Template:Lifespan

(⁠1976–2016⁠)

File:Test Template Info-Icon - Version (2).svg Template documentation[view] [edit] [history] [purge]

This template may be used to display a person's or entity's whole lifespan in years, and optionally their final age or duration, also in years. It is intended for known, definite, singular lifespans, but may also handle limited cases of approximate or ambiguous date spans and corresponding age ranges. Presentation and notification options are available. All date-related information must be provided via sources acceptable by Wikipedia.

The implied default calendar is the Gregorian calendar and the editable implied default era is AD/CE; other possible use cases are described in § Applicability. Presentation is based on Wikipedia's Manual of Style, specifically MOS:YEAR and MOS:YEARRANGE (for date spans) and MOS:ERA (for the age component), with minor exceptions for programming simplicity and ease-of-use.

Usage

See also: § TemplateData for a usage summary

Full parameter set in horizontal format

Listed by relative importance {{lifespan |birth= |death= |or= |birth2= |death2= |suffix= |straddle= |circa= |prefix= |age-yrs= |age-range= |age-label= |label= |brackets= |msg= }} Listed by display order {{lifespan |msg= |brackets= |label= |prefix= |circa= |birth= |or= |birth2= |straddle= |suffix= |death= |death2= |age-label= |age-range= |age-yrs= }}

Syntax and interface elements

Syntax: For basic use, only include the birth- and death-year, via required parameters |birth= and |death= (or in short-form |b= and |d=); year numbers must be entered fully, with all digits.
All parameters are named; some parameters have predefined option sets. Most parameters and some parameter options have short-form aliases. All parameter and option names or aliases must be entered in lowercase.
Copy a blank version from the box above to use. Insert the "|" (pipe) character before parameters. Delete unused parameters. Unrecognized or undefined parameters are normally ignored; defined parameters do not display without a value.
Date (year) elements: The template presumes Gregorian calendar information. It renders AD or CE era spans as the implied default; BC or BCE lifespans, and most spans straddling eras, may also be rendered (see § Era suffix). Numerical year values may consist of up to four digits (largest allowed value is 9999). Year 0 (zero) is allowed, but negative years are not; there is no special handling of astronomical dates.⁠
Age component: The optional age component (the subject's age-at-death or duration, or the related age range) may be auto-calculated and displayed when feasible. The component is set to match the era configuration used by the date span.
Presentation: Output is enclosed in brackets (parentheses) as the editable preset option; depending on the parameters used, other presentation and formatting elements including static text, white space and additional punctuation may be displayed.
Errors and notices: Usage errors and requirement or constraint violations may suppress related template elements and produce unexpected, incomplete or incoherent output; the edited page may also be listed in a maintenance category (see § Errors and notifications). Depending on the type of parameter(s) and the type of issue(s) involved, relevant notifications may display by default or by user preference. To reduce complexity, rare cases involving certain era-straddling date spans are unhandled exceptions (see note below).

Applicability

The template is primarily applicable to lifespans and eras that can be accurately represented by the Gregorian calendar. It is intended for a person's or entity's singular lifespan, which may include alternative, approximate or ambiguous birth- and/or death-years. It is not designed for, and may not be used to convey, a range of probable discrete lifespans (see also note under parameter or).
Other solar or lunar calendars may be adaptable to the template – in special cases, for historical period consistency, or when the template is included in articles that use additional or different calendars. However such use is not supported programmatically, and there are cases where the template may not be adaptable (MOS:OSNS).

Examples

All examples in this section except "All parameters" use short-form aliases of parameter and option names.

No brackets [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |bkt=none}}

1976–2016

Content label [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |l=lc}}

(⁠lifespan: 1976–2016⁠)

Year prefixes [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |pfx=tt}}

(⁠b. 1976 – d. 2016⁠)

Era suffix [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |sfx=ad}}

(⁠1976 –2016 AD⁠)

Era straddle [info]

• {{lifespan |b=2016 |d=1976 |sfx=ad |sdl=y}}

(⁠2016 BC – 1976 AD⁠)

Circa birth-year with prefixes [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |ca=b |pfx=tt}}

(⁠b. c. 1976 – d. 2016⁠)

Alternative birth-year with prefixes [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |or=b |b2=1981 |pfx=nt}}

(⁠b. 1976 or 1981 – d. 2016⁠)

Alternative death-year with suffixes [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |or=d |d2=2021 |sfx=ad}}

(⁠1976 AD – 2016 or 2021 AD⁠)

Ambiguous birth-year [info]

• {{lifespan |d=2016 |b=uncertain}}

(⁠uncertain – 2016⁠)

Unknown death-year with prefixes [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |pfx=tt |d=unknown}}

(⁠b. 1976 – d. unknown⁠)

Age component: Age range [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |ar=y}}

(⁠1976–2016, aged 39–40 years⁠)

Age component: Age range with era straddle and age label option [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |ar=y |sfx=ad |sdl=y |al=dur}}

(⁠1976 BC – 2016 AD, duration 3991–3992 years⁠)

Age component: Age range with alternative years and prefixes [info]

• {{lifespan |b=1976 |d=2016 |ar=y |or=bd |b2=2021 |d2=2021 |pfx=nt}}

(⁠b. 1976 or 2021 – d. 2016 or 2021, aged less than a year to 45 years⁠)

Age component: Age in years (death after birthday) with suffix [info]

• {{lifespan |b=2016 |d=1976 |ay=abd |sfx=bc}}

(⁠2016 –1976 BC, aged 40 years⁠)

Age component: Age in years (death before birthday) with suffix [info]

• {{lifespan |b=2016 |d=1976 |ay=bbd |sfx=bc}}

(⁠2016 –1976 BC, aged 39 years⁠)

All parameters (select conditional parameters excluded programmatically)

• {{lifespan |birth=1981 |birth2=1976 |death=2016 |death2=2021 |or=both |circa=both |suffix=ce |straddle=y |age-range=y |age-label=none |label=uc |brackets=age |msg=y}}

Lifespan: c. 1981 or 1976 BCE – c. 2016 or 2021 CE (⁠c. 3991 to 4002 years⁠)

Parameters

Listed alphabetically.

• age-label/al
• age-range/ar
• age-yrs/ay
• birth/b
• birth2/b2
• brackets/bkt
• circa/ca
• death/d
• death2/d2
• label/l
• msg
• or
• prefix/pfx
• straddle/sdl
• suffix/sfx

Color legend:   Required   Default (preset)   Dependent/conditional   Optional

General notes

• With the exception of parameters and options that apply user preferences (e.g. regarding presentation or notifications), all user input must be provided via sources acceptable by Wikipedia (WP:Verifiability).
• The parameter set consists of 15 native parameters; they apply date information, age information, presentation options and notification options. Parameters may be required, dependent/conditional, default (preset), or optional.
• Dependent parameters and all parameter options are described under their prerequisites. Non-date parameters are normally ignored when misspelled, when any prerequisite is absent or when inserted without a value. Predefined option sets disallow any other input for the related parameter unless specifically stated otherwise.
• Incorrect parameter usage may suppress display of related template elements (see §§ Description​ and Errors and notifications).

Requirements and constraints

• Parameters birth (birth-year, alias b) and death (death-year, alias d) are required.
• Parameters birth2 (alternative birth-year, alias b2) and death2 (alternative death-year, alias d2) depend on parameter or (birth and/or death is either of 2 years).
• Parameters birth/b and death/d must be the earliest birth-year and death-year respectively when parameter or is used.
• The year value of parameter birth/b must be earlier than any other date parameter's, but may equal the death-year (parameter death/d).
• The year value of parameter birth2/b2 must be earlier than or equal the alternative death-year (parameter death2/d2).
• The year value of parameter death2/d2 must be later than any other other date parameter's, but may equal the alternative birth-year (parameter birth2/b2).
• When there is an alternative birth-year (parameter birth2/b2) but no alternative death-year (parameter death2/d2), the alternative birth-year must be earlier than or equal the death-year (parameter death/d).
• Parameter straddle (date span straddles eras, alias sdl) depends on parameter suffix (era suffix, alias sfx).
• Parameter age-yrs (age in years, alias ay) cannot be used with parameter age-range (range of ages in years, alias ar) or with parameter or.
• Parameter age-label (label for the age component, alias al) requires parameter age-yrs/ay or parameter age-range/ar.
• Parameter label (content label, alias l) cannot be used with parameter prefix (birth/death prefixes, alias pfx).

Parameters and parameter options may have additional specific requirements, constraints and conditions.

Description

Date spans: Birth- and death-year, alternative birth- and death-year

• birth, alias b: |birth[b]=yearnumber|uncertain|unknown

Required. Enter only the subject's birth, start, or origin year numerically in full decimal notation according to century or millennium. Numerical year values may consist of up to four digits. Negative years are not allowed. Year 0 (zero) may be used when applicable. When this parameter is omitted, misspelled or has no value a notification is displayed and all other template output is suppressed.

Must be chronologically earlier than any other date parameter, but may equal the death-year (parameter death/d).

Options (conditional): When the birth-year is ambiguous or unknown, one of the options below may be used; they are incompatible with parameters or and circa/ca when they apply to this parameter. They are also incompatible with the age component. These options may require additional supporting information (WP:Verifiability)

• |birth=uncertain – may be used when the birth-year is disputed, is one of three or more unique years proposed by acceptable sources, or is estimated within a period longer than circa [example]
• |birth=unknown – may be used when the birth-year is unknown or undetermined [example]

Note: Any other input for this parameter produces a notification (see § Errors and notifications and table Error messages: Date parameters).

• death, alias d: |death[d]=yearnumber|uncertain|unknown

Required. Enter only the subject's death, end, or final year as described under parameter birth/b; this parameter has identical requirements and options, but distinct numerical constraints:

• Must be chronologically later than or equal the birth-year (parameter birth/b)
• Must be chronologically earlier than the alternative death-year (parameter death2/d2)
• When there is an alternative birth-year (parameter birth2/b2) but no alternative death-year (parameter death2/d2) the death-year must be chronologically later than or equal the alternative birth-year

Notifications are displayed otherwise (see examples in table Error messages: Date parameters).

• birth2, alias b2: Optional alternative birth-year. Depends on parameter or (see there under Dependents).

• death2, alias d2: Optional alternative death-year. Depends on parameter or (see there under Dependents).

Approximate dates: "Or" years, "circa" years

• or: |or=born[b]|died[d]|both[bd]

Used for, and required by, optional alternative birth- and/or death-year(s). Select a predefined option, any other input is silently ignored; requires numerical year values for the parameters of the selected option. If parameter msg is used, notifications display when in error.

Options:

• |or=born or the option alias b – required when the alternative birth-year (parameter birth2/b2) is included [example]
• |or=died or d – required when the alternative death-year (parameter death2/d2) is included [example]
• |or=both or bd – required when both alternative years are included [example]

Dependents:

• birth2, alias b2: |birth2[b2]=yearnumber
  Alternative birth-year, required when parameter |or=born[b] or |or=both[bd]. Must be chronologically later than parameter birth/b. When parameter |or=born[b], it must be chronologically earlier than or equal parameter death/d; when |or=both[bd] it must be chronologically earlier than or equal parameter death2/d2. Notifications will display when this parameter is in error.
• death2, alias d2: |death[d2]=yearnumber
  Alternative death-year, required when parameter |or=died[d] or |or=both[bd]. Must be chronologically later than all other date parameters; when parameter |or=both[bd] it may equal parameter birth2/b2 [example]. Notifications will display when this parameter is in error.

Notes:

• Parameter or is not compatible with, and suppresses age-component parameter age-yrs/ay.
• Alternative years that do not match the selected or option are silently ignored; if parameter msg is used, a notice will display.
• Do not use parameter or (as in |or=both[bd]) to convey or combine a person's or entity's postulated multiple discrete lifespans; such use may obfuscate the result and confuse the reader. For example, the alternative discrete lifespans:
       (⁠1975–2015⁠) or (⁠1980–2020⁠)
  should not be combined into
       (⁠1975 or 1980 – 2015 or 2020⁠)
• When |or=both[bd] the alternative birth-year can be later than the death-year [example]; the resulting visual or/and semantic incongruity will be noted if parameter msg is used.

• circa, alias ca: |circa[ca]=born[b]|died[d]|both[bd]

Use for commonly accepted narrow estimates (circa years) and the resulting age or range. Inserts the abbreviation/tooltip combination "c." followed by a non-breaking thin space before the relevant year (the tooltip appears only in the first instance of circa, i.e once per transclusion). Requires valid numerical year values for parameters birth/b and death/d. Cannot be specified for alternative years. This parameter is passed to the age component when it is included; if parameter age-range/ar is used, circa applies to the entire range regardless of the specific circa-year. Select a predefined option, any other input is silently ignored; if parameter msg is used notifications display when in error.

Options:

• |circa=born or the option alias b – set for circa birth-year(s) [example]
• |circa=died or d – set for circa death-year(s).
• |circa=both or bd – when both circa birth-year(s) and circa death-year(s) are used [example]

Era suffix

• suffix, alias sfx: |suffix[sfx]=ad|ce|bc|bce (implied preset options in bold)

Use to display era suffix(es) preceded by non-breaking thin space, and to implement era-straddling date spans (see Dependents). The implied default era is AD/CE across all dates. There is no specific handling of astronomical dates; the template displays identical date spans for BC/AD and BCE/CE suffixes. Select a predefined option, any other input is silently ignored; if parameter msg is used, notifications display when in error.

See straddle-related note for description of certain unhandled exceptions.

Options:

• |suffix=ad – explicitly states the default era (as "AD") [example]
• |suffix=ce – explicitly states the default era (as "CE")
• |suffix=bc – displays era as "BC" [example]
• |suffix=bce – displays era as "BCE"

Suffix formats:

• No alternative years – singular suffix displays after the date span [example]
• Alternative years – singular suffix displays after both birth and death years [example]
• Era straddle – complementary era suffixes display after both birth and death years [example]

Dependents:

• straddle, alias sdl: |straddle[sdl]=y
  Conditional parameter, requires parameter suffix. Displays complementary suffixes for spans that straddle eras (BC-to-AD or BCE-to-CE) between birth and death years [example].
  Incorrect input is silently ignored and the date span is rendered according to the underlying era suffix instead; if parameter msg is used, notifications display when in error.

Note: Era straddles between birth years or between death years are not handled. For example, the span:
       [ 10 BC or 5 AD – 10 AD ]
cannot be rendered by the template

Age component

Optional. Requires date parameters with valid, all-numerical year values. Consists of an editable text label and either parameter age-range/ar or age-yrs/ay. When used the subject's final age or age range(s) is auto-calculated and displayed after the date span or the suffix. Parameter age-label/al may be used to edit the component's label, and preset presentation parameter brackets/bkt may be reset to enclose the component in parentheses. Parameter circa/ca is passed to the component when used, to indicate commonly-accepted estimates.
Autoinserted leading elements: A comma ( , ) and single space, and the text "aged " (the term followed by a non-breaking space) as the component's preset default label. If the brackets are reset around the age component (|brackets=age) no comma is inserted. The trailing static text " years" (the term preceded by a non-breaking space) is inserted before the closing bracket or as the last visible template element. When any birth-year equals any death-year the static text "less than a year" is displayed instead of the numerical age/range.

• age-range, alias ar: |age-range[ar]=y

Set to display the subject's age range(s). Any other input is silently ignored; if parameter msg is used notifications display when in error. Suppresses parameter age-yrs/ay.

Range formats:

• No alternative years – the default. Range is two numerical values, the low value represents the death/end date occurring before the subject's birthday/startday in its death/end year. Values separated by an en dash ( – ) [example]
• Alternative years – range is delimited by the minimum and maximum possible ages defined by the date span(s); they are separated by the static text " to " ("to" surrounded by non-breaking spaces) [example]
• A birth/start year equals a death/end year – the static text "less than a year" is displayed as the minimum range value if there are alternative years [example]. Otherwise it displays as the only range value, also replacing the trailing static text " years"

Dependents:

• age-label, alias al: Please see Dependents under parameter age-yrs/ay.

• age-yrs, alias ay: |age-yrs[ay]=abd|bbd

Use when the subject's exact age or duration is known; may also be used with circa age/duration. Select the appropriate predefined option, any other input is silently ignored. Incompatible with parameters age-range/ar and or (and therefore with alternative years). If parameter msg is used notifications display when in error.

Options:

• |age-yrs=abd – set when the subject's death/end occurred after its birthday/startday in its death-year [example]
• |age-yrs=bbd – set when the subject's death/end occurred before its birthday/startday in its death-year [example]

Dependents:

• age-label, alias al: |age-label[al]=aged|duration[dur]|none (preset option in bold)
  Default parameter for the age component, use to reset or remove the preset label "aged ". Requires one of parameters age-range/ar or age-yrs/ay. Select a predefined option, any other input is silently ignored; if parameter msg is used notifications display when in error.

Options:

• |age-label=aged – set to explicitly state the preset default.
• |age-label=duration or the option alias dur – set to change the label to "duration " (the term followed by a non-breaking space) [example]
• |age-label=none – set to remove the age component label [example]

Presentation: Brackets, content label and prefixes

• brackets, alias bkt: |brackets[bkt]=age|full|none (preset option in bold)

Default parameter. Preset to enclose the entire template output in brackets (parentheses) as its first and last visible elements. Predefined options may override or explicitly state the preset, any other input is silently ignored; if parameter msg is used, notifications display when in error.

Options:

• |brackets=age – set to display brackets around the age component only [example]. If the component is omitted or in error default brackets will display
• |brackets=full – set to explicitly state the preset default
• |brackets=none – set to remove all brackets [example]

• label, alias l: |label[l]=lc|uc

Use to display the static text "lifespan: " (the term followed by colons and a non-breaking space) as the label for the template's content. Displays immediately after the opening bracket, or first if brackets are removed. Suppressed when parameter prefix/pfx is included. Select a predefined option, any other input is silently ignored; if parameter msg is used, notifications display when in error.

Options:

• |label=lc – set to display the label in lowercase [example]
• |label=uc – set to display the label with initial-letter uppercase [example]

• prefix, alias pfx: |prefix[pfx]=tt|nt

Use to display the abbreviated prefixes "b." (born) and "d." (died) followed by a non-breaking thin space before the birth and death years or before parameter circa. Suppresses parameter label/l. Select a predefined option, any other input is silently ignored; if parameter msg is used, notifications display when in error.

Options:

• |prefix=tt – set to display the prefixes with hovering tooltips: b. and d. [example]
• |prefix=nt – set to display the prefixes only (no tooltips), preferable in lists with multiple transclusions [example]

Notification handling

• msg: |msg=y

Optional, intended for testing and debugging purposes; to pre-validate template application, use of this parameter is recommended during preview. Checks non-date parameters (this parameter included) for error conditions and displays related notifications, and also displays maintenance-related notifications for any parameter.

In addition, notifications for unrecognized parameters (including misspellings) will be displayed. Notifications display first, before any other template output. Any and all such messaging will appear upon transclusion; handling of individual or per-parameter notifications is not supported. Incorrect input for msg will suppress all notifications except the notification for itself; mislabeling the parameter will additionally suppress its own notification.

Errors and notifications

The template handles several types of error and maintenance conditions, including fatal errors, usage-related issues, constraint violations and unrecognized parameters. The conditions (and/or the notifications) may suppress display of related template elements and may produce unexpected, incomplete, or incoherent output.
Fatal errors stop template processing and the related notification message suppresses any other template output. Non-fatal notifications display before any other output.
Any parameter may generate notifications. Error notifications generated by date parameters (including alternative-year parameters) are always displayed; so are notifications for dating errors caused by the misapplication of non-date parameters. In any such error case the edited page will be added to Category:Template Lifespan errors. If either of parameters birth/b and death/d is absent, mislabeled, or has no value the error is fatal.
Notifications for: Error conditions of non-date-parameters; maintenance issues of any parameter; and unrecognized parameters, are not displayed by default – the erroneous values entered, and in some cases the error conditions are ignored. Parameter msg may be used to display these notifications; when msg itself is in error its message or condition suppresses all other notifications.
Notifications are delimited by exclamation marks ( ! ) and are grouped and numbered according to context; the numbering may not be strictly sequential. Error messages display mostly in red text, other notices in gray text.

Error messages: Date parameters

No.	Type	Message	Link
F01	[fatal error]	! Parameter birth/b is missing, mislabeled, or has no value !	[info]
F02	[fatal error]	! Parameter death/d is missing, mislabeled, or has no value !	[info]
E11	[usage error]	! Birth-year has invalid value !	[info]
E12	[usage error]	! Death-year has invalid value !	[info]
E13	[constraint]	! Birth-year must be earlier than or equal the death-year !	[info]
E14	[constraint]	! Birth-year must be earlier than the alternative birth-year !	[info]
E15	[constraint]	! Death-year must be earlier than the alternative death-year !	[info]
E16	[constraint]	! Birth-year must be earlier than the alternative death-year !	[info]
E21	[usage error]	! Parameter birth2/b2 is missing, mislabeled or has no value !	[info]
E22	[usage error]	! Parameter death2/d2 is missing, mislabeled or has no value !	[info]
E23	[usage error]	! Alternative birth-year has invalid value !	[info]
E24	[usage error]	! Alternative death-year has invalid value !	[info]
E25	[constraint]	! Alternative birth-year requires parameter or !	[info]
E26	[constraint]	! Alternative death-year requires parameter or !	[info]
E27	[constraint]	! When there is no alternative death-year, the alternative birth-year must be earlier than or equal the death-year !	[info]
E28	[constraint]	! Alternative birth-year must be earlier than or equal the alternative death-year !	[info]
E30	[usage error]	! Year 0 (zero) era may only be CE !	[info]

Error messages: Non-date parameters

No.	Type	Message	Link
E31	[usage error]	! Invalid brackets option value !	[info]
E32	[usage error]	! Invalid content label option value !	[info]
E33	[constraint]	! Content label cannot be used when prefixes are used !	[info]
E34	[usage error]	! Invalid prefix option value !	[info]
E35	[usage error]	! Invalid circa option value !	[info]
E36	[constraint]	! Circa year(s) require all-numerical value(s) !	[info]
E41	[usage error]	! Parameter or invalid option value !	[info]
E42	[constraint]	! Parameter or option requires numerical birth-year !	[info]
E43	[constraint]	! Parameter or option requires numerical death-year !	[info]
E51	[usage error]	! Invalid suffix option value !	[info]
E53	[constraint]	! Era straddle requires a suffix !	[info]
E54	[usage error]	! Invalid era straddle value !	[info]
E60	[constraint]	! Age component requires all-numerical year values !	[info]
E61	[usage error]	! Invalid age range value !	[info]
E62	[usage error]	! Invalid age option value !	[info]
E63	[usage error]	! Invalid age label option value !	[info]
E64	[constraint]	! The age cannot be rendered when alternative years are used !	[info]
E65	[constraint]	! The age cannot be rendered when the age range is used !	[info]
E66	[constraint]	! Age label requires the age or range !	[info]
E101	[usage error]	! Parameter msg invalid value !	[info]

Notices

No.	Type	Notice	Link
N01	[usage]	! Unrecognized parameter name <parameter name> !	[info]
N02	[maintenance]	! Year 0 (zero) without explicit suffix option "ce" (CE implied) !	[info]
N03	[maintenance]	! Superfluous alternative year !	[info]
N04	[usage]	! Alternative birth-year later than death-year !	[info]

TemplateData

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

TemplateData for Lifespan

This template may be used to display (within removable parentheses) a person's or entity's singular, whole lifespan in years and optionally their final age or duration, also in years; the Gregorian calendar and AD/CE era are respectively, the implied default calendar and editable default era. Other calendars, and astronomical dates, may be adapted to the template. Year numbers have a maximum of four digits. Negative years are not allowed. Year 0 (zero) may be used when applicable. All date-related input must be provided by acceptable sources. When entered manually, all predefined options must be in lowercase, without quote-marks. For details and examples see the template's documentation. Parameter list order reflects relative importance.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Birth/Start	birth b	The birth/start/origin year. Enter only the full year number (four-digit maximum) in decimals according to century or millennium; for ambiguous or unknown birth years select one of the dropdown list options Suggested values uncertain unknown	String	required
Death/End	death d	The death/end/final year. Enter only the full year number (four-digit maximum) in decimals according to century or millennium; for ambiguous or unknown death years select one of the dropdown list options Suggested values uncertain unknown	String	required
Or	or	Required when using alternative birth and/or death years. Not compatible with 'Age (years)'. Enter (in lowercase, no quote-marks) or select from the dropdown list, the option matching the alternative year(s). Requires numerical year values for the parameters of the selected option Suggested values born died both	String	optional
Alternative birth/start	birth2 b2	Alternative birth-year. Requires parameter 'Or' with option 'born' or 'both'; must be chronologically later than 'Birth/Start'; when there is no alternative death-year it must be chronologically earlier or equal to 'Death/End'. Enter only the full year number in decimals according to century or millennium	Date	optional
Alternative death/end	death2 d2	Alternative death-year. Requires parameter 'Or' with option 'died' or 'both'; must be chronologically later than 'Death/End'. Enter only the full year number in decimals according to century or millennium	Date	optional
Era suffix	suffix sfx	Displays any of AD/BC/BCE/CE suffixes after the date span; when there are alternative years or era straddles suffixes display after both birth and death years. Required by 'Era straddle'. Select the relevant option from the dropdown list or type-in (lowercase, no quote-marks). Implied default is AD/CE. Notations BC/AD and BCE/CE are functionally identical Suggested values ad bc bce ce Default ad	String	optional
Era straddle	straddle sdl	Use when the date span straddles different eras (BC-to-AD or BCE-to-CE); displays the complementary suffixes after the birth and death years. Requires 'Era suffix'. Set to 'y' (lowercase, no quote-marks) Default y	Boolean	optional
Circa	circa ca	Use for narrowly-estimated (circa) birth and/or death years; passed to the age/range if present. Requires numerical year values; enter (in lowercase, no quote-marks) or select from the dropdown list, the option matching the circa year(s) Suggested values born died both	String	optional
Prefixes	prefix pfx	Displays the abbreviated prefixes 'b.' and 'd.' before the birth and death year(s); suppresses 'Content label'. Enter (in lowercase, no quote-marks) or select from the dropdown list, option 'tt' to add hovering tooltip text ('born' or 'died'), else enter 'nt' for plain text (no tooltips) Suggested values nt tt	String	optional
Age (years)	age-yrs ay	Auto-calculates and displays the subject's exact age or a narrow estimate (with parameter 'Circa'). Requires numerical year values. Cannot be used with 'Or' or 'Age (range)'. Enter (in lowercase, no quote-marks) or select from the dropdown list, option 'abd' if the subject's death/end occurred after its birthday/startday in its death year, 'bbd' otherwise Suggested values abd bbd	String	optional
Age (range)	age-range ar	Set to 'y' (lowercase, no quote-marks) to display the subject's age range(s) (add parameter 'Circa' for estimates). Requires numerical year values. Cannot be used with 'Age (years)' Default y	Boolean	optional
Age label	age-label al	Label before the age or range, requires either 'Age (years)' or 'Age (range)'. Preset default is 'aged'; enter (in lowercase, no quote-marks) or select from the dropdown list, an option to reset or restate ('none' removes the age label) Suggested values aged duration none Auto value aged	String	optional
Content label	label l	Displays 'lifespan: ' as label for the template content; will not display when 'Prefixes' is used. Enter (in lowercase, no quote-marks) or select from the dropdown list option 'lc' for all-lowercase label, 'uc' for initial-letter uppercase Suggested values lc uc	String	optional
Brackets	brackets bkt	Parentheses, enclose the full output by default (preset to 'full'). To display brackets around the age/range only, enter 'age' (in lowercase, no quote-marks) or select it from the dropdown list; 'none' removes brackets altogether Suggested values age none full Auto value full	String	optional
Notification display	msg	Set to 'y' (lowercase, no quote-marks) to display notifications related to non-date parameters, and any maintenance messages; may suppress display of related template elements; use to test template output during preview Default y	Boolean	optional

Footnotes

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