Template:TOC left/doc

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

This template is used on approximately 3,200 pages and changes may be widely noticed. Test changes in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.

This template does not work properly in the Vector 2022 skin. Read the documentation for an explanation.

Shortcuts

{{tocleft}}
{{TOCleft}}

The pages listed in this category are templates.

This page is part of OODA WIKI's administration and not part of the encyclopedia.

Further template category notes

This category contains pages in the template namespace. It should not be used to categorize articles or pages in other namespaces.

To add a template to this category:

If the template has a separate documentation page (usually called "Template:template name/doc"), add
[[Template:TOC left/doc]]
to the <includeonly> section at the bottom of that page. Otherwise, add
<noinclude>[[Template:TOC left/doc]]</noinclude>
to the end of the template code, making sure it starts on the same line as the code's last character.

This category is an index of templates which use TemplateStyles. It is automatically populated by {{Uses TemplateStyles}}.

Purpose

{{TOC left}} forces the auto-generated "Table of Contents" for an article to appear floated to the left side of the page (as seen left), in order to improve article layout.

Usage

Insert {{TOC left}} at the point in the article where you want the top of the Table of Contents box to appear. Use with {{clear}} or {{clear left}} to prevent e.g. image collisions. To remove the small default margin/padding included above the box, set |top=0 (or, to customize it, use |top=(a value)).

Cautions

Do not use this template to just force word wrap around the TOC, as this is an inappropriate method of achieving this. Instead add a CSS class to your current skin's .css file, which will apply site wide. Go to Special:Mypage/skin.css, which redirects to your current skin's CSS file.

Do not place this template so that the TOC aligns with a large image or infobox; this breaks the layout on narrow screens (even users with screens as wide as 1024px wide can have problems). Also, a TOC that crosses a section division is probably a poor idea, if that can be avoided.

Unless the section in which the {{TOC left}} is placed is long enough, the result may well be undesirable. Note particularly that if the TOC is floated left of a bulleted list, the bullets will be hidden.

It should only be used in cases where the TOC gets in the way of other content or is detrimental to the layout of the page; it should not simply be used for aesthetics since it tampers with the standard appearance of articles. See Help:Section#Floating the TOC for further guidelines.

Limitations

Since the Vector 2022 skin forces the table of contents into a sidebar or a pop-up menu, this template does not control the placement of the TOC in that skin.

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. Click here to see a monthly parameter usage report for this template in articles based on this TemplateData.

TemplateData for TOC left