View source for Template:Use dmy dates/doc

{{Documentation subpage}}
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{{high use |no-percent=yes}}
{{Template shortcut|dmy|DMY}}

=== Usage ===
To promote consistent date formatting, place this template with other maintenance tags near the top of articles that use the <code>d&nbsp;mmmm&nbsp;yyyy</code> [[date format]] (below hatnotes, but above infoboxes, as  per the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section#Elements of the lead|Manual of Style]]). Use the parameter <code>|date=</code> for the month and year that an editor or [[WP:bot|bot]] last checked the article for inconsistent date formatting and fixed any found. 

Wikipedia articles that use <code>d&nbsp;mmmm&nbsp;yyyy</code> dates, either because of the [[MOS:DATERET|first main contributor]] rule or [[WP:TIES|close national ties]] (see [[Wikipedia:MOSNUM|MOSNUM]]), are systematically tagged with {{Tl|Use dmy dates}} over time. The template is invisible except in edit mode.

The template is useful to the editors to quickly know which date format is to be used when adding new dates into an article. It also facilitates article maintenance by enabling [[WP:bots|bots]] to recognise use of this format, and by adding the article to the [[WP:hidden category|hidden category]] [[:Category:Use dmy dates|Use dmy dates]].

'''Use of this template is part of a continuing effort to monitor the date formats used in articles, to assist in maintaining consistent formatting within an article. It is ''not'' a temporary "cleanup" template. Therefore, do not remove the template without valid reason, such as a determination the article uses or should use a different date format.'''

After being tagged, and bearing in mind article evolution, periodic script or bot runs clean up formats, correcting any new introductions since its last visit, and '''updating the visit date''' on the {{Tl|Use dmy dates}} template.

The dmy and mdy templates have almost always been used to indicate date styles in the body of the articles; although it ''may'' also indicate the flavour of dates in reference sections or parts thereof. Therefore, this template notice ought to be read in conjunction with the blurb at [[Wikipedia:Date formattings]]. [[User:Ohconfucius/script/MOSNUM dates|MOSNUM script documentation]] may also be relevant to those interested.

When a citation style does not expect differing date formats, it is permissible to normalize publication dates to the article body text date format, and access/archive dates to either, with date consistency being preferred (see [[MOS:DATEUNIFY]]).

This template is intended for use in articles. It can be used on a template page in order to format citation dates on the template page itself, but it must be enclosed in {{tag|noinclude}} tags so that it is not transcluded into articles or other pages.

===Auto-formatting citation template dates===

[[Help:Citation Style 1|Citation Style 1]] and [[Help:Citation Style 2|2]] (collectively cs1|2) templates automatically render dates ({{para|date}}, {{para|access-date}}, {{para|archive-date}}, etc) in the style specified by this template.  Because it is allowed by [[WP:MOSDATES]], the cs1|2 templates can automatically format dates in a variety of styles.  Editors may choose how cs1|2 templates render dates by the use of {{para|cs1-dates|&lt;{{var|keyword}}>}}.
{{#lst:Help:Citation Style 1|auto_date_format_table}}
An example is given at {{section link|Help:Citation Style 1#Auto-formatting citation template dates}}. <!-- An example cannot be given here because [[Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration]] gets the template's page name when this documentation page is transcluded.  That means that the module reads the template code but does not read the template documentation. --> 

{{lang|la|Nota bene}}: cs1|2 auto-date formatting does not apply when previewing an article section that does not contain a {{tld|use xxx dates}} template.  When editing with the visual editor, changes to this template do not take effect until the page is saved.

=== Syntax ===
{{Tlx|Use dmy dates|date{{=}}{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}|cs1-dates=}}

'''Notes''':
* The template should be inserted in one of the first few lines of code of an article (to improve performance).
* Do not use redirects of this template, because otherwise its presence in an article may not be recognized by date formatting templates and bots. (There are a number of "legacy redirects" which are still supported at least by CS1/CS2 citation templates, but they should be changed to direct invocations of this template, also for performance reasons.)

=== TemplateData ===
{{TemplateData header}}
<templatedata>
{
	"format": "inline",
	"description": "This template should be placed near the top of articles that use the d mmmm yyyy date format.",
	"params": {
		"date": {
			"label": "Month and year",
			"description": "The month and year that the template was placed or the article was last checked or cleaned (in full). \"{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}\" inserts the current month and year automatically.",
			"type": "date",
			"autovalue": "{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}",
			"example": "April 2022",
			"suggested": true
		}
	}
}
</templatedata>

=== Wrongly tagged? ===
If, for example, you determine that an article has a template that is inappropriate for [[WP:TIES|its nationality]], you should replace it with the appropriate template to avoid scripts or bots reapplying the "wrong" format in the course of maintenance.

=== Maintenance category ===
* {{category link with count|Pages using Use dmy dates template with unknown parameters}}

=== See also ===
* {{Tl|Use mdy dates}}, for the <code>mmmm&nbsp;d,&nbsp;yyyy</code> format
* {{tl|Date}}, which can alter the format of an inputted date

<includeonly>{{Sandbox other||
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[[Category:Templates with no visible output]]
[[Category:Time and date maintenance templates]]
[[Category:Templates that add a tracking category]]
}}</includeonly>