Template:Circa/doc

This is a documentation subpage for Template:Circa. It may contain usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page.

This template generates an abbreviation for circa ("c."). By default the abbreviation is marked with <abbr>.

Using the date itself as parameter (for example, "{{Circa|1956}}", giving "c. 1956"), web browsers do not insert a line break anywhere in the string. By contrast, "{{Circa}} 1956" allows a line break between the "c." and the number. Also, with the date as a parameter a thinner space is used with many browsers:

• "c. 1956" is generated by "{{Circa|1956}}".
• "c. 1956" is generated by "{{Circa}} 1956".

If the parameter |i= is set to a nonempty value, the "c." is put in italics: for example, "{{Circa|i=''}}" generates "c." instead of "c.".

If the parameter |lk= (for "link") is set as "|lk=no" or "|lk=off", the abbreviation is rendered as "c.", without a wikilink or abbreviation element. If it is set to "|lk=abbr", it is rendered with the abbreviation element but without the wikilink. If it is set to "|lk=yes" or "|lk=on", it is rendered as "c.", with a wikilink to the Circa article and not an abbreviation element. Otherwise, the abbreviation is marked with the "<abbr>" element, as in "c." and linked to the Circa article. The lk parameter can be used to avoid overuse of "<abbr>" or overlinking when this template is used repeatedly in the body of an article. A convenient way of doing this is to use {{Circa}} the first time, and {{c.}} thereafter. For example:

• [[Dionysius Exiguus]] was born {{Circa|470}}, lived in Rome from {{c.|500}}, and died {{c.|544}}.

  → Dionysius Exiguus was born c. 470, lived in Rome from c. 500, and died c. 544.

If the parameter "sortable=yes" is specified, the template generates invisible text that will cause the output to work in sortable tables, at the cost of causing problems for visually-impaired readers. Compare, "Col 1" and "Col 2" in the following table:

"Col 1" uses {{Circa}} 1510, and does not sort correctly. "Col 2" uses {{Circa|1510|sortable=yes}} and does sort correctly. This works because {{Circa|1510|sortable=yes}} inserts an invisible span element at the start of the cell: <span style="display:none;">1510</span>. Although it is not rendered, it is still seen by the sorting code and makes sorting work. The downside of this approach is that the invisible text is still rendered by screen readers that are used by visually impaired readers, and by text browsers such as Lynx, so the table will become garbled for readers who are using assistive technology or low-bandwidth browsers.