Template:Update after/doc

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

This template is used on approximately 5,200 pages and changes may be widely noticed. Test changes in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This template is used to flag statements that are likely to become outdated by a specific future date. It is important to distinguish its use on other date-sensitive statements on Wikipedia, where date-sensitive information may require revision without a specific future date in mind. It remains invisible to readers until that date, when it appears and adds the page to Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating.

See the Wikipedia Manual of Style on chronological items, the editing guidelines on precise language and updating information, and Wikipedia:As of.

Usage

{{Update after|year|month|day|category|reason=...|text=...}} (all parameters are optional)

For inline usage, similar to {{Citation needed}}.
If piece of text is already outdated, use {{Update inline}} or {{Update inline span}} instead.
{{Update}} can be used to mark an entire article or section needing to be updated. {{Outdated as of}} could be used to automatically trigger it for articles that will need to be improved due to an already determined future development.
{{Update|inaccurate=yes}} is used to mark an article which may now have inaccuracies (not just missing information) due to being outdated.

Parameters

Parameters |1=, |2=, and |3= are respectively the year, month, and day that the template should activate. If only the year is specified, the template will activate on 1 January of the year following the specified year. If only the year and month is specified, the template will activate on the first day following the specified month. If all three parameters are blank, the template will activate immediately. At least the month and year should be specified. If parameters 1, 2, and 3 are left blank or not listed, a bot will add the date the template was added to the article later.
Parameter 4 is a custom category, such as a WikiProject's article maintenance category. The article will be placed in the specified category when the template is activated (but only if the template is used in an article in the main namespace, not if it is used on a talk page or in any other non-main namespace). The category name must be specified without square brackets and without the "Category:" prefix. In addition to any category specified here, articles are automatically placed in Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating or one of its dated subcategories, when the date is specified. To use this parameter even when the first three parameters are omitted, you can write |4=.
- Examples: Specifying |4=United States articles in need of updating places the article in Category:United States articles in need of updating as well as Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating.
Parameter |reason= is used to leave a note for future editors about what exactly needs to be changed or where to find the new information. The note is displayed as a tooltip on the "Dated info" link once the template activates.
Named parameter |text= is the text that will become dated, and is as such used to highlight dated text. Until the template activates, the text is displayed ordinarily, as if it were not wrapped.
Named parameter |delay= specifies an additional number of days to delay activation of the template after the specified date.

Do not. . .

Please read Wikipedia:Avoid statements that will date quickly, Manual of Style on chronological items, the editing guidelines on precise language and updating information, and Wikipedia:As of; use {{Update after}} only in exceptional cases. Do not use this template on pages which simply need to be reviewed later to see if they might need updating; it should only be used when there is a certainty or very high probability that an update is needed, or with statements that will be out-of-date at a specifiable future date. Do not use this template on talk pages; it is intended for inline usage, like {{Citation needed}}. It is probably not necessary to use this template on frequently edited articles such as for current events, as they will be being updated on a regular basis. Do not use this template within a section heading as it will count as part of the heading and thus break the heading.

Make sure to use numbers for all fields, or a message, "Expression error: Unexpected < operator" will appear.

Maintenance categories

Category:Pages using update after template with unknown parameters (1)

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Update after in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Update after

Places an in-line note in an article that marks information as [dated] and in need of an update after a given time

Template parameters
Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Year	`1` `year`	The year the template should activate, if not specified the template will activate immediately. Enter a four-digit year.	Number	optional
Month	`2` `month`	The month the template should activate, if not specified the template will activate on 1 January of the following year. Enter the month as two digits, e.g. 06 for June.	Number	optional
Day	`3` `day`	The day the template should activate, if not specified the template will activate on the first of the next month. Enter the day as two digits.	Number	optional
Category	`4` `category`	Additionally add the article to another category (e.g. a WikiProject's maintenance category) when the template is activated. The category name must be specified without square brackets and without the "Category:" prefix. In addition to any category specified here, articles are automatically placed in [[Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating]] or one of its dated subcategories, when the date is specified. This parameter has no effect outside the main (article) namespace.	Line	optional
Reason	`reason`	An optional note for future editors about what exactly needs to be changed or where to find the new information. Displayed in tooltip.	String	optional
Text	`text`	Dated statement. Becomes highlighted when template activates; displayed normally before activation.	String	optional
Delay (by days)	`delay`	Number of days to delay template activation. Example 4	Number	optional

Examples

Description	Code	Result
`{{Update after}}` immediately places an inline tag marking a passage as dated.	`Some text that was already outdated when the tag was added.{{Update after}}`	Some text that was already outdated when the tag was added.^{[needs update]}
`{{Update after\|year\|month\|day}}` would cause the tag to appear on the specified date. Before the specified date, the tag would not be displayed at all (but the template and its parameters would be visible when editing the page). If only a year, or year and month, is specified, the tag appears on the first day of the following year or month; 2024 implies 1 January 2025.	`Some text that will be outdated after today.{{Update after\|2024\|12\|28}}`	Some text that will be outdated after today.
	`Some text that should be checked next year.{{Update after\|2024}}`	Some text that should be checked next year.
`{{Update after\|year\|month\|day\|category}}` also adds the article to the specified category (which should be specified without square brackets and without the "Category:" prefix).	`Some text that will be outdated after today.{{Update after\|2024\|12\|28\|United States articles in need of updating}}`	Some text that will be outdated after today.
An optional reason may be used as a comment to future editors.	`Some text that should be checked.{{Update after\|reason=check for population growth}}`	Some text that should be checked.^{[needs update]}
Dated statement may be included in the template using the `\|text=` param.	`{{Update after\|text=Some text that should be checked.}}`	Some text that should be checked.^{[needs update]}

Effects

When the template is activated in an article, the phrase "needs update" appears in the text of the article at the indicated spot. The page will also appear in Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating or one of its dated subcategories, when the date is specified, and also any category specified in the 4th parameter.

See Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating for a list of pages currently needing updates, and Wikipedia:As of for a list of 'As of' pages.

Related templates

{{Update inline}} or {{Update inline span}} can be used if the text is already outdated, instead of adding this template with a date in the past.
{{Update}} can be used to mark an entire article or section needing to be updated. Like {{Update after}}, this template adds the article to Category:Wikipedia articles in need of updating.
{{Update|inaccurate=yes}} is used to mark an article which may now have inaccuracies (not just missing information) due to being outdated. This template adds the article to Category:Articles with obsolete information.
{{As of}} is used to mark potentially dated statements, and will add an article to the appropriate hidden sub-category of Category:Articles containing potentially dated statements.
{{subst:Show by}}/{{Show by date}} Shows one of 2 strings depending upon date
{{Age switch}} can be used to build date-related templates.