{{cite compare}} is a debug and documentation tool that allows editors to compare the output created by the various versions of a Citation Style 1 (CS1) template. To invoke {{cite compare}} simply add CS1 template parameters to {{cite compare}}. For example, a simple {{cite web}} comparison might look like this:{{cite compare |mode=web |url=http://www.example.com |website=Example Website |title=Example comparison}}which produces this output:
The default display is a comparison between sandbox and the current live CS1 template.
{{cite compare}} is controlled by four parameters:
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|template= – selects which of the CS1 templates will be compared; for {{cite web}}, |template=web; for {{cite journal}}, |template=journal; etc.; alias: |mode= (deprecated)|mode= – deprecated alias of |template=; for {{cite web}}, |mode=web; for {{cite journal}}, |mode=journal; etc.; deprecated because cs1|2 supports a parameter called |mode=|old= – when set to yes, includes the citation as rendered by {{citation/core}}|comment= – when set to a comment, displays the comment at the bottom of the comparison table|header= – when set, displays additional header text|nosandbox= – when set, removes the line for the sandbox{{cite compare |template=web |nosandbox=yes |url=http://www.example.com |website=Example Website |title=Example comparison}}
Adding |old=yes will display a comparison of all three versions of a CS1 citation: the current live template, the sandbox template, and the old, pre-Lua-based versions. The non-Lua-based templates are at pages labeled old; for example, {{cite web/old}} is the reference version against which the initial Lua implementation to {{cite web}} were compared.
{{cite compare |template=web |old=yes |url=http://www.example.com |website=Example Website |title=Example comparison}}
To add a comment regarding the comparison, set |comment=<comment text>. If <comment text> contains a vertical bar or pipe (|) use {{!}}.
{{cite compare |template=web |comment=Comment about {{!}}comment=<comment text> |header=(additional header text) |url=http://www.example.com |website=Example Website |title=Example comparison}}