Template:Format footnotes
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When to use
This template indicates that the article uses many improperly formatted or non-formatted inline citations that require large-scale conversion to an accepted form of inline citation.
How to use
To add this template to an article, copy and paste:
{{Format footnotes|{{subst:DATE}}}}
- or
{{Format footnotes|date=December 2025}}
Both options result in the same output.
- This template will add the page to Category:Articles needing footnote reformatting and Category:Articles covered by WikiProject Wikify.
- A bot will add the date for you at a later time if you forgot.
Examples
In-line reference using ref tags (correct)
A standard, correct way of formatting the following citations (with some acceptable variations as described at Wikipedia:Citing sources) would be:
Correct: Australia has a government.[1]
References
- ^ Australian Government Press Agency (25 November 2009). "Australian Government". Retrieved 25 November 2009.
The following are examples of improperly formatted or non-formatted inline citations. This template is appropriate for articles that contain many such citations, therefore requiring large-scale conversion.
Embedded link (incorrect)
Incorrect: Australia has a government Australian Government.
or:
Incorrect: Australia has a government.[1]
Manual number (incorrect)
Incorrect: Australia has a governmentsee footnote 1
Inline parenthetical reference (incorrect)
Inline parenthetical referencing was a previously accepted citation system that is now deprecated per WP:PARREF. The recommendation is to convert inline parenthetical references to shortened footnotes (as depicted below) or regular footnotes (as depicted in the first example above) or footnotes with list-defined references.
Incorrect: Australia has a government (Australian Government Press Agency, 2009).
Correct: Australia has a government.[1]
References
- ^ Davidson & Court 2011, p. 1.
- Sources
- Davidson, Hazel; Court, Dorothy (2011). Australian Government. Chapel Hill, Qld: Sugarbag on Damper. ISBN 9780975759387. OCLC 697121237.
This template indicates that the article uses many improperly formatted or non-formatted inline citations that require large-scale conversion to an accepted form of inline citation.
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affected area | 1 | Text to replace the word "article", usually "section"
| Line | optional |
| Reason | reason | A description of the issue, to add to the end of the text in the generated tag.
| Line | optional |
| Month and year | date | Provides the month and year of the citation request; e.g., 'January 2013', but not 'jan13'
| String | suggested |