Template:Show by date/doc

Usage

This template will automatically display one of two statements based on whether a particular date has been reached or not.

{{show by date|year|month|day|text before|text after|hour=}}
{{show by date|5=text after now}}

• Parameters 1, 2, and 3 are the Year, Month, and Day from which the template should show the text after. Until that date, the text before is shown. If the day is omitted, the template will activate on the first day of the specified month. If the month is also omitted, the template will activate on 1 January of the specified year. If the year is also omitted, the template will activate immediately.
• Parameter 4 (text before) is the text to be shown if the current date is before the date specified in the previous parameters; it may be left empty if only the text after needs to be displayed at the specified date
• Parameter 5 (text after) is the text to be shown if the current date is on or after the date specified in the previous parameters; it may be left empty if only the text before needs to be displayed until the specified date
• The hour parameter (hour=) is an optional parameter that sets the hour of the day in Wikipedia time (UTC) that the template will begin showing the text after. If not specified, it defaults to 0 (midnight UTC). When set to the offset between local time and UTC (for example -8 for Pacific Standard Time) it will cause the template to show text after at midnight local time.

The template is particularly useful on low-activity articles where dated statements may not receive prompt attention.

Warnings

• Don't use the template unless there is need for it. You can write "A bridge is being built at Woolof, planned to be inaugurated in January 2025." with no template.
• Be certain that the "before" and "after" versions of the statement won't mislead the traveller. For example, "There is a bridge at Woolof." is not a good "after" text, as the project may be delayed.
• Be careful that the article does not contain awkward grammar before or after the date.

Limitations

• Unless the hour= is set, statements will be switched on the date according to Wikipedia time (00:00 UTC). If the actual event point is a few hours before or after this, it probably makes little difference in the grander scheme of time. However, it will make a significant difference if the actual event is more than 12 hours before or after this. For example, an event that takes place on December 20 at 8:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (UTC−08:00) corresponds to 04:00, Template:Tomorrow (UTC).

  To work around this, set the hour= parameter to the offset between local time and UTC (for example -8 for Pacific Standard Time) or to the UTC time of the actual start of the event.

• The output of this template will not be changed until the page is purged. MediaWiki may or may not manage to do this automatically. Category membership and the output of Special:WhatLinksHere, if these are changed by the expiration of this template, will not be updated until the page is edited.
• Neither the text before nor the text after may begin or end with whitespace. Workarounds include using an escape code for space ( ), using a non-breaking space ( ), or including invisible markup (e.g. <nowiki/>) to prevent the spaces from being stripped.
• If the text before or text after contains an "=" or "|" character that is not inside another template invocation, use the templates {{=}} or {{!}}.

Examples

Code	Result
{{show by date |5=The railway bridge has collapsed, check arrangements.}}	The railway bridge collapsed, check arrangements. [always shown]
{{show by date | 2024 | 12 | 15 | 5= The ticket system will be changed in 2024, check whether there is information available.}}	The ticket system will be changed in 2024, check whether there is information available. [shown from 2024-12-15]
{{show by date|2022|||Show this before 2022|Show this after 2022}} has started	Show this after 2022 has started
{{show by date|2026|09||Show this before September 2026|Show this after September 2026}} has started	Show this before September 2026 has started
{{show by date|2022|09|06|Show this before 06 Sep 2022|Show this as of 06 Sep 2022}}	Show this as of 06 Sep 2022
{{show by date|2024|12|20|Show this before 3:00 UTC|Show this as of 3:00 UTC|hour=3}}	Show this before 3:00 UTC
{{show by date|2026|09|06|Show this before 06 Sep 2026|}}	Show this before 06 Sep 2026
{{show by date|2026|09|06||Show this after 06 Sep 2026}}
{{show by date|2026|||{{show by date|2022|||Show this before 2022|Show this between 2022 and 2026}}|Show this as of 2026}}	Show this between 2022 and 2026
Note *{{show by date|2026||| lost spacing }}*, and *{{show by date|2026||| workaround }}*	Note *lost spacing*, and * workaround *

Template data

This template will automatically display one of two statements based on whether a particular date has been reached or not. ##### param 1 is the year ##### param 2 is the month number ##### param 3 is the day of the month ##### param 4 is the text to show before the specified date ##### param 5 is the text to show on or after the specified date ##### hour is the hour of the day in 24-hour UTC time

Template parameters

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
year	1	Year	Number	suggested
month	2	Month number	Number	suggested
day	3	Day of the month	Number	suggested
Text before	4 before	Text that will be shown before the specified date.	String	suggested
Text after	5 after	Text that will be shown on and after the specified date.	String	suggested
Hour	hour	Hour of the day in 24-hour UTC time	Number	optional