Template:Missing long citation/doc

This template is for use in articles where a short citation does not link to a long citation.

For example, if there is a short citation {{sfn|Doe|2016}}, but there isn't a full {{citation}} template included in the references listed in the appendixes at the bottom of the page with |last=Doe and |year=2016, then a harv no target error will occur, and the article will appear in Category:Harv and Sfn no-target errors.

This is a sister template for {{Incomplete short citation}} and {{full citation needed}} which used to request more details on a full citation. If all that is missing are page numbers then use {{page needed}} rather than this template.

Usage

The sun is very big.{{sfn|Doe|2016}}{{Missing long citation|date=August 2026}}

Result

The sun is very big.

Notes

A tooltip on the superscript text provides more info when moused over in desktop mode.

Notes

This type of error often creeps in when content is copied from one article to another, and short footnotes are brought over to the destination article, without bringing over the corresponding long citation from the references found in the appendix.

To help avoid this problem, editors who copy content which includes short footnotes ({{sfn|...}}) should make sure that the corresponding full citation(s) are brought over as well.

Pro tip

Users can get help from tools which highlight and tag short footnotes on article pages which are missing long citations, even before anyone adds this template or any template to the page to tag it. For further information, please see this page for further details.

Categorization

Pages tagged with this template are categorization in Category:Harv and Sfn no-target errors.

Redirects

• {{Missing long}}
• {{Missing full citation}}
• {{Missing full}}
• {{No target}}

See also

• {{Incomplete short citation}}
• {{full citation needed}}
• {{Ref expand}}, for multiple citations in article
• {{Citation not found}}
• Wikipedia:Citing sources, especially Unsourced material
• Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources
• Wikipedia:Template messages/Cleanup/Verifiability and sources
• Wikipedia:Template messages/Sources of articles
• Wikipedia:Verifiability
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check