other uses}} (When you don't need to state the focus of this article/page – Note the empty first parameter) →
  For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{About|||PAGE1|and|PAGE2}} →
  For other uses, see PAGE1 and PAGE2.

Note: {{for||PAGE1|PAGE2}} produces the same result.

• {{Other uses-section|USE}} (disambiguous) →
  This section is about USE. For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).

Note: this hatnote says "section", instead of "article" or "page".

"For …, see …"

{{For}} can be used instead of {{About}} so as not to display: This page is about USE1. but still specify a specific other use. This effect can also be achieved by using an empty first parameter in {{About}} as in:

For example: {{for|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1}} is the same as {{About||OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1}} (note the empty first parameter).

However, it is somewhat clearer when using the {{For}} template, since the word "about" does not appear in the statement.

• {{For|OTHER TOPIC}} (disambiguous) →
  For OTHER TOPIC, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1}} →
  For OTHER TOPIC, see PAGE1.
• {{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1|PAGE2}} →
  For OTHER TOPIC, see PAGE1 and PAGE2.
• {{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3}} →
  For OTHER TOPIC, see PAGE1, PAGE2, and PAGE3.
• {{For||PAGE1|PAGE2}} →
  For other uses, see PAGE1 and PAGE2.

Variations

As with {{Other uses}}, there is a whole family of "for" templates.

• {{For2|OTHER TOPIC|CUSTOM TEXT}} →
  For OTHER TOPIC, see CUSTOM TEXT.

"For other uses, see …"

When such a wordy hatnote as {{About}} is not needed, {{Other uses}} is often useful.

• {{Other uses}} (disambiguous) →
  For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Other uses|PAGE1}} →
  For other uses, see PAGE1.
• {{Other uses|PAGE1|PAGE2}} →
  For other uses, see PAGE1 and PAGE2.

Variations

There are, historically, a whole family of "other uses" templates for specific cases. {{About}} is the standard hatnote for "other uses" and many of them can be specified using the {{About}} template. However, the individual templates may be easier to use in certain contexts.

Here are the variations and (when appropriate) the equivalents using the {{About}}, {{Other uses}} or {{For}} templates.

• {{Other uses2|PAGE1}} (disambiguous) →
  For other uses, see PAGE1 (disambiguation).

Note: adds "(disambiguation)" to whatever is input as the PAGE1.

Note: {{Other uses|PAGE1 (disambiguation)}} produces the same result.

• {{Two other uses|USE1|USE2|PAGE2}} →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).

Note: same as {{about}}, except it forces a second use to be noted if unspecified by parameters.

• {{Two other uses|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3}} →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3.
• {{Three other uses|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3}}
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Three other uses||USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3}} →
  For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For other uses, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Three other uses|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|USE4|PAGE4}} →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about USE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For USE4, see PAGE4.

"For other uses of …, see …"

• {{Other uses of}} (disambiguous) →
  For other uses of "Main", see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Other uses of|TOPIC}} (disambiguous) →
  For other uses of "TOPIC", see TOPIC (disambiguation).
• {{Other uses of|TOPIC|PAGE1}} →
  For other uses of "TOPIC", see PAGE1.

"… redirects here. For other uses, see …"

• {{Redirect|REDIRECT}} (disambiguous) →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For other uses, see REDIRECT (disambiguation).
• {{Redirect|REDIRECT||PAGE1}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For other uses, see PAGE1.
• {{Redirect|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1.
• {{Redirect|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2.
• {{Redirect|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3.
• {{Redirect|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1|and|PAGE2}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1 and PAGE2.
• {{Redirect|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2|and|PAGE3}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2 and PAGE3.
• {{Redirect6|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1}} (disambiguous) →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For other uses, see REDIRECT (disambiguation).
• {{Redirect6|REDIRECT|USE1|PAGE1||PAGE2}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For other uses, see PAGE2.

Variations

• For two sources:
  • {{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2}} (disambiguous) →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation).
  • {{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE}} →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For USE, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation).
  • {{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2||PAGE1}} →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For other uses, see PAGE1.
  • {{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE|PAGE1}} →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For USE, see PAGE1.
  • {{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2}} →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2.
  • {{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3}} →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3.
  • {{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|USE4|PAGE4}} →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2. For USE3, see PAGE3. For USE4, see PAGE4.
  • {{Redirect4|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2}} (disambiguous) →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation) and REDIRECT2 (disambiguation).
  • {{Redirect4|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE|TEXT}} →
    "REDIRECT1" and "REDIRECT2" redirect here. For USE, see TEXT.
• For three sources:
  • {{Redirect7|"REDIRECT1", "REDIRECT2", and "REDIRECT3"|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2}} →
    "REDIRECT1", "REDIRECT2", and "REDIRECT3" redirect here. For USE1, see PAGE1. For USE2, see PAGE2.
  • {{Redirect10|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|REDIRECT3}} (disambiguous) →
    "REDIRECT1", "REDIRECT2", and "REDIRECT3" redirect here. For other uses, see REDIRECT1 (disambiguation), REDIRECT2 (disambiguation), and REDIRECT3 (disambiguation).
  • {{Redirect10|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|REDIRECT3|USE|TEXT}} →
    "REDIRECT1", "REDIRECT2", and "REDIRECT3" redirect here. For USE, see TEXT.

• {{Redirect3|REDIRECT|TEXT}} or {{Redirect text|REDIRECT|TEXT}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. TEXT.
• {{Redirect-synonym|TERM|OTHER TOPIC}} →
  "TERM" redirects here. TERM may also refer to OTHER TOPIC.

... Not to be confused with ...

• {{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. It is not to be confused with PAGE1.
• {{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3|PAGE4}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. It is not to be confused with PAGE1, PAGE2, PAGE3, or PAGE4.
• {{Redirect-distinguish2|REDIRECT|TEXT}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. It is not to be confused with TEXT.

Similar proper names ("For other people named ...")

Other people

• {{Other people}} (disambiguous) →
  For other people named Main, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Other people|NAME}} (disambiguous) →
  For other people named NAME, see NAME (disambiguation).
• {{Other people|NAME|PAGE}} →
  For other people named NAME, see PAGE.
• {{Other people|NAME|PAGE|named=titled}} →
  For other people titled NAME, see PAGE.
• {{Other people2|PAGE}} →
  For other people of the same name, see PAGE.
• {{Other people3}} (disambiguous) →
  For other people named Main, see Main (disambiguation).

Note: same as {{About}} except uses "other people" instead of "other uses" if only 1 parameter is used

• {{Other people3|PERSON1}} (disambiguous) →
  This article is about PERSON1. For other people named Main, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Other people3|PERSON1|PERSON2}} (disambiguous) →
  This article is about PERSON1. For PERSON2, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Other people3|PERSON1|PERSON2|PAGE2}} →
  This article is about PERSON1. For PERSON2, see PAGE2.
• {{Other people3|PERSON1||PAGE2}} →
  This article is about PERSON1. For other people named Main, see PAGE2.
• {{Other people5|NAME1|NAME2|NAME3|NAME4}} →
  For other people with similar names, see NAME1, NAME2, NAME3, or NAME4.

Note: defaults to "named" as in {{Other people}}, exists for options like "nicknamed", "known as", etc.

Other places

• {{Other places}}, analogous to {{Other uses}} (disambiguous) →
  For other places with the same name, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Other places|PAGE}}, analogous to {{Other uses2}}(disambiguous) →
  For other places with the same name, see PAGE (disambiguation).
• {{Other places3|PAGE}}, analogous to {{Other uses}} →
  For other places with the same name, see PAGE.

Other hurricanes

• {{Other hurricanes}} (disambiguous) →
  For other storms of the same name, see Main (disambiguation).
• {{Other hurricanes|PAGE1}} →
  For other storms of the same name, see PAGE1.
• {{Other hurricanes|PAGE1|THIS}} →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about THIS. For other storms of the same name, see PAGE1.
• {{Other hurricanes||THIS}} →
  This Template:Namespace detect is about THIS. For other storms of the same name, see Main (disambiguation).

Other ships

For articles on ships:

• {{Other ships|SHIP1}} →
  For other ships of the same name, see SHIP1.

Other popes named Stephen

• {{Pope Stephen ToP Dab|X}} →
  Note: In some sources, this pope is called Stephen XII and Pope Stephen X is called Stephen XI. See Pope-elect Stephen for detailed explanations.

Distinguish

"Not to be confused with …"

• {{Distinguish|PAGE1}} →
  Not to be confused with PAGE1.
• {{Distinguish|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3|PAGE4}} →
  Not to be confused with PAGE1, PAGE2, PAGE3, or PAGE4.
• {{Distinguish2|TEXT}} →
  Not to be confused with TEXT.

"… redirects here. It is not to be confused with …"

• {{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. It is not to be confused with PAGE1.
• {{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3|PAGE4}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. It is not to be confused with PAGE1, PAGE2, PAGE3, or PAGE4.
• {{Redirect-distinguish2|REDIRECT|TEXT}} →
  "REDIRECT" redirects here. It is not to be confused with TEXT.

"For technical reasons, … redirects here. For … , see … ."

• {{Technical reasons|REDIRECT}} →
  For technical reasons, "REDIRECT" redirects here.
• {{Technical reasons|REDIRECT|PAGE}} →
  For technical reasons, "REDIRECT" redirects here. For REDIRECT, see PAGE.
• {{Technical reasons|REDIRECT|DESCRIPTION|PAGE}} →
  For technical reasons, "REDIRECT" redirects here. For DESCRIPTION, see PAGE.
• {{Technical reasons|REDIRECT|DESCRIPTION1|PAGE1|DESCRIPTION2|PAGE2}} →
  For technical reasons, "REDIRECT" redirects here. For DESCRIPTION1, see PAGE1. For DESCRIPTION2, see PAGE2.
• {{Technical reasons|REDIRECT|DESCRIPTION1|PAGE1|DESCRIPTION2|PAGE2|DESCRIPTION3|PAGE3}} →
  For technical reasons, "REDIRECT" redirects here. For DESCRIPTION1, see PAGE1. For DESCRIPTION2, see PAGE2. For DESCRIPTION3, see PAGE3.

Wikipedia self-reference

• {{Selfref|ANYTEXT}} →
  ANYTEXT

Further information: Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Self-references to avoid

Categories

Category-specific templates:

• {{Category see also|THIS|THAT|THE OTHER}} →
  See also categories: THIS, THAT, and THE OTHER

This is a template for linking categories horizontally. Horizontal linkage is often the right solution when vertical linkage (i.e., as sub-category and parent category) is not appropriate. In most cases, this template should be used on both categories to create reciprocal linkage between the two categories.

• {{Cat main|MAIN ARTICLE}} →
  The main article for this category is MAIN ARTICLE.
• {{Category explanation|colourless green ideas}} →
  This category is for colourless green ideas.
• {{Category pair|TOPIC1|TOPIC2}} →
  See also the preceding Category:TOPIC1 and the succeeding Category:TOPIC2.
• {{CatPreceding|OTHER TOPIC}} →
  See also the preceding Category:OTHER TOPIC.
• {{CatSucceeding|OTHER TOPIC}} →
  See also the succeeding Category:OTHER TOPIC.
• {{Contrast|OTHERCAT|OTHERCAT2}} →
  Main is often contrasted with OTHERCAT or OTHERCAT2.
• {{Contrast|OTHERCAT|OTHERCAT2|plural=yes}} →
  Main are often contrasted with OTHERCAT or OTHERCAT2.

Family names

Further information: Category:Hatnote templates for names

Lists

Further information: Category:Hatnote templates for lists

User pages

• {{This user talk|TOPIC|PAGE1}} →
  

This is a Wikipedia user talk page. For other uses of TOPIC, see PAGE1.

Notes

Do not use subst: with these templates, as that will prevent:

1. propagating changes as the template is modified; and the
2. What links here (WLH) listing.

These templates are used in thousands of articles; therefore, changing the syntax could break thousands of articles. If you wish to create or edit a disambiguation or redirection template, first ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is there already a template that will do this job? Since many disambiguation and redirection templates have already been created, first check: Category:Disambiguation and redirection templates.
2. Do I really need a new template for this? Will it likely be used on any other articles or should I just use {{Hatnote}} instead? Before creating a new template, see the template namespace guideline.
3. If I change the parameters around on an existing template, do I know what the result will be? Will it break existing uses of the template and if so, can I fix all of the errors? Before making any changes, see Template sandbox and test cases.

See also

• Wikipedia:Hatnote
• Category:Hatnote templates
• {{Shortcut}}

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Main/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.