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Difference between revisions of "Quick guide to editing pages"

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==MediaWiki Guide==
+
<!--
 +
Hello, New User!
 +
  If you want to test out editing pages, please
 +
  use the "Sandbox" for your tests.  To go to the
 +
  sandbox, type "WP:SB" in the search box on the
 +
  left, and hit "Go". Or click the link at the
 +
  beginning of the article.  Can i edit this page?
 +
-->
 +
{{Style}}
 +
{{shortcut|[[WP:HEP]]}}
 +
:''See also [[Help:Editing]], [[Help:Starting a new page]], [[m:Help:Editing]]''
 +
[[Wikipedia]] is a [[Wiki|WikiWiki]], which means that anyone can easily edit any [[Wikipedia:Protected page|unprotected]] [[Wikipedia:What is an article|article]] and have those changes posted immediately to that page. 
  
This guide is by no means extensive in any way, so refer to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_edit_a_page the wikipedia documentation] for more authoritative information!
+
'''Editing''' a Wiki page is very easy. Simply click on the "'''edit this page'''" tab at the top (or the edit link on the right or bottom) of a Wiki page. This will bring you to a page with a text box containing the editable text of that page. '''If you just want to experiment, please do so in the [[Wikipedia:sandbox|sandbox]]'''; not here. You should write a short [[Wikipedia:Edit summary|edit summary]] in the small field below the edit-box. You may use shorthand to describe your changes, as described in the [[Wikipedia:Edit summary legend|legend]], and when you have finished, press [[Wikipedia:Show preview|preview]] to see how your changes will look. You can also see what changes you have made in comparison to the previous version by pressing the [[Wikipedia:Show changes|Show changes]] button. If you're happy with what you see, then press "Save" and your changes will be immediately applied to the article.  Don't "sign" edits you make to regular articles (the software keeps track of who makes every change).
  
==Wikifying Text==
+
You can also click on the "'''Discussion'''" tab to see the corresponding [[Wikipedia:Talk page|talk page]], which contains comments about the page from other Wikipedia users. Click on the "'''+'''" tab to add a new section, or edit the page in the same way as an article page.  When editing talk pages, please sign your change, see [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages]].
  
===Article Links===
+
== Tips on editing Wikipedia articles ==
  
To wikify some text (or make it a "wiki word"), wrap it in double square brackets <nowiki>[[thusly]]</nowiki> &mdash; this would lead to the word "thusly" becoming a link within the page.  Clicking on the link would either take you to the article called "thusly" (if it exists), or to an edit page to create a "thusly" article.  Being able to 'tag' any such text and make it a link to an article, existing or not, is one of the strengths of the wiki system &mdash; most traditional wikis simply tag any text WhichIsInterCappedWithoutSpaces.  MediaWiki allows ''any'' text to be tagged using the square bracket encapsulation, and leads to a more readable form of wiki word.
+
Always use a [[neutral point of view]], as Wikipedia is not a place to promote points of view.  
  
''Example:'' This document will contain <nowiki>[[terms and conditions]]</nowiki> which will need to be confirmed by the <nowiki>[[customer]]</nowiki> via our website.<br />
+
[[Wikipedia:Cite your sources|Cite your sources]] so others can check and extend your work. Most Wikipedia articles currently lack good references, and this contributes to Wikipedia's single greatest criticism—that it is not a reliable source.  Please help by researching online and print resources to find references for the article you are working on, then cite them in proper form, and consider in-text citation for contentious facts.  There is no consensus on the best way to do that, but anything is better than nothing.  You can either use in-text citation in academic form such as (Example, 2004, pp 22-23) or as a superscript<sup>[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Fact and Reference Check|1]]</sup> to a footnote that you place at the end of an article.
''Output:'' This document will contain [[terms and conditions]] which will need to be confirmed by the [[customer]] via our website.
 
  
You can alter the rendered output of a wiki word link by placing a pipe symbol &mdash; | &mdash; after the word(s) then enter the text you wish to be displayed.
+
After making a new page, it's a good idea to:
 +
*use ''What links here'' (with your page displayed) to check the articles that already link to it, and make sure that they are all expecting the same meaning that you have supplied; and
 +
*use the Search button to search Wikipedia for your topic title—and possible variants—to find articles that mention it, and make links from them if appropriate.
  
''Example:'' This document could contain <nowiki>[[privacy statement|our privacy statement]]</nowiki>.<br />
+
== Minor edits ==
''Output:'' This document could contain [[privacy statement|our privacy statement]].
+
''See also [[Wikipedia:Minor edit]]''
  
===Outside Links===
+
When editing a page, a [[Wikipedia:How to log in|logged-in]] user can mark that edit as being "minor". Minor edits generally mean spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearrangement of text. It is possible to ''hide'' minor edits when viewing [[Wikipedia:Recent Changes]]. Marking a significant change as a minor edit is considered bad behavior, and even more so if it involves the deletion of some text. If one has accidentally marked an edit as minor, the person should edit the source once more, mark it major (or, rather, ensure that the check-box for "This is a minor edit" is not checked), and, in the summary, state that the previous change was a major one.
  
To have a URL linking to an external site, simply enter the URL into the article text; it will be automatically hyperlinked by MediaWiki.
+
== Wiki markup ==
  
''Example:'' <nowiki>http://www.some.site/path/to/document</nowiki><br />
+
The '''wiki markup''' is the syntax system you can use to format a Wikipedia page.
''Output:'' http://www.some.site/path/to/document
 
  
To hyperlink some text, as you would with <nowiki><a href></nowiki>, encapsulate the URL and your link text in single square brackets, URL first and your text delimited by a space.
+
In the left column of the table below, you can see what effects are possible. In the right column, you can see how those effects were achieved. In other words, to make text look like it looks in the left column, type it in the format you see in the right column.
  
''Example:'' <nowiki>[http://www.some.site/path/to/document Your text]</nowiki><br />
+
You may want to keep this page open in a separate browser window for reference, or take a screen-shot of it. '''If you want to try out things without danger of doing any harm, you can do so in the [[Wikipedia:Sandbox|Sandbox]]'''. Try opening the Sandbox in a separate window or tab and keeping this page open for reference.
''Output:'' [http://www.some.site/path/to/document Your text]
 
  
''Note the use of single brackets, not double as for a wiki word.''
+
----
 +
<!--
 +
:'''The rest of this page is deprecated but will be updated periodically.'''
 +
:'''Please direct edits to the [[meta:MediaWiki User's Guide: Editing overview|Meta-Wikimedia version of this page]]'''
  
To present a hyperlink in a similar form to a footnote, encapsulate the URL alone in single square brackets with no spaces or additional text.  The hyperlink will be shown inside square brackets with a number &mdash; the number shown will depend on how many previous hyperlinks have been entered in this way.
+
-->
 +
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
 +
|-
 +
! What it looks like
 +
! What you type
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
Start your [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (headings)|sections]] as follows:
  
''Example:'' <nowiki>[http://www.some.site/path/to/document]</nowiki> <nowiki>[http://www.another.site/path/on/the/site]</nowiki><br />
+
<!-- The following code messes up the table of contents
''Output:'' [http://www.some.site/path/to/document] [http://another.site/path/on/the/site]
+
    and makes the section edit links much less useful,
 +
    so please do not use it.
 +
== New section ==
 +
=== Subsection ===
 +
==== Sub-subsection ====
 +
-->
 +
<!-- The following should look almost the same, using
 +
    HTML headings markup instead of wiki headings.
 +
    However, it messes up the section edit links,
 +
    so please do not use it.
 +
<h2>New section</h2>
 +
<h3>Subsection</h3>
 +
<h4>Sub-subsection</h4>
 +
-->
 +
<!-- The following just uses bolding and font changes,
 +
    so it should be safe. However, it might not
 +
    look exactly right, especially when people
 +
    use non-standard CSS stylesheets.
 +
-->
 +
'''<font style="font-size:120%">New section</font>'''
  
===Embedding External Graphics===
+
'''<font style="font-size:110%">Subsection</font>'''
  
We won't go into the details of uploading images and linking to them, instead let's quickly run through how to embed a graphic from another website in an article page, in the same way you'd use <nowiki><img src></nowiki>.
+
'''<font style="font-size:100%">Sub-subsection</font>'''
  
To embed a graphic, simply enter the URL to it.
+
* Start with a second-level heading (<tt><nowiki>==</nowiki></tt>); don't use first-level headings (=).
 +
* Don't skip levels (for example, second-level followed by fourth-level).
 +
* A [[#Placement_of_the_Table_of_Contents_.28TOC.29|Table of Contents]] will automatically be added to an article that has four or more sections.
 +
*If appropriate, place subsections in an appropriate order. If listing countries, place them in alphabetical order rather than, say, relative to population of [[OECD]] countries, or some random order.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
== New section ==
  
''Example:'' <nowiki>http://wiki.evolt.org/stylesheets/images/wiki.png</nowiki><br />
+
=== Subsection ===
''Output:'' http://wiki.evolt.org/stylesheets/images/wiki.png
 
  
===Non-proportionally Spaced Text===
+
==== Sub-subsection ====
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
A single [[newline]]
 +
generally has no effect on the layout.
 +
These can be used to separate
 +
sentences within a paragraph.
 +
Some editors find that this aids editing
 +
and improves the function ''diff''
 +
(used internally to compare
 +
different versions of a page).
  
To show output from an email, code or other fixed-width character text, you can show this text in a similar fashion to <nowiki><pre></nowiki>, simply by using the <nowiki><pre></pre></nowiki> tags as normal, or adding a space to the start of each line of text.  Unfortunately, due to the way the HTML will be rendered from this article, you'll have to take the latter as a matter of faith, but we can demonstrate the use of <nowiki><pre></nowiki>.
+
But an empty line
 +
starts a new paragraph.
  
''Example:'' <nowiki><pre>This text will be shown in fixed-width font.
+
* When used in a list, a newline ''does'' affect the layout ([[#lists|see below]]).
Line breaks will be honoured ...
+
|
... throughout the text (but not in the example).</pre></nowiki>
+
<pre><nowiki>
''Output:'' <pre>This text will be shown in fixed-width font.
+
A single [[newline]]
Line breaks will be honoured ...
+
generally has no effect on the layout.  
... throughout the text (but not in the example).</pre>
+
These can be used to separate
 +
sentences within a paragraph.
 +
Some editors find that this aids editing
 +
and improves the function ''diff''
 +
(used internally to compare
 +
different versions of a page).
  
===Text Formatting===
+
But an empty line
 +
starts a new paragraph.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
You can break lines<br/>
 +
without starting a new paragraph.
  
Diacriticals are inserted using the HTML entities, such as <nowiki>&eacute</nowiki> for &eacute;. Bold, italic, underline and so on are achieved thusly.
+
* Please use this sparingly.
 +
* Close markup between lines, do not start a [[link]] or ''italics'' or '''bold''' on one line and close it on the next.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
You can break lines<br/>
 +
without starting a new paragraph.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- id="lists" valign="top"
 +
|
 +
* It's easy to create a list:
 +
** Start every line with a star (= [[asterisk]]).
 +
*** More stars means deeper levels.
 +
**** A newline in a list
 +
marks the end of a list item.
  
''Example:'' <nowiki>''Italic'' (2 apostrophes, em) '''Bold''' (3 apostrophes, strong) '''''Bold Italic''''' (5 apostrophes, em/strong) <u>Underline</u> <small>Caption Text</small> <s>Strikeout</s> </nowiki><br />
+
* An empty line starts a new list.
''Output:'' ''Italic'' (em) '''Bold''' (strong) '''''Bold Italic''''' (em/strong) <u>Underline</u> <small>Caption Text</small> <s>Strikeout</s>
+
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
* It's easy to create a list:
 +
** Start every line with a star.
 +
*** More stars means deeper levels.
 +
**** A newline in a list
 +
marks the end of a list item.
  
===Showing Wiki Code, Comments===
+
* An empty line starts a new list.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
# Numbered lists are also good
 +
## very organized
 +
## easy to follow
 +
### easier still
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
# Numbered lists are also good
 +
## very organized
 +
## easy to follow
 +
### easier still
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
* You can even create mixed lists
 +
*# and nest them
 +
*#* like this
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
* You can even create mixed lists
 +
*# and nest them
 +
*#* like this
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top" id="definition"
 +
|
 +
; Definition list : list of definitions
 +
; item : the item's definition
 +
; another item
 +
: the other item's definition
  
Occasionally, such as in this article, it may be necessary to expose wiki (or HTML or similar) code without wanting it to be rendered. In this case, simply encapsulate the text in <nowiki><nowiki></nowiki></nowiki> tags.
+
* One item per line; a newline can appear before the colon, but using a space before the colon improves parsing.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
; Definition list : list of definitions
 +
; item : the item's definition
 +
; another item
 +
: the other item's definition
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
: A colon indents a line or paragraph.
 +
A manual newline starts a new paragraph.
  
''Example:'' <nowiki><nowiki>[[this text is wikified]] but this isn't.</nowiki></nowiki><br />
+
* This is primarily for displayed material, but is also used for discussion on [[Wikipedia:Talk page|Talk page]]s.
''Output:'' <nowiki>[[this text is wikified]] but this isn't.</nowiki>
+
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
: A colon indents a line or paragraph.
 +
A manual newline starts a new paragraph.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign=top
 +
|
 +
When there is a need for separating a block of text
 +
<blockquote>
 +
the '''blockquote''' command will indent both margins when needed instead of the left margin only as the colon does. 
 +
</blockquote>
 +
This is useful for (as the name says) inserting blocks of quoted (and cited) text. 
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
<blockquote>
 +
The '''blockquote''' command will indent
 +
both margins when needed instead of the
 +
left margin only as the colon does.
 +
</blockquote>
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign=top
 +
|
 +
IF a line starts with a space THEN
 +
it will be formatted exactly
 +
as typed;
 +
in a fixed-width font;
 +
lines will not wrap;
 +
ENDIF
  
Comments can be made within article source in the same way as in HTML.
+
*This is useful for:
 +
** pasting preformatted text;
 +
** algorithm descriptions;
 +
** program source code;
 +
** [[ASCII art]];
 +
** chemical structures;
 +
* '''WARNING''': If you make it wide, you [[page widening|force the whole page to be wide]] and hence less readable, especially for people who use lower resolutions. Never start ordinary lines with spaces.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
IF a line starts with a space THEN
 +
it will be formatted exactly
 +
as typed;
 +
in a fixed-width font;
 +
lines will not wrap;
 +
ENDIF
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
<center>Centered text.</center>
  
''Example:'' <nowiki><!-- This is a comment, it shouldn't show up in the example output --></nowiki><br />
+
* Please note the American spelling of "center."
''Output:'' <!-- This is a comment, it shouldn't show up in the example output -->
+
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
<center>Centered text.</center>
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
A [[horizontal dividing line]]:
 +
this is above it
 +
----
 +
and this is below it.
  
===Miscellany===
+
* Mainly useful for
 +
**disambiguation - but to be used sparsely, only when separating completely different, unrelated (groups of) meanings
 +
**separating threads on Talk pages.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
A [[horizontal dividing line]]:
 +
this is above it
 +
----
 +
and this is below it.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|}
  
Other formatting can be used, such as <nowiki><br /></nowiki> tags to create a line break where necessary.  A single line break after text will not result in the intended effect &mdash; either use <nowiki><br /></nowiki> with the actual line break in text (for readability's sake) or insert a second line break to start a new paragraph (akin to <nowiki><p></nowiki>).
+
=== Links and URLs ===
 +
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
 +
|-
 +
! What it looks like
 +
! What you type
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
London has [[public transport]].
  
==Talk Pages==
+
* A link to another Wikipedia article.
 +
* Internally, the first letter of the target page is automatically capitalized and spaces are represented as underscores (typing an underscore in the link has the same effect as typing a space, but is not recommended).
 +
* Thus the link above is to the [[URL]] www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport, which is the Wikipedia article with the name "Public transport". See also [[Wikipedia:Canonicalization]].
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
London has [[public transport]].
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
San Francisco also has
 +
[[public transport|public transportation]].
  
Every article has a "talk" page (accessed from the "discussion" link at the top of each article) &mdash; '''use this instead of the article page itself to discuss the article''.  This article's talk page, for example, can be found at [[Talk:Quick guide to editing pages]] &mdash; talk pages can be linked to as though they were a wiki article :)
+
* Same target, different name.
 +
* This is a [[piped link]].
 +
* The "piped" text must be placed first, the text that will be displayed, second.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
San Francisco also has
 +
[[public transport|public transportation]].
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
San Francisco also has
 +
[[public transport]]ation.
  
===Signing Your Contributions to Pages===
+
Examples include [[bus]]es, [[taxi]]s,
 +
and [[streetcar]]s.
  
Simply use the wikicode <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> (four tildes in succession).  This is rendered thusly: [[User:Neuro|Neuro]] 08:54, 30 Nov 2004 (CST)
+
* Endings are blended into the link.
 +
* Preferred style is to use this instead of a piped link, if possible.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
San Francisco also has
 +
[[public transport]]ation.
 +
 
 +
Examples include [[bus]]es, [[taxi]]s,
 +
and [[streetcar]]s.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
See the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]].
 +
 
 +
* A link to another [[Wikipedia:namespace|namespace]].
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
See the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]].
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- id="link-to-section" valign="top"
 +
|
 +
[[Economics#See also]] is a link
 +
to a section within another page.
 +
 
 +
[[#Links and URLs]] is a link
 +
to a section on the current page.
 +
 
 +
[[#example]] is a link to an
 +
anchor that was created using
 +
<div id="example">an id attribute</div>
 +
 
 +
* The part after the number sign (#) must match a section heading on the page. Matches must be exact in terms of spelling, case, and punctuation.  Links to non-existent sections are not broken; they are treated as links to the top of the page.
 +
* Identifiers may be created by attaching an <code>id="..."></code> attribute to almost any HTML element.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
[[Economics#See also]] is a link
 +
to a section within another page.
 +
 
 +
[[#Links and URLs]] is a link
 +
to a section on the current page.
 +
 
 +
[[#example]] is a link to an
 +
anchor that was created using
 +
<div id="example">an id attribute</div>
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
Automatically hide stuff in parentheses:
 +
[[kingdom (biology)|kingdom]].
 +
 
 +
Automatically hide namespace:
 +
[[Wikipedia:Village Pump|Village Pump]].
 +
 
 +
Or both:
 +
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (headings)|Manual of Style]]
 +
 
 +
But not:
 +
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]]
 +
 
 +
* The server fills in the part after the pipe character (|) when you save the page. The next time you open the edit box you will see the expanded piped link. When [[Wikipedia:Show preview|preview]]ing your edits, you will not see the expanded form until you press '''Save''' and '''Edit''' again. The same applies to links to sections within the same page ([[#link-to-section|see previous entry]]).
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
Automatically hide stuff in parentheses:
 +
[[kingdom (biology)|]].
 +
 
 +
Automatically hide namespace:
 +
[[Wikipedia:Village Pump|]].
 +
 
 +
Or both:
 +
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (headings)|]]
 +
 
 +
But not:
 +
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
[[The weather in London]] is a page
 +
that does not exist yet.
 +
 
 +
* You can create it by clicking on the link (but please do not do so with this particular link).
 +
* To create a new page:
 +
*# Create a link to it on some other (related) page.
 +
*# Save that page.
 +
*# Click on the link you just made. The new page will open for editing.
 +
* For more information, see [[Wikipedia:How to start a page|How to start a page]] and check out Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions|naming conventions]].
 +
* Please do not create a new article without linking to it from at least one other article.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
[[The weather in London]] is a page
 +
that does not exist yet.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
[[Wikipedia:How to edit a page]] is this page.
 +
 
 +
* [[Self link]]s appear as bold text when the article is viewed.
 +
* Do not use this technique to make the article name bold in the first paragraph; see the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Article titles|Manual of Style]].
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
[[Wikipedia:How to edit a page]] is this page.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
When adding a comment to a Talk page,
 +
you should sign it by adding
 +
three tildes to add your user name:
 +
: [[User:Brockert|Ben Brockert]]
 +
or four to add user name plus date/time:
 +
: [[User:Brockert|Ben Brockert]] 00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)
 +
Five tildes gives the date/time alone:
 +
: 00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)
 +
 
 +
* The first two both provide a link to your [[Wikipedia:user page|user page]].
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
When adding a comment to a Talk page,
 +
you should sign it by adding
 +
three tildes to add your user name:
 +
: ~~~
 +
or four for user name plus date/time:
 +
: ~~~~
 +
Five tildes gives the date/time alone:
 +
: ~~~~~
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
* [[Wikipedia:Redirect|Redirect]] one article title to another by placing a directive like the one shown to the right on the ''first'' line of the article (such as at a page titled "[[USA]]").
 +
* Note that, while it is possible to link to a section, it is not possible to redirect to a section. For example, "<nowiki>#REDIRECT [[United States#History]]</nowiki>" will redirect to the [[United States]] page, but not to any particular section on it. This feature '''will not''' be implemented in the future, so such redirects should not be used.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
#REDIRECT [[United States]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
* Link to a page on the same subject in another language by using a link of the form: <nowiki>[[language code:Title]]</nowiki>.
 +
* It does not matter where you put these links while editing as they will always show up in the same place when you save the page, but placement at the end of the edit box is recommended.
 +
* Please see [[Wikipedia:Interlanguage links]] and the [[Wikipedia:Complete list of language wikis available|list of languages and codes]].
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
[[fr:Wikipédia:Aide]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''What links here''' and '''Related changes'''
 +
pages can be linked as:
 +
[[Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]
 +
and
 +
[[Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]
 +
 
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
'''What links here''' and '''Related changes'''
 +
pages can be linked as:
 +
[[Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]
 +
and
 +
[[Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
A user's '''Contributions''' page can be linked as:
 +
[[Special:Contributions/UserName]]
 +
or
 +
[[Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0]]
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
A user's '''Contributions''' page can be linked as:
 +
[[Special:Contributions/UserName]]
 +
or
 +
[[Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
* To put an article in a [[Wikipedia:Category]], place a link like the one to the right anywhere in the article. As with interlanguage links, it does not matter where you put these links while editing as they will always show up in the same place when you save the page, but placement at the end of the edit box is recommended.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
[[Category:Character sets]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
* To ''link'' to a [[Wikipedia:Category]] page without putting the article into the category, use an initial colon (:) in the link.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
[[:Category:Character sets]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- id="link-external" valign="top"
 +
|
 +
Three ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources:
 +
# Bare URL: http://www.nupedia.com/ (bad style)
 +
# Unnamed link: [http://www.nupedia.com/] (only used within article body for footnotes)
 +
# Named link: [http://www.nupedia.com Nupedia]
 +
 
 +
:See [[MetaWikiPedia:Interwiki_map]] for the list of shortcuts.
 +
 
 +
* Square brackets indicate an external link. Note the use of a ''space'' (not a pipe) to separate the URL from the link text in the "named" version.
 +
* In the [[URL]], all symbols must be among:<br/>'''A-Z a-z 0-9 . _ \ / ~ % - + &amp; # ? ! = ( ) @ \x80-\xFF'''
 +
* If a URL contains a character not in this list, it should be encoded by using a percent sign (%) followed by the [[hexadecimal|hex]] code of the character, which can be found in the table of [[ASCII#ASCII printable characters|ASCII printable characters]]. For example, the caret character (^) would be encoded in a URL as '''%5E'''.
 +
* There is a class that can be used to remove the arrow image from the external link. It is used in [[Template:Ref]] to stop the URL from expanding during printing. It should '''never''' be used in the main body of an article. However, there is an exception: wikilinks in Image markup. An example of the markup is as follows:
 +
** Markup: <nowiki><span class="plainlinksneverexpand"> [http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/winobj.shtml WinObj]</span></nowiki>
 +
** Display: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"> [http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/winobj.shtml WinObj] </span>
 +
* See [[Wikipedia:External links]] for style issues.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
Three ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources:
 +
# Bare URL: http://www.nupedia.com/ (bad style)
 +
# Unnamed link: [http://www.nupedia.com/]
 +
      (only used within article body for footnotes)
 +
# Named link: [http://www.nupedia.com Nupedia]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
Linking to other wikis:
 +
# [[Interwiki]] link: [[Wiktionary:Hello]]
 +
# Named interwiki link: [[Wiktionary:Hello|Hello]]
 +
# Interwiki link without prefix: [[Wiktionary:Hello|Hello]]
 +
 
 +
* All of these forms lead to the URL http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hello
 +
* Note that interwiki links use the ''internal'' link style.
 +
* See [[MetaWikiPedia:Interwiki_map]] for the list of shortcuts; if the site you want to link to is not on the list, use an external link ([[#link-external|see above]]).
 +
* See also [[Wikipedia:How to link to Wikimedia projects]].
 +
 
 +
Linking to another language's wiktionary:
 +
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour]]
 +
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|bonjour]]
 +
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|fr:bonjour]]
 +
 
 +
* All of these forms lead to the URL http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/bonjour
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
Linking to other wikis:
 +
# [[Interwiki]] link: [[Wiktionary:Hello]]
 +
# Named interwiki link: [[Wiktionary:Hello|Hello]]
 +
# Interwiki link without prefix: [[Wiktionary:Hello|]]
 +
 
 +
Linking to another language's wiktionary:
 +
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour]]
 +
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|bonjour]]
 +
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
ISBN 012345678X
 +
 
 +
ISBN 0-12-345678-X
 +
 
 +
* Link to books using their [[Wikipedia:ISBN|ISBN]]. This is preferred to linking to a specific online bookstore, because it gives the reader a choice of vendors.
 +
* ISBN links do not need any extra markup, provided you use one of the indicated formats.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
ISBN 012345678X
 +
 
 +
ISBN 0-12-345678-X
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign=top
 +
|
 +
Date formats:
 +
# [[July 20]], [[1969]]
 +
# [[20 July]] [[1969]]
 +
# [[1969]]-[[07-20]]
 +
# [[1969-07-20]]
 +
 
 +
* Link dates in one of the above formats, so that everyone can set their own display order. If [[Special:Userlogin|logged in]], you can use [[Special:Preferences]] to change your own date display setting.
 +
* All of the above dates will appear as "[[20 July|20 July]] [[1969|1969]]" if you set your date display preference to "15 January 2001", but as "[[20 July|July 20]], [[1969|1969]]" if you set it to "January 15, 2001", or as "[[1969|1969]]-[[July 20|07-20]]" if you set it to "2001-01-15".
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
Date formats:
 +
# [[July 20]], [[1969]]
 +
# [[20 July]] [[1969]]
 +
# [[1969]]-[[07-20]]
 +
# [[1969-07-20]]
 +
 
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg|Sound]]
 +
 
 +
*To include links to non-image uploads such as sounds, use a "media" link. For images, [[#Images|see next section]].
 +
 
 +
Some uploaded sounds are listed at [[Wikipedia:Sound]].
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg|Sound]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
=== Images ===
 +
Only images that have been uploaded to Wikipedia can be used. To upload images, use the [[Special:Upload|upload page]]. You can find the uploaded image on the [[Special:Imagelist|image list]].
 +
 
 +
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
 +
|-
 +
! What it looks like
 +
! What you type
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|A picture:
 +
[[Image:wiki.png]]
 +
|<pre>A picture:
 +
<nowiki>[[Image:wiki.png]]</nowiki></pre>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|With alternative text:
 +
[[Image:wiki.png|jigsaw globe]]
 +
|<pre>With alternative text:
 +
<nowiki>[[Image:wiki.png|jigsaw globe]]</nowiki></pre>
 +
* Alternative text, used when a mouse hovers over the image or when the image is not loaded in a text-only browser, or when spoken aloud, is '''strongly''' encouraged. See [[Wikipedia:Alternate text for images|Alternate text for images]] for help on choosing it.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|Floating to the right side of the page and with a caption:
 +
[[Image:wiki.png|frame|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]<br clear=all>
 +
|<pre>Floating to the right side of the page and with a caption:
 +
<nowiki>[[Image:wiki.png|frame|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]</nowiki></pre>
 +
* The frame tag automatically floats the image right.
 +
* The caption is also used as alternate text.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|Floating to the right side of the page ''without'' a caption:
 +
[[Image:wiki.png|right|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]
 +
|<pre>Floating to the right side of the page ''without'' a caption:
 +
<nowiki>[[Image:wiki.png|right|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]</nowiki></pre>
 +
* The help topic on [[En:Wikipedia:Extended image syntax|Extended image syntax]] explains more options.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|Linking directly to the description page of an image:
 +
[[:Image:wiki.png]]
 +
|<pre>Linking directly to the description page of an image:
 +
<nowiki>[[:Image:wiki.png]]</nowiki></pre>
 +
* Clicking on an image displayed on a page (such as any of the ones above) also leads to the description page
 +
 
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|Linking directly to an image without displaying it:
 +
[[media:wiki.png|Image of the jigsaw globe logo]]
 +
|<pre>Linking directly to an image without displaying it:
 +
<nowiki>[[media:wiki.png|Image of the jigsaw globe logo]]</nowiki></pre>
 +
* To include links to images shown as links instead of drawn on the page, use a "media" link.
 +
 
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
See the Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:Image use policy|image use policy]] as a guideline used on Wikipedia.
 +
 
 +
For further help on images, including some more versatile abilities, see the topic on [[En:Wikipedia:Extended image syntax|Extended image syntax]].
 +
 
 +
=== Character formatting ===
 +
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
! What it looks like
 +
! What you type
 +
|- id="emph" valign="top"
 +
|
 +
''Emphasize'', '''strongly''', '''''very strongly'''''.
 +
* These are double, triple, and quintuple apostrophes (single-quote marks), not double-quote marks.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
''Emphasize'', '''strongly''', '''''very strongly'''''.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
<math>\sin x + \ln y</math><br>
 +
sin''x'' + ln''y''
 +
<!-- no space between roman "sin" and italic "x" -->
 +
 
 +
<math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math><br>
 +
'''x''' = 0
 +
 
 +
Ordinary text should use [[#emph|wiki markup for emphasis]], and should not use <code>&lt;i&gt;</code> or <code>&lt;b&gt;</code>.  However, mathematical formulas often use italics, and sometimes use bold, for reasons unrelated to emphasis.  Complex formulas should use [[Help:Formula|<code>&lt;math&gt;</code> markup]], and simple formulas may use <code>&lt;math&gt;</code>; or <code>&lt;i&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;b&gt;</code>; or <code><nowiki>''</nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki>'''</nowiki></code>.  According to [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Mathematics#Italicization and bolding|WikiProject Mathematics]], wiki markup is preferred over HTML markup like <code>&lt;i&gt;</code> and <code>&lt;b&gt;</code>.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
<math>\sin x + \ln y</math>
 +
sin''x'' + ln''y''
 +
 
 +
<math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math>
 +
'''x''' = 0
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
A typewriter font for <tt>monospace text</tt>
 +
or for computer code: <code>int main()</code>
 +
 
 +
* For semantic reasons, using <code>&lt;code&gt;</code> where applicable is preferable to using <code>&lt;tt&gt;</code>.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
A typewriter font for <tt>monospace text</tt>
 +
or for computer code: <code>int main()</code>
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
You can use <small>small text</small> for captions.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
You can use <small>small text</small> for captions.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
You can <s>strike out deleted material</s>
 +
and <u>underline new material</u>.
 +
 
 +
You can also mark <del>deleted material</del> and
 +
<ins>inserted material</ins> using logical markup
 +
rather than visual markup.
 +
 
 +
* When editing regular Wikipedia articles, just make your changes and do not mark them up in any special way.
 +
* When editing your own previous remarks in talk pages, it is sometimes appropriate to mark up deleted or inserted material.
 +
|
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
You can <s>strike out deleted material</s>
 +
and <u>underline new material</u>.
 +
 
 +
You can also mark <del>deleted material</del> and
 +
<ins>inserted material</ins> using logical markup
 +
rather than visual markup.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Diacritical marks:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
 +
Æ Ç È É Ê Ë <br/>
 +
 +
 +
Ó Ô Õ
 +
Ö Ø Ù <br/>
 +
Ú Û Ü ß
 +
à á <br/>
 +
â ã ä å æ
 +
ç <br/>
 +
è é ê ë ì í<br/>
 +
î ï ñ ò ó ô <br/>
 +
&oelig; õ
 +
ö ø ù ú <br/>
 +
û ü ÿ
 +
 
 +
* See [[meta:Help:Special characters|special characters]].
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
&amp;Agrave; &amp;Aacute; &amp;Acirc; &amp;Atilde; &amp;Auml; &amp;Aring;
 +
&amp;AElig; &amp;Ccedil; &amp;Egrave; &amp;Eacute; &amp;Ecirc; &amp;Euml;
 +
&amp;Igrave; &amp;Iacute; &amp;Icirc; &amp;Iuml; &amp;Ntilde; &amp;Ograve;
 +
&amp;Oacute; &amp;Ocirc; &amp;Otilde; &amp;Ouml; &amp;Oslash; &amp;Ugrave;
 +
&amp;Uacute; &amp;Ucirc; &amp;Uuml; &amp;szlig; &amp;agrave; &amp;aacute;
 +
&amp;acirc; &amp;atilde; &amp;auml; &amp;aring; &amp;aelig; &amp;ccedil;
 +
&amp;egrave; &amp;eacute; &amp;ecirc; &amp;euml; &amp;igrave; &amp;iacute;
 +
&amp;icirc; &amp;iuml; &amp;ntilde; &amp;ograve; &amp;oacute; &amp;ocirc;
 +
&amp;oelig; &amp;otilde; &amp;ouml; &amp;oslash; &amp;ugrave; &amp;uacute;
 +
&amp;ucirc; &amp;uuml; &amp;yuml;
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Punctuation:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
¿ ¡ § ¶<br/>
 +
&dagger; &Dagger; &bull; &ndash; &mdash;<br/>
 +
&lsaquo; &rsaquo; « »<br/>
 +
&lsquo; &rsquo; &ldquo; &rdquo;
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
&amp;iquest; &amp;iexcl; &amp;sect; &amp;para;
 +
&amp;dagger; &amp;Dagger; &amp;bull; &amp;ndash; &amp;mdash;
 +
&amp;lsaquo; &amp;rsaquo; &amp;laquo; &amp;raquo;
 +
&amp;lsquo; &amp;rsquo; &amp;ldquo; &amp;rdquo;
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Commercial symbols:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
&trade; © ® ¢ &euro; ¥<br/>
 +
£ ¤
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
&amp;trade; &amp;copy; &amp;reg; &amp;cent; &amp;euro; &amp;yen;
 +
&amp;pound; &amp;curren;
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Subscripts:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
x<sub>1</sub> x<sub>2</sub> x<sub>3</sub> or
 +
<br/>
 +
x&#8320; x&#8321; x&#8322; x&#8323; x&#8324;
 +
<br/>
 +
x&#8325; x&#8326; x&#8327; x&#8328; x&#8329;
 +
 
 +
'''Superscripts:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
x<sup>1</sup> x<sup>2</sup> x<sup>3</sup> or
 +
<br/>
 +
x&#8304; x&sup1; x&sup2; x&sup3; x&#8308;
 +
<br/>
 +
x&#8309; x&#8310; x&#8311; x&#8312; x&#8313;
 +
 
 +
*The latter methods of sub/superscripting cannot be used in the most general context, as they rely on Unicode support which may not be present on all users' machines. For the 1-2-3 superscripts, it is nevertheless preferred when possible (as with units of measurement) because most browsers have an easier time formatting lines with it.
 +
 
 +
&epsilon;<sub>0</sub> =
 +
8.85 &times; 10<sup>&minus;12</sup>
 +
C&sup2; / J m.
 +
 
 +
1 [[hectare]] = [[1 E4 m&sup2;]]
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
x<sub>1</sub> x<sub>2</sub> x<sub>3</sub> or
 +
<br/>
 +
x&amp;#8320; x&amp;#8321; x&amp;#8322; x&amp;#8323; x&amp;#8324;
 +
<br/>
 +
x&amp;#8325; x&amp;#8326; x&amp;#8327; x&amp;#8328; x&amp;#8329;
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
 
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
x<sup>1</sup> x<sup>2</sup> x<sup>3</sup> or
 +
<br/>
 +
x&amp;#8304; x&amp;sup1; x&amp;sup2; x&amp;sup3; x&amp;#8308;
 +
<br/>
 +
x&amp;#8309; x&amp;#8310; x&amp;#8311; x&amp;#8312; x&amp;#8313;
 +
 
 +
&amp;epsilon;<sub>0</sub> =
 +
8.85 &amp;times; 10<sup>&amp;minus;12</sup>
 +
C&amp;sup2; / J m.
 +
 
 +
1 [[hectare]] = [[1 E4 m&amp;sup2;]]
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Greek characters:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
&alpha; &beta; &gamma; &delta; &epsilon; &zeta;<br/>
 +
&eta; &theta; &iota; &kappa; &lambda; &mu; &nu;<br/>
 +
&xi; &omicron; &pi; &rho; &sigma; &sigmaf;<br/>
 +
&tau; &upsilon; &phi; &chi; &psi; &omega;<br/>
 +
&Gamma; &Delta; &Theta; &Lambda; &Xi; &Pi;<br/>
 +
&Sigma; &Phi; &Psi; &Omega;
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
&amp;alpha; &amp;beta; &amp;gamma; &amp;delta; &amp;epsilon; &amp;zeta;
 +
&amp;eta; &amp;theta; &amp;iota; &amp;kappa; &amp;lambda; &amp;mu; &amp;nu;
 +
&amp;xi; &amp;omicron; &amp;pi; &amp;rho; &amp;sigma; &amp;sigmaf;
 +
&amp;tau; &amp;upsilon; &amp;phi; &amp;chi; &amp;psi; &amp;omega;
 +
&amp;Gamma; &amp;Delta; &amp;Theta; &amp;Lambda; &amp;Xi; &amp;Pi;
 +
&amp;Sigma; &amp;Phi; &amp;Psi; &amp;Omega;
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Mathematical characters:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
&int; &sum; &prod; &radic; &minus; &plusmn; &infin;<br/>
 +
&asymp; &prop; &equiv; &ne; &le; &ge;<br/>
 +
&times; &middot; &divide; &part; &prime; &Prime;<br/>
 +
&nabla; &permil; &deg; &there4; &alefsym; &oslash;<br/>
 +
&isin; &notin; &cap; &cup; &sub; &sup; &sube; &supe;<br/>
 +
&not; &and; &or; &exist; &forall; &rArr; &hArr;<br/>
 +
&rarr; &harr;<br/>
 +
* See also [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Mathematics|WikiProject Mathematics]].
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
&amp;int; &amp;sum; &amp;prod; &amp;radic; &amp;minus; &amp;plusmn; &amp;infin;
 +
&amp;asymp; &amp;prop; &amp;equiv; &amp;ne; &amp;le; &amp;ge;
 +
&amp;times; &amp;middot; &amp;divide; &amp;part; &amp;prime; &amp;Prime;
 +
&amp;nabla; &amp;permil; &amp;deg; &amp;there4; &amp;alefsym; &amp;oslash;
 +
&amp;isin; &amp;notin; &amp;cap; &amp;cup; &amp;sub; &amp;sup; &amp;sube; &amp;supe;
 +
&amp;not; &amp;and; &amp;or; &amp;exist; &amp;forall; &amp;rArr; &amp;hArr;
 +
&amp;rarr; &amp;harr;
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Spacing in simple math formulas:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
Obviously, ''x''&sup2;&nbsp;&ge;&nbsp;0 is true.
 +
*To space things out without allowing line breaks to interrupt the formula, use non-breaking spaces: <tt>&amp;nbsp;</tt>.
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
Obviously, ''x''&amp;sup2;&amp;nbsp;&amp;ge;&amp;nbsp;0 is true.
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Complicated formulas:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
: <math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>
 +
* See [[Help:Formula]] for how to use <tt>&lt;math></tt>.
 +
* A formula displayed on a line by itself should probably be indented by using the colon (:) character.
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
: <math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Suppressing interpretation of markup:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
<nowiki>Link &rarr; (''to'') the [[Wikipedia FAQ]]</nowiki>
 +
* Used to show literal data that would otherwise have special meaning.
 +
* Escape all wiki markup, including that which looks like HTML tags.
 +
* Does not escape HTML character references.
 +
* To escape HTML character references such as <tt>&amp;rarr;</tt> use <tt>&amp;amp;rarr;</tt>
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
&lt;nowiki>Link &amp;rarr; (''to'')
 +
the [[Wikipedia FAQ]]&lt;/nowiki>
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|- valign="top"
 +
|
 +
'''Commenting page source:'''
 +
<br/>
 +
''not shown when viewing page''
 +
* Used to leave comments in a page for future editors.
 +
* Note that most comments should go on the appropriate [[Wikipedia:Talk page|Talk page]].
 +
|
 +
<br/>
 +
<pre><nowiki>
 +
&lt;!-- comment here -->
 +
</nowiki></pre>
 +
|}
 +
''(see also: [[Chess symbols in Unicode]])''
 +
 
 +
=== Table of Contents ===
 +
<!-- ==== Placement of the Table of Contents (TOC) ==== -->
 +
At the current status of the wiki markup language, having at least four headers on a page triggers the TOC to appear in front of the first header (or after introductory sections).  Putting <nowiki>__TOC__</nowiki> anywhere forces the TOC to appear at that point (instead of just before the first header).  Putting <nowiki>__NOTOC__</nowiki> anywhere forces the TOC to disappear.  See also [[Wikipedia:Section#Compact_TOC|compact TOC]] for alphabet and year headings.
 +
<!--
 +
THE TEXT BELOW IS COMMENTED OUT SINCE THE DESCRIBED TECHNIQUE
 +
DOESN'T WORK AFTER UPGRADING TO MEDIAWIKI 1.5
 +
 
 +
==== Keeping headings out of the Table of Contents ====
 +
 
 +
If you want some subheadings to not appear in the Table of Contents, then make the following replacements.
 +
 
 +
Replace  <nowiki> == Header 2 == with <h2> Header 2 </h2> </nowiki>
 +
 
 +
Replace  <nowiki> === Header 3 === with <h3> Header 3 </h3> </nowiki>
 +
 
 +
And so forth.
 +
 
 +
For example, notice that the following header has the same font as the other subheaders to this "Tables" section, but the following header does not appear in the Table of Contents for this page.
 +
 
 +
<h4> This header has the h4 font, but is NOT in the Table of Contents (actually, it is)</h4>
 +
 
 +
This effect is obtained by the following line of code.
 +
 
 +
<code><nowiki><h4> This header has the h4 font, but is NOT in the Table of Contents </h4></nowiki></code>
 +
 
 +
Note that when editing by section, this approach places the text between the tags in the subsequent section, not the previous section. To edit this text, click the edit link next to "Tables", not the one above.
 +
-->
 +
 
 +
=== Tables ===
 +
There are two ways to build tables:
 +
*in special Wiki-markup (see [[Help:Table]])
 +
*with the usual HTML elements: &lt;table&gt;, &lt;tr&gt;, &lt;td&gt; or &lt;th&gt;.
 +
 
 +
For the latter, and a discussion on when tables are appropriate, see [[Wikipedia:How to use tables]].
 +
 
 +
===Variables===
 +
 
 +
''(See also [[Help:Variable]])''
 +
{|
 +
|-
 +
! Code
 +
! Effect
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTH}}</nowiki> || {{CURRENTMONTH}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}}</nowiki>
 +
| {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}}</nowiki>
 +
| {{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{CURRENTDAY}}</nowiki> || {{CURRENTDAY}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{CURRENTDAYNAME}}</nowiki> || {{CURRENTDAYNAME}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{CURRENTYEAR}}</nowiki> || {{CURRENTYEAR}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{CURRENTTIME}}</nowiki> || {{CURRENTTIME}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}</nowiki>
 +
| {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{PAGENAME}}</nowiki> || {{PAGENAME}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{NAMESPACE}}</nowiki> || {{NAMESPACE}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{REVISIONID}}</nowiki> || {{REVISIONID}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{localurl:pagename}}</nowiki>
 +
| {{localurl:pagename}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{localurl:</nowiki>''Wikipedia:Sandbox''<nowiki>|action=edit}}</nowiki>
 +
| {{localurl:Wikipedia:Sandbox|action=edit}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{SERVER}}</nowiki> || {{SERVER}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:1}}</nowiki> || {{ns:1}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:2}}</nowiki> || {{ns:2}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:3}}</nowiki> || {{ns:3}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:4}}</nowiki> || {{ns:4}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:5}}</nowiki> || {{ns:5}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:6}}</nowiki> || {{ns:6}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:7}}</nowiki> || {{ns:7}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:8}}</nowiki> || {{ns:8}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:9}}</nowiki> || {{ns:9}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:10}}</nowiki> || {{ns:10}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:11}}</nowiki> || {{ns:11}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:12}}</nowiki> || {{ns:12}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:13}}</nowiki> || {{ns:13}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:14}}</nowiki> || {{ns:14}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{ns:15}}</nowiki> || {{ns:15}}
 +
|-
 +
| <nowiki>{{SITENAME}}</nowiki> || {{SITENAME}}
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
'''NUMBEROFARTICLES''' is the number of pages in the main namespace which contain a link and are not a redirect, in other words number of articles, stubs containing a link, and disambiguation pages.
 +
 
 +
'''CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN''' is the genitive (possessive) grammatical form of the month name, as used in some languages; '''CURRENTMONTHNAME''' is the nominative (subject) form, as usually seen in English.
 +
 
 +
In languages where it makes a difference, you can use constructs like <nowiki>{{grammar:case|word}}</nowiki> to convert a word from the nominative case to some other caseFor example, <nowiki>{{grammar:genitive|{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}}}}</nowiki> means the same as <nowiki>{{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}}</nowiki>. <!-- Is there a reference for this, other than the source code (for example, phase3/languages/Lnaguage*.php) ? -->
 +
 
 +
===Templates===
 +
 
 +
The [[Wikipedia:MediaWiki|MediaWiki]] software used by Wikipedia has support for templates. This means standardized text chunks (such as [[Wikipedia:Template messages|boilerplate]] text) can be inserted into articles. For example, typing <nowiki>{{stub}}</nowiki> will appear as "''This article is a [[Wikipedia:Stub|stub]]. You can help Wikipedia by [[Wikipedia:Stub|expanding it]].''" when the page is saved. See [[Wikipedia:Template messages]] for the complete list. Other commonly used templates are: <nowiki>{{disambig}}</nowiki> for disambiguation pages, <nowiki>{{spoiler}}</nowiki> for spoiler warnings and <nowiki>{{sectstub}}</nowiki> like an article stub but for a section. There are many subject-specific stubs for example: <nowiki> {{Geo-stub}}, {{Hist-stub}}, and {{Linux-stub}}</nowiki>. For a complete list of stubs see [[WP:WSS/ST]].
 +
 
 +
===Hiding the edit links===
 +
 
 +
Insert '''<nowiki>__NOEDITSECTION__</nowiki>''' into the document to suppress the edit links that appear next to every section header.
 +
 
 +
==More information on editing wiki pages==
 +
 
 +
You may also want to learn about:
 +
 
 +
* [[Help:Starting a new page|How to start a page]]
 +
* Informal tips on [[Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia|contributing to Wikipedia]]
 +
* Editing tasks in general at the [[Wikipedia:Editing FAQ]]
 +
* Why not to rename pages '''boldly''', at [[Wikipedia:How to rename (move) a page]]
 +
* Preferred layout of your article, at [[Wikipedia:Guide to Layout|Guide to Layout]] (see also [[Wikipedia:Boilerplate text]])
 +
* Style conventions in the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]]
 +
* An article with annotations pointing out common Wikipedia style and layout issues, at [[Wikipedia:Annotated article]]
 +
* General policies in [[Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines]]
 +
* [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions]] for how to name articles themselves
 +
* Help on [[Wikipedia:Page_size#If_you_have_problems_editing_a_long_article|editing very large articles]]
 +
* If you are making an article about something that belongs to a group of objects (a city, an astronomical object, a Chinese character...) check if there is a [[Wikipedia:WikiProject|WikiProject]] on the group and try to follow its directions explicitly.
 +
*[[Help:Formula]]
 +
*[[m:Help:Editing|Mediawiki user's guide to editing]]
 +
*[[Wikipedia:MediaWiki]]
 +
* Finally, for a list of  articles about editing Wikipedia consult [[Wikipedia:Style and How-to Directory]].
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Wikipedia how-to|How to edit a page]]
 +
 
 +
<!-- Interlanguage links -->
 +
[[ang:Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]
 +
[[ar:&#1608;&#1610;&#1603;&#1610;&#1576;&#1610;&#1583;&#1610;&#1575;:&#1605;&#1587;&#1575;&#1593;&#1583;&#1577; &#1575;&#1604;&#1578;&#1581;&#1585;&#1610;&#1585;]]
 +
[[be:&#1042;&#1110;&#1082;&#1110;&#1087;&#1101;&#1076;&#1099;&#1103;:&#1071;&#1082; &#1088;&#1101;&#1076;&#1072;&#1075;&#1072;&#1074;&#1072;&#1094;&#1100; &#1110;&#1089;&#1085;&#1091;&#1102;&#1095;&#1099; &#1072;&#1088;&#1090;&#1099;&#1082;&#1091;&#1083;]][[bg:&#1059;&#1080;&#1082;&#1080;&#1087;&#1077;&#1076;&#1080;&#1103;:&#1050;&#1072;&#1082; &#1089;&#1077; &#1088;&#1077;&#1076;&#1072;&#1082;&#1090;&#1080;&#1088;&#1072;&#1090; &#1089;&#1090;&#1088;&#1072;&#1085;&#1080;&#1094;&#1080;]]
 +
[[ca:Viquipèdia:Com s'edita una pàgina]]
 +
[[cs:Wikipedie:Jak editovat stránku]]
 +
[[da:Wikipedia:Hvordan redigerer jeg en side]]
 +
[[de:Wikipedia:Seite bearbeiten]]
 +
[[el:Wikipedia:&#928;&#974;&#962; &#957;&#945; &#949;&#960;&#949;&#958;&#949;&#961;&#947;&#945;&#963;&#964;&#949;&#943;&#964;&#949; &#956;&#953;&#945; &#963;&#949;&#955;&#943;&#948;&#945;]]
 +
[[eo:Vikipedio:Kiel redakti pagxon]]
 +
[[es:Wikipedia:Cómo se edita una página]]
 +
[[fi:Wikipedia:Kuinka_sivuja_muokataan]]
 +
[[fr:Wikipédia:Syntaxe wikipédia]]
 +
[[ga:Vicipéid:Conas alt a chur in eagar]]
 +
[[he:&#1493;&#1497;&#1511;&#1497;&#1508;&#1491;&#1497;&#1492;:&#1488;&#1497;&#1498; &#1500;&#1506;&#1512;&#1493;&#1498; &#1491;&#1507;]]
 +
[[hi:&#2354;&#2375;&#2326; &#2325;&#2379; &#2325;&#2376;&#2360;&#2375; &#2348;&#2342;&#2354;&#2375;&#2306;]]
 +
[[hu:Wikipédia:Hogyan szerkessz egy lapot]]
 +
[[id:Wikipedia:Menyunting_sebuah_halaman]]
 +
[[it:Wikipedia:Guida_essenziale]]
 +
[[lt:Wikipedia:Kaip_Redaguoti_Puslap%C4%AF]]
 +
[[ja:Wikipedia:&#32232;&#38598;&#12398;&#20181;&#26041;]]
 +
[[no:Wikipedia:Hvordan man redigerer en side]]
 +
[[nl:Help:Uitleg]]
 +
[[nn:Hjelp:Redigering]]
 +
[[pl:Wikipedia:Formatowanie tekstu na Wikipedii]]
 +
[[pt:Wikipedia:Como_editar_uma_p%C3%A1gina]]
 +
[[ro:Wikipedia:Cum s&#259; editezi o pagin&#259;]]
 +
[[ru:&#1050;&#1072;&#1082; &#1088;&#1077;&#1076;&#1072;&#1082;&#1090;&#1080;&#1088;&#1086;&#1074;&#1072;&#1090;&#1100; &#1089;&#1090;&#1088;&#1072;&#1085;&#1080;&#1094;&#1091;]]
 +
[[simple:Wikipedia:How to edit]]
 +
[[sl:Wikipedija:Urejevanje slovenskih strani]]
 +
[[sr:%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0:%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE_%D1%81%D0%B5_%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%9A%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0]]
 +
[[sv:Wikipedia:Hur man redigerar en sida]]
 +
[[th:Wikipedia:&#3585;&#3634;&#3619;&#3649;&#3585;&#3657;&#3652;&#3586;&#3627;&#3609;&#3657;&#3634;]]
 +
[[tr:Wikipedia:Sayfa_nas%C4%B1l_de%C4%9Fi%C5%9Ftirilir]]
 +
[[ur:%D8%B5%D9%81%D8%AD%DB%81_%DA%A9%D8%B3_%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%AD_%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%85_%DA%A9%D8%B1%D9%8A%DA%BA]]
 +
[[vi:Help:S&#7917;a &#273;&#7893;i]]
 +
[[zh-min-nan:Help:Pian-chi&#781;p]]
 +
[[zh-cn:Wikipedia:%E5%A6%82%E4%BD%95%E7%BC%96%E8%BE%91%E9%A1%B5%E9%9D%A2]]
 +
[[zh-tw:Wikipedia:&#22914;&#20309;&#32232;&#36655;&#38913;&#38754;]]

Revision as of 17:54, 31 July 2005

Template:Style Template:Shortcut

See also Help:Editing, Help:Starting a new page, m:Help:Editing

Wikipedia is a WikiWiki, which means that anyone can easily edit any unprotected article and have those changes posted immediately to that page.

Editing a Wiki page is very easy. Simply click on the "edit this page" tab at the top (or the edit link on the right or bottom) of a Wiki page. This will bring you to a page with a text box containing the editable text of that page. If you just want to experiment, please do so in the sandbox; not here. You should write a short edit summary in the small field below the edit-box. You may use shorthand to describe your changes, as described in the legend, and when you have finished, press preview to see how your changes will look. You can also see what changes you have made in comparison to the previous version by pressing the Show changes button. If you're happy with what you see, then press "Save" and your changes will be immediately applied to the article. Don't "sign" edits you make to regular articles (the software keeps track of who makes every change).

You can also click on the "Discussion" tab to see the corresponding talk page, which contains comments about the page from other Wikipedia users. Click on the "+" tab to add a new section, or edit the page in the same way as an article page. When editing talk pages, please sign your change, see Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages.

Tips on editing Wikipedia articles

Always use a neutral point of view, as Wikipedia is not a place to promote points of view.

Cite your sources so others can check and extend your work. Most Wikipedia articles currently lack good references, and this contributes to Wikipedia's single greatest criticism—that it is not a reliable source. Please help by researching online and print resources to find references for the article you are working on, then cite them in proper form, and consider in-text citation for contentious facts. There is no consensus on the best way to do that, but anything is better than nothing. You can either use in-text citation in academic form such as (Example, 2004, pp 22-23) or as a superscript1 to a footnote that you place at the end of an article.

After making a new page, it's a good idea to:

  • use What links here (with your page displayed) to check the articles that already link to it, and make sure that they are all expecting the same meaning that you have supplied; and
  • use the Search button to search Wikipedia for your topic title—and possible variants—to find articles that mention it, and make links from them if appropriate.

Minor edits

See also Wikipedia:Minor edit

When editing a page, a logged-in user can mark that edit as being "minor". Minor edits generally mean spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearrangement of text. It is possible to hide minor edits when viewing Wikipedia:Recent Changes. Marking a significant change as a minor edit is considered bad behavior, and even more so if it involves the deletion of some text. If one has accidentally marked an edit as minor, the person should edit the source once more, mark it major (or, rather, ensure that the check-box for "This is a minor edit" is not checked), and, in the summary, state that the previous change was a major one.

Wiki markup

The wiki markup is the syntax system you can use to format a Wikipedia page.

In the left column of the table below, you can see what effects are possible. In the right column, you can see how those effects were achieved. In other words, to make text look like it looks in the left column, type it in the format you see in the right column.

You may want to keep this page open in a separate browser window for reference, or take a screen-shot of it. If you want to try out things without danger of doing any harm, you can do so in the Sandbox. Try opening the Sandbox in a separate window or tab and keeping this page open for reference.


What it looks like What you type

Start your sections as follows:

New section

Subsection

Sub-subsection

  • Start with a second-level heading (==); don't use first-level headings (=).
  • Don't skip levels (for example, second-level followed by fourth-level).
  • A Table of Contents will automatically be added to an article that has four or more sections.
  • If appropriate, place subsections in an appropriate order. If listing countries, place them in alphabetical order rather than, say, relative to population of OECD countries, or some random order.
== New section ==

=== Subsection ===

==== Sub-subsection ====

A single newline generally has no effect on the layout. These can be used to separate sentences within a paragraph. Some editors find that this aids editing and improves the function diff (used internally to compare different versions of a page).

But an empty line starts a new paragraph.

  • When used in a list, a newline does affect the layout (see below).
A single [[newline]]
generally has no effect on the layout. 
These can be used to separate
sentences within a paragraph.
Some editors find that this aids editing
and improves the function ''diff'' 
(used internally to compare
different versions of a page).

But an empty line
starts a new paragraph.

You can break lines
without starting a new paragraph.

  • Please use this sparingly.
  • Close markup between lines, do not start a link or italics or bold on one line and close it on the next.
You can break lines<br/>
without starting a new paragraph.
  • It's easy to create a list:
    • Start every line with a star (= asterisk).
      • More stars means deeper levels.
        • A newline in a list

marks the end of a list item.

  • An empty line starts a new list.
* It's easy to create a list:
** Start every line with a star.
*** More stars means deeper levels.
**** A newline in a list
marks the end of a list item.

* An empty line starts a new list.
  1. Numbered lists are also good
    1. very organized
    2. easy to follow
      1. easier still
# Numbered lists are also good
## very organized
## easy to follow
### easier still
  • You can even create mixed lists
    1. and nest them
      • like this
* You can even create mixed lists
*# and nest them
*#* like this
Definition list 
list of definitions
item 
the item's definition
another item
the other item's definition
  • One item per line; a newline can appear before the colon, but using a space before the colon improves parsing.
; Definition list : list of definitions
; item : the item's definition
; another item
: the other item's definition
A colon indents a line or paragraph.

A manual newline starts a new paragraph.

  • This is primarily for displayed material, but is also used for discussion on Talk pages.
: A colon indents a line or paragraph.
A manual newline starts a new paragraph.

When there is a need for separating a block of text

the blockquote command will indent both margins when needed instead of the left margin only as the colon does.

This is useful for (as the name says) inserting blocks of quoted (and cited) text.

<blockquote>
The '''blockquote''' command will indent 
both margins when needed instead of the 
left margin only as the colon does.  
</blockquote>
IF a line starts with a space THEN
it will be formatted exactly
as typed;
in a fixed-width font;
lines will not wrap;
ENDIF
  • This is useful for:
    • pasting preformatted text;
    • algorithm descriptions;
    • program source code;
    • ASCII art;
    • chemical structures;
  • WARNING: If you make it wide, you force the whole page to be wide and hence less readable, especially for people who use lower resolutions. Never start ordinary lines with spaces.
 IF a line starts with a space THEN
 it will be formatted exactly
 as typed;
 in a fixed-width font;
 lines will not wrap;
 ENDIF
Centered text.
  • Please note the American spelling of "center."
<center>Centered text.</center>

A horizontal dividing line: this is above it


and this is below it.

  • Mainly useful for
    • disambiguation - but to be used sparsely, only when separating completely different, unrelated (groups of) meanings
    • separating threads on Talk pages.
A [[horizontal dividing line]]:
this is above it
----
and this is below it.

Links and URLs

What it looks like What you type

London has public transport.

  • A link to another Wikipedia article.
  • Internally, the first letter of the target page is automatically capitalized and spaces are represented as underscores (typing an underscore in the link has the same effect as typing a space, but is not recommended).
  • Thus the link above is to the URL www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport, which is the Wikipedia article with the name "Public transport". See also Wikipedia:Canonicalization.
London has [[public transport]].

San Francisco also has public transportation.

  • Same target, different name.
  • This is a piped link.
  • The "piped" text must be placed first, the text that will be displayed, second.
San Francisco also has
[[public transport|public transportation]].

San Francisco also has public transportation.

Examples include buses, taxis, and streetcars.

  • Endings are blended into the link.
  • Preferred style is to use this instead of a piped link, if possible.
San Francisco also has
[[public transport]]ation.

Examples include [[bus]]es, [[taxi]]s,
and [[streetcar]]s.

See the Wikipedia:Manual of Style.

See the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]].

Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: kingdom.

Automatically hide namespace: Village Pump.

Or both: Manual of Style

But not: [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]]

  • The server fills in the part after the pipe character (|) when you save the page. The next time you open the edit box you will see the expanded piped link. When previewing your edits, you will not see the expanded form until you press Save and Edit again. The same applies to links to sections within the same page (see previous entry).
Automatically hide stuff in parentheses:
[[kingdom (biology)|]].

Automatically hide namespace: 
[[Wikipedia:Village Pump|]].

Or both:
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (headings)|]]

But not:
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]]

The weather in London is a page that does not exist yet.

  • You can create it by clicking on the link (but please do not do so with this particular link).
  • To create a new page:
    1. Create a link to it on some other (related) page.
    2. Save that page.
    3. Click on the link you just made. The new page will open for editing.
  • For more information, see How to start a page and check out Wikipedia's naming conventions.
  • Please do not create a new article without linking to it from at least one other article.
[[The weather in London]] is a page 
that does not exist yet.

Wikipedia:How to edit a page is this page.

  • Self links appear as bold text when the article is viewed.
  • Do not use this technique to make the article name bold in the first paragraph; see the Manual of Style.
[[Wikipedia:How to edit a page]] is this page.

When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it by adding three tildes to add your user name:

Ben Brockert

or four to add user name plus date/time:

Ben Brockert 00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)

Five tildes gives the date/time alone:

00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)
  • The first two both provide a link to your user page.
When adding a comment to a Talk page,
you should sign it by adding
three tildes to add your user name:
: ~~~
or four for user name plus date/time:
: ~~~~
Five tildes gives the date/time alone:
: ~~~~~
  • Redirect one article title to another by placing a directive like the one shown to the right on the first line of the article (such as at a page titled "USA").
  • Note that, while it is possible to link to a section, it is not possible to redirect to a section. For example, "#REDIRECT [[United States#History]]" will redirect to the United States page, but not to any particular section on it. This feature will not be implemented in the future, so such redirects should not be used.
#REDIRECT [[United States]]
  • Link to a page on the same subject in another language by using a link of the form: [[language code:Title]].
  • It does not matter where you put these links while editing as they will always show up in the same place when you save the page, but placement at the end of the edit box is recommended.
  • Please see Wikipedia:Interlanguage links and the list of languages and codes.
[[fr:Wikipédia:Aide]]

What links here and Related changes pages can be linked as: Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page and Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page

'''What links here''' and '''Related changes'''
pages can be linked as:
[[Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]
and
[[Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]

A user's Contributions page can be linked as: Special:Contributions/UserName or Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0

A user's '''Contributions''' page can be linked as:
[[Special:Contributions/UserName]]
or
[[Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0]]
  • To put an article in a Wikipedia:Category, place a link like the one to the right anywhere in the article. As with interlanguage links, it does not matter where you put these links while editing as they will always show up in the same place when you save the page, but placement at the end of the edit box is recommended.
[[Category:Character sets]]
  • To link to a Wikipedia:Category page without putting the article into the category, use an initial colon (:) in the link.
[[:Category:Character sets]]

Linking to other wikis:

  1. Interwiki link: Wiktionary:Hello
  2. Named interwiki link: Hello
  3. Interwiki link without prefix: Hello

Linking to another language's wiktionary:

  1. Wiktionary:fr:bonjour
  2. bonjour
  3. fr:bonjour
Linking to other wikis:
# [[Interwiki]] link: [[Wiktionary:Hello]]
# Named interwiki link: [[Wiktionary:Hello|Hello]]
# Interwiki link without prefix: [[Wiktionary:Hello|]]

Linking to another language's wiktionary:
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour]]
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|bonjour]]
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|]]

ISBN 012345678X

ISBN 0-12-345678-X

  • Link to books using their ISBN. This is preferred to linking to a specific online bookstore, because it gives the reader a choice of vendors.
  • ISBN links do not need any extra markup, provided you use one of the indicated formats.
ISBN 012345678X

ISBN 0-12-345678-X

Date formats:

  1. July 20, 1969
  2. 20 July 1969
  3. 1969-07-20
  4. 1969-07-20
  • Link dates in one of the above formats, so that everyone can set their own display order. If logged in, you can use Special:Preferences to change your own date display setting.
  • All of the above dates will appear as "20 July 1969" if you set your date display preference to "15 January 2001", but as "July 20, 1969" if you set it to "January 15, 2001", or as "1969-07-20" if you set it to "2001-01-15".
Date formats:
# [[July 20]], [[1969]]
# [[20 July]] [[1969]]
# [[1969]]-[[07-20]]
# [[1969-07-20]]

Sound

  • To include links to non-image uploads such as sounds, use a "media" link. For images, see next section.

Some uploaded sounds are listed at Wikipedia:Sound.

[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg|Sound]]

Images

Only images that have been uploaded to Wikipedia can be used. To upload images, use the upload page. You can find the uploaded image on the image list.

What it looks like What you type
A picture:

Wiki.png

A picture: 
[[Image:wiki.png]]


With alternative text:

jigsaw globe

With alternative text:
[[Image:wiki.png|jigsaw globe]]
  • Alternative text, used when a mouse hovers over the image or when the image is not loaded in a text-only browser, or when spoken aloud, is strongly encouraged. See Alternate text for images for help on choosing it.


Floating to the right side of the page and with a caption:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia

Floating to the right side of the page and with a caption:
[[Image:wiki.png|frame|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]
  • The frame tag automatically floats the image right.
  • The caption is also used as alternate text.


Floating to the right side of the page without a caption:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Floating to the right side of the page ''without'' a caption:
[[Image:wiki.png|right|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]


Linking directly to the description page of an image:

Image:wiki.png

Linking directly to the description page of an image:
[[:Image:wiki.png]]
  • Clicking on an image displayed on a page (such as any of the ones above) also leads to the description page
Linking directly to an image without displaying it:

Image of the jigsaw globe logo

Linking directly to an image without displaying it:
[[media:wiki.png|Image of the jigsaw globe logo]]
  • To include links to images shown as links instead of drawn on the page, use a "media" link.

See the Wikipedia's image use policy as a guideline used on Wikipedia.

For further help on images, including some more versatile abilities, see the topic on Extended image syntax.

Character formatting

What it looks like What you type

Emphasize, strongly, very strongly.

  • These are double, triple, and quintuple apostrophes (single-quote marks), not double-quote marks.
''Emphasize'', '''strongly''', '''''very strongly'''''.

<math>\sin x + \ln y</math>
sinx + lny

<math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math>
x = 0

Ordinary text should use wiki markup for emphasis, and should not use <i> or <b>. However, mathematical formulas often use italics, and sometimes use bold, for reasons unrelated to emphasis. Complex formulas should use <math> markup, and simple formulas may use <math>; or <i> and <b>; or '' and '''. According to WikiProject Mathematics, wiki markup is preferred over HTML markup like <i> and <b>.

<math>\sin x + \ln y</math>
sin''x'' + ln''y''

<math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math>
'''x''' = 0

A typewriter font for monospace text or for computer code: int main()

  • For semantic reasons, using <code> where applicable is preferable to using <tt>.
A typewriter font for <tt>monospace text</tt>
or for computer code: <code>int main()</code>

You can use small text for captions.

You can use <small>small text</small> for captions.

You can strike out deleted material and underline new material.

You can also mark deleted material and inserted material using logical markup rather than visual markup.

  • When editing regular Wikipedia articles, just make your changes and do not mark them up in any special way.
  • When editing your own previous remarks in talk pages, it is sometimes appropriate to mark up deleted or inserted material.
You can <s>strike out deleted material</s>
and <u>underline new material</u>.

You can also mark <del>deleted material</del> and
<ins>inserted material</ins> using logical markup
rather than visual markup.

Diacritical marks:

Æ Ç È É Ê Ë


Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù
Ú Û Ü ß à á
â ã ä å æ ç
è é ê ë ì í
î ï ñ ò ó ô
œ õ ö ø ù ú
û ü ÿ


&Agrave; &Aacute; &Acirc; &Atilde; &Auml; &Aring; 
&AElig; &Ccedil; &Egrave; &Eacute; &Ecirc; &Euml; 
&Igrave; &Iacute; &Icirc; &Iuml; &Ntilde; &Ograve; 
&Oacute; &Ocirc; &Otilde; &Ouml; &Oslash; &Ugrave; 
&Uacute; &Ucirc; &Uuml; &szlig; &agrave; &aacute; 
&acirc; &atilde; &auml; &aring; &aelig; &ccedil; 
&egrave; &eacute; &ecirc; &euml; &igrave; &iacute;
&icirc; &iuml; &ntilde; &ograve; &oacute; &ocirc; 
&oelig; &otilde; &ouml; &oslash; &ugrave; &uacute; 
&ucirc; &uuml; &yuml;

Punctuation:
¿ ¡ § ¶
† ‡ • – —
‹ › « »
‘ ’ “ ”


&iquest; &iexcl; &sect; &para;
&dagger; &Dagger; &bull; &ndash; &mdash;
&lsaquo; &rsaquo; &laquo; &raquo;
&lsquo; &rsquo; &ldquo; &rdquo;

Commercial symbols:
™ © ® ¢ € ¥
£ ¤


&trade; &copy; &reg; &cent; &euro; &yen; 
&pound; &curren;

Subscripts:
x1 x2 x3 or
x₀ x₁ x₂ x₃ x₄
x₅ x₆ x₇ x₈ x₉

Superscripts:
x1 x2 x3 or
x⁰ x¹ x² x³ x⁴
x⁵ x⁶ x⁷ x⁸ x⁹

  • The latter methods of sub/superscripting cannot be used in the most general context, as they rely on Unicode support which may not be present on all users' machines. For the 1-2-3 superscripts, it is nevertheless preferred when possible (as with units of measurement) because most browsers have an easier time formatting lines with it.

ε0 = 8.85 × 10−12 C² / J m.

1 hectare = 1 E4 m²


x<sub>1</sub> x<sub>2</sub> x<sub>3</sub> or
<br/>
x&#8320; x&#8321; x&#8322; x&#8323; x&#8324;
<br/>
x&#8325; x&#8326; x&#8327; x&#8328; x&#8329;
x<sup>1</sup> x<sup>2</sup> x<sup>3</sup> or
<br/>
x&#8304; x&sup1; x&sup2; x&sup3; x&#8308;
<br/>
x&#8309; x&#8310; x&#8311; x&#8312; x&#8313;

&epsilon;<sub>0</sub> =
8.85 &times; 10<sup>&minus;12</sup>
C&sup2; / J m.

1 [[hectare]] = [[1 E4 m&sup2;]]

Greek characters:
α β γ δ ε ζ
η θ ι κ λ μ ν
ξ ο π ρ σ ς
τ υ φ χ ψ ω
Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π
Σ Φ Ψ Ω


&alpha; &beta; &gamma; &delta; &epsilon; &zeta; 
&eta; &theta; &iota; &kappa; &lambda; &mu; &nu; 
&xi; &omicron; &pi; &rho; &sigma; &sigmaf;
&tau; &upsilon; &phi; &chi; &psi; &omega;
&Gamma; &Delta; &Theta; &Lambda; &Xi; &Pi; 
&Sigma; &Phi; &Psi; &Omega;

Mathematical characters:
∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞
≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥
× · ÷ ∂ ′ ″
∇ ‰ ° ∴ ℵ ø
∈ ∉ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇
¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔
→ ↔


&int; &sum; &prod; &radic; &minus; &plusmn; &infin;
&asymp; &prop; &equiv; &ne; &le; &ge;
&times; &middot; &divide; &part; &prime; &Prime;
&nabla; &permil; &deg; &there4; &alefsym; &oslash;
&isin; &notin; &cap; &cup; &sub; &sup; &sube; &supe;
&not; &and; &or; &exist; &forall; &rArr; &hArr;
&rarr; &harr;

Spacing in simple math formulas:
Obviously, x² ≥ 0 is true.

  • To space things out without allowing line breaks to interrupt the formula, use non-breaking spaces: &nbsp;.


Obviously, ''x''&sup2;&nbsp;&ge;&nbsp;0 is true.

Complicated formulas:

<math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>
  • See Help:Formula for how to use <math>.
  • A formula displayed on a line by itself should probably be indented by using the colon (:) character.


: <math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>

Suppressing interpretation of markup:
Link → (''to'') the [[Wikipedia FAQ]]

  • Used to show literal data that would otherwise have special meaning.
  • Escape all wiki markup, including that which looks like HTML tags.
  • Does not escape HTML character references.
  • To escape HTML character references such as &rarr; use &amp;rarr;


<nowiki>Link &rarr; (''to'') 
the [[Wikipedia FAQ]]</nowiki>

Commenting page source:
not shown when viewing page

  • Used to leave comments in a page for future editors.
  • Note that most comments should go on the appropriate Talk page.


<!-- comment here -->

(see also: Chess symbols in Unicode)

Table of Contents

At the current status of the wiki markup language, having at least four headers on a page triggers the TOC to appear in front of the first header (or after introductory sections). Putting __TOC__ anywhere forces the TOC to appear at that point (instead of just before the first header). Putting __NOTOC__ anywhere forces the TOC to disappear. See also compact TOC for alphabet and year headings.

Tables

There are two ways to build tables:

  • in special Wiki-markup (see Help:Table)
  • with the usual HTML elements: <table>, <tr>, <td> or <th>.

For the latter, and a discussion on when tables are appropriate, see Wikipedia:How to use tables.

Variables

(See also Help:Variable)

Code Effect
{{CURRENTMONTH}} 03
{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} March
{{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}} March
{{CURRENTDAY}} 29
{{CURRENTDAYNAME}} Friday
{{CURRENTYEAR}} 2024
{{CURRENTTIME}} 13:09
{{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} 10,675
{{PAGENAME}} Quick guide to editing pages
{{NAMESPACE}}
{{REVISIONID}} 1478
{{localurl:pagename}} /index.php/Pagename
{{localurl:Wikipedia:Sandbox|action=edit}} http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox?action=edit
{{SERVER}} https://wiki.radioreference.com
{{ns:1}} Talk
{{ns:2}} User
{{ns:3}} User talk
{{ns:4}} RadioReference Wiki
{{ns:5}} RadioReference Wiki talk
{{ns:6}} File
{{ns:7}} File talk
{{ns:8}} MediaWiki
{{ns:9}} MediaWiki talk
{{ns:10}} Template
{{ns:11}} Template talk
{{ns:12}} Help
{{ns:13}} Help talk
{{ns:14}} Category
{{ns:15}} Category talk
{{SITENAME}} The RadioReference Wiki

NUMBEROFARTICLES is the number of pages in the main namespace which contain a link and are not a redirect, in other words number of articles, stubs containing a link, and disambiguation pages.

CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN is the genitive (possessive) grammatical form of the month name, as used in some languages; CURRENTMONTHNAME is the nominative (subject) form, as usually seen in English.

In languages where it makes a difference, you can use constructs like {{grammar:case|word}} to convert a word from the nominative case to some other case. For example, {{grammar:genitive|{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}}}} means the same as {{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}}.

Templates

The MediaWiki software used by Wikipedia has support for templates. This means standardized text chunks (such as boilerplate text) can be inserted into articles. For example, typing {{stub}} will appear as "This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it." when the page is saved. See Wikipedia:Template messages for the complete list. Other commonly used templates are: {{disambig}} for disambiguation pages, {{spoiler}} for spoiler warnings and {{sectstub}} like an article stub but for a section. There are many subject-specific stubs for example: {{Geo-stub}}, {{Hist-stub}}, and {{Linux-stub}}. For a complete list of stubs see WP:WSS/ST.

Hiding the edit links

Insert __NOEDITSECTION__ into the document to suppress the edit links that appear next to every section header.

More information on editing wiki pages

You may also want to learn about:

ang:Wikipedia:How to edit a page ar:ويكيبيديا:مساعدة التحرير be:Вікіпэдыя:Як рэдагаваць існуючы артыкулbg:Уикипедия:Как се редактират страници ca:Viquipèdia:Com s'edita una pàgina cs:Wikipedie:Jak editovat stránku da:Wikipedia:Hvordan redigerer jeg en side de:Wikipedia:Seite bearbeiten el:Wikipedia:Πώς να επεξεργαστείτε μια σελίδα eo:Vikipedio:Kiel redakti pagxon es:Wikipedia:Cómo se edita una página fi:Wikipedia:Kuinka_sivuja_muokataan fr:Wikipédia:Syntaxe wikipédia ga:Vicipéid:Conas alt a chur in eagar he:ויקיפדיה:איך לערוך דף hi:लेख को कैसे बदलें hu:Wikipédia:Hogyan szerkessz egy lapot id:Wikipedia:Menyunting_sebuah_halaman it:Wikipedia:Guida_essenziale lt:Wikipedia:Kaip_Redaguoti_Puslapį ja:Wikipedia:編集の仕方 no:Wikipedia:Hvordan man redigerer en side nl:Help:Uitleg nn:Hjelp:Redigering pl:Wikipedia:Formatowanie tekstu na Wikipedii pt:Wikipedia:Como_editar_uma_página ro:Wikipedia:Cum să editezi o pagină ru:Как редактировать страницу simple:Wikipedia:How to edit sl:Wikipedija:Urejevanje slovenskih strani sr:Википедија:Како_се_мења_страна sv:Wikipedia:Hur man redigerar en sida th:Wikipedia:การแก้ไขหน้า tr:Wikipedia:Sayfa_nasıl_değiştirilir ur:صفحہ_کس_طرح_ترميم_کريں vi:Help:Sửa đổi zh-min-nan:Help:Pian-chi̍p zh-cn:Wikipedia:如何编辑页面 zh-tw:Wikipedia:如何編輯頁面