Template:Harvard citation text/doc

Template harvtxt creates a short author–date citation with a one-directional link to the first matching citation template on the same page.

Usage

In the body of the article:

{{harvtxt | last name(s) of author(s) | year | p=page number or pp=page range or loc=other location }}

In the references section (or in an earlier footnote):

{{cite book or cite journal, etc | ref=harv | ... other appropriate parameters ... }}

or

{{citation | ... other appropriate parameters ... }} (|ref=harv is not required when using {{Citation}})

Parameters

Up to four authors can be given as parameters. (If there are more than 4 authors only the first 4 should be listed. See #Large numbers of authors, below.) The last parameter is the year of publication.

(All these examples have links which operate. Click on highlighted text.)

Markup	Renders as
{{harvtxt|Smith|2005|p=25}}	Smith (2005, p. 25)
{{harvtxt|Smith|Jones|2005| p=25}}}	Smith & Jones (2005, p. 25)
{{harvtxt|Smith|Jones|Brown|2005| p=25}}}	Smith, Jones & Brown (2005, p. 25)
{{harvtxt|Smith|Jones|Brown|Black|2005| p=25}}}	Smith et al. (2005, p. 25)

The optional parameters |p=, |pp= and |loc= can be used to indicate the location in the source. All of the Harvard citation templates use the same parameters to indicate page numbers or other locations in the text.

Markup	Renders as
{{harvtxt|Smith|2005|p=25}}	Smith (2005, p. 25)
{{harvtxt|Smith|2005|pp=25—26}}	Smith (2005, pp. 25—26)
{{harvtxt|Smith|2005|loc=chpt. 3}}	Smith (2005, chpt. 3)
{{harvtxt|Smith|2005|loc=section 7}}	Smith (2005, section 7)

The optional parameter |ref= is used to specify the reference value that links the short citation to the full citation. This parameter is usually not necessary and it is more common to use {{sfnRef}} or {{harvid}} in the reference section. If you specify |Ref=none no hyperlink is created. Note that, if one does not want the link, it is always possible to to simply not use the template. (Not available in {{sfn}} and similar templates.)

Reference section

The links in the Harvard citation templates can find anchors in Citation Style 1, Citation Style 2 and similar templates. To make the anchor, parameter |ref=harv must be set. This is not necessary for {{citation}}, but is normally necessary for the others.

Markup	Renders as
==References== * {{citation | title = Smith's paper |... }} * {{cite web | title = Smith & Jones website | ... | ref = harv }} * {{cite news | title = Article by Smith, Jones and Brown | ... | ref = harv }} * {{cite journal | title= Smith, Jones, Brown and Black's Paper | ... | ref = harv }}	References Smith, John (2005), Smith's paper Smith, John; Jones, Sam (2005). "Smith & Jones website". {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help) Smith, John; Jones, Sam; Brown, Tom (2005). "Article by Smith, Jones and Brown". Big Urban Newspaper. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help) Smith; Jones; Brown; Black (2005). "Smith, Jones, Brown and Black's Paper". Important Journal.

Author-date citation templates

There are several templates used to create in-text citations; they differ in the use and placement of parenthesis, in the separator before the page or location and in whether a terminal full stop (period) is present:

In-text templates

Templates	Aliases	Example
{{Harvard citation no brackets}}	{{harvnb}}	Smith 2006, p. 25
{{Harvard citation}}	{{harv}}	(Smith 2006, p. 25)
{{Harvard citation text}}	{{harvtxt}}	Smith (2006, p. 25)
{{Harvcoltxt}}		Smith (2006:25)
{{Harvcol}}		(Smith 2006:25)
{{Harvcolnb}}		Smith 2006:25
{{Harvard citations}}	({{harvs}})	John Smith (2006, 2007) (and many other forms).
{{Shortened footnote template}}	{{sfn}}	Article text.
{{Sfnp}}		Article text.
{{Sfnm}}		Article text.

Full citations can be created manually or by templates:

• Citation Style 1 templates
• {{citation}}

All of these templates have the same parameters and basic functionality. This page describes all of them except the parameters of {{sfnm}} and {{harvs}}; please see their documentation pages. Editors editing one of these templates are requested to make parallel changes to the other versions.

Applications

Harvard citation: {{harv}}

See also: Template:See section

Template {{harv}} creates a parenthetical reference with a link to the full citation in the references section at the bottom of the article.

Markup	Renders as
Article text {{harv|Smith|2006|p=25}}. ==References== * {{cite book | ref = harv | last = Smith | first = John | title = Smith's book | year = 2006 }}	Article text (Smith 2006, p. 25). References Smith, John (2006). Smith's book.

Shortened footnote: {{sfn}} or {{harvnb}}

See also: Template:See section

Template {{harvnb}} inside a <ref> span can be used to create a Shortened footnotes that is linked to the full citation at the bottom of the article. Template {{sfn}} has the same effect and it also combines identical footnotes automatically.

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=25}} More article text.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=25}} Still more article text.{{sfn|Smith|2007|p=26}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite book | ref = harv | last = Smith | first = John | year = 2007 | title = Smith's Book }}	Article text. More article text. Still more article text. Notes References Smith, John (2007). Smith's Book.
Article text.<ref name=Smith2008p25>{{harvnb|Smith|2008|p=25}}.</ref> More article text.<ref name=Smith2008p25/> Still more article text.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2008|p=26}}.</ref> ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite book | ref = harv | last = Smith | first = John | year = 2008 | title = Smith's Book }}	Article text. More article text. Still more article text. Notes References Smith, John (2008). Smith's Book.

In text attribution: {{harvtxt}}

See also Template:See section

Template {{harvtxt}} can be used to link an in-text attribution to the full citation at the bottom of the page.

Markup	Renders as
According to {{harvtxt|Smith|2009|p=25}} ... ==References== * {{citation | last = Smith | first = John | year = 2009 | title = Smith's Book }}	According to Smith (2009, p. 25) ... References Smith, John (2009), Smith's Book

Bundled citation: {{harvnb}} or {{sfnm}}

See also: Template:See section

Template {{harvnb}} can be used to bundle citations. {{sfnm}} also produces bundled citations.

Markup	Renders as
Article text ({{harvnb|Smith|2010|p=25}}; {{harvnb|Jones|2010}}).	Article text (Smith 2010, p. 25; Jones 2010).
Article text.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2010|p=25}}; {{harvnb|Jones|2010}}</ref> ==References== * {{cite book | last = Smith ... Smith's book }} * {{cite book | last = Jones ... Jones' book }}	Article text. Notes References Smith, John (2010). Smith's book.  Jones, Mary (2010). Jones' book.
Article text.{{sfnm|la1=Smith|y1=2010|p1=25|la2=Jones|y2=2010}} ==References== * {{cite book | last = Smith ... Smith's book }} * {{cite book | last = Jones ... Jones' book }}	Article text. Notes References Smith, John (2010). Smith's book.  Jones, Mary (2010). Jones' book.

Note that {{sfn}} is inappropriate for bundled citations; use {{harvnb}} or {{sfnm}}.

More exotic Harvard citations {{harvid}} or {{harvs}}

Main pages: Template:Harvard citations and Template:harvid

More exotic Harvard citations can be constructed using the {{harvs}} template, such as multiple papers by the same author, using both the first and last names, links to articles about the author, and others. Any kind of unusual link can also be constructed using the idiom [[#{{harvid|parameters}}|link name]].

Markup	Renders as
The theory was developed by {{harvs|txt|first=F. J.|last=Murray|author1-link=F. J. Murray|first2=J.|last2=von Neumann|author2-link=John von Neumann|year=1936|year2=1937|year3=1943}}.	The theory was developed by F. J. Murray and J. von Neumann (1936, 1937, 1943).
The theory was developed by [[F. J. Murray]] and [[John von Neumann|J. von Neumann]] ([[#{{harvid|Murray|von Neumann|1936}}|1936]],[[#{{harvid|Murray|von Neumann|1937}}|1937]],[[#{{harvid|Murray|von Neumann|1943}}|1943]]).	The theory was developed by F. J. Murray and J. von Neumann (1936, 1937, 1943).
== References == * {{citation | last1=Murray | year = 1936 | ...}} * {{citation | last1=Murray | year = 1937 | ...}} * {{citation | last1=Murray | year = 1943 | ...}}	References Murray, F. J.; von Neumann, John (1936), Mathematics Paper Murray, F. J.; von Neumann, John (1937), Another Mathematics Paper Murray, F. J.; von Neumann, John (1943), Yet Another Mathematics Paper

Some articles use this idiom [[#CITEREFid | link name ]]. See notes on implementation details below.

Variations

Using colon format: {{harvcol}}, {{harvcolnb}}, {{harvcoltxt}}

Templates {{harvcol}}, {{harvcolnb}}, {{harvcoltxt}} use a colon to indicate the page number(s) or location.

Markup	Renders as
{{harvcol|Smith|2011|p=25}}	(Smith 2011:25)
{{harvcolnb|Smith|2011|p=25}}	Smith 2011:25
{{harvcoltxt|Smith|2011|p=25}}	Smith (2011:25)
{{harvcol|Smith|2011|p=25–26}}	(Smith 2011:25–26)
{{harvcol|Smith|2011|loc=chpt. 3}}	(Smith 2011:chpt. 3)

Parenthesis around the year: {{sfnp}}

Template {{sfnp}} puts parenthesis around the year. Compare the two examples.

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfnp|Smith|2011}} == Notes == {{reflist}}	Article text. Notes
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|2011}} == Notes == {{reflist}}	Article text. Notes

Additional comments or quotes: |ps=

Paramater |ps= can be used to add quotes or additional comments. Note that this effect can also be achieved using {{harvnb}}. The postscript is only effective the first time {{sfn}} is used for a particular author, year and location.

Markup	Renders as
Some information.{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=2|ps=: "A quote verifying the information."}} == Notes == {{reflist}}	Some information. Notes
"A quote in a secondary source."{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=2|ps=, quoted in {{harvtxt|Jones|2010|p=343}}}} == Notes == {{reflist}}	"A quote in a secondary source." Notes
Some information.<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2011|p=2}}: "A quote verifying the information."</ref> == Notes == {{reflist}}	Some information. Notes

No closing period: |ps=

Using |ps= in {{sfn}} removes the final period. Compare the two examples. Suppressing the default period (full stop) ensures consistency with Citation style 2, as produced by {{Citation}}, which does not use a trailing period (full stop) in notes. The postscript is only effective the first time {{sfn}} is used for a particular author, year and location.

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|2011|ps=}} == Notes == {{reflist}}	Article text. Notes
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|2011}} == Notes == {{reflist}}	Article text. Notes

Adding a URL for the page or location

If a specific link to the page or section is available, a URL can be added to the location or page number.

Markup	Renders as
{{harv|Smith|2011|loc=[http://en.Wikiversity.org chpt 3]}}	(Smith 2011, chpt 3)
{{harv|Smith|2011|loc=[http://en.Wikiversity.org §7]}}	(Smith 2011, §7)
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=[http://en.Wikiversity.org 3]}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite book | last = Smith | year = 2011 | title = Smith's other book }}	Article text. Notes References Smith (2011). Smith's other book.

Possible issues

Wikilink to citation does not work

If nothing happens when you click on the highlighted wikilink from a Harvard style citation to a full citation at the bottom of the page, there are several possible solutions. If:

1. The correct citation does not appear at the bottom of the article. Solution: Find the source (it may be copied from an article on a similar subject), and check that it verifies the text. If the source can't be found, tag the citation with {{citation not found}}.
2. The correct citation appears at the bottom of the article, and
   1. The Harvard citation uses a template (such as {{sfn}} or {{harv}}):
      1. The citation uses a template from the list at Citation Style 1:
         1. The name is spelled differently here than the citation. Solution: check the source for the correct spelling.
         2. The year is different here than the citation. Solution: check the source for the correct year.
         3. The citation template requires |ref=harv (not needed for {{citation}}, but is needed for most other Citation Style 1 templates). Solution: Add |ref=harv.
         4. The template has a |date= field and no |year= field, but the format of the |date= field is unusual. Solution: Try to fix the date. If the link still does not work, add |year= to the citation template. (It's okay if it has both.)
         5. The citation does not have an author's last name. Solution: check that |ref={{harvid}} is set correctly (see below).
      2. The citation uses a Citation Style Vancouver template. Solution: check that |harvid= is set correctly (see below).
      3. The citation uses a template that does not support |ref= (See User:Gadget850/Citation templates— anchors). Solution: An anchor can be created using {{wikicite|id={{harvid|args}}|reference={{citation}}}}.
      4. The citation does not use a template:
         1. It has no wikicode to create an anchor. Solution: If {{cite *}} citation templates are used liberally throughout the article, then reformat the citation with the appropriate {{cite *}} template and set the |ref= appropriately. Otherwise consult with local editors on the talk page about how to proceed. Either add {{cite *}} templates and {{harv}} templates, or remove all templates, depending on what local editors prefer. A few articles use {{wikicite}} to create an anchor as an alternative to standard templates.
         2. Uses a <cite> span to create an anchor. Solution: remove the cite span (these are deprecated) and proceed as with the previous.
         3. Uses {{wikicite}}. Solution: Check that |id={{harvid}} matches.
   2. If the Harvard citation uses a handwritten wikilink, such as [[#Reference-Smith2006|Smith (2006)]]
      1. The citation uses a citation template which supports |ref= (See User:Gadget850/Citation templates— anchors). Solution: Check that |ref= is set to a matching id.
      2. Otherwise, check that the reference has {{wikicite|ref=id|reference=citation}} with a matching id.

Templates that have broken wikilinks using these templates are added to the category Category:All articles with broken links to citations.

More than one work in a year

For authors who have published more than one work in the same year, the standard way to differentiate such works is to put a lowercase letter after the year (e.g. place |year=2006a and |year=2006b in the citation templates and use {{sfn|Smith|2006a}} and {{sfn|Smith|2006b}}in the article body).

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfn |Smith|1993a| p=25}} More text.{{sfn |Smith|1993b| p=32}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite journal | last = Smith | first = Karen | year = 1993a | title = Smith's first paper | journal= Important Journal | ref = harv }} * {{cite journal | last = Smith | first = Karen | year = 1993b | title = Smith's second paper | journal= Another Important Journal | ref = harv }}	Article text. More text. Notes References Smith, Karen (1993a). "Smith's first paper". Important Journal.  Smith, Karen (1993b). "Smith's second paper". Another Important Journal.

Large numbers of authors

Only the first four authors are required by the template. Listing more is not supported. It also possible to use the |ref={{harvid}} in the citation template, which allows a more concise citation in the article text.

Markup	Renders as
Article text {{harv |Smith|Jones|Brown|Black|1994| p=25}}. ==References== * {{cite journal | last = Smith | last2 = Jones | last3 = Brown | last4 = Black | last5 = Davis | last6 = Martinez | last7 = Hsu | year= 1994 | title= Scientific paper written by dozens of scientists | journal = Important Journal | ref = harv }}	Article text (Smith et al. 1994, p. 25). References Smith; Jones; Brown; Black; Davis; Martinez; Hsu (1994). "Scientific paper written by dozens of scientists". Important Journal.
Article text {{harv |Smith et al.|1995| p=25}}. ==References== * {{cite journal | last = Smith | last2 = Jones | last3 = Brown | last4 = Black | last5 = Davis | last6 = Martinez | last7 = Hsu | year= 1995 | title= Another paper by even more scientists | journal = Important Journal | ref = {{harvid|Smith et al.|1995}} }}	Article text (Smith et al. 1995, p. 25). References Smith; Jones; Brown; Black; Davis; Martinez; Hsu (1995). "Another paper by even more scientists". Important Journal.

No author name in citation template

Some sources do not have a single author with a last name, such as a magazine article or a report from a government institution. There is no consensus (in Wikiversity or among citation styles) about how to format author-date citations to works that do not have a specific author. Several choices are:

1. For a newspaper or periodical you may use the name of the paper and the date.
2. For a publication by an institution, use either:
   1. The initials of the institution
   2. The name of the institution
3. Alternatively, some style guides recommend using the title of the article.
4. Other style guides recommend using "Anonymous" or "Anon."

An article should adopt one of these styles consistently. Using |ref={{harvid}} in the citation template can handle these cases.

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfn |BGI|1996|p=429}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite book | title = Important Book | year = 1996 | publisher = Big Government Institution | ref = {{harvid|BGI|1996}} }}	Article text. Notes References Important Book. Big Government Institution. 1996.
Article text.{{sfn |Popular Magazine|1996|p=29}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite magazine | magazine = Popular Magazine | title = An Article by an Anonymous Author | year = 1996 | ref = {{harvid|Popular Magazine|1996}} }}	Article text. Notes References "An Article by an Anonymous Author". Popular Magazine. 1996.

Citation has |date= and no |year=

Either the |year= or |date= of a citation template can be matched – the template logic can extract the year from a full date. If the date parameter is not a full date, then the extraction will fail. If the link does not seem to work, it also possible to set both |date= and |year= parameters. The template will display the date and use the year for the anchor. If only the year is known the |year= field must be used in the citation for the link to work correctly (i.e. |date=2005 may not work correctly). These two examples show a year being successfully extracted from full date.

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|1997|p=101}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite journal | last = Smith | first = Karen | date = 11 May 1997 | title = Smith's 1997 paper | journal= Important Journal | ref = harv }}	Article text. Notes References Smith, Karen (11 May 1997). "Smith's 1997 paper". Important Journal.
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|1998|p=101}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite journal | last = Smith | first = Karen | date = May 1998 | title = Smith's 1998 paper | journal= Important Journal | ref = harv }}	Article text. Notes References Smith, Karen (May 1998). "Smith's 1998 paper". Important Journal.

Citation template does not support |ref=harv

The Citation Style Vancouver family of templates use parameter |ref=harvid to create an anchor for the Harvard citation templates. This must be set to a concatenation of the parameters passed to the Harvard citation template.

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|1999|p=101}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{vcite book | last = Smith | first = Karen | year = 1999 | title = Smith's 1999 Book | harvid = Smith1999 }}	Article text. Notes References Smith's 1999 Book. 1999.
Article text.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=101}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite thesis | last = Smith | first = Karen | date = May 2000 | title = Smith's Thesis | ref = {{harvid|Smith|2000}} }}	Article text. Notes References Smith, Karen (May 2000). Smith's Thesis (Thesis).{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

Citation format does not support anchors: {{wikicite}}

In a few very rare cases, it may be impossible for the citation templates to create an anchor. Either (1) the citation is formatted with a template that does not support the |ref= parameter (such as {{cite report}}) or (2) the source can't be described using our citation templates at all. In these cases, it is possible to use {{wikicite}} to make the anchor. (As of November 2010, there are only approximately 100 articles that require this technique.) It is also possible that (3) local editors would prefer not to use citation templates. In this case, it is important to discuss what the local editors would like to do about the bad links. It is always possible to simply remove {{harv}} or {{sfn}}.

Markup	Renders as
Article text.{{sfn |Big Government Agency|1999}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{wikicite | reference = {{cite report | title=Important Government Report | publisher=Big Government Agency | year=1999 }} | ref = {{harvid|Big Government Agency|1999}} }}	Article text. Notes References Important Government Report (Report). Big Government Agency. 1999.
Article text.{{sfn |A particularly unusual citation}} ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{wikicite | reference = A source that can't be described using our citation templates at all. | ref = {{harvid|A particularly unusual citation}} }}	Article text. Notes References A source that can't be described using our citation templates at all.

It is also possible to use <cite> to achieve the same effect, but this may not be compatible with HTML 5.

Recommended style

The recommended Harvard referencing style potentially uses all four templates. Each automatically generates a hypertext link based on the name(s) and date. Here is an example

Markup	Renders as
Some works on gravitation are so massive they warp spacetime themselves {{Harv|Misner|Thorne|Wheeler|1973}}; yet {{Harvtxt|Einstein|1915}} presented essential equations with notable brevity. The essential ingredients are the curvature tensor and the stress-energy tensor ({{Harvnb|Einstein|1915|loc=p. 844}}; {{Harvnb|Misner|Thorne|Wheeler|1973|loc=p. 41}}). ==References== *{{Citation | last=Misner | first=Charles W. | last2=Thorne | first2=Kip S. | first3=John Archibald | last3=Wheeler | title=Gravitation | publisher=W. H. Freeman | location = San Francisco | year = 1973 | month = September | id = {{ISBN|0-7167-0344-0}} }} *{{Citation | last =Einstein | first =Albert | title =Die Feldgleichungen der Gravitation (The Field Equations of Gravitation) | journal =Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften | pages =844–847 | year =1915 }}	Some works on gravitation are so massive they warp spacetime themselves (Misner, Thorne & Wheeler 1973); yet Einstein (1915) presented essential equations with notable brevity. The two ingredients are the curvature tensor and the stress-energy tensor (Einstein 1915, p. 844; Misner, Thorne & Wheeler 1973, p. 41). References Misner, Charles W.; Thorne, Kip S.; Wheeler, John Archibald (1973), Gravitation, San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, ISBN 0-7167-0344-0 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) Einstein, Albert (1915), "Die Feldgleichungen der Gravitation (The Field Equations of Gravitation)", Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften: 844–847

In short:

1. For a single work with no author in the text (the most common case), use {{Harv}}.
2. For a single work with the author named in the text, use {{Harvtxt}}.
3. For multiple works at the same point, use explicit parentheses and {{Harvnb}} separated by semicolons.
4. For anything more complicated use {{Harvs}}.

Implementation notes

These templates use two elements: a wikilink in the body of the article, and an anchor in the reference section of the article. Clicking on the wikilink repositions the page at the anchor.

Citation template anchor

See also: User:Gadget850/Citation templates— anchors

The most common citation templates are Citation Style 1 or Citation Style 2. If |ref=harv is set, then {{Citation/core}} creates an anchor <a name="CITEREF"> followed by the concatenation of the following parameters:

• last or last1 or surname or surname1 or author or author1 or authors,
• last2 or surname2 or author2,
• last3 or surname3 or author3,
• last4 or surname4 or author4,
• editor-last or editor-surname or editor1-last or editor1-surname or editor or editors,
• editor2-last or editor2-surname,
• editor3-last or editor3-surname,
• editor4-last or editor4-surname,
• year.

Template {{Citation}} sets |ref=harv as the default.

This covers the most common templates. Information about all the templates is available at User:Gadget850/Citation templates— anchors.

Please note that the above list does not include the coauthor parameter, which is ignored in generating the citation's CITEREF anchor. It is recommended that, when used with the harv family templates, citation templates always use the numbered last parameters instead of coauthor so that a more accurate CITEREF anchor may be generated. If coauthor is used, it will not be possible to generate a Harvard citation that displays the authors' names correctly and that generates a link to the correct CITEREF anchor.

Use of the date parameter in place of the year parameter in citation templates is preferred when full dates are known. The date parameter should not be used to simply encode a year, as this can fail to generate a viable #CITEREF link.

Harvard citation wikilink

The Harvard citation templates create a wikilink to the anchor. For example {{Harv|Smith|2006|p=25}} produces the link #CITEREFSmith2006 and {{Citation|last=Smith|first=John|date=27 January 2006|title=My Life}} produces the anchor CITEREFSmith2006.

Using CITEREF directly

A few articles create a custom ID using CITEREF, either in place of the Harvard citation template (e.g. [[#CITEREFSmith2006|(2006)]]) or as a value for |ref= in the citation template. A custom ID must follow these rules:

• Names are case-sensitive.
• Names must not be purely numeric; they should have semantic value so that they can be more easily distinguished from each other by human editors.
• Names must be unique—you may not use the same name to define different groups or footnotes.
• Please consider keeping reference names simple and restricted to the standard English alphabet and numerals. Failing that, including if spaces are used, the following technical restrictions become relevant:
  • Quotation marks are optional if the only characters used are letters A–Z, a–z, digits 0–9, and the symbols !$%&()*,-.:;<@[]^_`{|}~. That is, all printable ASCII characters except #"'/=>?\.
  • Inclusion of any other characters, including spaces, requires that the reference name be enclosed in quotes; for example, name="John Smith".
  • The quote marks must be the standard straight keyboard marks ("); curly or other quotes will be parsed as part of the reference name.
  • Quote-enclosed reference names may not include a less-than sign (<) or a double straight quote symbol ("). These may be escaped with < and ", respectively.
• If CITEREF is used, then spaces in the |ref= field must be replaced with underscores
• You may optionally provide reference names even when the reference name is not required. This makes later re-use of the sourced reference easier.

Examples:

• {{sfn|cite name|year}}
• {{cite book|ref=CITEREFcite_nameyear}}
• {{cite book|ref={{sfnref|cite name|year}}}}

Where cite_name is a name such as the publisher.

{{sfn}}'s ref name

Template {{sfn}} creates a named footnote, so that identical footnotes are combined automatically. The footnote name begins with FOOTNOTE followed by a concatenation of the arguments to {{sfn}}. E.g.: this template call {{sfn|Smith|2006|p=26}} should have exactly the same functionality as <ref name="FOOTNOTESmith200626">{{Harvnb}}</ref> which, in turn, has the same functionality as <ref name="FOOTNOTESmith200626">>[[#CITEREFSmith2006|Smith (2006)]], p. 26</ref>

The call to {{harvnb}} has been subst'ed for quicker load times.