 | This is a documentation subpage for Template:DEFAULTSORT. It contains usage information, categories and other content that is not part of the original template page. |
{{DEFAULTSORT:<sort key>}} is a magic word used to apply a sort key to all categories at once. It can be overridden for individual categories applied to an article by manually applying a sort key for each category: [[Category:The category for stuff|<sort key>]].
This template exists because most users are not familiar with MediaWiki's "magic words", which have a syntax deceptively similar to templates. It is thus a common mistake to type {{DEFAULTSORT|<sort key>}} instead of {{DEFAULTSORT:<sort key>}} (the difference is just | instead of :). This template adds a tracking category so that any mistaken uses can be found and fixed.
This template should have zero transclusions!