Template:Dropinitial

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Usage

This template is for creating the "drop initial" effect that is common in both modern and antiquated typography:

Used with parameters {{dropinitial|L|2.4em|0em|.05em}} within a block of Times New Roman text.

To use

{{dropinitial| content | font-size | margin-top | margin-right | margin-bottom | margin-left | z-index=#}}.

Note that positional parameters 2 through 6, also have corresponding named parameters aligning with their function as shown in the above example.

The font-size parameter and margin value parameters should be specified with relative units, i.e. as a percent or in 'em' units.

The only necessary parameter is the first one (the initial). If no others are set, the defaults are:

• font-size = 3em
• margin-right = .1em

Which should produce a drop initial approximately the height of two lines in the current Wikisource default font:

{{dropinitial|L}}{{Small-caps|orem}} ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis 
natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium 
quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, 
rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.

Notes :

Dropped initials are typically used with small capitals for the other letters of the word starting with this initial. See {{Small-caps}}.

Fonts can be rendered slightly differently in different browsers and on different operating systems. You may wish to check your work in Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, Windows Internet Explorer or other web browsers on different computers to ensure that the text wraps around the initial in the way you expect it to if you are not using the default values.

Using images

You can use the image parameter and the text in parameter 1 will be the alt text. If this is not provided, the page will be added to Category:Dropinitials with image but no alt text. Use imgsize for the image size (this has to end in "px").

You can also use an image as the contents in 1. When doing this,you must set the "alt" attribute to the letter in question. This allows people with text readers to see the text, and allows the text to be copied properly.

{{dropinitial|L|image=Chronica Polonorum L.jpg|imgsize=50px}}{{Small-caps|orem}} ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula
eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis,
ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec,
vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.

orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.

Margin examples

Default	Top, 0.1em	Bottom, 1em	Left, −0.5em
orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.	orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.	orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.	orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec quam felis, ultricies nec, pellentesque eu, pretium quis, sem. Nulla consequat massa quis enim. Donec pede justo, fringilla vel, aliquet nec, vulputate eget, arcu. In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo.

Use with quotes

Occasionally these works will have a quote (") that appears with the drop initial. The means to handle this is like using the fl parameter:

{{Dropinitial|P|fl="}} gives:

"P

Text indent

If you need to set a text indent, use the text-indent parameter. Generally, drop initials have zero indent, even if "normal" paragraphs have them, and this is therefore the default.

Example

{{dropinitial|L|text-indent=2em}}{{lorem ipsum}}

{{dropinitial|L|fl="|text-indent=2em}}{{lorem ipsum}}

LLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

"LLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Use within a list

When using a drop initial within a list, an adjustment will need to be made from

* {{dropinitial|I}}Tem
* Item 2 
* Item 3

• ITem
• Item 2
• Item 3

to the following,

* [[Example link|{{{{BASEPAGENAME}}|I}}Tem]] 
* <li style="position:relative; left:1em; margin-left:-1em;">Item 2 
* Item 3

Otherwise the list marker will overlap the bottom of the Drop initial. The values needed will vary depending on the size of the Dropinitial, and content immediately preceding it in a list item.

• ITem
• Item 2
• Item 3

Typography notes

If you simply need to have an enlarged initial in a text, which is not dropped below the baseline, use the template {{largeinitial}}:

Lorem ipsum sit amet...

Technical notes

This template simply generates a left-floated span (w/style display: block;) containing content with the proper CSS styles applied to it. Unfortunately the CSS 3 styles specifically directed at formatting drop initials are implemented only in Safari at this point (see this documentation at MDN Web Docs). In planning for the future this template applies a class "dropinitial" to the output span.

As a floated element, this template may interact with other floated elements in an manner which editors may not expect, especially if they are unfamiliar with CSS float positioning. In such cases, the following may be useful:

• Use of the fl parameter
• Careful use of {{float left/s}} to consolidate preceding floated blocks into a single container.
• Asking for assistance at WS:Scriptorium/Help

Tracking categories

• Category:Dropinitials with image (only tracks users of image parameter)
• Category:Dropinitials with image in parameter 1 (only images not in the image parameter)
• Category:Dropinitials with image but no alt text
• Category:Dropinitials with no initial
• Category:Dropinitials using font-size
• Category:Dropinitials using margin-top
• Category:Dropinitials using margin-right
• Category:Dropinitials using margin-bottom
• Category:Dropinitials using margin-left
• Category:Dropinitials using text-indent
• Category:Dropinitials using fl
• Category:Dropinitials using z-index
• Category:Dropinitials using fontfam

Template data

This is the TemplateData documentation for this template used by VisualEditor and other tools.

Dropinitial

Add a 'drop capital', either text or an image

Template parameters[Edit template data]

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
1	1	The text of the drop capital.	Line	required
fl	fl	Float-left content, if any (often a quote mark) Example "	Line	optional
font-size	font-size 2	Font size (in CSS units). Has no meaning if an image is set. Default 3em Example 2em	Line	optional
image	image	The image to use, if any.	File	optional
imgsize	imgsize	The image size Example 50px	Line	optional
margin-top	margin-top 3	Top margin (in CSS units) Default 0em Example 1em	Line	optional
margin-right	margin-right 4	Right margin (in CSS units) Default 0.1em Example 1em	Line	optional
margin-bottom	margin-bottom 5	Bottom margin (in CSS units) Default 0 Example 1em	Line	optional
margin-left	margin-left 6	Left margin (in CSS units) Default 0 Example 1em	Line	optional
z-index	z-index	Element z-index Example 2	Number	optional

See also

• {{Largeinitial}}, for large initials that sit on the same baseline as surrounding text and extend upwards
• {{Initial}}, to simplify drop initials, small caps, numbering etc. from the start of paragraphs into a single template
• {{Img float#Polygon shape outlines}}, for a large initial a with polygonal outline; needed when the image has a non-rectangular shape around which the surrounding text flows.

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Dropinitial/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (edit | diff) and testcases (edit) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.