Template:Circa/doc
 | This is a documentation subpage for Template:Circa. It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page. |
Usage
This template generates an abbreviation for circa ("c."). By default the abbreviation is marked with <abbr>.
Examples
| Syntax | What it looks like |
|---|---|
{{circa}}
|
c. |
{{circa|1325}}
|
c. 1325 |
{{circa|1325|lk=yes}}
|
c. 1325 |
{{circa|1325|lk=no}}
|
c. 1325 |
{{circa|250–200 BC}}
|
c. 250–200 BC |
Parameters
An optional parameter represents a year or range of years. For example, "{{circa|1956}}" gives "c. 1956", with a non-breaking space between the "c." and the year to prevent web browsers from inserting a line break there. In contrast, "{{circa}} 1956" allows a line break between the "c." and the number.
If the parameter |lk= (for link) is set to "|lk=no" or to "|lk=off", the abbreviation is rendered as "c.", without an abbreviation element. If it is set to "|lk=yes" or to "|lk=on", it is rendered as "c.", with a wikilink to the Circa article. Otherwise, abbreviation is marked with the "<abbr>" element, as in "c.". The lk parameter can be used to avoid overuse of "<abbr>" or overlinking when this template is used repeatedly in the body of an article. A convenient way of doing this is to use {{circa}} the first time, and {{c.}} thereafter. For example:
[[Dionysius Exiguus]] was born {{circa|470}}, lived in Rome from {{c.|500}}, and died {{c.|544}}.- → Dionysius Exiguus was born c. 470, lived in Rome from Template:C., and died Template:C..
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 | 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.
