Help:Cite errors/Cite error empty references define

This page will help you to fix the cite error message:

A list-defined reference with the name "$1" has been invoked, but is not defined in the <references> tag (see the help page).

If you have read this help page and find something missing or confusing, please discuss it at the main talk page.
Please reference this page and the page where you have the problem so we can understand your issues.
For basic information on the footnotes system, see Referencing for beginners; for advanced help, see Footnotes.

Overview

References may be defined within the reference list:

{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=rename1>refcontent1</ref>
<ref name=rename2>refcontent2<ref>
<ref name=rename3>refcontent3</ref>
<ref name=rename4>refcontent4</ref>
}}

Issues and resolution

A list-defined reference has no content between the <ref>...</ref> tags.

Examples

The reference named foo is defined but has no content:

<ref name="foo" />

<references>
<ref name="foo"></ref>
</references>

^[1]

^ Cite error: The named reference foo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Cite error: A list-defined reference with the name "foo" has been invoked, but is not defined in the <references> tag (see the help page).

Technical

Pages with this error message are placed into Pages with incorrect ref formatting. The system message page is at Cite error empty references define.

[foo-1] Cite error: The named reference foo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]