Help:Editing

This Editing Overview has a lot of wikitext examples. You may want to keep this page open in a separate browser window for reference while you edit.

I "borrowed" this guide, in it's entirety, from Wikipedia, so many of the links won't work. But it shows the formatting syntax well.

Editing basics

 * Start editing
 * To start editing a MediaWiki page, click on the "Edit this page" (or just "edit") link at one of its edges. This will bring you to the edit page: a page with a text box containing the wikitext: the editable source code from which the server produces the webpage.


 * Summarize your changes
 * 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.


 * Preview before saving
 * When you have finished, press preview to see how your changes will look -- before you make them permanent. Repeat the edit/preview process until you are satisfied, then click "Save" and your changes will be immediately applied to the article.

Wikitext markup

 * You can see some more detailed examples at Help:Wiki markup examples (edit: no you can't).

Basic text formatting
For a list of HTML tags that are allowed, see HTML in wikitext. However, you should avoid HTML in favor of Wiki markup whenever possible.

Organizing your writing
{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" !What it looks like !What you type Section headings

Headings organize your writing into sections. The Wiki software can automatically generate a table of contents from them.

Subsection

Using more equals signs creates a subsection.

A smaller subsection

Don't skip levels, like from two to four equals signs. Start with two equals signs; don't use single equals signs.

Section headings
Headings organize your writing into sections. The Wiki software can automatically generate a table of contents from them.

Subsection
Using more equals signs creates a subsection.

A smaller subsection
Don't skip levels, like from two to four equals signs. Start with two equals signs; don't use single equals signs. marks the end of the list. marks the end of the list. A newline marks the end of the list.
 * Unordered lists are easy to do:
 * Start every line with a star.
 * More stars indicate a deeper level.
 * A newline
 * in a list
 * A newline
 * in a list
 * Of course you can start again.
 * Unordered lists are easy to do:
 * Start every line with a star.
 * More stars indicate a deeper level.
 * A newline
 * in a list
 * in a list
 * Of course you can start again.
 * 1) Numbered lists are also good:
 * 2) Very organized
 * 3) Easy to follow
 * 1) Very organized
 * 2) Easy to follow
 * 1) New numbering starts with 1.

A newline marks the end of the list. Another kind of list is a definition list:
 * 1) Numbered lists are also good:
 * 2) Very organized
 * 3) Easy to follow
 * 1) Easy to follow
 * 1) New numbering starts with 1.
 * You can even do mixed lists
 * and nest them
 * or break lines in lists.
 * * You can even do mixed lists
 * and nest them
 * or break lines in lists.
 * and nest them
 * or break lines in lists.
 * word : definition of the word
 * longer phrase
 * phrase defined

Another kind of list is a definition list:
 * word : definition of the word
 * longer phrase
 * phrase defined


 * A colon indents a line or paragraph.
 * A colon indents a line or paragraph.
 * A colon indents a line or paragraph.

A newline after that starts a new paragraph.
 * This is often used for discussion on Talk pages.


 * A colon indents a line or paragraph.
 * A colon indents a line or paragraph.

A newline after that starts a new paragraph.
 * This is often used for discussion on talk pages.

You can make horizontal dividing lines to separate text.

But you should usually use sections instead, so that they go in the table of contents. You can make horizontal dividing lines to separate text.

But you should usually use sections instead, so that they go in the table of contents.
 * }

Links
You will often want to make clickable links to other pages.

Just show what I typed
A few different kinds of formatting will tell the Wiki to display things as you typed them.

Images, tables, video, and sounds
This is a very quick introduction. For more information, see:
 * Help:Images and other uploaded files for how to upload files
 * Help:Extended image syntax for how to arrange images on the page
 * Help:Table for how to create a table

Page protection
Recently in a few cases, where an administrator has protected a page, the link labeled "" is replaced by the text "" (or equivalents in the language of the project). In that case the page cannot be edited. Protection of an image page includes protection of the image itself.

Edit conflicts
If someone else makes an edit while you are making yours, the result is an edit conflict. Many conflicts can be automatically resolved by the Wiki. If it can't be resolved, however, you will need to resolve it yourself. The Wiki gives you two text boxes, where the top one is the other person's edit and the bottom one is your edit. Merge your edits into the top edit box, which is the only one that will save.

Reverting
The edit link of a page showing an old version leads to an edit page with the old wikitext. This is a useful way to restore the old version of a page. However, the edit link of a diff page gives the current wikitext, even if the diff page shows an old version below the table of differences.

Error messages
If you get an error message upon saving a page, you can't tell whether the actual save has failed or just the confirmation. You can go back and save again, and the second save will have no effect, or you can check "My contributions" to see whether the edit went through.

Checking spelling and editing in your favorite editor
You may find it more convenient to copy and paste the text first into your favorite text editor, edit and spell check it there, and then paste it back into your web browser to preview. This way, you can also keep a local backup copy of the pages you have edited. It also allows you to make changes offline.

If you edit this way, it's best to leave the editing page open after you copy from it, using the same edit box to submit your changes, so that the usual edit conflict mechanism can deal with it. If you return to the editing page later, please make sure that nobody else has edited the page in the meantime. If someone has, you'll need to merge their edits into yours by using the diff feature in the page history.

Composition of the edit page
The editing page consists of these sections:


 * The edit toolbar (optional)
 * The editing text box
 * The edit summary box
 * Save/Preview/Cancel links
 * A list of templates used on the page
 * A preview, if you have requested one. Your preferences may place the preview at the top of the page instead.

Position-independent wikitext
No matter where you put these things in the wikitext, the resulting page is displayed the same way:
 * Interlanguage links
 * Categories
 * The magic words and . See Help:Section.

Minor edits
A logged-in user can mark an edit as "minor". Minor edits are generally spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearrangement of text. Users may choose to hide minor edits when viewing Recent Changes.

Marking a significant change as a minor edit is considered bad Wikiquette. If you have accidentally marked an edit as minor, make a dummy edit, verify that the " [ ] This is a minor edit " check-box is unchecked, and explain in the edit summary that the previous edit was not minor.