 | This template is used onapproximately 4,200 pages and changes may be widely noticed. Test changes in the template's/sandbox or/testcases subpages, or in your ownuser subpage. Consider discussing changes on thetalk page before implementing them. |
 | Use{{Update after}} only in exceptional cases when there is acertainty that an update will be needed. See§ Inappropriate use. |
This template is used to flag statements that are likely to become outdated by aspecific future date. It is important to distinguish its use on other date-sensitive statements on Wikipedia, where date-sensitive information may require revision without a specific future date in mind. It remains invisible to readers until that date, when it appears and adds the page toCategory:Wikipedia articles in need of updating.
See the WikipediaManual of Style on chronological items, the editing guidelines onprecise language andupdating information, andWikipedia:As of.
{{Update after|year|month|day|category|reason=...|text=...}} (all parameters are optional)
|1=,|2=, and|3= are respectively the year, month, and day that the template should activate. If only the year is specified, the template will activate on 1 January of the year following the specified year. If only the year and month is specified, the template will activate on the first day following the specified month. If all three parameters are blank, the template will activate immediately. At least the month and year should be specified. If parameters 1, 2, and 3 are left blank or not listed, abot will add the date the template was added to the article later.|4=.|4=United States articles in need of updating places the article inCategory:United States articles in need of updating as well asCategory:Wikipedia articles in need of updating.|reason= is used to leave a note for future editors about what exactly needs to be changed or where to find the new information. The note is displayed as a tooltip on the "Dated info" link once the template activates.|text= is the text that will become dated, and is as such used to highlight dated text. Until the template activates, the text is displayed ordinarily, as if it were not wrapped.|delay= specifies an additional number of days to delay activation of the template after the specified date.Please readWikipedia:Avoid statements that will date quickly,Manual of Style on chronological items, the editing guidelines onprecise language andupdating information, andWikipedia:As of; use{{Update after}} only in exceptional cases. Do not use this template on pages which simply need to be reviewed later to see if theymight need updating; it should only be used when there is acertainty or very high probability that an update is needed, or with statements that will be out-of-date at a specifiable future date. Do not use this template ontalk pages; it is intended for inline usage, like{{Citation needed}}. It is probably not necessary to use this template on frequently edited articles such as for current events, as they will be being updated on a regular basis. Do not use this template within a section heading as it will count as part of the heading and thus break the heading.
Make sure to use numbers for all fields, or a message, "Expression error: Unexpected < operator" will appear.
TemplateData for Update after
Places an in-line note in an article that marks information as [dated] and in need of an update after a given time
| Parameter | Description | Type | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1year | The year the template should activate, if not specified the template will activate immediately. Enter a four-digit year. | Number | optional |
| Month | 2month | The month the template should activate, if not specified the template will activate on 1 January of the following year. Enter the month as two digits, e.g. 06 for June. | Number | optional |
| Day | 3day | The day the template should activate, if not specified the template will activate on the first of the next month. Enter the day as two digits. | Number | optional |
| Category | 4category | Additionally add the article to another category (e.g. a WikiProject's maintenance category) when the template is activated. The category name must be specified without square brackets and without the "Category:" prefix. In addition to any category specified here, articles are automatically placed in [[Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating]] or one of its dated subcategories, when the date is specified. This parameter has no effect outside the main (article) namespace. | Line | optional |
| Reason | reason | An optional note for future editors about what exactly needs to be changed or where to find the new information. Displayed in tooltip. | String | optional |
| Text | text | Dated statement. Becomes highlighted when template activates; displayed normally before activation. | String | optional |
| Delay (by days) | delay | Number of days to delay template activation.
| Number | optional |
| Description | Code | Result |
|---|---|---|
|
| Some text that was already outdated when the tag was added.[needs update] |
|
| Some text that will be outdated after today. |
| Some text that should be checked next year. | |
|
| Some text that will be outdated after today. |
An optional reason may be used as a comment to future editors. |
| Some text that should be checked.[needs update] |
Dated statement may be included in the template using the|text= param. |
| Some text that should be checked.[needs update] |
When the template is activated in an article, the phrase "needs update" appears in the text of the article at the indicated spot. The page will also appear inCategory:Wikipedia articles in need of updating or one of its dated subcategories, when the date is specified, and also any category specified in the 4th parameter.
SeeCategory:Wikipedia articles in need of updating for a list of pages currently needing updates, andWikipedia:As of for a list of 'As of' pages.
