Template:Example needed

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Use this template in the body text where you believe an example is needed in an article, or that some line of reasoning would greatly benefit from an example. Strongly consider explaining why and how in the |reason= parameter, or on the talk page.

This template is a self-reference and so is part of the Wikipedia project rather than the encyclopedic content. It also adds articles to Category:Articles needing examples or a dated subcategory of it.

Usage

This is an inline template which should be placed immediately after the material in question, as with a footnote. For example:

This sentence needs an example.{{example needed|date=October 2026}} → This sentence needs clarification.

The wikilink on "example needed" is set to WP:AUDIENCE.

(If there already is an example, just not one that meets your standards (in some way), use this template and explain in the reason parameter, an edit summary, or on the talk page. There isn't a specific {{Better example needed}} template for when an example already exists but where you feel it should be improved.)

Parameters

Abbreviated parameter sets

{{example needed|date=October 2026}}

{{example needed|date=October 2026|plural=yes}}

{{example needed|date=October 2026|reason= }}

{{example needed|date=October 2026|reason= |text= }}

Full parameter set

{{example needed|date=October 2026|reason= |text= |pre-text= |post-text= |plural=|link=}}

Parameter descriptions

|plural=

Synonymous with pl, s when used as the unnamed first parameter. Can also be invoked with the named parameter plural=yes

|date=

Like all inline templates, this template allows a date parameter which records when the tag was added. If the date parameter was not included when this template was added, the date parameter will automatically be added soon after by a bot. Alternatively, you may add the date automatically (without requiring bot intervention) by substituting the template. That is: {{subst:Example needed}} is equivalent to {{Example needed|date=October 2026}}. This substitution technique also works if other parameters – |reason= |pre-text= |post-text= – are included.

|reason=

Because it may not be immediately apparent to other readers and / or editors what the specific reason the tagged passage is in need of examples, it is generally helpful to add a brief reason for the tag: {{Example needed|reason=What the problem is}} (this is preferable to using an HTML <!--comment--> after the tag, as it is tidier to keep all of the {{Example needed}}-related code inside the template). If the request reason would be lengthy, use the article's talk page to address the issue in detail.

As well as being visible in the source code for readers and editors' benefit, the reason parameter is, if provided, displayed as a pop-up when the mouse is hovered over the 'example needed' link in the article.

|text=

The particular text needing examples may be highlighted within the prose by wrapping this template around it:

As an example:

This is some understandable text preceding the template, {{Example needed|text=this is some text needing examples,|date=October 2026}} and this is some understandable text following the template.

produces:

This is some understandable text preceding the template, this is some text needing examples, and this is some understandable text following the template.

Please note: when using this text= parameter, please ensure you leave a space before starting the template code.

|pre-text=

|post-text=

One can specify additional text to appear before and / or after the displayed 'example needed' tag using either (or both) the two parameters listed above.

Examples follow:

1. {{Example needed|pre-text=reference or}}

   will cause the text 'remove or' to appear before 'example needed' like this:

2. {{Example needed|post-text=(obscure)}}

   will cause '(obscure)' to appear after 'example needed' like this:

3. {{Example needed|post-text=(see [[Talk:Example#Example needed|talk]])}}

   can be used to link to a discussion on the article's talk page; this example produces:

|link=

Used to specify the link on the "examples needed" text. For example:

{{Example needed|link=WP:EXAMPLES}}

will produce:

Examples

Responding to the Presidential mandate, professional organizations began to support the effort via further promulgation of Decade of the Brain materials, and Decade of the Brain lectures became commonplace at annual meetings of prominent scientific communities.^{[examples needed]}

Here the example editor likely thinks the article would be improved if at least some Decade of the Brain lectures were added. The talk page or edit summary may contain more.

The alveolar ejective fricative (sʼ) is used in Lakota language words.^{[example needed]}

Here the example editor probably would like to see at least one Lakotan word that uses the alveolar ejective fricative. The talk page or edit summary may contain more.

Redirects

• {{Exemplify}}
• {{For example?}}
• {{Like what?}}
• {{Such as?}}

• Also known as... – list of templates that redirect here and may also be used

TemplateData

Use this inline template to indicate that one or more examples are needed for the preceding statement.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Plural	1	Specifies whether multiple examples are needed Example s Auto value s	String	optional
Month and year	date	Provides a month and year for categorisation Example January 2013 Auto value {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}	String	suggested

See also

Template:Example needed invokes Module:Navbox using Lua.

Usage

This template can be used to make a standard navigation box. It is intended for use within another template that standardises the title and contents of the box (see Template:ShipNavbox). This template SHOULD NOT be used directly within articles, as it creates a maintenance burden to do so whenever the contents of the box have to be updated.

The purpose of this template is to standardise the attributes of all navigation boxes, for example, their colours and other CSS attributes. The template is fairly simple, and could be extended to add other features in the future. Using this template allows changes to be implemented much quicker and easier than editing each template separately.

Syntax

{{navbox
|state      = uncollapsed, collapsed, plain, autocollapse (default)
|name       = mandatory - name of the template
|style      = optional - style for the whole table
|title      = mandatory - navbox header
|gtitleN    = optional - title of N-th group of items
|styleN     = optional - style for groupN; i.e. text-align
|groupN     = mandatory - list of groups of items
|fstyle     = optional - style for footer ; i.e. text-align
|footer     = optional - navbox footer
}}

• Groups: Currently there is no technical limit to the maximum number of groups.
  • Groups of items can be added as parameters: group1, group2, group3, ... up to groupN.
• Group title: Each group has its own title parameter: gtitle1, gtitle2, gtitle3, ... up to gtitleN. Note that the default width for the first column is 15%.
• Group style: Style may also be customised to each group in: style1, style2, style3, ... up to styleN.
  • Note that neither the title nor the items have any wiki-links built into the template. As a result, users of the template are free to use wiki-links as they wish.
• Line breaks: Line-breaks (<br />) are unnecessary, as text wrapping is done automatically by the template. This also includes links and text in gtitleN and groupN.
• Bullets: Create unordered lists with lines beginning with *.
• Pipe links: Because of the nature of template syntax, it may be necessary to use Template:! ({{!}}).

States

• Autocollapse: By default, the state of a navbox is "autocollapsed". This means that if the number of navboxes in a page exceeds the maximum allocation of the collapsible navboxes, then the remaining navboxes are collapsed automatically. For more information (or to change the setting), see MediaWiki:Common.js.
  • Currently, the autocollapse allocation is 2 (see MediaWiki:Common.js). This means that if there are 3 navboxes in a page, the third and subsequent navboxes will be collapsed automatically.
• Uncollapsed: Forces the navbox to be displayed.
  • All of the navboxes in this documentation are in the uncollapsed state.
• Collapsed: The reverse of uncollapsed. Forces the navbox to be hidden instead.
  • Navboxes with a height of more than 300 pixels will also be collapsed automatically. For more information (or to change the setting), see MediaWiki:Common.js.
• Plain: Removes the "show/hide" link.

Sub-groups

• For larger navboxes, it may be necessary to include sub-groups within a particular group of items. It is also possible to collapsible navboxes within the parent navbox, see Collapsible sub-groups.
• To create sub-groups within {{navbox}}, certain parameters are to be included:
  • The parent navbox group (i.e. group2 in the example below) requires the type parameter (gtype2 = Subgroup).
  • The nested navbox (sub-group) requires the inclusion of the sub-group parameter (subgroup = yes). This enables the template to differentiate between the sub-group and the parent navbox.

{{navbox
|name    =
|title   =
|gtitle1 =
|group1  =
|gtitle2 =  
|gtype2  = Subgroup (mandatory)
|group2  = 
  {{navbox
  |subgroup = yes (mandatory)
  |gtitle1  = 
  |group1   =
  |gtitle2  = 
  |group2   = 
  }}
}}

Collapsible sub-groups

• For extremely long navboxes, it is recommended to use collapsible navboxes within the parent navbox. Further sub-groups can then be added to these collapsible navboxes.
• To create collapsible sub-groups within {{navbox}}, these parameters need to be included:
  • The parent navbox is almost always uncollapsed (state=uncollapsed).
  • The parent navbox group (i.e. group1 in the example below) requires the type parameter (gtype1 = Subgroup).
  • The nested collapsible navbox requires the inclusion of the collapsible parameter (collapsible = yes). This enables the template to differentiate between the collapsible navbox and the parent navbox.
  • The nested collapsible navbox is forcefully collapsed (state=collapsed).

{{navbox
|state  = uncollapsed
|name   = 
|gtype1 = Subgroup
|group1 = 
  {{navbox
  |collapsible = yes
  |state   = collapsed
  |title   = 
  |gtitle1 = 
  |group1  = 
  |gtitle2 = 
  |group2  = 
  }}
}}

Use of images

• The use of images in navboxes is permitted, but please resize the images to keep them small. Inventory-sized images (25-30 pixels) are recommended.
• Please use {{t|plink}} to create links with images. Use {{t|plink}} for any case where text is not desired after the link. It functions the same as {{t|plink}}, but it does not produce a wikilink in text. Use {{t|chatl}} to link chatheads. These templates create links for both the image and text (except for {{t|plink}}) using far less wikicode than the standard syntax.

Link and file share the same name

{{plink|Item}}

File name differs from the link

{{plink|Item|File}}

Link and file share the same name, but different text is desired to display

{{plink|Item|alt=Text}}

File name differs from the link and different text is desired to display

{{plink|Item|File|alt=Text}}

Categorising

Navboxes are very useful for transcluding categories onto a large number of pages that share both a trait and the navigation box. For example: Template:ShipNavbox transcludes Category:Ships onto every page that uses it.

There are 2 methods of categorising pages with navboxes:

The first way is with {{t|Ctg}}. This is the preferred method, and can be used in most cases. The rules and operations for the Category handler template are very simple; however, they are enough to produce the desired results on most pages.

Categorisation should only be used on a template for large-scale addition. It is unhelpful, for example, to use a rule that only applies to 1 page.

Examples

To see the following navboxes in action, see Template:Navbox.

Single line navbox with centered list

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  =
}}

Navbox with standard footer

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = 
|group1  = 
|footer  = Centered footer
}}

Navbox with styled footer

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = 
|group1  = 
|fstyle  = text-align:right
|footer  = Right-aligned footer
}}

Multiple line navbox

{{navbox
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = Group title 1
|group1  = 
|gtitle2 = Group title 2
|group2  = 
|gtitle3 = Group title 3
|group3  = 
}}

Collapsed navbox

{{navbox
|state   = collapsed
|name    = 
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  = 
}}

Plain navbox with Tnavbar

{{navbox
|state   = plain
|name    = 
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  = 
}}

Plain navbox without Tnavbar

{{navbox
|state   = plain
|title   = 
|style1  = text-align:center
|group1  = 
}}

Complicated navbox

{{navbox
|state   = uncollapsed
|name    = 
|title   = 
|gtitle1 = Level 1 Title 1
|group1  = 
|gtitle2 = Level 1 Title 2
|group2  = 
|gtitle3 = Level 1 Title 3
|group3  = 
|gtitle4 = Level 1 Title 4
|group4  = 
|gtitle5 = Level 1 Title 5
|gtype5  = Subgroup
|group5  = 
  {{navbox
  |subgroup = Yes
  |gtitle1  = Level 2 Title 1
  |group1   =
  |gtitle2  = Level 2 Title 2
  |group2   =
  |gtitle3  = Level 2 Title 3
  |gtype3   = Subgroup
  |group3   = 
    {{navbox
    |subgroup = Yes
    |gtitle1  = Level 3 Title 1
    |group1   =
    |gtitle2  = Level 3 Title 2
    |group2   =
    }}
  |gtitle4  = Level 2 Title 4
  |group4   = 
  }}
|gtitle6 = Level 1 Title 6
|group6  = 
|gtitle7 = Level 1 Title 7
|group7  = 
|fstyle  = 
|footer  = 
}}

Preventing unwanted documentation

The Navbox template's documentation is automatically transcluded under the navbox on any Template namespace page. It is not transcluded when used as a sub-group or collapsible sub-group template (subgroup= yes or collapsible=yes).

Should the documentation appear when it is unwanted, it can be hidden by setting the doc parameter doc=no on the template. In most cases, the doc parameter is NOT used and the parameter is removed completely.