Help:References and page numbers

Per the verifiability policy, "Cite the source clearly and precisely (specifying page, section, or such divisions as may be appropriate)."

Examples

The manner in which a page number is included depends on the citation style. These examples use Citation Style 1 templates, but these are not required.

Footnotes

These examples use Footnotes:

This example is the most basic and includes unique references for each citation, showing the page numbers in the reference list. This repeats the citation, changing the page number.

Markup	Renders as
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.<ref>{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972 |page=5}}</ref> Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.<ref>{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972 |page=6}}</ref> {{reflist}}	The brontosaurus is thin at one end. Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.

Here, the page numbers are shown in the text by using {{rp}}.

Markup	Renders as
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.<ref name=elk1972>{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972}}</ref>{{rp|5}} Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.<ref name=elk1972 />{{rp|6}} {{reflist}}	The brontosaurus is thin at one end. Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.

List-defined references

Page numbers are shown in-text by using List-defined references and {{r}}.

Markup	Renders as
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.{{r|elk1972|page1=5}} Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.{{r|elk1972|page1=6}} {{reflist|refs= <ref name=elk1972>{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972}}</ref> }} {{reflist}}	The brontosaurus is thin at one end. Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.

Shortened footnotes

Using Shortened footnotes, showing the page numbers in the notes list and a separate list for the full reference

Shortened footnotes using {{harvtxt}} or {{harvnb}}:

Markup	Renders as
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.<ref>{{harvtxt|Elk|1972|p=5}}</ref> Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.<ref>{{harvnb|Elk|1972|p=6}}</ref> {{reflist}} {{refbegin}} *{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972 |ref=harv}} {{refend}}	The brontosaurus is thin at one end. Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.

Shortened footnotes using {{sfn}}:

Markup	Renders as
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=5}} Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.{{sfn|Elk|1972|p=6}} {{reflist}} {{refbegin}} *{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972 |ref=harv}} {{refend}}	The brontosaurus is thin at one end. Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.

A mix of Footnotes and Shortened footnotes with the full reference in the first footnote and shortened footnotes for subsequent references.

Markup	Renders as
The brontosaurus is thin at one end.<ref>{{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972a |ref=harv |page=5}}</ref> Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.{{sfn|Elk|1972a|p=6}} {{reflist}}	The brontosaurus is thin at one end. Then it becomes much thicker in the middle.

Parenthetical referencing

Parenthetical referencing (Harvard), showing the page numbers in-text using {{harv}}.

Markup	Renders as
The brontosaurus is thin at one end {{harv|Elk|1972b|p=5}}. Then it becomes much thicker in the middle {{harv|Elk|1972b|p=6}}. {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last=Elk |first=Anne |title=[[Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses]] |date=November 16, 1972b |ref=harv}} {{refend}}	The brontosaurus is thin at one end (Elk 1972b, p. 5). Then it becomes much thicker in the middle (Elk 1972b, p. 6).

Other in-source locations

Often, a page number is not appropriate such as when citing an audio or video source or a book that has no page numbers. The Citation Style 1 templates have an |at= parameter that can be used to include non-page locators. The Author-date citation templates use |loc=.

Some example locators: section (sec.), column (col.), paragraph (para.); track; hours, minutes and seconds; act, scene, canto, book, part, folio, stanza, back cover, liner notes, indicia, colophon, dust jacket, verse

Feature requests

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T15127

Footnotes do not directly support page numbers; a feature request is logged as T15127.