Template:NameSort/doc

NameSort — like its sister template, TitleSort — allows for apparently automatic sorting of pages. It uses the magic word, DEFAULTSORT, to make sure that the page is put into all categories later added to the page on the basis of the person's last name. As such, this template should only be used on templates about people who have at least two names. If there are more than two names, the template will still work, looking only for the final name.

Usage
Usage is super easy. Just type NameSort at the bottom of a page. Then, when you add categories to the page you no longer have to define the sort key for every individual category. It will automatically sort the person by their last name.

Note that this will sort up to' the 6th letter of a person's last name, but will sort by the entire'' last name if the name is 6 letters or shorter. For names that are 7 letters or longer, sorting will continue after having established the first six letters, which still results in proper alphabetisation.

For instance, take the last names, ''Smith-Jones" and "Smith-Klein". The template will result in the same sort key for both, Smith-.   However, it will still put Smith-Jones ahead of Smith-Klein in the category list, because the MediaWiki software will continue looking for further letters if it finds that two entries have exactly the same sort keys.

Even so, t's fairly unlikely that there will be too many instances of exact sort key matches, since the sort key is 6 letters long.

Demonstration
It's impossible to show the results of this template directly, as it acts in the background of page management.

Authorship
Even if there are other templates out there on wikis that do this same thing, this template's original form was developed entirely here at Tardis.

Widespread implementation
This template is being mass-added to pages by bot as of 17:49, April 11, 2011 (UTC). It's also being added to preloadable formats so that it will be automatically placed on new pages, so long as editors use those preloadable formats to create pages. Otherwise, if you create a new page about a person without the preloadable format after about 15 April 2011, you'll have to remember to go back and place this template manually.