Template:Circa
 | This template is used on approximately 33,000 pages and changes may be widely noticed. Test changes in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them. |
 | This template should not be used in citation templates such as Citation Style 1 and Citation Style 2, because it includes markup that will pollute the COinS metadata they produce; see Wikipedia:COinS. The CS1 and CS2 templates have limited support for c. as an abbreviation in the date fields. |
Usage
This template generates an abbreviation for circa: c. By default the abbreviation is marked with <abbr>.
Examples
| Syntax | What it looks like | Notes |
|---|---|---|
{{circa}} 1325
|
c. 1325 | Default style; line break allowed between "c. " and "1325"; normal-width space |
{{circa|1325}}
|
c. | Default style: no line break allowed; thin space |
{{circa|1325|i=yes}}
|
c. | With italic "c.", though italics are discouraged at MOS:CIRCA |
{{circa|1325|lk=abbr}}
|
c. | With abbreviation marking only (default) |
{{circa|1325|lk=yes}}
|
c. | With link only |
{{circa|1325|lk=no}}
|
c. | With neither link nor abbreviation marking |
{{circa|1000|1050}}
|
c. | For ranges |
Parameters
Using the date itself as parameter (for example, "{{circa|1956}}", giving "c. "), web browsers do not insert a line break anywhere in the string. By contrast, "{{circa}} 1956" allows a line break between the "c. " and the number. Also, with the date as a parameter a thinner space is used with many browsers:
If the parameter |i= is set to a non-empty value, the "c." is put in italics: for example, "{{circa|i=''}}" generates "c. " instead of "c. ".
If the parameter |lk= (for "link") is set as "|lk=no" or "|lk=off", the abbreviation is rendered as "c. ", without a wikilink or abbreviation element. If it is set to "|lk=abbr", it is rendered with the abbreviation element but without the wikilink. If it is set to "|lk=yes" or "|lk=on", it is rendered as "c. ", with a wikilink to the circa article and not an abbreviation element. Otherwise, the abbreviation is marked with the "<abbr>" element, as in "c. ", and linked to the circa article. 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. For example:
[[Dionysius Exiguus]] was born {{circa|470}}, lived in Rome from {{circa|lk=no|500}}, and died {{circa|lk=no|544}}.- → Dionysius Exiguus was born c. , lived in Rome from c. , and died c. .
If the parameter "cap=yes" is specified, the result starts with a capital letter.
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. |
| Baz | 1956 | 1956 |
| Jaz | c. 410 | c. |
"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 assistive technology or text browsers.
See also
No description.
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sortable | sortable | no description | Unknown | optional |
| year | 1 | no description | String | suggested |
| italicize? | i | If non-empty, italicizes 'c.'
| String | optional |
| link? | lk | If 'yes' or 'on', links to 'circa' article. If 'no' or 'off', does not title 'circa'.
| String | optional |
| end year | 2 | no description | String | optional |
