Help:Editing

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Revision as of 18:48, 15 March 2008 by Mbrowne (talk | contribs)

For help on editing please see the detailed instructions on the Wikipedia site.

Here are the most frequently used types of wiki markup.

Basic text formatting

You can format the page using Wikitext special characters.

What it looks like What you type

You can italicize text by putting 2 apostrophes on each side.

3 apostrophes will bold the text.

5 apostrophes will bold and italicize the text.

(Using 4 apostrophes doesn't do anything special --
they are just ' left over ones' that are included as part of the text.)

You can ''italicize text'' by putting 2 
apostrophes on each side. 

3 apostrophes will '''bold the text'''. 

5 apostrophes will '''bold''' and ''italicize''
'''''the text'''''.

(Using 4 apostrophes doesn't do anything
special -- <br /> they are just ''''left
over ones'''' that are included as part
of the text.)

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 diff function (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 ''diff'' function
(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 ([[#lists|see below]]).

You can break lines
without a new paragraph.
Please use this sparingly.

Please do not start a link or italics or bold on one line and close it on the next.

You can break lines<br/>
without a new paragraph.<br/>
Please use this sparingly.

Please do not start a link or
''italics'' or '''bold''' on one line
and close it on the next.

You should "sign" your comments on talk pages:
- Three tildes gives your signature: Example
- Four tildes give your signature plus date/time: Example 07:46, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
- Five tildes gives the date/time alone: 07:46, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

You should "sign" your comments 
on talk pages:
- Three tildes gives your
signature: ~~~
- Four tildes give your 
signature plus date/time: ~~~~
- Five tildes gives the 
date/time alone: ~~~~~

Organizing your writing

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 2 equals signs not 1 because 1 creates H1 tags which should be reserved for page title.

== 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 2 equals signs not 1
because 1 creates H1 tags
which should be reserved for page title.
  • Unordered lists are easy to do:
    • Start every line with a star.
      • More stars indicate a deeper level.
    Previous item continues.
    • A newline
  • in a list

marks the end of the 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.
*: Previous item continues.
** A newline
* in a list  
marks the end of the list.
*Of course you can start again.
  1. Numbered lists are:
    1. Very organized
    2. Easy to follow

A newline marks the end of the list.

  1. New numbering starts with 1.
# ''Numbered lists'' are:
## Very organized
## Easy to follow
A newline marks the end of the list.
# New numbering starts with 1.

Here's a definition list:

Word 
Definition of the word
A longer phrase needing definition
Phrase defined
A word 
Which has a definition
Also a second one
And even a third

Begin with a semicolon. One item per line; a newline can appear before the colon, but using a space before the colon improves parsing.

Here's a ''definition list'':
; Word : Definition of the word
; A longer phrase needing definition
: Phrase defined
; A word : Which has a definition
: Also a second one
: And even a third

Begin with a semicolon. One item per line; 
a newline can appear before the colon, but 
using a space before the colon improves 
parsing.
  • You can even do mixed lists
    1. and nest them
    2. inside each other
      • or break lines
        in lists.
      definition lists
      can be
      nested 
      too
* You can even do mixed lists
*# and nest them
*# inside each other
*#* or break lines<br>in lists.
*#; definition lists
*#: can be 
*#:; nested : too
A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph.

A newline starts a new paragraph.
Should only be used on talk pages.
For articles, you probably want the blockquote tag.

We use 1 colon to indent once.
We use 2 colons to indent twice.
3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
: A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph.
A newline starts a new paragraph.
Should only be used on talk pages.
For articles, you probably want the blockquote tag.
: We use 1 colon to indent once.
:: We use 2 colons to indent twice.
::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.

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.

You can add footnotes to sentences using the ref tag -- this is especially good for citing a source.

There are over six billion people in the world.<ref>CIA World Factbook, 2006.</ref>

References: <references/>

For details, see Wikipedia:Footnotes and Help:Footnotes.

You can add footnotes to sentences using
the ''ref'' tag -- this is especially good
for citing a source.

:There are over six billion people in the
world.<ref>CIA World Factbook, 2006.</ref>

References: <references/>

For details, see [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] 
and [[Help:Footnotes]].


Created By Me01273 23:54, 28 May 2007 (BST)