Help:Advanced editing

Sections and subsections

Start sections with header lines

Note: Single equal signs give the highest level heading, like the page title; usually projects have the convention not to use them.

New section

Subsection

Sub-subsection

• Start with a second-level heading (==); don't use first-level headings (=).
• Don't skip levels (for example, second-level followed by fourth-level).
• A table of contents will automatically be added to an article that has four or more sections.
• If appropriate, place subsections in order. If listing countries, for example, place them in alphabetical order rather than, say, relative to population of OECD countries, or some random order.
• If you want to keep headings out of the TOC you have to use HTML heading tags and close them without using a slash e.g. <h4>heading too low level to be in the TOC of large page<h4>.

== New section ==

=== Subsection ===

==== Sub-subsection ====

Newline

A single newline has no effect on the layout.

But an empty line starts a new paragraph, or ends a list or indented part. (<p> disables this paragraphing until </p> or the end of the section)

(In Cologne Blue, two newlines and a div tag give just one newline; in the order newline, div tag, newline, the result is two newlines.)

A semicolon at the start of a line is not rendered, but has the effect of rendering the newline. A colon in such a line is not rendered, but has the effect of starting a new, indented line, see definition list.

You can make the wikitext more readable by putting in newlines. You might find this causes future problems—see w:Wikipedia:Don't use line breaks for details.

• When used in a list, a newline does affect the layout (See Help:List).

A single
newline
has no
effect on the
layout.

But an empty line
starts a new paragraph.

(The HTML tag <br /> is sufficient. The system produces the XHTML code <br />.)

• Please use this sparingly.
• Close markup between lines; do not start a link or italics or bold on one line and close it on the next.

You can break lines<br />
without starting a new paragraph.

• Unordered Lists are easy to do:
  • start every line with a star,
    • more stars means deeper levels.
• 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 means deeper levels.
* A newline
* in a list  
marks the end of the list.
* Of course,
* you can
* start again.

1. Numbered lists are also good
   1. very organized
   2. easy to follow
2. A newline
3. in a list

marks the end of the list.

1. New numbering starts
2. with 1.

# Numbered lists are also good
## very organized
## easy to follow
# A newline
# in a list  
marks the end of the list.
# New numbering starts
# with 1.

• You can even do mixed lists
  1. and nest them
     • or break lines
       in lists

* You can even do mixed lists
*# and nest them
*#* or break lines<br />in lists

word 

definition of the word

longer phrase

phrase defined

; word : definition of the word
; longer phrase 
: phrase defined

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

Indenting

A colon at the start of a line indents a paragraph.

A manual newline starts a new paragraph.

• This is often used for discussion on talk pages.

In the case of a semicolon and some text in front of the colon, the first colon starts a new line (indented as before) even though it is in the wikitext not at the start of the line, see definition list.

: A colon indents a line or paragraph.
A manual newline starts a new paragraph.

When there is a need for separating a block of text

the blockquote command will indent both margins when needed instead of the left margin only as the colon does.

This is useful for (as the name says) inserting blocks of quoted (and cited) text.

<blockquote>
The '''blockquote''' command will indent 
both margins when needed instead of the 
left margin only as the colon does.
</blockquote>

• Please note the US-English spelling of "center".

<center>Centered text.</center>

this is above it...

...and this is below it.

If you don't use a section header, you don't get a TOC entry.

A horizontal dividing line: 
this is above it...
----
...and this is below it.

Basic

Sue is reading the official position (or Official positions).

Sue is reading the 
[[official position]]
(or [[Official position]]s).

Basic + Text formatting

You can also italicize/etc. links: e.g., Wikipedia.

 ''[[Wikipedia]]'' 

Interwiki linking

A link to the page on another wiki (e.g. the same subject in another language)

• See m:Help:Interwiki linking.
• fr:Wikipédia:Aide.

* See [[m:Help:Interwiki linking]].
* [[:fr:Wikipédia:Aide]].

Section of page

• List of cities by country#Morocco
• List of cities by country#Norway

If the section doesn't exist, the link goes to the top of the page. If there are multiple sections by the same name, link to specific ones by adding how many times that header has already appeared (e.g. if there are 3 sections entitled "Example header," and you wish to link to the third one, then use [[#Example section 3]]. For more info, see Help:Editing FAQ.

* [[List of cities by country#Morocco]]
* [[List of cities by country#Norway]]

Piped link

Use a pipe "|" to create a link label:

• About Links

* [[Help:Link|About Links]]

• Parentheses: kingdom.
• Colon: Requests for adminship.

After you save, the server automatically fills in the link label.

* Parentheses: [[kingdom (biology)|]].
* Colon: [[m:Requests for adminship|]].

Links to nonexistent pages

A red link (like this one) points to a page that doesn't exist yet.

• You can create it by clicking on the link.
• Have a look at how to start a page guide and the naming conventions page for your project.

A red link ([[like this one]]) points to a page
that doesn't exist yet.

Link to yourself

Please "sign" comments on talk pages:

Your user name: Example

Your user name plus timestamp: Example 08:10 Oct 5, 2002 (UTC)

Five tildes give a timestamp: 17:55, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

The server will fill in the link after you save.

Please "sign" comments on talk pages:
: Your user name: ~~~
: Your user name plus timestamp: ~~~~
: Five tildes give a timestamp: ~~~~~

Redirects

One article title to another with this special link.

#REDIRECT [[United States]]

"Magic" links

• ISBN links to books: ISBN 0123456789X (See Help:ISBN links)
• RfC links to Requests for Comments: RFC 123 (See mediawiki:rfcurl)

ISBN 0123456789X
RFC 123

Media links

To include links to non-image uploads such as sounds, use a "media" link.
Sound

[[media:Example.ogg|Sound]]

Category listing links (these appear at page bottom and list the page in the category)

To list a page in a category and have a link to the Category at page bottom.

[[Category:English documentation]]

Category non-listing links (these appear inline without listing the page in the category)

To link to a category without causing the page to be listed in the category, add a colon
Category:English documentation

[[:Category:English documentation]]

Dates

Use links for dates, so everyone can set their own display order. Use Special:Preferences to change your own date display setting.
July 20, 1969 20 July 1969 and 1969-07-20

[[July 20]] [[1969]]
[[20 July]] [[1969]]
and [[1969]]-[[07-20]]

Special pages

"What links here" etc. can be linked as:
Special:Whatlinkshere/Help:Editing

[[Special:Whatlinkshere/Help:Editing]]

Linking to old revisions of pages, diffs, and specific history pages

External link function is used for these as [[page]] will not work.
Open an old revision copy the url and paste it where you want it. http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fotonotes&oldid=482030
Open a diff, copy and paste the url http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fotonotes&diff=493810&oldid=482030
A specific page from edit history. To do this click the either the (older) or (earliest) button at least once and maneuver to the page you want to link to http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Help:Wikitext_examples&dir=prev&offset=20060813153343&limit=100&action=history

http://meta.wikimedia.org
/w/index.php?title=Fotonotes&oldid=482030
http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Fotonotes&diff=493810&oldid=482030
http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Help:Wikitext_examples&dir=prev&offset
=20060813153343&limit=100&action=history

[http://www.nupedia.com Nupedia],
[http://www.nupedia.com]

[2]

[mailto:email@example.com Email Example],
[mailto:email@example.com]

• In the URL all symbols must be among: A-Z a-z 0-9 ._\/~%- &#?!=()@ \x80-\xFF. If a URL contains a different character it should be converted; for example, ^ has to be written ^ (to be looked up in ASCII). A blank space can also be converted into an underscore.

Or just give the URL:
http://www.nupedia.com.

Emphasize (italics), strongly (bold), very strongly (bold italics). (These are double and triple apostrophes, not double quotes.)

Note: this can also be applied to links (e.g., Wikipedia).

''Emphasize'', '''strongly''',
'''''very strongly'''''.

''[[Wikipedia]]''

You can also write italic and bold. This is useful in mathematical formulas where you need specific font styles rather than emphasis.

F = ma

(The difference between these two methods is not very important for graphical browsers, so most people ignore it). But it may make a big difference for the visually impaired ;-)

You can also write <i>italic</i> and <b>bold</b>.
This is useful in mathematical formulas where you 
need specific font styles rather than emphasis.
: <b>F</b> = <i>m</i><b>a</b>

You can also write in small caps. If the wiki has the templates, this can Template:Bsmbe much simpler to writeTemplate:Esm.

You can also write 
<span style="font-variant:small-caps">
in small caps</span>.
If the wiki has the templates, this can 
{{bsm}}be much simpler to write{{esm}}.

technical terms and computer code.

A typewriter font, sometimes used for 
<tt>technical terms</tt> and <code>computer code</code>.

• For semantic reasons, using <code> where applicable is preferable to using <tt>.

You can use <small>small text</small> 
for captions.

and underline new material.

You can also mark deleted material and inserted material using logical markup rather than visual markup.

• When editing regular articles, just make your changes and do not mark them up in any special way.
• When editing your own previous remarks in talk pages, it is sometimes appropriate to mark up deleted or inserted material.

You can <strike>strike out deleted material</strike>
and <u>underline new material</u>.

You can also mark <del>deleted material</del> and
<ins>inserted material</ins> using logical markup
rather than visual markup.

Superscript: x² or x²

Most browsers have an easier time formatting lines with &sup2; than with ²

ε₀ = 8.85 × 10⁻¹² C² / J m.

1 hectare = 1 E4 m²

Subscript: x<sub>2</sub>
Superscript: x<sup>2</sup> or x&sup2;

&epsilon;<sub>0</sub> =
8.85 &times; 10<sup>&minus;12</sup>
C&sup2; / J m.

1 [[hectare]] = [[1 E4 m&sup2]]

regular

• interpret special characters
• interpret special wiki markup
• reformat text (remove single newlines and multiple spaces, perform automatic wrapping)
• a double newline gives a new paragraph

arrow →

italics link

arrow      →

''italics''
[[link]]

<nowiki>

• interpret special characters
• don't interpret special wiki markup
• reformat text
• ignore even a double newline (no new paragraph); hence has to be applied separately for each paragraph

can be applied in-line: arrow → ''italics'' [[link]] normal again

''can be applied in-line:'' <nowiki>
arrow      &rarr;

''italics''
[[link]]
</nowiki>''[[normal]] again''

<pre>

• interpret special characters
• don't interpret special wiki markup
• don't reformat text (no wrapping)
• allows CSS for HTML element pre; the default skin gives a box
• uses a fixed-width font, as specified in the browser settings

arrow      →

''italics''
[[link]]

<pre>arrow      &rarr;

''italics''
[[link]]</pre>

leading space

• interpret special characters
• interpret special wiki markup
• don't reformat text (no wrapping)
• produces HTML element pre, therefore the font and CSS are the same as when using pre; the default skin gives a box
• a blank line ends the element pre; if there are more lines with leading space after that, a new pre element starts (in the default skin: a new box)

arrow      →

italics
link

IF a line of plain text starts with a space
 it will be formatted exactly
   as typed
 in a  font
 in a grey dotted-outline box
 lines won't wrap
ENDIF
this is useful for:
 * pasting preformatted text;
 * algorithm descriptions;
 * program source code
 * ASCII art;
 * chemical structures;

WARNING: If you make it wide, you force the whole page to be wide and hence less readable. Never start ordinary lines with spaces.

 arrow      →

 ''italics''
 [[link]]

 IF a line of plain text starts with a space
  it will be formatted exactly
    as typed
  in a fixed-width font
  in a grey dotted-outline box
  lines won't wrap
 ENDIF
 this is useful for:
  * pasting preformatted text
  * algorithm descriptions
  * program source code
  * ASCII art
  * chemical structures
  * poetry

typewriter font

(does not work beyond the end of a paragraph):

arrow →

italics link

New paragraph.

<tt>arrow      &rarr;</tt>

<tt>''italics''</tt>
<tt>[[link]]

New paragraph.</tt>

Show special character codes

&rarr;

→

Comments

The text between here and here won't be displayed

The text between '''here'''
<!-- comment here -->
'''and here''' won't be displayed

Umlauts and accents: (See Help:Special characters)
À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù Ú Û Ü ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ñ ò ó ô œ õ ö ø ù ú û ü ÿ

À Á Â Ã Ä Å
Æ Ç È É Ê Ë
Ì Í Î Ï Ñ Ò
Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù
Ú Û Ü ß à á
â ã ä å æ ç
è é ê ë ì í
î ï ñ ò ó ô
œ õ ö ø ù ú
û ü ÿ

À Á Â Ã Ä Å
Æ Ç È É Ê Ë
Ì Í Î Ï Ñ Ò
Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù
Ú Û Ü ß à á
â ã ä å æ ç
è é ê ë ì í
î ï ñ ò ó ô
œ õ ö ø ù ú
û ü ÿ

À Á Â Ã Ä Å
Æ Ç È É Ê Ë
Ì Í Î Ï Ñ Ò
Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù
Ú Û Ü ß à á
â ã ä å æ ç
è é ê ë ì í
î ï ñ ò ó ô
œ õ ö ø ù ú
û ü ÿ

Punctuation:
¿ ¡ « » § ¶ † ‡ • - – —

¿ ¡ « » § ¶
† ‡ • - – —

¿ ¡ « » § ¶
† ‡ • - – —

¿ ¡ « » § ¶
† ‡ • - – —

Commercial symbols:
™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤

™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤

™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤

α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ ς τ υ φ χ ψ ω Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π Σ Φ Ψ Ω

α β γ δ ε ζ
η θ ι κ λ μ ν
ξ ο π ρ σ ς
τ υ φ χ ψ ω
Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π
Σ Φ Ψ Ω

α β γ δ ε ζ
η θ ι κ λ μ ν
ξ ο π ρ σ ς
τ υ φ χ ψ ω
Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π
Σ Φ Ψ Ω

α β γ δ ε ζ
η θ ι κ λ μ ν
ξ ο π ρ σ ς
τ υ φ χ ψ ω
Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π
Σ Φ Ψ Ω

Math characters:
∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞ ≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥ × · ÷ ∂ ′ ″ ∇ ‰ ° ∴ ø ∈ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇ ¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔ → ↔ ↑

∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞
≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥
× · ÷ ∂ ′ ″
∇ ‰ ° ∴ ø
∈ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇
¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔
→ ↔ ↑

Problem symbols:

ℵ ∉

ℵ ∉

∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞
≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥
× · ÷ ∂ ′ ″
∇ ‰ ° ∴ ø
∈ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇
¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔
→ ↔ ↑

∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞
≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥ 
× · ÷ ∂ ′ ″
∇ ‰ ° ∴ ø
∈ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇
¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔
→ ↔ ↑

Problem symbols:

ℵ ∉

ℵ ∉

Transclusion

Including the contents of another page into the current page.

{{:Help:Transclusion Demo}}

Template

A special kind of page designed for transclusion. These pages are found in the Template: namespace Templates can even take parameters. When you edit a page, all the templates used on the page are listed below the edit box.

{{H:title|hovertext|This is underlined}}