Template:Citation needed span

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.^{[citation needed]}

Template documentation follows
Note: the template above may sometimes be partially or fully invisible.
Visit "Template:Citation needed span/doc" to edit its documentation if it is available. (How does this work?)

This template is used on approximately 3,600 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.

Shortcuts

{{cns}}
{{cn span}}
{{Fact span}}

The {{citation needed span}} template may be used when there is unsourced text that should be attributed to a reference citation. Unlike the template {{citation needed}}, this template attaches explicitly to a portion of text, for example one or more specific sentences, by surrounding the text with the template. This is especially useful for flagging a block of multiple facts or multiple sentences as needing citation, and for singling out a specific fact that is unsourced among many sourced ones.

Usage

Avoid use for multiple paragraphs or around a list; this causes linting errors and may disrupt the page display. Instead, consider tagging each paragraph or list item. If a whole section is affected, use {{unreferenced|section}} or {{more citations needed|section}}.

Once a citation is added, please remove this template from the surrounded text.

{{citation needed span|date=October 2026|Passage(s) to be sourced}}, or:

{{citation needed span|date=October 2026|text=Passage(s) to be sourced}}

The date is optional, so the minimal syntax is:

{{citation needed span|Passage(s) to be sourced}}

Example of usage:

Sourced material. {{citation needed span|date=October 2026|Passage to be sourced. Another passage to be sourced.}} More sourced material.

Sourced material. Passage to be sourced. Another passage to be sourced.^{[citation needed]} More sourced material.

Compare usage of {{citation needed}}:

Sourced material. Passage to be sourced.{{Citation needed}} Another passage to be sourced.{{Citation needed}} More sourced material.

Sourced material. Passage to be sourced.^{[citation needed]} Another passage to be sourced.^{[citation needed]} More sourced material.

Parameters

There are three parameters to the template:

|text= (or no parameter): The unreferenced content that needs a citation.
|date=: The date in the form October 2026. If omitted, Template:U will add it if there are no new edits for a few minutes.
|reason=: The reason for the citation request. If omitted, "This claim needs references to reliable sources." will be used. This text is shown as a tooltip.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Citation needed span in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Citation needed span

Marks a specific piece of text as needing a citation.

Template parameters[Edit template data]
This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.
Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Text	`text` `1`	The text needing a citation Auto value	Content	required
Date	`date`	Month and year the tag was added Example June 2015 Auto value `{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}`	Date	suggested
Reason?	`reason`	Reason the text needs a citation; shown in a tooltip Default This claim needs references to reliable sources	String	suggested

Categorization of articles

Adding this template to an article places the article into Category:All articles with unsourced statements, Category:Articles with unsourced statements, and/or dated subcategories thereof.

Redirects to this template

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.

v • d • e Inline cleanup tags
Attribution
Clarity
Miscellaneous
Neutrality
Precision
Time-sensitivity
Verifiability
Wording
General advice

Usage

Parameters

TemplateData

Categorization of articles

Redirects to this template

See also

Usage

Syntax

States

Sub-groups

Collapsible sub-groups

Use of images

Categorising

Examples

Single line navbox with centered list

Navbox with standard footer

Navbox with styled footer

Multiple line navbox

Collapsed navbox

Plain navbox with Tnavbar

Plain navbox without Tnavbar

Complicated navbox

Preventing unwanted documentation