This template is used onapproximately 120,000 pages. To avoid major disruption and server load, any changes should be tested in the template's/sandbox or/testcases subpages, or in your ownuser subpage. The tested changes can be added to this page in a single edit. Consider discussing changes on thetalk page before implementing them.
This template produces ahatnote to point out to readers, who may have misspelled their desired title, the existence of one or more pages whose title(s) is, or are, similar to the current page. It is used in cases where the distinction between the titles is generally obvious and does not need further explanation.
For cases where an explanation is required, please use the templates{{For}} and{{About}}. For use on category pages, the corresponding template is{{Category distinguish}}.
Usage
Here is an example of its standard usage on the article about the mathematicalAstroid:
The|text= parameter can be used to create customized text, in case context is required. An example is on the articlePhobos (mythology), which contains a customized hatnote to distinguish it and "Phoebus" (a redirect ofApollo). Both links lead to topics about Greek gods, so theparenthetical disambiguation in "Phobos (mythology)" is insufficient to disambiguate the two. Since itis typically not preferable to link a redirect in a hatnote,[clarification needed] the article "Apollo" is linked to directly and a short explanation fills in the necessary context:
{{distinguish|text=Phoebus, an epithet of the Greek god[[Apollo]]}} →
Not to be confused with Phoebus, an epithet of the Greek godApollo.
Note that a final period is automatically added at the end of the sentence, and that only one blue link is used per disambiguated topic (i.e, do not type...an [[epithet]] of the [[Greek]] god [[Apollo]].
When the target is a disambiguation page, display of the parentheses may be avoided by escaping the vertical bar using themagic word{{!}}:
This hatnote is generally used when readers have misspelled their desired title, and the error would be apparent by simply displaying the alternative term without further explanation. For example, consider a reader looking for the punctuation mark who instead ends up atcoma:
Readers are presumed to recognize that they actually wantedcomma by merely looking at the spelling, and this case generally requires no further explanation.
However,{{distinguish}} is not suitable when the difference is not readily apparent without additional details. Consider a reader looking for a game they believe is named Reversi:
In the above hatnote, it is not generally apparent how the suggested Reversis is different from Reversi, which is also a game.
In this case you should use{{about}} instead of{{distinguish}}. The difference is to provide explanation upfront without requiring the reader to click through and differentiate the terms on their own.
This article is about the board game. For the card game, seeReversis.
{{Distinguish}} should only be used when the ambiguity exists for a portion of the readership that is sufficient to warrant a hatnote. Care should be taken toavoid trivial uses.
This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.
Parameter
Description
Type
Status
Name of article
1
Name of article that you want to link to
Page name
suggested
Optional additional article to link (2)
2
Optional additional article to link
Page name
optional
Optional additional article to link (3)
3
Optional additional article to link
Page name
optional
Optional additional article to link (4)
4
Optional additional article to link
Page name
optional
Custom text
text
Custom message in wikitext; e.g. "[[foo]] and [[Bar (computer science)|bar]]" produces "Not to be confused with [[foo]] and [[Bar (computer science)|bar]]."
String
optional
Self reference
selfref
If set, marks note as being a self reference, to not be shown when content is reused
