Help:Contents
From Tradexicon
On a wiki, it is customary to allow readers to edit content and structure. This is a brief overview of the editing and contributing process.
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Editing basics
Review policy and conventions
Make sure that you submit information which is relevant to the specific purpose of the wiki, or your content might be deleted. You can always use the talk pages to ask questions or check to see if your idea will be accepted. Please make note of the license your contributions will be covered with.
Start editing
To start editing a MediaWiki page, click the Edit this page (or just edit) link at one of its edges. This brings you to the edit page: a page with a text box containing the wikitext - the editable code from which the server produces the finished page. If you just want to experiment, please do so in the sandbox, not here.
Type your changes
You can just type your text. However, also using basic wiki markup (described in the next section) to make links and do simple formatting adds to the value of your contribution. Wikimedia wikis have style guidelines available. If you follow these, your contributions will be more valuable as they won't need to be cleaned up later.
Summarize your changes
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 edit summary legend.
Preview before saving!
When you have finished, click Show 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 page and your changes will be immediately applied to the article. Sometimes it is helpful to save in between.
Most frequent wiki markup explained
| What it looks like | What you type |
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You can italicize text by putting 2 apostrophes on each side. 3 apostrophes will embolden the text. 5 apostrophes will embolden and italicize the text. (4 apostrophes doesn't do anything special -- there's just 'one left over'.) | You can ''italicize text'' by putting 2 apostrophes on each side. 3 apostrophes will embolden '''the text'''. 5 apostrophes will embolden and italicize '''''the text'''''. (4 apostrophes doesn't do anything special -- there's just ''''one left over''''.) |
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You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: | You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: <br /> - Three tildes give your user name: ~~~ <br /> - Four tildes give your user name plus date/time: ~~~~ <br /> - Five tildes give the date/time alone: ~~~~~ <br /> |
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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. |
marks the end of the list.
| * ''Unordered lists'' are easy to do: ** Start every line with a star. *** More stars indicate a deeper level. *: Previous item continues. ** A new line * in a list marks the end of the list. * Of course you can start again. |
A new line marks the end of the list.
| # ''Numbered lists'' are: ## Very organized ## Easy to follow A new line marks the end of the list. # New numbering starts with 1. |
A newline starts a new paragraph.
| : A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph. A newline starts a new paragraph. <br> Often used for discussion on talk pages. : We use 1 colon to indent once. :: We use 2 colons to indent twice. ::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
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Here's a link to the Main Page. | Here's a link to the [[Main Page]]. |
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The weather in London is a page that doesn't exist yet. You could create it by clicking on the link. | [[The weather in London]] is a page that doesn't exist yet. You could create it by clicking on the link. |
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You can link to a page section by its title: If multiple sections have the same title, add a number. #Example section 3 goes to the third section named "Example section". | You can link to a page section by its title: * [[List of cities by country#Morocco]]. If multiple sections have the same title, add a number. [[#Example section 3]] goes to the third section named "Example section". |
Basic text formatting
You can format the page using Wikitext special characters.
| What it looks like | What you type |
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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 -- | 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.) |
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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]]). |
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You can break lines 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. |
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You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: | You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: <br> - Three tildes gives your signature: ~~~ <br> - Four tildes give your signature plus date/time: ~~~~ <br> - Five tildes gives the date/time alone: ~~~~~ <br> |
HTML tags
You can use some HTML tags too. 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.
| What it looks like | What you type |
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Put text in a typewriter
font. The same font is
generally used for | Put text in a <tt>typewriter font</tt>. The same font is generally used for <code> computer code</code>. |
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| <strike>Strike out</strike> or <u>underline</u> text, or write it <span style= "font-variant:small-caps"> in small caps</span>. |
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Superscripts and subscripts: X2, H2O | Superscripts and subscripts: X<sup>2</sup>, H<sub>2</sub>O |
| <center>Centered text</center> |
The blockquote command formats block quotations, typically by surrounding them with whitespace and a slightly different font. | <blockquote> The '''blockquote''' command formats block quotations, typically by surrounding them with whitespace and a slightly different font. </blockquote> |
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Invisible comments to editors (<!-- -->) appear only while editing the page.
| Invisible comments to editors (<!-- -->) appear only while editing the page. <!-- Note to editors: blah blah blah. --> |
Organizing your writing
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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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
marks the end of the list.
| * ''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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A newline marks the end of the list.
| # ''Numbered lists'' are: ## Very organized ## Easy to follow A newline marks the end of the list. # New numbering starts with 1. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Here's a definition list:
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 *# and nest them *# inside each other *#* or break lines<br>in lists. *#; definition lists *#: can be *#:; nested : too | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A newline starts a new paragraph.
| : A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph. A newline starts a new paragraph. <br> 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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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You can add footnotes to sentences using the ref tag -- this is especially good for citing a source.
References: <references/>
LinksYou will often want to make clickable links to other pages.
Just show what I typedA few different kinds of formatting will tell the Wiki to display things as you typed them.
TemplatesTemplates are segments of Wiki markup that are meant to be copied automatically ("transcluded") into a page. You add them by putting the template's name in {{double braces}}. It is also possible to transclude other pages by using {{:colon and double braces}}. Some templates take parameters, as well, which you separate with the pipe character.
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