Template:Ph:Section

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See Wikipedia:Guide to layout for information about using sections to structure articles.

Contents

[edit] Compact TOC

Several kinds of compact TOC can be found at Wikipedia:Template messages/Compact tables of contents. Also note that a normal compact TOC will not work on a Category page; see the same page's section on how to make a compact TOC on a Category page.

[edit] Floating the TOC

The TOC can, in some instances, be floated either right or left using {{TOCright}} or {{TOCleft}}. Before changing the default TOC to a floated TOC, consider the following guidelines:

  • A floating TOC should be used when it is beneficial to the layout of the article, or when the default TOC gets in the way of other elements.
  • If an article will be adversely affected by the change, don't float the TOC.
  • If floating the TOC, the TOC should be placed after the lead section of the wiki markup for consistency. Users of screen readers do not expect any text between the TOC and the first heading, and having no text above the TOC is confusing. See wikipedia:accessibility #Article structure
  • When floating a TOC, check whether the page layout will be harmed if the TOC is hidden by the user.
  • The TOC should not be longer than necessary, whether it is floated or not.
  • The default TOC is placed before the first headline, but after any introductory text (unless changed by the page's editors). If the introductory summary is long enough that a typical user has to scroll down to see the top of the TOC, you may float the TOC so it appears closer to the top of the article. However, the floating TOC should in most cases follow at least the first paragraph of article text.
  • Floating a wide TOC will produce a narrow column of readable text for users with low resolutions. If the TOC's width exceeds 30% of the user's visible screen (about twice the size of the Wikipedia navigation bar to the left), then it is not suitable for floating. (Percentages assume a typical user setup.) If text is trapped between a floating TOC and an image, floating can be cancelled at a certain text point, see Forcing a break.
  • If the TOC is placed in the general vicinity of other floated images or boxes, it can be floated as long as the flowing text column does not become narrower than 30% of the average user's visible screen width.
  • If the TOC is going to be placed in a long list page, it should be floated.
  • A left-floated TOC may affect bulleted or numbered lists. Where it does, float the TOC to the right, or do not float it.


The {{TOCright}} template was proposed for deletion in early July 2005, but there was no consensus on the matter. The archive of the discussion and voting regarding this may be seen at Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/TOCright. The Manual of Style discussion can be found here.

[edit] Limiting the TOC

When an article or project page has a very large number of subsections, it may be appropriate to hide lower-level subsections from the TOC. You can specify a limit for the lowest-level section that should be displayed using {{TOClimit|limit=n}}, where n is the number of = signs that are used on each side of the lowest-level section header that should be displayed (e.g. 3 to show ===sections=== but hide ====sections====). The limit=n parameter can also be given to {{TOCleft}} or {{TOCright}} the same way.

[edit] Section stubs

A stub section is a proposed section for the article, but not filled. In the empty section you have to include {{section-stub}} or {{Sectstub}}.

An example: in the Wikipedia copper article, the copper band section stub (empty). In this way, the copper band page could redirect to the copper article.

See section stub page.

[edit] See also sections

Please note that Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information, so see also sections should only include links directly pertaining to the topic of an article and not large general pieces of information loosely connected (or not at all connected) to the subject.