Latitude and longitude may be specified (with appropriate precision) either in decimal notation or as degrees/minutes/seconds. By default, coordinates appear in the format used to specify them. However, the format= parameter can be used to force display in a particular format.

The template displays the formatted coordinates with a hyperlink to GeoHack. GeoHack displays information customized to the location, including links to external mapping services.

For terrestrial locations, a blue globe () appears to the left of the hyperlink. Clicking on the globe activates the WikiMiniAtlas (requires JavaScript).

By default, coordinates appear "in line" with the adjacent text. However, the display= parameter can be used to move the coordinates up near the page title—or display them in both places at once.

The template outputs coordinates in three formats:

• Degree/minutes/seconds ("DMS", precision is degrees, or degrees/minutes, or degrees/minutes/seconds, based on input precision).
• Decimal degrees (varying the number of decimal places based on input precision)
• Geo microformat.

Logged-in users can customize how coordinates appear in their browsers.