Title: Help:CS1 errors - freem URL Source: https://freemwiki.com/wiki/Help:CS1_errors Published Time: Thu, 30 Jul 2026 23:52:46 GMT Markdown Content: [Template:Short description](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Short_description&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Short description (page does not exist)")[Template:Pp-semi-indef](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Pp-semi-indef&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Pp-semi-indef (page does not exist)")[Template:Wikipedia how to](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Wikipedia_how_to&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Wikipedia how to (page does not exist)")[Template:Skip to top and bottom](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Skip_to_top_and_bottom&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Skip to top and bottom (page does not exist)") This page describes the error messages reported by the [Citation Style 1](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:Citation_Style_1&action=edit&redlink=1 "Help:Citation Style 1 (page does not exist)") and [Citation Style 2](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:Citation_Style_2&action=edit&redlink=1 "Help:Citation Style 2 (page does not exist)") citations, what they mean, and how editors might resolve the errors. [Category:CS1 errors](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1_errors&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1 errors (page does not exist)") is the general errors category and [Category:CS1 maintenance](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1_maintenance&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1 maintenance (page does not exist)") is the general maintenance category. Errors issued by Wikipedia's `` system, in which citation templates are typically embedded, can be found at [Help:Cite errors](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:Cite_errors&action=edit&redlink=1 "Help:Cite errors (page does not exist)"). ## Controlling error message display[[edit source](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:CS1_errors&action=edit§ion=1 "Edit section's source code: Controlling error message display")] ### Preview messages[[edit source](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:CS1_errors&action=edit§ion=2 "Edit section's source code: Preview messages")] When editors preview an article, MediaWiki displays a preview message box under the Preview header. When [Citation Style 1](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:Citation_Style_1&action=edit&redlink=1 "Help:Citation Style 1 (page does not exist)") and [Citation Style 2](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:Citation_Style_2&action=edit&redlink=1 "Help:Citation Style 2 (page does not exist)") templates have error or maintenance messages, [Module:Citation/CS1](https://freemwiki.com/wiki/Module:Citation/CS1 "Module:Citation/CS1") summarizes those messages in the preview message box. Such a message box might look something like this: The summary messages have three components: 1. 'Script warning: ' – this prefix is provided by MediaWiki; 2. a colored ([Template:Color](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Color&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Color (page does not exist)") or [Template:Color](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Color&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Color (page does not exist)")) message that identifies the type of template that has a message with a link to that template's documentation; wrapper templates with messages will show the name of the wrapped template, and; 3. 'messages may be hidden' – the message suffix with a help link to this page. Preview messages in the preview message box cannot be hidden. The preview message suffix 'messages may be hidden' means that the template's message(s) may not be visible. To learn how to show or hide template messages, see the next section ([Template:Slink](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Slink&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Slink (page does not exist)")). ### Error and maintenance messages[[edit source](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:CS1_errors&action=edit§ion=3 "Edit section's source code: Error and maintenance messages")]
By default, [Citation Style 1](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:Citation_Style_1&action=edit&redlink=1 "Help:Citation Style 1 (page does not exist)") and [Citation Style 2](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:Citation_Style_2&action=edit&redlink=1 "Help:Citation Style 2 (page does not exist)")error messages are visible to all readers and maintenance messages are hidden from all readers. To display maintenance messages in the rendered article, include the following text in your common [CSS](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Cascading_Stylesheets&action=edit&redlink=1 "Cascading Stylesheets (page does not exist)") page ([common.css](https://freemwiki.com/wiki/Special:MyPage/common.css "Special:MyPage/common.css")) or your specific skin's CSS page and ([skin.css](https://freemwiki.com/wiki/Special:MyPage/skin.css "Special:MyPage/skin.css")). (Note to new editors: those CSS pages are specific to you, and control your view of pages, by adding to your user account's [CSS](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=CSS&action=edit&redlink=1 "CSS (page does not exist)") code. If you have not yet created such a page, then clicking one of the `.css` links above will yield a page that starts "Wikipedia does not have a [user page](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=User_page&action=edit&redlink=1 "User page (page does not exist)") with this exact name." Click the "Start the User:_username_/_filename_ page" link, paste the text below, save the page, follow the instructions at the bottom of the new page on bypassing your browser's cache, and finally, in order to see the previously hidden maintenance messages, refresh the page you were editing earlier.) :root .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint {display: inline;} /* display Citation Style 1 maintenance messages */ To display hidden-by-default error messages: :root .mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error {display: inline;} /* display hidden Citation Style 1 error messages */ 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 [null edit](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=WP:NULLEDIT&action=edit&redlink=1 "WP:NULLEDIT (page does not exist)") will resolve that issue. After (error and/maintenance) messages are displayed, it might still not be easy to find them in a large article with a lot of citations. Messages can then be found by searching (with Ctrl-F) for "(help)" or "cs1". To hide normally-displayed error messages: :root .mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error {display: none;} /* hide Citation Style 1 error messages */ You can personalize the display of these messages (such as changing the color), but you will need to ask someone who knows CSS or at [the technical village pump](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=WP:VPT&action=edit&redlink=1 "WP:VPT (page does not exist)") if you do not understand how. _Nota bene_: these CSS rules are not obeyed by [Navigation popups](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tools/Navigation_popups "wikipedia:Tools/Navigation popups"). They also do not hide script warning messages in the Preview box that begin with "This is only a preview; your changes have not yet been saved".
### Properties category highlighting[[edit source](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:CS1_errors&action=edit§ion=4 "Edit section's source code: Properties category highlighting")]
[Module:Citation/CS1](https://freemwiki.com/wiki/Module:Citation/CS1 "Module:Citation/CS1") adds properties categories to some CS1|2 citations. Unlike errors or maintenance needs, there is no message when a properties category is added. Properties categories may be temporary or may be perpetual. Editors can use CSS to add special styling to CS1|2 template renderings that will highlight a citation that added a properties category. For example, this template uses a long volume name: `{{cite book |title=Title |date=May–Jun 2021 |volume = 1: Long volume}}`_Title_. Vol.1: Long volume. May–Jun 2021. If you add this to your CSS that citation will render with a [Template:Background](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Template:Background&action=edit&redlink=1 "Template:Background (page does not exist)") background: .cs1-prop-long-vol {background: #FFC;} Add one or more of these (with appropriate styling) to your CSS to highlight template renderings when those templates add the associated properties category: `.cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source {}` – subcategories of [Category:CS1 foreign language sources](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1_foreign_language_sources&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1 foreign language sources (page does not exist)")`.cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source-2 {}` – [Category:CS1 foreign language sources (ISO 639-2)](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1_foreign_language_sources_(ISO_639-2)&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1 foreign language sources (ISO 639-2) (page does not exist)")`.cs1-prop-interwiki-linked-name {}` – author, contributor, editor, interviewer, translator name(s) linked to another language Wikipedia`.cs1-prop-interproj-linked-name {}` – author, contributor, editor, interviewer, translator name(s) linked to another MediaWiki project`.cs1-prop-location-test {}` – [Category:CS1 location test](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1_location_test&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1 location test (page does not exist)")`.cs1-prop-long-vol {}` – [Category:CS1: long volume value](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1:_long_volume_value&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1: long volume value (page does not exist)")`.cs1-prop-script {}` – subcategories of [Category:CS1 uses foreign language script](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1_uses_foreign_language_script&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1 uses foreign language script (page does not exist)")`.cs1-prop-tracked-param {}` – subcategories of [Category:CS1 tracked parameters](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1_tracked_parameters&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1 tracked parameters (page does not exist)")`.cs1-prop-unfit {}` — [Category:CS1: unfit URL](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1:_unfit_URL&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1: unfit URL (page does not exist)")`.cs1-prop-year-range-abbreviated {}` – [Category:CS1: abbreviated year range](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Category:CS1:_abbreviated_year_range&action=edit&redlink=1 "Category:CS1: abbreviated year range (page does not exist)")
## Most common errors[[edit source](https://freemwiki.com/index.php?title=Help:CS1_errors&action=edit§ion=5 "Edit section's source code: Most common errors")] * [#ISBN / Date incompatibility](https://freemwiki.com/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#ISBN_/_Date_incompatibility), ~46k pages * [#Cite