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started page on editing basics
Once you are [[Help:Registration|registered]], you can edit any page. Just log in and click '''Edit''' at the top of the page you want to change.
The basic editor is not WYSIWYG. Instead it is plain text, using '[[Wikipedia:Markup language|mark-up]]' to signal bold (three apostrophes), headings (equals signs), for example. There are style buttons at the top of the editing pane: just select some text and hit the appropriate button to apply the style. Eventually you will probably just learn enough to do 90% of edits without these buttons.
There are various rich editors you can use if you prefer; please get in touch if you can't get the hang of markup and would like to try one.
The quickest way to figure out how to do something is to find an example of what you want to do on another page, or on Wikipedia, and copy the source text from there. It will usually work without modification.
Have fun, and be bold.
==Quick mark-up guide==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
''Italicize text'' with 2 apostrophes.
3 apostrophes '''embolden'''.
5 apostrophes '''''embolden and italicize''''' the text.
|<pre>
''Italicize text'' with 2 apostrophes.
3 apostrophes '''embolden'''.
5 apostrophes '''''embolden and italicize''''' the text.
</pre>
|-
|
You should "sign" your comments on talk pages with four tildes, giving your user name plus date/time: [[User:Example|Example]] ([[User talk:Example|talk]]) 07:46, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
|<pre>
You should "sign" your comments on talk pages with four tildes,
giving your user name plus date/time: ~~~~</pre>
|}
==Section headings==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
<div style="font-size:150%;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(170,170,170);">Section headings</div>
''Headings'' organize your writing into sections.
The Wiki software can automatically generate
a [[Help:Section|table of contents]] from them.
<div style="font-size:132%;font-weight:bold;">Subsection</div>
Using more equals signs creates a subsection.
<div style="font-size:116%;font-weight:bold;">A smaller subsection</div>
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 titles.
|<pre>
== 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 titles.
</pre>
|}
==Lists and indents==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
* ''Unordered lists'' are easy to do:
** Start every line with a star.
** Stick to two levels please.
* Previous item continues.
* Make as many as you like.
|<pre>
* ''Unordered lists'' are easy to do:
** Start every line with a star.
** Stick to two levels please.
* Previous item continues.
* Make as many as you like.
</pre>
|-
|
# ''Numbered lists'' are:
## Very organized
## Easy to follow
# Previous item continues
# A new line will end the series
# You can even
#* Have unordered lists
#* Just mix the item markers
#*# Like
#*# This
# Easy!
|<pre>
# ''Numbered lists'' are:
## Very organized
## Easy to follow
# Previous item continues
# A new line will end the series
# You can even
#* Have unordered lists
#* Just mix the item markers
#*# Like
#*# This
# Easy!
</pre>
|-
|
: A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph.
A newline starts a new paragraph. <br>
Often used for discussion on [[talk pages]].
And for indenting equations (always)
: We use 1 colon to indent once.
:: We use 2 colons to indent twice.
::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
|<pre>
: A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph.
A newline starts a new paragraph. <br>
Often used for discussion on talk pages.
And for indenting equations (always)
: We use 1 colon to indent once.
:: We use 2 colons to indent twice.
::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
</pre>
|-
|
; A semi-colon: introduces items in a
dictionary-style definition list.
; Start each item: with a semi-colon and
continue with a colon and the
definition part of the item.
|<pre>
; A semi-colon: introduces items in a
dictionary-style definition list.
; Start each item: with a semi-colon and
continue with a colon and the
definition part of the item.
</pre>
|}
==Links==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
Here's a link to the [[Main page]].
But be careful - capitalization counts!
|<pre>
Here's a link to the [[Main page]].
</pre>
|-
|
[[Intentionally permanent red link]] is a page that doesn't exist
yet. You could create it by clicking on the link.
|<pre>
[[Intentionally permanent red link]] is
a page that doesn't exist yet. You could
create it by clicking on the link.
</pre>
|-
|
You can link to a page section by placing a "#" before its title:
* [[Help:Contents#For editors]].
If multiple sections have the same title, add
a number. [[#Example section 3]] goes to the
third section named "Example section".
|<pre>
You can link to a page section by its title:
* [[Help:Contents#For editors]].
If multiple sections have the same title, add
a number. [[#Example section 3]] goes to the
third section named "Example section".
</pre>
|}
==See also==
* [[Help:Style|Style]]
* [[Help:Mathematics|Mathematics]]
==External links==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing Wikipedia help]
*[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing Meta.wikimedia.org help]
*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing_pages Wikimedia.org help]
*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing More Wikimedia.org help]
The basic editor is not WYSIWYG. Instead it is plain text, using '[[Wikipedia:Markup language|mark-up]]' to signal bold (three apostrophes), headings (equals signs), for example. There are style buttons at the top of the editing pane: just select some text and hit the appropriate button to apply the style. Eventually you will probably just learn enough to do 90% of edits without these buttons.
There are various rich editors you can use if you prefer; please get in touch if you can't get the hang of markup and would like to try one.
The quickest way to figure out how to do something is to find an example of what you want to do on another page, or on Wikipedia, and copy the source text from there. It will usually work without modification.
Have fun, and be bold.
==Quick mark-up guide==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
''Italicize text'' with 2 apostrophes.
3 apostrophes '''embolden'''.
5 apostrophes '''''embolden and italicize''''' the text.
|<pre>
''Italicize text'' with 2 apostrophes.
3 apostrophes '''embolden'''.
5 apostrophes '''''embolden and italicize''''' the text.
</pre>
|-
|
You should "sign" your comments on talk pages with four tildes, giving your user name plus date/time: [[User:Example|Example]] ([[User talk:Example|talk]]) 07:46, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
|<pre>
You should "sign" your comments on talk pages with four tildes,
giving your user name plus date/time: ~~~~</pre>
|}
==Section headings==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
<div style="font-size:150%;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(170,170,170);">Section headings</div>
''Headings'' organize your writing into sections.
The Wiki software can automatically generate
a [[Help:Section|table of contents]] from them.
<div style="font-size:132%;font-weight:bold;">Subsection</div>
Using more equals signs creates a subsection.
<div style="font-size:116%;font-weight:bold;">A smaller subsection</div>
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 titles.
|<pre>
== 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 titles.
</pre>
|}
==Lists and indents==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
* ''Unordered lists'' are easy to do:
** Start every line with a star.
** Stick to two levels please.
* Previous item continues.
* Make as many as you like.
|<pre>
* ''Unordered lists'' are easy to do:
** Start every line with a star.
** Stick to two levels please.
* Previous item continues.
* Make as many as you like.
</pre>
|-
|
# ''Numbered lists'' are:
## Very organized
## Easy to follow
# Previous item continues
# A new line will end the series
# You can even
#* Have unordered lists
#* Just mix the item markers
#*# Like
#*# This
# Easy!
|<pre>
# ''Numbered lists'' are:
## Very organized
## Easy to follow
# Previous item continues
# A new line will end the series
# You can even
#* Have unordered lists
#* Just mix the item markers
#*# Like
#*# This
# Easy!
</pre>
|-
|
: A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph.
A newline starts a new paragraph. <br>
Often used for discussion on [[talk pages]].
And for indenting equations (always)
: We use 1 colon to indent once.
:: We use 2 colons to indent twice.
::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
|<pre>
: A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph.
A newline starts a new paragraph. <br>
Often used for discussion on talk pages.
And for indenting equations (always)
: We use 1 colon to indent once.
:: We use 2 colons to indent twice.
::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
</pre>
|-
|
; A semi-colon: introduces items in a
dictionary-style definition list.
; Start each item: with a semi-colon and
continue with a colon and the
definition part of the item.
|<pre>
; A semi-colon: introduces items in a
dictionary-style definition list.
; Start each item: with a semi-colon and
continue with a colon and the
definition part of the item.
</pre>
|}
==Links==
{| class="wikitable"
! style="width: 50%" | What it looks like
! style="width: 50%" | What you type
|-
|
Here's a link to the [[Main page]].
But be careful - capitalization counts!
|<pre>
Here's a link to the [[Main page]].
</pre>
|-
|
[[Intentionally permanent red link]] is a page that doesn't exist
yet. You could create it by clicking on the link.
|<pre>
[[Intentionally permanent red link]] is
a page that doesn't exist yet. You could
create it by clicking on the link.
</pre>
|-
|
You can link to a page section by placing a "#" before its title:
* [[Help:Contents#For editors]].
If multiple sections have the same title, add
a number. [[#Example section 3]] goes to the
third section named "Example section".
|<pre>
You can link to a page section by its title:
* [[Help:Contents#For editors]].
If multiple sections have the same title, add
a number. [[#Example section 3]] goes to the
third section named "Example section".
</pre>
|}
==See also==
* [[Help:Style|Style]]
* [[Help:Mathematics|Mathematics]]
==External links==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing Wikipedia help]
*[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing Meta.wikimedia.org help]
*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing_pages Wikimedia.org help]
*[http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing More Wikimedia.org help]