By default, the template will determine the year from the article name, when transcluded in an article. If this fails, it will use a "center year" equal to 1977, which corresponds to a decade of links starting from 1981. To override the value used for the center year, set |year=YYYY. To add prefix into the linking page, set |prefix= (Most common prefixes are Portal:Current events/ and Deaths in_)

This template's initial visibility currently defaults to collapsed, meaning that it is hidden apart from its title bar.

To change this template's initial visibility, the |state= parameter may be used:

• {{Events by month links|state=expanded}} will show the template expanded, i.e. fully visible.
• {{Events by month links|state=autocollapse}} will show the template autocollapsed, i.e. if there is another collapsible item on the page (a navbox, sidebar, or table with the collapsible attribute), it is hidden apart from its title bar, but if not, it is fully visible.