Template:Circa/doc

Usage

This template generates an abbreviation for circa ("c."). By default the abbreviation is linked to the Circa article.

Examples

Syntax	What it looks like
{{circa}}	c.
{{circa|1325}}	c. 1325
{{circa|1325|lk=no}}	c. 1325
{{circa|250–200 BC}}	c. 250–200 BC

Parameters

This template supports an optional (first, unnamed) parameter representing a year. For example, {{circa|1956}} gives "c. 1956". This differs from {{circa}} 1956 in two ways. First, {{circa|1956}} puts a non-breaking space between the "c." and the number, which prevents web browsers from inserting a line break there.

If the parameter "sortable=yes" is specified, the template generates invisible text that will cause the output to work in sortable tables, at the cost of causing problems for visually-impaired readers. Compare, "Col 1" and "Col 2" in the following table:

Title	Col 1	Col 2
Foo	1066	1066
Bar	c. 1510	1510 c. 1510
Baz	1956	1956

"Col 1" uses {{circa}} 1510, and does not sort correctly. "Col 2" uses {{circa|1510|sortable=yes}} and does sort correctly. This works because {{circa|1510|sortable=yes}} inserts an invisible span element at the start of the cell: <span style="display:none;">1510</span>. Although it is not rendered, it is still seen by the sorting code and makes sorting work. The downside of this approach is that the invisible text is still rendered by screen readers that are used by visually impaired readers, and by text browsers such as Lynx, so the table will become garbled for readers who are using assisstive technology or low-bandwith browsers.

If the parameter lk (for link) is set to lk=off, then the abbreviation will be rendered as c. (without a wikilink). Otherwise, the link is displayed. This can be used to avoid overlinking when this template is used repeatedly in the body of an article.