Wiki User's Guide

It's very easy to edit the contents of a wiki:

1. Click the "Edit" page tab at the top of the page.
2. Make changes to the text.
3. Click the "Save page" button.

Simple as that!

Editing rules, editing conventions, and formatting

The number one rule of wiki editing is to be bold. Go ahead - make changes. Other people can correct any mistakes you make, so have confidence, and give it a try! There are all kinds of editing conventions, rules, and philosophies for the editing of wiki pages, but the be bold rule is the most important of these!

An edit can contribute whole new paragraphs or pages of information, or it can be as simple as fixing a typo or a spelling mistake. In general, try to add or edit text so that it is clear and concise. Most importantly, make sure you are always aiming to do something which improves the contents of the wiki.

When you need to use some type of formatting, such as for new headings or bolding of text, you do this using wiki syntax or the buttons in the edit toolbar above the editing zone.

Edit Summary

Before you save a change, you can enter a short note (must be shorter than 500 characters) in the "Summary (?):" box describing your changes. Don't worry too much about this, or spend too much time thinking about it: just put in a short description of what you just changed. For example, you might say "fixed typo" or "added more information about sunflowers".

This summary gets stored alongside your edit, and allows people to track changes in the wiki more effectively.

Preview

It's a good idea to use the "Show preview" button to see what your change will look like, before you save it. This is also related to tracking changes because every time you save, this is displayed to others as a separate change. This isn't something to worry about too much, but it's good to get into the habit of eliminating mistakes in your own work, by using a preview before saving, rather than saving, then having to do another edit just to make one or more minor corrections.

Show Changes

Another option is the "Show changes" button which allows you to see the differences between the current version and the edited version.

Discussion

Every article has its own "talk page" where you can ask questions, make suggestions, or discuss corrections. See Help:Talk pages.

Formatting

Text formatting markup

<tbody></tbody>

Description	You type	You get
Character (inline) formatting – applies anywhere
Italic text	''italic''	italic
Bold text	'''bold'''	bold
Bold and italic	'''''bold & italic'''''	bold & italic
Escape wiki markup	<nowiki>no ''markup''</nowiki>	no markup
Section formatting – only at the beginning of the line
Section Headings of different levels	== Level 2 == === Level 3 === ==== Level 4 ==== ===== Level 5 ===== ====== Level 6 ====== Skip Level 1, it is page name level. Do not put any text on the same line after the ending equal signs. An article with 4 or more headings automatically creates a table of contents (unless setting the magic word).	Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
Horizontal rule	Text before ---- Text after	Text before Text after
Bullet list	* Start each line * with an [[Wikipedia:asterisk|asterisk]] (*). ** More asterisks give deeper *** and deeper levels. * Line breaks <br />don't break levels. *** But jumping levels creates empty space. Any other start ends the list. * combine bullet list ** with definition ::- definition ** creates empty space * combine bullet list ** with definition *:- definition ** without empty spaces *bullet list :- definition :* sublist that doesn't create empty :* spaces after definition	Start each line with an asterisk (*). More asterisks give deeper and deeper levels. Line breaks don't break levels. But jumping levels creates empty space. Any other start ends the list. combine bullet list with definition - definition creates empty space combine bullet list with definition - definition without empty spaces bullet list - definition sublist that doesn't create empty spaces after definition
Numbered list	# Start each line # with a [[Wikipedia:Number_sign|number sign]] (#). ## More number signs give deeper ### and deeper ### levels. # Line breaks <br />don't break levels. ### But jumping levels creates empty space. # Blank lines # end the list and start another. Any other start also ends the list.	Start each line with a number sign (#). More number signs give deeper and deeper levels. Line breaks don't break levels. But jumping levels creates empty space. Blank lines end the list and start another. Any other start also ends the list.
Definition list	;item 1 : definition 1 ;item 2 : definition 2-1 : definition 2-2	item 1 definition 1 item 2 definition 2-1 definition 2-2
Indent text	: Single indent :: Double indent ::::: Multiple indent This workaround may harm accessibility.	Single indent Double indent Multiple indent
Mixture of different types of list	# one # two #* two point one #* two point two # three #; three item one #: three def one # four #: four def one #: this looks like a continuation #: and is often used #: instead <br />of <nowiki><br /></nowiki> # five ## five sub 1 ### five sub 1 sub 1 ## five sub 2 The usage of #: and *: for breaking a line within an item may also harm accessibility.	one two two point one two point two three three item one three def one four four def one this looks like a continuation and is often used instead of <br /> five five sub 1 five sub 1 sub 1 five sub 2
Preformatted text	Start each line with a space. Text is '''preformatted''' and ''markups'' '''''can''''' be done. This way of preformatting only applies to section formatting. Character formatting markups are still effective.	Start each line with a space. Text is '''preformatted''' and ''markups'' ''can'' be done.
Preformatted text blocks	<nowiki>Start with a space in the first column, (before the <nowiki>). Then your block format will be maintained. This is good for copying in code blocks: def function(): """documentation string""" if True: print True else: print False</nowiki>	Start with a space in the first column, (before the <nowiki>). Then your block format will be maintained. This is good for copying in code blocks: def function(): """documentation string""" if True: print True else: print False

Paragraphs

MediaWiki ignores single line breaks. To start a new paragraph, leave an empty line. You can force a line break within a paragraph with the HTML tag
.

HTML Tags

Some HTML tags are allowed in MediaWiki, for example ,

, and . These apply anywhere you insert them. <tbody></tbody>

Description	You type	You get
Inserted (Displays as underline in most browsers)	<ins>Inserted</ins> or <u>Underline</u>	Inserted or Underline
Deleted (Displays as strikethrough in most browsers)	<s>Struck out</s> or <del>Deleted</del>	Struck out or Deleted
Fixed width text	<code>Source code</code> or <code>Fixed width text</code>	Source code or Fixed width text
Blockquotes	Text before <blockquote>Blockquote</blockquote> Text after	Text before Blockquote Text after
Quotes	<q>This is a quotation</q> The q element must not be used in place of quotation marks that do not represent quotes; for example, it is inappropriate to use the q element for marking up sarcastic statements.	This is a quotation
Comment	<!-- This is a comment --> Comments are visible only in the edit zone.	Comments are visible only in the edit zone.
Completely preformatted text	<pre>Text is '''preformatted''' and ''markups'' '''''cannot''''' be done</pre> For marking up of preformatted text, check the "Preformatted text" entry at the end of the previous table.	Text is '''preformatted''' and ''markups'' '''''cannot''''' be done
Customized preformatted text	<pre style="color: red">Text is '''preformatted''' with a style and ''markups'' '''''cannot''''' be done </pre> A CSS style can be named within the style attribute.	Text is '''preformatted''' with a style and ''markups'' '''''cannot''''' be done

Continued:

<tbody></tbody>

Description	You type	You get
Default preformatted text has a CSS attribute (white-space: pre-wrap;) to wrap the text according to available width	<pre> This long sentence is used to demonstrate text wrapping. This additional sentence makes the text even longer. This additional sentence makes the text even longer. </pre>	This long sentence is used to demonstrate text wrapping. This additional sentence makes the text even longer. This additional sentence makes the text even longer.
Customized preformatted text with disabled text wrapping	<pre style="white-space: pre;"> This long sentence is used to demonstrate text wrapping. This additional sentence makes the text even longer. This additional sentence makes the text even longer. </pre>	This long sentence is used to demonstrate text wrapping. This additional sentence makes the text even longer. This additional sentence makes the text even longer.

Inserting Symbols

Symbols and other special characters not available on your keyboard can be inserted in a multitude of ways. Many Operating Systems and browsers allow you to insert special characters through a menu option or Operating System panel. Additionally, you can use the WikiEditor or VisualEditor to insert them into the edit screen.

As a last resort, you can use a special sequence of characters. Those sequences are called HTML entities. For example, the following sequence (entity) → when inserted will be shown as right arrow HTML symbol → and — when inserted will be shown as an em dash HTML symbol —.

<tbody></tbody>

HTML symbol entities
Á	á	Â	â	´	Æ	æ	À	à	ℵ	Α	α	&	∧	∠	Å	å	≈	Ã	ã	Ä	ä	„	Β	β	¦	•	∩	Ç	ç	¸	¢
Χ	χ	ˆ	♣	≅	©	↵	∪	¤	†	‡	↓	⇓	°	Δ	δ	♦	÷	É	é	Ê	ê	È	è	∅			Ε	ε	≡	Η	η
Ð	ð	Ë	ë	€	∃	ƒ	∀	½	¼	¾	⁄	Γ	γ	≥	>	↔	⇔	♥	…	Í	í	Î	î	¡	Ì	ì	ℑ	∞	∫	Ι	ι
¿	∈	Ï	ï	Κ	κ	Λ	λ	〈	«	←	⇐	⌈	“	≤	⌊	∗	◊	‎	‹	‘	<	¯	—	µ	·	−	Μ	μ	∇		–
≠	∋	¬	∉	⊄	Ñ	ñ	Ν	ν	Ó	ó	Ô	ô	Œ	œ	Ò	ò	‾	Ω	ω	Ο	ο	⊕	∨	ª	º	Ø	ø	Õ	õ	⊗	Ö
ö	¶	∂	‰	⊥	Φ	φ	Π	π	ϖ	±	£	′	″	∏	∝	Ψ	ψ	"	√	〉	»	→	⇒	⌉	”	ℜ	®	⌋	Ρ	ρ	‏
›	’	‚	Š	š	⋅	§	­	Σ	σ	ς	∼	♠	⊂	⊆	∑	⊃	¹	²	³	⊇	ß	Τ	τ	∴	Θ	θ	ϑ		Þ	þ	˜
×	™	Ú	ú	↑	⇑	Û	û	Ù	ù	¨	ϒ	Υ	υ	Ü	ü	℘	Ξ	ξ	Ý	ý	¥	ÿ	Ÿ	Ζ	ζ	‍	‌

<tbody></tbody>

Description	You type	You get
Copyright symbol	©	©
Greek delta letter symbol	δ	δ
Euro currency symbol	€	€

See the list of all HTML entities on the Wikipedia article List of HTML entities. Additionally, MediaWiki supports two non-standard entity reference sequences: ‏ and ‏ which are both considered equivalent to ‏ which is a right-to-left mark. (Used when combining right to left languages with left to right languages in the same page.)

HTML tags and symbol entities displayed themselves (with and without interpreting them)

&euro; → € Typo to be corrected → Typo to be corrected <span style="color: red; text-decoration: line-through;">Typo to be corrected → Typo to be corrected

Nowiki for HTML

can prohibit (HTML) tags:

• <pre> →

But not & symbol escapes:

• & → &

To print & symbol escapes as text, use "&" to replace the "&" character (eg. type "&nbsp;", which results in " ").