Help:CS1 errors: Difference between revisions

Errors issued by Wikipedia's <code>&lt;ref></code> system, in which citation templates are typically embedded, can be found at [[Help:Cite errors]].

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<syntaxhighlight lang="css">.mw-parser-output span.cs1-hidden-error {display: inline;} /* display hidden Citation Style 1 error messages */</syntaxhighlight>

Even with this CSS installed, older pages in Wikipedia's cache may not have been updated to show these error messages even though the page is listed in one of the tracking categories. A [[WP:NULLEDIT|null edit]] will resolve that issue.

<syntaxhighlight lang="css">.mw-parser-output span.cs1-visible-error {display: none;} /* hide Citation Style 1 error messages */</syntaxhighlight>

==Most common errors==

<!-- Items listed here with ~10k or more -->

{{See also|Category:CS1 errors|Category:CS1 maintenance}}

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_accessdate_missing_url|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="accessdate_missing_url_help_text" />

==<span id="archive_url">|archive-url= is malformed </span>==

<section begin="chapter_ignored_help_text" />{{help desk}}{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_chapter_ignored|$1=chapter}}

To resolve this error:

* for {{tl|cite news}}, {{para|department}} can be used to give the name of the newspaper's section, such as "Obituaries", or

* for {{tl|citation}}, remove {{para|work}} or its aliases such as {{para|website}} and place their content in {{para|title}} if appropriate

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_chapter_ignored|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="chapter_ignored_help_text" />

* [[replacement character]], U+FFFD

* [[hair space]], U+200A

* [[horizontal tab]], U+0009 (HT)

* [[line feed]], U+0010 (LF)

Because these characters are mostly invisible, the error message identifies the character's position in the parameter value counted from the left. Space characters between the assignment operator (the '=' sign) and the parameter value are not counted. If you move through the citation with the arrow keys then the cursor may stand still once at an invisible character, which can be removed with {{keypress|Delete}} or {{keypress|Backspace}}. If you copy-paste a string to the "Characters" field at https://r12a.github.io/app-conversion/ and click "View in UniView" then the position and name of all characters is shown.

{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_invisible_char|$1=&lt;name> stripmarker|$2=<code class="cs1-code">{{pipe}}&lt;param>=</code>|$3={{var|n}}}}

To resolve strip marker errors, remove or replace the identified tag.  The error message identifies the strip marker's position in the parameter value counted from the left.  Space characters between the assignment operator (the '=' sign) and the parameter value are not counted when calculating the position.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_invisible_char|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="invisible_char_help_text" />

To resolve this error, ensure that the {{para|asin}} value is correct.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_bad_asin|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="bad_asin_help_text" />

==<span id="bad_date">Check date values in: |&lt;param1>=, |&lt;param2>=, ...</span>==

<section begin="bad_date_help_text" />{{help desk}}

*{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_bad_date|$1=<code class="cs1-code">{{pipe}}&lt;param1>=</code>, <code class="cs1-code">{{pipe}}&lt;param2>=</code>, ...}}

*{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_bad_date|$1=<code class="cs1-code">{{pipe}}year=</code> / <code class="cs1-code">{{pipe}}date=</code> mismatch}}

To resolve this error, ensure that the date is an actual date and that the date format follows the [[MOS:DATEFORMAT|Wikipedia Manual of Style's guidance on dates]] in the named parameter. See [[Help:CS1 errors#ExamplesOfUnacceptableDates|examples of unacceptable dates and how to fix them]], below.  Or, some conceptual issues to look for:

* impossible dates, such as 29 February 2011 (2011 was not a leap year)

* misplaced, incorrect, or extraneous punctuation

* extraneous text  

* hyphens or slashes instead of en dashes in date ranges (en dashes are required)  

* other unacceptable date formats listed in [[MOS:BADDATEFORMAT]]

* more than one date in a date-holding parameter

* years before 100 AD, including BCE/BC dates. Try using parameter {{para|orig-date}} instead.  

Future dates in {{para|date}} in CS1|2 citations are limited to current year + 1; that is, for {{#time:Y}}, citation dates in {{#time:Y|now +1 year}} are acceptable but citation dates in {{#time:Y|now +2 year}} and beyond are not.

| Ambiguous date range or year and month || {{para|plain=y|date|2002-{{red|03}}}} || {{plainlist|

* {{para|plain=y|date|2002–{{green|20}}03}}

* {{para|plain=y|date|{{green|March}} 2002}}}}

|-

: {{error-small|invalid form}} – 10-digit ISBNs with the mis-positioned 'X' character

: {{error-small|invalid group id}} – 13-digit ISBN begins with '9790'; this prefix / group ID combination is reserved to [[ISMN]]

* '''Do not''' try to resolve the error by simply recalculating the check digit.  The check digit is there to check whether the main part of the number is correct.  If the ISBN is failing to validate, it is likely that there is a typo in the main part of the number.  In this case, recalculating the check digit results in an apparently valid ISBN that leads to the wrong source (or to nowhere).

==<span id="bad_issn">Check |issn= value</span>==

<section begin="bad_issn_help_text" />{{help desk}}

*{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_bad_issn|$1=_}}

*{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_bad_issn|$1=e}}

{{cs1}} and {{cs2}} templates that contain {{para|issn}} and/or {{para|eissn}} are checked to ensure that the [[ISSN]] is the proper length (eight digits) and that the final [[check digit]] validates according to the ISSN specification. Only one each of ISSN and eISSN is allowed in this field because the whole {{para|issn}} and {{para|eissn}} values are included in the citation's [[COinS]] [[metadata]]. See also [[Wikipedia:COinS]]. (If relevant, they can be specified using {{para|id|{{tlp|ISSN|...}} {{tlp|EISSN|...}}}} instead.)

The ISSN and eISSN are always rendered as two four-digit numbers separated with a hyphen.

In very rare cases, publishers have released works with a malformed identifier. If you are certain that a non-conforming identifier truly corresponds to the published work, then you can add [[Help:Citation_Style_1#Accept-this-as-written_markup|accept-this-as-written markup]] around the identifier to suppress the error message. In some cases, works may have been reissued with a corrected identifier. Use the corrected one when possible.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_bad_lccn|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="bad_lccn_help_text" />

==<span id="bad_message_id">Check |message-id= value</span>==

<section begin="bad_message_id_help_text" />{{help desk}}{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_bad_usenet_id}}

Further validation is not performed.

==<span id="bad_paramlink">Check |&lt;param>-link= value</span>==

<section begin="bad_paramlink_help_text" />{{help desk}}

* {{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_bad_paramlink|$1=<code class="cs1-code">&lt;param>-link</code>}}

* {{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_bad_paramlink|$1=<code class="cs1-code">&lt;param></code>}}

This error occurs when any of these {{para|&lt;param>-link}} parameters contain a wikilink or a URL, or they contain any of the characters not permitted in Wikipedia article titles per [[WP:TITLESPECIALCHARACTERS]] (except <code>_</code> (underscore), used as a replacement for spaces, and <code>#</code>, used as a [[fragment identifier]] when linking to article sections).  The prohibited characters are: <code>&lt; > [ ] | { }</code>.

: <code><nowiki>[[:fr:Période d'exil de Caravage]]</nowiki></code>

To resolve this error, do one of the following:

==<span id="bad_url">Check |url= value</span>==

Top- and second-level domain names are checked for proper form.  Generally, top-level domain names must be two or more letters; second-level domain names must be two or more letters, digits, or hyphens (first and last character must be a letter or digit).  [[Single-letter second-level domain]]s are supported for:

* certain letters of the [[.com]] TLD (q, x, z)

* certain letters of the [[.net]] TLD (i, q)

Third- and subsequent-level domain names are not checked.  The path portion of the URL is not checked.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_bad_url|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="bad_url_help_text" />

*{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_param_unknown_empty|$1=s|$2=<code class="cs1-code">{{pipe}}&lt;param1>=</code>, <code class="cs1-code">{{pipe}}&lt;param2>=</code>, ...}}}}

Empty positional parameters, which typically look like two adjacent pipes in a template, <code><nowiki>| |</nowiki></code>, or a pipe and then the end of the template, <code><nowiki>|}}</nowiki></code>, are identified as numbered parameters: {{error-small|{{para|1|plain=yes}}}}.  Similarly, a pipe followed by an HTML comment that encloses everything before the next pipe or closing brace, <code>| &lt;!--&lt;{{var|param name/value pair}}>--> |</code> will be identified as an empty numbered parameter. Parameters that have both a pipe and an equal sign but do not have a name are identified as empty-string parameters: <code>|=</code> or <code>| =</code> → {{error-small|{{para|(empty string)|plain=yes}}}}.  Various templates that wrap CS1|2 templates may cause this error when they use constructs like this: <code><nowiki>|{{#if:{{{2|}}}|title}}={{{2|}}}</nowiki></code>.  When <code><nowiki>{{{2|}}}</nowiki></code> does not have a value, the template creates <code>|=</code>.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_param_unknown_empty|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="param_unknown_empty_help_text" />

==<span id="missing_periodical"></span>Cite &lt;template> requires |&lt;param>===

<section begin="missing_periodical_help_text" />{{help desk}}{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_missing_periodical|$1=&lt;template>|$2=&lt;param>}}

These CS1 periodical templates require a periodical parameter. The periodical templates are:

* {{para|work}}

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_missing_periodical|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="missing_periodical_help_text" />

{|class="wikitable"  

|+ Deprecated CS1/CS2 parameters

! Replace with

|-

<!-- Support for the following parameter aliases was recently removed. Usage in mainspace should be about zero, and hints for them added to the suggestion list. However, as they may occasionally pop up again through copy&paste or usage of old scripts for some while, list them here as well for users coming here searching for help. -->

{|class="wikitable"

|+ Recently removed CS1/CS2 parameters

<!-- |-

| none removed at present

| -->

|-

==<span id="generic_title">Cite uses generic title</span>==

CS1|2 maintains a short list of 'titles' that are typically not the title of the cited source.  Some examples are:

If you are aware of other common place-holder titles, please report them at [[Help talk:Citation Style 1]], so that they can be added to the list.

To resolve this error, replace the place-holder title with the source's actual title.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_generic_title|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" />

==<span id="citeseerx_missing">|citeseerx= required</span>==  

A {{cs1}} or {{cs2}} template marked as "Empty" contains no recognizable parameter identifiers. For example, this citation is marked as "empty" even though it contains usable information:

:<code><nowiki>{{cite web |http://www.foobar.com |The Foobar News}}</nowiki></code>

A citation is also marked as "empty" when it contains only parameters that it doesn't recognize:

This error can occur in any of the author, editor, interviewer, translator, or contributor parameters.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_etal|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="explicit_etal_help_text" />

<section begin="param_has_ext_link_help_text" />{{help desk}}{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_param_has_ext_link|$1={{pipe}}&lt;param>=}}

To resolve this error, remove the external link from the identified parameter.  Consider placing the external link in a more appropriate parameter:

* for {{para|chapter}}, the URL may belong in {{para|chapter-url}}.

The list of {{para|...-format}} parameters is:

(<!-- TBD: Ia this still necessary to be mentioned? -->Citations that relied on the pre-2014<!-- 2014-11-29 -->, somewhat odd use of {{para|url}} and {{para|format}} may need adjustment in regard to {{para|chapter-format}}.)

To resolve this error, do one of the following:

* Change the <code>&lt;value></code> of the {{para|display-&lt;names>}} parameter such that it is less than the number of <code>&lt;names></code> in the name-list (thereby truncating the displayed list to the number)

* Change the <code>&lt;value></code> of the {{para|display-&lt;names>}} parameter to <code>etal</code>, which will cause "et al" to display after the last <code>&lt;name></code>.

| {{para|no-tracking}}

|-

|-

| {{para|doi-access}}

|-

| {{para|osti-access}}

|-

| {{para|s2cid-access}}

| {{para|section-url-access}}

|-

|}

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_invalid_param_val|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="invalid_param_val_help_text" />

The templates emit this error message when various forms of issue or number prefixes (like <code>Iss.</code> or <code>No.</code>) are found in the value assigned to {{para|issue}} or {{para|number}}.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_extra_text_issue|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="extra_text_issue_help_text" />

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_apostrophe_markup|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="apostrophe_markup_help_text" />

==<span id="missing_name">Missing |&lt;name>''n''=</span>==

{{tlx|cite episode}} will show this error if {{para|series}} is omitted or left blank (even if a {{para|title}} is provided).

Sometimes this error occurs because an editor has used a CS1|2 citation as a [[Help:Shortened footnotes|shortened footnote]] when {{tlx|sfn}} or one of the {{tlx|harv}} family of templates would have been more appropriate. This error also occurs when an editor used {{tlx|citation}} but intended to use {{tlx|citation needed}}.

Pages with this error are automatically placed in {{#invoke:cs1 documentation support|help_text_cats|err_param_access_requires_param|pages=yes}}.<ref group="lower-alpha" name="categories" /><section end="param_access_requires_param_help_text" />

==<span id="embargo_missing_pmc">|pmc-embargo-date= requires |pmc=</span>==

<section begin="ssrn_missing_help_text" />{{help desk}}{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_ssrn_missing}}

To resolve this error, ensure that the template has {{para|ssrn}} with a properly constructed value.

*{{#invoke:Cs1 documentation support|help_text_error_messages|err_parameter_ignored_suggest|$1=&lt;param>|$2=&lt;sparam>}}}}

   

The CS1|2 engine does not ignore unrecognized parameters. The purpose of the citation is to properly identify the source, not to act as a repository of notes and ancillary information.

<!-- When moving this section keep <section begin="notes_help_text"> (located above this section header) attacted -->

{{reflist |group=lower-alpha |refs=

}}<section end="notes_help_text" /><!--

When moving this section keep the following attached to the References section below --><section begin="references_help_text" />