Wikipedia:Tip of the day/January 31, 2009

How to link to a category without categorizing the page

Sometimes it is useful to provide links to categories, such as in the lists of category links found on portals, or when mentioning a category in a message. But many Wikipedians try to write a category name only to find that they have categorized the page they are editing. For example, if one writes " I think would be appropriate ", it will appear as "I think   would be appropriate" and the page will be added to the Living people category. The category link itself disappeared! It disappeared because Wikipedia automatically placed it in the category bar at the bottom of the page, thus entering it as an article in the category system.

In order to provide a link to a category without this happening, simply add a colon after the first set of square brackets. Then "I think Category:Living people would be appropriate ", appears as "I think Category:Living people would be appropriate".

You can also use cl, but this is less common.

Read more: Categorization FAQ

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