Template:Main/doc

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

This template is used on approximately 353,000 pages, or roughly 1% 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. Preview message: Transclusion count updated automatically (see documentation).

This template should not be substituted.

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When a Wikipedia article is large, it is often written in summary style. This template is used after the heading of the summary, to link to the subtopic article that has been summarized. For Category namespace, please use {{Cat main}} instead.

Use of this template should be restricted to the purposes described above. It is not to be used as a substitute for inline links or {{Further}} template. The latter is used when the section expounds a specific aspect of the topic instead of summarizing its article. For example, in phthalate, the template under the "Endocrine disruptor" section should not be {{Main|Endocrine disruptor}}, because the section specifically deals with phthalate as an endocrine disruptor and not endocrine disruptors in general.

This template should also not be used in lead sections. A lead section is always a summary of its own article, not any other; as such, the only appropriate target for a {{Main}} link in the lead section would be the article itself, which is not useful.