This template is a wrapper for a number of legends, each called a theme, used in periodic tables. Examples of themes are: category, block, state of matter. Each theme can have individual settings for that theme, for example to show "predicted" or "unknown".
{{Periodic table legend
|child=yes/no (no: stand alone table; default=yes: inside another table, usually the PT table)
|caption= (text to appear as caption for the legend block)
|style= (set style)
...
|}
{{Periodic table legend
|child=no
|caption=Example legend with three themes
|theme1=Category|predicted1=no|sa1=yes|eka-sa1=no|unknown1=yes
|theme2=State of matter|predicted2=no|sa2=yes|eka-sa2=no|unknown2=yes
|theme3=Occurrence|predicted3=no|sa3=yes|eka-sa3=no|unknown3=yes|border3=13
}}
Column counts are columns only that contain elements. "Compact cells" denote cells with element symbol only, have navbox style and the table fits basic wiki page width (1024×768). "Detailed cells" have more data, and may cause page width excess (scroll bar added). "Extended" periodic tables are about theoretical periods 8 and higher (element 119 and higher).