Help:References

This article is about citing sources on the OverWiki. For mirrored email references, see Category:References.

You can add reference tags when citing sources. This uses the HTML <ref></ref> code.

Basic concept

The basic concept of the <ref> tag is that it inserts the text enclosed by the ref tags as a footnote in a designated section, which you indicate with the the template {{Reflist}} under the title "==References==". If "Reflist" is not present at the end of the article, none of the footnotes will appear. Please remember that unlike Wikipedia footnotes are used on this wiki for sources only, not for comments, which belong to the main text.

This page itself uses footnotes, such as the one at the end of this sentence. If you view the Wikicode of this page by clicking "Edit this page", you can see a working example of footnotes.

Some other examples:

• At the end of the Canals, Gordon Freeman destroys a Hunter-Chopper.

• He also destroys a Hunter-Chopper in the Outlands.

Multiple uses of the same footnote

To give a footnote a unique identifier, use <ref name="name">. You can then refer to the same footnote again by using a ref tag with the same name. The text inside the second tag doesn't matter, because the text already exists in the first reference. You can either copy the whole footnote, or you can use a terminated empty ref tag that looks like this: <ref name="name" />.

In the following example, the same source is cited three times.

This is an example of multiple references to the same footnote.

Such references are particularly useful when citing sources if different statements come from the same source. A concise way to make multiple references is to use empty ref tags, which have a slash at the end. Although this may reduce redundant work, please be aware that if a future editor removes the first reference, this will result in the loss of all references using the empty ref tags.

Too many references can fixed by having columns

Using {{reflist|2}} will create a two-column reference list, and {{reflist|3}} will create a three-column list.

Using {{reflist|colwidth=30em}} will allow the browser to automatically choose the number of columns based on the width of the web browser. Choose a column width that's appropriate for the average width of the references on the page.

List of common references used in this wiki

This list includes the commonly used sources, each time followed by their unique identifier. Use them properly.

Half-Life era

Pre-release

• <ref name="HLpr">''[[Half-Life]]'' (pre-release)</ref>
  • <ref name="HLpr" />
• <ref name="HLAlpha">[[Half-Life Alpha|''Half-Life'' Alpha]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HLAlpha" />

Retail

• <ref name="HL">''[[Half-Life]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HL" />
• <ref name="HLim">''[[Half-Life]]'' instruction manual</ref>
  • <ref name="HLim" />
• <ref name="HLPS2">[[Half-Life (PlayStation 2 port)|''Half-Life'' (PlayStation 2 port)]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HLPS2" />
• <ref name="HLimPS2">[[Half-Life (PlayStation 2 port)|''Half-Life'' (PlayStation 2 port)]] instruction manual</ref>
  • <ref name="HLimPS2" />
• <ref name="HLPrima">''[[Half-Life]] Prima Guide''</ref>
  • <ref name="HLPrima" />
• <ref name="HLO4">''[[Half-Life: Opposing Force]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HLO4" />
• <ref name="HLO4Prima">''[[Half-Life: Opposing Force]] Prima Guide''</ref>
  • <ref name="HLO4Prima" />
• <ref name="HLBS">''[[Half-Life: Blue Shift]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HLBS" />
• <ref name="HLD">''[[Half-Life: Decay]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HLD" />

Half-Life 2 era

Pre-release

• <ref name="HL2pr">''[[Half-Life 2]]'' (pre-release)</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2pr" />
• <ref name="HL2L">[[Half-Life 2 leak|''Half-Life 2'' leak]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2L" />
• <ref name="HL2Lsc">[[Half-Life 2 leak|''Half-Life 2'' leak]] source code</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2Lsc" />
• <ref name="WC mappack">[[WC map pack]]</ref>
  • <ref name="WC mappack" />
• <ref name="HL2RL">[[Half-Life 2 leak#2016-2017 leak|''Half-Life 2'' repository leak]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2RL" />

Retail

• <ref name="HL2">''[[Half-Life 2]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2" />
• <ref name="HL2Prima">''[[Half-Life 2]] Prima Guide''</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2Prima" />
• <ref name="Raising the Bar">''[[Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar]]''</ref> (For a general reference; deprecated)
  • <ref name="Raising the Bar" />
• <ref name="rtbPAGENUMBER">''[[Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar]]'', page PAGENUMBER</ref>
  • <ref name="rtbPAGENUMBER" />
• <ref name="rtbup">''[[Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar]]'' ([[Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar#Uncorrected proof|uncorrected proof]])</ref> (For a general reference; deprecated)
  • <ref name="rtbup" />
• <ref name="rtbupPAGENUMBER">''[[Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar]]'' ([[Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar#Uncorrected proof|uncorrected proof]]), page PAGENUMBER</ref>
  • <ref name="rtbupPAGENUMBER" />
• <ref name="HL2LC">''[[Half-Life 2: Lost Coast]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2LC" />
• <ref name="HL2LCcom">[[Developer commentary/Half-Life 2: Lost Coast|''Half-Life 2: Lost Coast'' commentary]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2LCcom" />
• <ref name="HL2.1">''[[Half-Life 2: Episode One]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2.1" />
• <ref name="HL2.1com">[[Developer commentary/Half-Life 2: Episode One|''Half-Life 2: Episode One'' commentary]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2.1com" />
• <ref name="HL2.1Prima">''[[Half-Life 2: Episode One]] Prima Guide''</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2.1Prima" />
• <ref name="HL2.2">''[[Half-Life 2: Episode Two]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2.2" />
• <ref name="HL2.2com">[[Developer commentary/Half-Life 2: Episode Two|''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'' commentary]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HL2.2com" />

Portal era

• <ref name="AS">[[ApertureScience.com]]</ref>
  • <ref name="AS" />
• <ref name="P">''[[Portal]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="P" />
• <ref name="Pcom">[[Developer commentary/Portal|''Portal'' commentary]]</ref>
  • <ref name="Pcom" />

Portal 2 era

• <ref name="ARG">[[Portal ARG|''Portal'' ARG]]</ref>
  • <ref name="ARG" />
• <ref name="ARG2">[[PotatoFoolsDay ARG|''PotatoFoolsDay'' ARG]]</ref>
  • <ref name="ARG2" />
• <ref name="P2LR">''[[Portal 2: Lab Rat]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="P2LR" />
• <ref name="P2">''[[Portal 2]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="P2" />
• <ref name="P2com">[[Developer commentary/Portal 2|''Portal 2'' commentary]]</ref>
  • <ref name="P2com" />
• <ref name="Peer">''[[Peer Review]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="Peer" />
• <ref name="PeTI">''[[Perpetual Testing Initiative]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="PeTI" />
• <ref name="P2TFH">''[[The Final Hours of Portal 2]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="P2TFH" />
• <ref name="P2OG">''Portal 2: The Official Guide''</ref>
  • <ref name="P2OG" />
• <ref name="P2CEG">''Portal 2 Collector's Edition Guide''</ref>
  • <ref name="P2CEG" />

VR titles

• <ref name="HLA">''[[Half-Life: Alyx]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HLA" />
• <ref name="HLAcom">[[Developer commentary/Half-Life: Alyx|''Half-Life: Alyx'' commentary]]</ref>
  • <ref name="HLAcom" />
• <ref name="HLATFH">''[[The Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="HLATFH" />
• <ref name="TL">''[[The Lab]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="TL" />
• <ref name="MD">''[[Moondust]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="MD" />
• <ref name="AHL">''[[Aperture Hand Lab]]''</ref>
  • <ref name="AHL" />

Misc.

• <ref name="PrimaOB">''[[The Orange Box]] Prima Guide''</ref>
  • <ref name="PrimaOB" />
• <ref name="ML Vault">[http://www.valvetime.co.uk/threads/marc-laidlaw-vault.114535 ''Marc Laidlaw Vault''] on the ValveTime Forums</ref>
  • <ref name="ML Vault" />

External links

• MediaWiki Cite extension