Template:Reference page/doc

This is a documentation subpage for Template:Reference page. It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

This template is used on approximately 65,000 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.

"Rp" stands for "reference page(s)". This is a method of citing page numbers usually used when other methods produce undesirable results.

Use this template when you are referring to specific pages within a source which is cited many times in the same article. The following example sentence shows the formatting produced by:

<ref name="aardvark">... details of cited source ...</ref>{{rp|p=23}}

which would be used to refer to a fact on page 23 of reference [1]:

Apples should be eaten when they are ripe.^[1]: 23

This second example sentence shows the formatting produced by:

<ref name="aardvark" />{{rp|p=56}}

which would be used as citation for a statement supported by a fact on page 56 of the same reference [1], which will appear only once in the list of references:

Porridge, usually eaten for breakfast, can also serve as a dessert.^[1]: 56

This template is for appending page numbers to notes. It is an alternative that can be used in articles with one or several sources that are cited multiple times, at numerous different pages.

It is a solution for the problem of a source that is cited many times, at numerous different pinpoint page numbers, in the same Wikipedia article. Cite.php's limitations pose two citation problems in such a case:

1. Regular use of <ref ...>...</ref> to provide a separate citation for each fact/statement sourced from a different page or page range (as in this example) will result in numerous individual lines, each repeating the entire bibliographic citation of a source, generated by <references/> (or through the equivalent {{reflist}}) in the "Notes" or "References" section.
2. Using a single <ref ...>...</ref> and a followup <ref .../> with the same name= and simply listing all of the pages cited would result in the single, very long <references/> (or {{reflist}}) entry for this source giving no way for readers to tell which facts were sourced from which pages in the work.

This template works around both of these problems. Doing so is important, because Featured Article as well as Good Article reviews generally insist upon specific facts being cited with specific page numbers.

{{rp}} is an alternative to the method of using shortened footnotes that does not require the reader to follow two links to see the source. In cases of numerous citations to the same source, the Cite.php <ref ...> footnoting system is less tedious to use and more difficult to break with incorrect formatting than the {{ref label}} and {{note label}} system (although, in other situations, those templates are not particularly difficult and may be quite useful).

In most cases, citing page numbers in the <ref>...</ref> code is just fine. This template is intended for sources that are used many times in the same article, but with differing page numbers. Even when used to specify individual page numbers in different locations of the article, it is often a good idea to specify the combined list of all page numbers referred to in an article in the core citation as well, as this makes it easier to obtain the source (if CS1/CS2 citation style is used for the core citation, the combined page numbers get also included in the meta-data).

Overuse of this template is can make prose harder to read for some. Used judiciously, however, others find it is less interruptive to the visual flow than complete implementation of the reference citation styles that inspired it, particularly full Harvard referencing and AMA style.

If an article has an established citation style that uses an alternative to this template (e.g. Harvard style or another style using {{sfn}} shortened footnote templates), then do not unilaterally start using this template in the article. Instead, you should discuss options for citation styles with other editors and try to reach a consensus, per WP:CITEVAR.

• {{rp|page=page}} or {{rp|p=page}} (for a singular page)
• {{rp|pages=pages}} or {{rp|pp=pages}} (for plural pages, including lists and ranges)
• {{rp|at=in-source-location}} (for other in-source-location info)
• {{rp|page number(s)}} (not recommended, because without one of the dedicated parameters above the type and numerus of the given page information will be ambiguous in some cases and thus the resulting tooltip has to remain somewhat vague)

The specified page number(s) can be a single page number (287), a list of several pages (xii, 287, 292, 418) or a range of pages (287–288) or any combination thereof. Do not add "Page", "pp.", etc.—just the numbers.

Other in-source-location information can also be used for non-numeric pages, for example: "f. 29", "A7", and "back cover", etc., and can also be used for non-paginated sources, e.g., "0:35:12" for a video source.

Choose one of the template parameters above according to the type of page or in-source-location specified.

While typically only one of these three types of parameters is given, it is also possible to combine them to suit more special use cases. If both, singular and plural page parameters are given at the same time, the plural page info is assumed to be the span of the article, whereas the singular page info is considered to be the page within that span supporting the statement. The template will indicate this by framing the singular page in square brackets following the plural page info. If an in-source-location is given in addition to the page info, the template assumes it to further detail the preceding page info rather than representing some kind of stand-alone in-source location info.

Do not attempt to use multiple aliases of a parameter at the same time. Only one will be chosen and the others may be ignored without error message.

Example

The example below shows {{rp}} in use both at a first occurrence [<ref ...>...</ref>], with other references and inline superscript templates present so one can see how it looks when used in series, and at a later [<ref ... />] occurrence.

An asserted fact.{{Clarifyme|date=August 2014}}<ref name="Jackson 1999">{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Jennifer |date=1999 |title=The Unlightable Being of Bareness |publisher=Funky Publications |location=San Francisco, California}}</ref>{{rp|pages=143,233–237}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Bob |date=2000 |title=Another Source |publisher=Another Publisher |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Bill |date=20 January 2006 |title=Some Article |work=The New York Times |page=S4 |department="Style" section |url=http://url.goes.here.tld/ |access-date=17 March 2007}}</ref>

[...]

Another asserted fact.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|page=27}} Also important.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|at=foldout V}}

Example page

• Liouville number § Liouville numbers and measure

The default display format for the superscript is a colon prefix (:).

Alternatively, AMA style puts superscripted page numbers inside parentheses instead of after a colon. This style can be selected by adding the template parameter |style=ama. In cases, where the p/pp prefix should not be displayed, it can be suppressed using |no-pp=yes

Example

An asserted fact.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Jennifer |date=1999 |title=The Unlightable Being of Bareness |publisher=Funky Publications |location=San Francisco, California |isbn=1234567890}}</ref>{{rp|page=148|style=ama}}

[...]

Another asserted fact.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|pages=233–237|style=ama}}

[...]

A third asserted fact.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|at=dust jacket|style=ama}}

If a reference needs a page number but it is missing, use {{rp|needed=y|{{subst:DATE}}}} or {{rp|needed=y|date=November 2024}}. This will automatically use the {{page needed}} template to add the article to the appropriate category. For example, <ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|needed=y|date=November 2012}} results in: ^{[1][page needed]}

This is preferable to something like {{rp|page number?}} or {{rp|?}}, since the cleanup categorization takes place. It is preferable to simply using {{page needed}} in articles that make use of {{rp}}, since it preserves the use of the {{rp}} syntax.

Do not nest the {{page needed}} template inside the {{rp}} template; doing so introduces a stray colon and the displayed results are too small to be legible to many readers. For instance, <ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|{{page needed|date=November 2012}}}} results in the undesirable: ^{[1]: [page needed]}

The template can use the |quote= or |q= parameter to show a quote from the source when the mouse hovers over the location identifier. Use of these parameters provides some context for the reference, especially if the reference is to an offline source. This is especially important when using the off-line source to support a fact that might be controversial or is likely to be challenged.

Quotation marks are automatically inserted around the quote, and location identifiers with a quote will display with a dashed underline.

An asserted fact.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|422|quote=This is a fact.}}

[...]

Another asserted fact.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|pages=233–237|q=This is also a fact.}}

[...]

A third asserted fact.<ref name="Jackson 1999" />{{rp|at=dust jacket|q=This too is a fact.}}

If the in-source-location of the quote is more specific (or different) from the in-source-location specified with the set of |page=/|pages=/|at= parameters for the citation discussed above, you can optionally use the separate set of |quote-page=/|quote-pages=/|quote-at= parameters to specify an in-source-location for the specific quote.

If the quote is not in English, you can optionally use the |language= parameter (or one of its aliases) to specify the language of the quote. A translation of the quote can be optionally provided through the |translation= parameter (or one of its aliases).

If it is desirable to have the quotation present in the local tooltip as well as in the full citation, consider switching to use {{r}} with its |annotation=quote |quote=Quotation parameter instead of using {{rp}}.

Where multiple citations occur in series, {{rp}} prevents line breaks between the citations. In this case, |wrap=yes can be used to allow a line break. Alternatively, if line breaks should be allowed also inside a long page / location information, |wrap=forced can be used instead (however, if this actually results in line breaks also depends on the browser, CSS and the skin selected).

Per MOS:DASH, page ranges should be declared with an ndash ({{rp|pages=27–29}}→^{[ref]: 27–29}) rather than a hyphen. Tools like WP:AWB will automatically convert hyphens to dashes in such instances. For the plural page parameters |pages=, |pp= and |quote-pages= and aliases, {{rp}} will automatically translate hyphens into ndashes for display purposes. (This does not apply to the singular and other in-source-location parameters |page=, |p=, |at=, |loc=, |quote-page= and aliases.) If the hyphen is actually desired for whatever reason, the "accept-this-as-written-markup" (which is also supported by {{ran}} and {{r}}, the family of {{sfn}}- and {{harv}}-style templates, and all CS1/CS2 citation templates) can be used to indicate this ({{rp|pages=((27-29, 41))}}→^{[ref]: 27-29, 41}).

• {{sfn}}, another way of citing multiple pages of the same source (described in detail in the "Shortened footnotes" section of Wikipedia:Citing sources)
• {{p.}} and {{pp.}}, which emit "p." (or "pp."), and non-breaking space, then the page number(s): p. 2 produces p. 2; pp. 2–4 gives pp. 2–4
• {{r}}, which allows both the reference name and page number to be specified. {{r|aardvark|p=56}} expands to <ref name="aardvark"/>{{Rp|56}}.
• {{ran}}, a wrapper for {{rp}} to work with references manually anchored through {{rma}} (to control the names of the superscript link labels according to custom naming schemes or sort orders)
• Help:References and page numbers
• Wikipedia:Citing sources § Citing multiple pages of the same source
• {{Harvard citation}}
• mw:Help:Cite § book referencing, an experimental system which puts a similar feature in the ref tag.
• meta:WMDE Technical Wishes/Sub-referencing, a beta extends= parameter for <ref> that will obviate any further need for {{Rp}}. Expected deployment in late 2024 to early 2025.