 | This page documents an English Wikipediaediting guideline. Editors should generally follow it, thoughexceptions may apply.Substantive edits to this page should reflectconsensus. When in doubt, discuss first onthis guideline's talk page. |
 | This page in a nutshell:Hatnotes providelinks at the top of anarticle or asection to help readers locate a different article if the one they are viewing is not the one they're looking for. |
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Hatnotes are short notes placed at the top of a page or asection, in the way that a hat is placed on top of one's head. For an example, see the notes in italics immediately preceding the boxes above. The purpose of a hatnote is to help readers locate a different article if the one they are at is not the one they're looking for. Readers may have arrived at the article containing the hatnote because:
Hatnotes providelinks to the possibly sought article or to adisambiguation page.
The six basic rules of hatnotes are:
{{hatnote group}}.)For more information about methods of disambiguating articles, seeWikipedia:Disambiguation.
Hatnotes are placed at the top of an article or section. When used at the top of an article, hatnotes are placed immediately following ashort description template but strictly before any other content including protection icons ormaintenance tags. For the specific order of placing hatnotes with respect to other article elements, seeMOS:SECTIONORDER.Text-based web browsers andscreen readers present the page sequentially. Placing hatnotes immediately after the title ensures that readers are promptly directed to related or alternative articles if they have arrived at the page unintentionally. This placement enhances navigation and improves the overall user experience.
In most cases, hatnotes should be created using a standard hatnote template, as illustrated in§ Hatnote templates below. This permits the form and structure of hatnotes to be changed uniformly across the encyclopedia as needed, and the templates to be excluded in print.
Current style on the English Wikipedia is to italicize and to indent each note, without a bullet before the item. A horizontal dividing line should not be placed either under a note or after the final item in a list. Links to articles should follow thenaming conventions for capitalization – typicallysentence case, not all lower case.
When determining the content of the hatnote, keep in mind that it forms part of the user interface rather than the article content. Two applicableuser interface design principles are clarity and conciseness. The hatnote should not overload the user with extraneous information, and the content should be imparted quickly and accurately. These design goals are conveyed succinctly in the principleless is more.
As hatnotes separate the reader from the content they are looking for, hatnotes should generally be as concise as possible. Long explanations are generally discouraged; the article's lead text, not the hatnote, should explain what the article is about. In almost all cases, the hatnote is intended only to direct readers to other articles in case they were actually looking for something they will not find in the article containing the hatnote.
If a disambiguation page exists for a given term, then linking to it should be enough. For example, if the article isX then its hatnote will link toX (disambiguation); it should not have entries for other topics known asX, likeX (Grafton novel) orX (charge), because they are already listed in the disambiguation page. However, such an article may be linked if it could be expected by a significant number of readers to be at the title in question: for instance,Turkey is about the country, but many readers expect to find the article about the bird at that title; therefore, the hatnote there correctly reads
which renders
There should be as few hatnotes as possible. One single hatnote, which can accommodate several links, is greatly preferable to two or more. Multiple hatnotes may however be appropriate when each serves a different purpose, such asdisambiguating the title ordistinguishing similar terms.[1]
Some hatnote disambiguation templates include a brief summary of the present article's topic; others do not have a summary. For instance, in the articleHoney, one might use the template{{about|the insect-produced fluid}} to produce:
Alternatively, one might use{{other uses}} to produce:
Either of these two styles is acceptable. The choice of style in a given article is based on editors' preferences and on what is likely to be clearer and easier for the reader. (In this particular instance, most English speakers will know what honey is, and the second, more concise hatnote is preferable.) Where an article already has a hatnote in one of these styles, editors should not change it to the other style without good reason.
This page is about the village in England. For H. P. Lovecraft's fictional town, seeDunwich (Lovecraft).Dunwich (/ˈdʌnɪtʃ/) is a town in the county ofSuffolk inEngland, the remnant of what was once a prosperous seaport and centre of the wool trade during the earlymiddle ages, with a natural harbour formed by the mouths of theRiver Blyth. ...
When two articles share the same title, except that one title is disambiguated and the other is not, and it is not appropriate to change the undisambiguated article's title(seeWP:Disambiguation § Primary topic), the undisambiguated article should include a hatnote with a link to the other article. It is not necessary to create a separate disambiguation page. The{{about}} template may be used for this. In this case, the parameterization was{{about|the village in England|H. P. Lovecraft's fictional town|Dunwich (Lovecraft)}}
Not to be confused withPearl.Perl is a family ofhigh-level,general-purpose,interpreted,dynamic programming languages. ...
{{Distinguish}} or a related template can be used when there can be confusion with a similar term. They are typically used when readers have misspelled their desired title, and the error would be apparent by simply displaying the alternative term without further explanation. These hatnotes should only be used when the ambiguity exists for a significant portion of the readership.
However, they are not suitable when the difference is not readily apparent without additional details. In those cases, use{{about}},{{for}} or{{other uses}} instead, as the differences in the suggested article are explained upfront without requiring the reader to click through and differentiate the terms on their own.
For other uses, seeMonolith (disambiguation).Amonolith is amonument or natural feature, such as amountain, consisting of a single massivestone or rock.Erosion usually exposes these formations. ...
When a term has a primary meaning and two or more additional meanings, the hatnote on the primary topic page should link to a disambiguation page.{{other uses}} may be used for this.
In many cases, the hatnote also includes a brief description of the subject of the present article, for readers' convenience:
This page is about the maze-like labyrinth from Greek mythology. For other uses, seeLabyrinth (disambiguation).InGreek mythology, theLabyrinth was an elaboratemaze-like structure constructed for KingMinos ofCrete and designed by the legendary artificerDaedalus to hold theMinotaur. ...
The template{{about}} may be used for this. In this case the parameterization was{{about|the mazelike labyrinth from Greek mythology}}
{{redirect}}, or a related template, can be used when an ambiguous title isredirected to an unambiguous title or aprimary topic article:
Johann Sebastian Bach
(Redirected fromBach)"Bach" redirects here. For other uses, seeBach (disambiguation).Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the lateBaroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ...
Always place a hatnote abovemaintenance tags, but belowshort description templates. Seeabove for specific details regarding the placement of hatnotes.
For the 2014 film adaptation, seeThe Giver (film).
The Giver is a 1993 Americanyoung-adultdystopian novel byLois Lowry. It is set in a society which at first appears asutopian, but is later revealed to be adystopian one as the story progresses. The novel follows a boy named Jonas. ...
"Spotted angle" redirects here. For the other butterfly with this name, seeCaprona alida.Caprona agama, thespotted angle, is abutterfly belonging to the familyHesperiidae. ...
Words or phrases that are italicized within a normal sentence should be unitalicized within a hatnote. Since all words in a hatnote are italicized, the specific text will not stand out if the italics are not disabled.
Italics are cancelled by the parameterization:
{{Redirect|Spotted angle|the other butterfly with this name|Caprona alida{{!}}''Caprona alida''}}
Many hatnote templates found below section headers, such as{{Main}},{{See also}},{{Further}}, and others have label parameters to customize the italicization of the output text:
{{See also|Caprona alida|label1=''Caprona alida''}}
In this instance, the rendered term will stand out unitalicized.
Below are some examples of improper usages of hatnotes.
When notes feature a trivial detail or use of a term, or links to overly specific andtendentious material, they are unwarranted.
Aprevious version of the articleInvestment showed:
During asiege, toinvest a town or fortress means to surround it with acontravallation and acircumvallation.Investment is aterm with several closely related meanings infinance andeconomics. It refers to the accumulation of some kind ofasset in hopes of getting a futurereturn from it. ...
In this case, there is no direct disambiguation, and the note listed is bound to be uninteresting to most readers. The proper disambiguation simply links to a separateInvest (disambiguation) page.
Aprevious version of theAisha article showed:
Ayesha is sometimes used as a woman's name. Once popular only among Muslims, it was briefly popular among English-speakers after it appeared in the bookShe byRider Haggard.Aisha orAyesha (Arabicعائشه`ā'isha = 'she who lives') was a wife of theIslamicprophetMuhammad. ...
This is an improper use of disambiguating hatnotes. Instead, the information belongs in the body of the article, or in the article about the book, or in a separate article about names, or all three places. Hatnotes are meant to reduce confusion and direct readers to another article they might have been looking for, not for information about the subject of the article itself.
Disambiguation hatnotes are intended to link to separate topics that could be referred to by the same title, of the article or any of its redirects. They are not intended to link to topics that are simply related to each other, or to a specific aspect of a general topic:
This page is about the scientific study of extraterrestrial life. For treatment in popular culture, seeExtraterrestrial life in popular culture.Extraterrestrial life islife that may exist and originate outside the planetEarth. Its existence is currently hypothetical: there is as yet no evidence of extraterrestrial life that has been widely accepted by scientists. ...
Instead of using a disambiguation hatnote in such cases, it is better tosummarize the topicExtraterrestrial life in popular culture under a subsection ofExtraterrestrial life in conjunction with the{{main}} template.
Similarly, donot use the{{see also}} or{{main}} templates on top of a page, as they are meant only for sections; templates{{other uses}} and{{broader}} might be more appropriate alternatives.
This guideline doesnot discourage the use of disambiguation hatnotes in a situation where separate topics are related, but could nonetheless be referred to by the same title and would thus qualify for disambiguation, such as a book and its film adaptation. (e.g. the articleWhere the Crawdads Sing is about the novel and has a hatnote leading toWhere the Crawdads Sing (film).)
It is usually preferable not to have a hatnote when the name of the article is not ambiguous.
Water (wuxing)
For other uses, seeWater (disambiguation).In Chinese philosophy,water (Chinese:水;pinyin:shuǐ), is the low point of matter. It is considered matter's dying or hiding stage. ...
Here, the hatnote can be removed. A reader who is following links within Wikipedia is unlikely to end up atWater (wuxing) if they were looking for other meanings of water, sincewater does not redirect there.
A hatnote may still be appropriate when even a more specific name is still ambiguous. For example,Tree (set theory) might still be confused withTree (descriptive set theory).
The presence or absence of hatnotes in articles with disambiguated titles has been a contentious issue. There are cases where some editors strongly believe that such hatnotes should be included, such as the various articles about treaties calledTreaty of Paris.
A hatnotemay be appropriate in an unambiguously named articlewhen an ambiguous term redirects to it, as explained in§ Ambiguous term that redirects to an unambiguously named article above.
Each additional link in the hatnote besides the ambiguous or confusable topic(s) makes it more difficult to find the desired target. For example, in aprevious version of the articleWTOB (AM) under a former callsign:
For theNew Orleans, Louisiana, United States radio station known as WTIX from 1953–2005, seeWIST (AM).WTIX (980AM) is aradio station broadcasting asports radio format. ...
In this case, the link toNew Orleans, Louisiana, in the hatnote, leads to an article that is not ambiguous with the title. Keeping only the second link to the possible other destination (WIST (AM)) makes it easier to find the proper link:
For the New Orleans, Louisiana, United States radio station known as WTIX from 1953–2005, seeWIST (AM).WTIX (980AM) is aradio station broadcasting asports radio format. ...
A previous version of theHurricane Katrina article contained:
If you are trying to locate someone missing in Hurricane Katrina, or register yourself as found, you can use the sitewww.disastersearch.org.Hurricane Katrina, which madelandfall nearNew Orleans, Louisiana, on August 29, 2005, was one of the most destructive and expensivetropical cyclones to hit the United States. ...
The use of external help links in Wikipedia cannot reasonably be maintained. In special cases, a link to an "External links" section may be appropriate, but POV favoritism can be obstructive. In this case, the hatnote was removed entirely.
Hatnotes should not containred links (links tonon-existent articles), since hatnotes are intended to help users navigate to another article they may have intended to find.
{{Hatnote}} allows general text to be shown in hatnote format. It is appropriate when none of the other specific templates listed below includes the combination of parameters needed, or to combine several of them in a single hatnote.
{{Hatnote|CUSTOM TEXT}} →{{Self reference}} (a generic template for self-references to Wikipedia material)PerWikipedia:Hatnote#Disambiguating article names that are not ambiguous, it is usually preferablenot to have a hatnote when the name of the article is not ambiguous.
{{About}} is the main template for noting other uses.
Note: When used inmain namespace (a.k.a. mainspace), the word "page" in the following hatnotes is replaced by "article".
{{About|TOPIC}} →{{About|USE1||PAGE2}} (When the disambiguation page has a different name – Note the empty second parameter) →{{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2}} (When there is only one other use) →{{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|and|PAGE3}} (Two pages for USE2) →{{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2#SUBSECTION{{!}}PAGE2TITLE}} (Using the{{!}} magic word to give the link a different title) →{{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|other uses}} (When there are several standard other uses and also a disambiguation page with default name – Note that the last page name is not specified) →{{About|USE1|USE2|PAGE2|other uses|PAGE3}} (When there are several standard other uses and also a disambiguation page with non-default name) →{{About||USE2|PAGE2|USE3|PAGE3|other uses}} (When you don't need to state the focus of this article/page – Note the empty first parameter) →{{About|||PAGE1|and|PAGE2}} →{{for||PAGE1|PAGE2}} produces the same result.{{About|TOPIC|section=yes}} →{{About|USE1|text=TEXT}} →{{About-distinguish}} is a template for noting other uses when there could be confusion with another topic.
{{About-distinguish|USE1|PAGE1}} →{{About-distinguish-text|USE1|TEXT}} →{{For}} can be used instead of{{About}} so as not to display:This page is about USE1. but still specify a specific other use. This effect can also be achieved by using an empty first parameter in{{About}} as in:
For example:{{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1}} is the same as{{About||OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1}} (note the empty first parameter).
However, it is somewhat clearer when using the{{For}} template, since the word "about" does not appear in the statement.
{{For|OTHER TOPIC}} →{{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1}} →{{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1|PAGE2}} →{{For|OTHER TOPIC|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3}} →{{Other uses}}, there is a whole family of "for" templates.{{For-text}} allows custom text, such as quotation marks or a link from part of the "CUSTOM TEXT", but does not supply automatic wikilinking{{For-text|OTHER TOPIC|CUSTOM TEXT}} →{{For-text|OTHER TOPIC|CUSTOM TEXT|OTHER TOPIC 2|CUSTOM TEXT 2}} →{{For-text|OTHER TOPIC|CUSTOM TEXT|OTHER TOPIC 2|CUSTOM TEXT 2|OTHER TOPIC 3|CUSTOM TEXT 3}} →When such a wordy hatnote as{{About}} is not needed,{{Other uses}} is often useful.
{{Other uses}} →{{Other uses|PAGE1}} →{{Other uses|PAGE1|PAGE2}} →{{About}} is the standard hatnote for "other uses" and many of them can be specified using the{{About}} template. However, the individual templates may be easier to use in certain contexts.{{About}},{{Other uses}} or{{For}} templates.{{Other uses of|TOPIC}} →{{Other uses of|TOPIC|PAGE1}} →{{Redirect|REDIRECT1}} →{{Redirect|REDIRECT1||PAGE1}} →{{Redirect|REDIRECT1|USE1|PAGE1}} →{{Redirect|REDIRECT1|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2}} →{{Redirect|REDIRECT1|USE1|PAGE1|and|PAGE2}} →{{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2}} →{{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE}} →{{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2||PAGE1}} →{{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE|PAGE1}} →{{Redirect2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2}} →{{Redirect-multi|2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2}} →{{Redirect-multi|3|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|REDIRECT3}} →{{Redirect-multi|2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE|PAGE}} →{{Redirect-multi|2|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|USE1|PAGE1|USE2|PAGE2|and|PAGE3}} →{{Redirect-several|REDIRECT1|REDIRECT2|REDIRECT3}} →{{Redirect|REDIRECT|text=TEXT}}→{{Redirect-synonym|TERM|OTHER TOPIC}} →{{Technical reasons|REDIRECT}} →{{Technical reasons|REDIRECT|PAGE}} →{{Technical reasons|REDIRECT|DESCRIPTION|PAGE}} →{{Technical reasons|REDIRECT|DESCRIPTION1|PAGE1|DESCRIPTION2|PAGE2}} →{{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1}} →{{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3}} →{{Redirect-distinguish2|REDIRECT|TEXT}} →{{Other people}} →{{Other people|NAME}} →{{Other people|NAME|PAGE}} →{{Other people||PAGE}} →{{Other people|NAME|PAGE|named=titled}} →{{About other people|PERSON1}} →{{About other people|PERSON1|NAME}} →{{About other people|PERSON1|NAME|named=titled}} →{{About other people|PERSON1|NAME|PAGE}} →{{About other people|PERSON1||PAGE}} →{{About other people|PERSON1|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3}} →{{Similar names|NAME1|NAME2|NAME3|NAME4}} →{{Other people}}, exists for options like "nicknamed", "known as", etc.{{Other places}}, analogous to{{Other uses}} →{{Other places|PAGE}}, analogous to{{Other uses}} →{{Other ships|SHIP1}} →{{Other hurricanes|HURR}} →{{Distinguish|PAGE1}} →{{Distinguish|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3|PAGE4}} →{{Distinguish|text = TEXT}} →{{Distinguish|text = TEXT1 [[PAGE1]] TEXT2}} →{{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1}} →{{Redirect-distinguish|REDIRECT|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3|PAGE4}} →{{Redirect-distinguish-text|REDIRECT|TEXT}} →Family namescan also be clarified using inline footnotes via{{Family name footnote}}.
{{Main}} is used to makesummary style explicit, when used in a summary section for which there is also a separate article on the subject:
{{Main|Main Article}} →{{Main|Main Article|Article2}} →{{Main list|Article1}} →{{Main category|Category name}} →{{Further}} can supplement{{Main}} in summary sections, or can indicate more details in nonsummary sections:
{{Further|PAGE}} →{{Further|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3}} →{{Further|topic=TOPIC|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3}} →{{Further2|[[PAGE1]], [[PAGE2]], and other text}} →{{Further ill}} may be used to link to articles containing further information on a topic, where English Wikipedia does not yet have an article, but another language Wikipedia does.{{See also}} can be used at the head of a section.
{{See also|TOPIC PAGE|OTHER TOPIC PAGE}} →{{See also2|[[OTHER TOPIC]]|[[OTHER TOPIC2]]|[[OTHER TOPIC3]] and other text}} →{{Transcluding article|PAGE1|PAGE2|PAGE3...}} (used whentranscluding 1 or more entire articles into a target article) →{{Transcluded section|PAGE}} (used whenselectively transcluding a section from one article into a section of the target article) →{{Transcluded section|PAGE|part=yes}} (used when selectively transcluding a section into part of a section on the target page) →Category-specific templates:
{{Category see also|THIS|THAT|THE OTHER}} →This is a template for linking categorieshorizontally. Horizontal linkage is often the right solution whenvertical linkage (i.e., as sub-category and parent category) is not appropriate. In most cases, this template should be used onboth categories to createreciprocal linkage between the two categories.
{{Cat main|MAIN ARTICLE}} →{{Category explanation|colourless green ideas}} →{{Category pair|TOPIC1|TOPIC2}} →{{Preceding category|OTHER TOPIC}} →{{Succeeding category|OTHER TOPIC}} →{{Contrast|OTHERCAT1|OTHERCAT2}} →{{Contrast|OTHERCAT1|OTHERCAT2|plural=yes}} →"The correct title of this article is ... The substitution or omission of the (or, without a reason: "It appears incorrectly here") ... is due to technical restrictions."
Do not usesubst: with these templates, as that will prevent:
These templates are used in thousands of articles; therefore, changing the syntax could break thousands of articles. If you wish to create or edit a disambiguation or redirection template, first ask yourself the following questions:
{{Hatnote}} instead? Before creating a new template, see thetemplate namespace guideline.Before making any changes, seeWikipedia:Template sandbox and test cases.
