Template:Webarchive/doc

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

This template is used on approximately 432,000 pages, or roughly 1927% of all pages.
To avoid major disruption and server load, any changes should be tested in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. The tested changes can be added to this page in a single edit. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This template uses Lua:

{{Webarchive/doc}} is for linking to web archiving services such as the Wayback Machine, WebCite and all other web archiving services.

This template is a replacement for {{wayback}}, {{webcite}}, {{memento}} and {{cite archives}}.

Usage

In most cases the template needs only two arguments, the archive |url= and archive |date=.

Example:

{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801000000/http://example.com |date=1 August 2016}}

Produces: Archived 1 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine

Example 2:

{{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |date=12 February 2009}}

Produces: Archived 12 February 2009 at WebCite

It is also common to include a |title=

Example 3:

{{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |date=12 February 2009 |title=Page title}}

Produces: Page title at WebCite (archived 12 February 2009)

Multiple URLs

Options

Main options

url..url10: The URL(s) to the archive service. There should always be a |url= which counts as the first url. Each |url#= can have its own numbered corresponding |date#= and |title#=. Matching of URL with date and title is done by numbers, not position. Numbers do not need to be in sequence, for example |url2= followed by |url5= works.
date..date10: The date the page was archived. The date format displayed is the same as entered. If |date= is missing the template will make a best effort to find the date by decoding the archive URL (wayback and webcite for example provide this data in the URL), and will display the date in iso format by default. However including a date is recommended for date formatting reasons, and because other tools may not have the ability to decode the date from the URL.
title..title10: The text displayed for the link. If no |title= is provided then |date= is displayed. Otherwise |title= takes precedence if both are set.

Secondary options

nolink: If set to any value, the archive service name will not be wikilinked.
format: This is a special option to support the merger of {{cite archives}}. It may be deprecated in the future. Because CS1|2 templates do not currently support more than one archive link, this template will tack on additional archive links to the end of a CS1|2 template output. It takes two values: |format=addlarchives or |format=addlpages. Addlarchives will display output appropriate for linking to multiple web archiving services. Addlpages will display output appropriate for linking to multiple pages at the same archive.

Examples

The number of possible examples is extensive depending on the mix of options. Some common cases follow. For more extensive testing see the testcases page.

Single link at Wayback with date and title (recommended method)
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801101852/http://example.com |date=August 1, 2016 |title=Page title}}

Produces: Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived August 1, 2016)
Single link at Wayback with date only
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801101852/http://example.com |date=August 1, 2016}}

Produces: Archived August 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
Single link at Wayback with no date and no title
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801101852/http://example.com}}

Produces: Archived 2016-08-01 at the Wayback Machine
Single link at WebCite with no date and no title
{{webarchive |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com}}

Produces: Archived 2009-02-12 at WebCite
Single link at Archive.is with no date and no title
{{webarchive |url=https://archive.is/2016.08.08-112330/http://example.com}}

Produces: Archived 2016-08-08 at archive.today
Multi-link at Wayback with dates and titles (recommended method)
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801/http://example.com |title=Page title |date=August 1, 2016 |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901/http://example.com |title2=Page2 title |date2=September 1, 2016}}

Produces: Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived August 1, 2016^{(Timestamp length)}). Additional archives: Page2 title.
Multi-link at Wayback with dates only
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801/http://example.com |date=August 1, 2016 |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901/http://example.com |date2=September 1, 2016}}

Produces: Archived August 1, 2016^{(Timestamp length)}, at the Wayback Machine. Additional archives: September 1, 2016.
Multi-link at Wayback with titles only
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801/http://example.com |title=Page title |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901/http://example.com |title2=Page2 title}}

Produces: Page title at the Wayback Machine (archived 2016-08-01^{(Timestamp length)}). Additional archives: Page2 title.
Additional archives format:
{{webarchive |format=addlarchives |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |date=12 February 2009}}

Produces: Additional archives: 12 February 2009.
Additional pages format:
{{webarchive |format=addlpages |url=https://www.webcitation.org/5eWaHRbn4?url=http://www.example.com/ |url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901/http://example.com |date=12 February 2009}}

Produces: Additional pages archived on 12 February 2009: Page 1, Page 2.

Tracking categories

The template has a number of hidden tracking categories which may be added (via Module:Webarchive):

Category:Webarchive template wayback links (8): links to Wayback Machine
Category:Webarchive template webcite links (2): links to WebCite
Category:Webarchive template archiveis links (2): links to Archive.is
Category:Webarchive template other archives (0): links to known archive sites that don't have their own tracking category
Category:Webarchive template unknown archives (0): the template doesn't recognize the archive URL; this may indicate an error in the data; or the template itself needs updating to reflect a new archive site
Category:Webarchive template warnings (2): soft errors that do not prevent the template from working but leave a red message
Category:Webarchive template errors (0): errors typically requiring human intervention

Template maintenance

The following can be done to maintain the template.

Monitor tracking categories

The tracking categories for "warnings" and "errors" can be monitored to alert for any problems in the data.
The tracking category for "unknown archives" may indicate a problem in the data; for example an editor used the source URL instead of the archive URL in the |url= field.

Monitor template argument usage

This tool shows which instances of the template are using which arguments—it shows for example that |access-date= is being used by five instances in five articles. Since this is an error (the template does not support |access-date=) those five template instances should be fixed to remove the |access-date=.

Configuration: verifydates

The template can verify that dates in URLs for Wayback, WebCite, and Archive.is match the date in the |date= argument. If the dates do not match it will display the date from the URL, add a red warning message "date mismatch", and add the article to the warning tracking category.

Because the verification function adds some overhead to the template, it can optionally be globally disabled by setting the variable "verifydates = no" (see the Module source in function p.webarchive()). Note that after setting to "yes", it can take a week or more for the tracking category to be fully populated. Set to "yes" if you are searching for problems in the data that need fixing (they'll show up in the tracking category).

Configuration: maxurls

The max number of URLs is 10 but this can be changed by setting the "maxurls" variable in the p.webarchive() function. This is a global variable that will affect all instances of the template, use with caution. Reducing the number will increase the template speed and reduce resource use.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. Click here to see a monthly parameter usage report for this template based on this TemplateData.

TemplateData for Webarchive

A template for linking to offsite archives such as Wayback, WebCite, Archive.is, etc..

Template parameters
Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Archive URL	`url`	URL to the archive. Example https://web.archive.org/web/20160101000000/http://example.com	String	required
Archive date	`date`	Date of the archive. Example January 1, 2016	String	suggested
Archive title	`title`	Title (or text) displayed on the Wiki page for the link. Default Date argument, or the word 'Archive' Example Example website	String	suggested
Wikilink	`nolink`	Wikilink to the archive's page in the rendering. Any value including blank means no wikilink.	String	optional
Format of template rendering.	`format`	For multi-URL instances, render display in one of two formats.	String	optional