Template:TOC limit

This template inserts a Table of Contents that omits subheadings beyond a certain depth. Omitted sections still have section edit links in the article body. The main use for this template is situations where you want section edit links for ease of editing but don't want a full table of contents. Before using this template, consider whether and why it would be helpful to readers and other editors.

Usage

{{TOC limit}} or {{TOC limit|3}}

The template defaults to including second- and third-level headings, e.g. those numbered "1" and "1.1" in the TOC. (Note: {{TOC limit|1}} does nothing: the first-level heading on a page is, by default, the page title.)

You can specify a different limit by adding a header level:

{{TOC limit|4}}

4 allows for fourth-level headings, e.g. "1.1.1", but omits any subheadings below that from the TOC.

The template works by hiding the lower levels with CSS. See Template:TOC limit/styles.css.

TOC levels versus wikitext header levels

The heading levels in the TOC normally correspond to the header levels in the wikitext, so a "== Level-2 header ==" will normally generate the first-level ("1") TOC headings, a "=== Level-3 header ===" will normally generate the second-level ("1.1") TOC headings, and so on. This correspondence does not hold if the page contains "= Level-1 headers =" or skips header levels. For example, wikitext like this:

== Level-2 heading (A) ==
=== Level-3 heading (B) ===
== Level-2 heading (C) ==
====== Level-6 heading (D) ======
= Level-1 heading (E) =
== Level-2 heading (F) ==
=== Level-3 heading (G) ===

will generate a TOC like this:

Using {{TOC limit}} on this page would not hide header D, because even though it is a level-6 heading it is shown at the second level in the TOC. And it would hide header G even though it is a level-3 heading just like header B, because header G is shown at the third level in the TOC while header B is shown at the second level.