Help:How to edit a page

Start your sections as follows:

New section<h2>

Subsection<h3>

Sub-subsection<h4>

Sub-sub-subsection<h5>

• 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 possible, place subsections in an order that will make sense to future readers/editors.
• 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>.
  • This last is very interesting for our template discussion... nae'blis _(talk) 17:59, 1 Nov 2005 (UTC)

== New section ==

=== Subsection ===

==== Sub-subsection ====

===== Sub-sub-subsection =====

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 function Wikipedia:Help:diff (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 function ''diff'' 
(used internally to compare
different versions of a page).

But an empty line
starts a new paragraph.

You can break lines
without starting a new paragraph.

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

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

• It's easy to create a list:
  • Start every line with a star (Wikipedia:asterisk).
    • More stars means deeper levels.
      • A newline in a list

marks the end of a list item.

• An empty line starts a new list.

* It's easy to create a list:
** Start every line with a star.
*** More stars means deeper levels.
**** A newline in a list
marks the end of a list item.

* An empty line starts a new list.

1. Numbered lists are also good
   1. very organized
   2. easy to follow
   3. easier still

# Numbered lists are also good
## very organized
## easy to follow
### easier still

• You can even create mixed lists
  1. and nest them
     • like this

* You can even create mixed lists
*# and nest them
*#* like this

Definition list 

list of definitions

item 

the item's definition

another item

the other item's definition

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

; Definition list : list of definitions
; item : the item's definition
; another item
: the other item's definition

A colon indents a line or paragraph.

A manual newline starts a new paragraph.

• This is primarily for displayed material, but is also used for discussion on Talk pages.

: 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>

IF a line starts with a space THEN
   it will be formatted exactly
   as typed;
   in a fixed-width font;
   lines will not wrap;
ENDIF

For larger preformatted text passages you can use the <pre>a lot of text</pre> tag.

• This is useful for:
  • pasting preformatted text;
  • algorithm descriptions;
  • program source code;
  • Wikipedia:ASCII art;
  • chemical structures;
• WARNING: If you make it wide, you force the whole page to be wide and hence less readable, especially for people who use lower resolutions. Never start ordinary lines with spaces.

 IF a line starts with a space THEN
    it will be formatted exactly
    as typed;
    in a fixed-width font;
    lines will not wrap;
 ENDIF

• Please note the American spelling of "center."

<center>Centered text.</center>

A Wikipedia:horizontal dividing line: this is above it...

...and this is below it.

• Mainly useful for
  • disambiguation - but to be used sparsely--only when separating completely different, unrelated (groups of) meanings
  • separating threads on Talk pages.

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

London has Wikipedia:public transport.

• A link to another Wikipedia article.
• Internally, the first letter of the target page is automatically capitalized and spaces are represented as underscores (typing an underscore in the link has the same effect as typing a space, but is not recommended).
• Thus the link above is to the Wikipedia:URL en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport, which is the Wikipedia article with the name "Public transport". See also Wikipedia:Canonicalization.

London has [[public transport]].

San Francisco also has public transportation.

• Same target, different name.
• This is a Wikipedia:piped link.
• The "piped" text must be placed first, the text that will be displayed, second.

San Francisco also has
[[public transport|public transportation]].

San Francisco also has Wikipedia:public transportation.

Examples include Wikipedia:buses, Wikipedia:taxis, and Wikipedia:streetcars.

• Endings are blended into the link.
• Preferred style is to use this instead of a piped link, if possible.

San Francisco also has
[[public transport]]ation.

Examples include [[bus]]es, [[taxi]]s,
and [[streetcar]]s.

See the Wikipedia:Manual of Style.

• A link to another namespace.

See the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]].

Wikipedia:Economics#See also is a link to a section within another page.

#Links and URLs is a link to a section on the current page.

#example is a link to an anchor that was created using an id attribute

• The part after the number sign (#) must match a section heading on the page. Matches must be exact in terms of spelling, case, and punctuation. Links to non-existent sections are not broken; they are treated as links to the top of the page.
• Identifiers may be created by attaching an id="..."> attribute to almost any HTML element.

[[Economics#See also]] is a link
to a section within another page.

[[#Links and URLs]] is a link
to a section on the current page.

[[#example]] is a link to an
anchor that was created using
<span id="example">an id attribute</span>

Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: kingdom.

Automatically hide namespace: Village Pump.

Or both: Manual of Style

• The server fills in the part after the pipe character (|) when you save the page. The next time you open the edit box you will see the expanded piped link. When previewing your edits, you will not see the expanded form until you press Save and Edit again. The same applies to links to sections within the same page (see previous entry).

But not: [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]]

• In such a case the server does not fill in the part after the pipe character (|) even when you save the page.

Automatically hide stuff in parentheses:
[[kingdom (biology)|]].

Automatically hide namespace: 
[[Wikipedia:Village Pump|]].

Or both:
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (headings)|]]

But not:
[[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]]

The weather in London is a page that does not exist yet.

• You can create it by clicking on the link (but please do not do so with this particular link).
• To create a new page:
  1. Create a link to it on some other (related) page.
  2. Save that page.
  3. Click on the link you just made. The new page will open for editing.
• For more information, see How to start a page and check out Wikipedia's naming conventions.
• Please do not create a new article without linking to it from at least one other article.

[[The weather in London]] is a page 
that does not exist yet.

Wikipedia:How to edit a page is this page.

• Wikipedia:Self links appear as bold text when the article is viewed.
• Do not use this technique to make the article name bold in the first paragraph; see the Manual of Style.

[[Wikipedia:How to edit a page]] is this page.

When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it by adding three tildes to add your user name:

Ben Brockert

or four to add user name plus date/time:

Ben Brockert 00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)

Five tildes gives the date/time alone:

00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)

• The first two both provide a link to your user page.

When adding a comment to a Talk page,
you should sign it by adding
three tildes to add your user name:
: ~~~
or four for user name plus date/time:
: ~~~~
Five tildes gives the date/time alone:
: ~~~~~

#REDIRECT Wikipedia:United Nations

• Redirect one article title to another by placing a directive like the one shown to the right on the first line of the article (such as at a page titled "UN").

 #REDIRECT [[United Nations]]

NO USE!
#REDIRECT Wikipedia:United Nations#International_Years

• Note that, while it is possible to link to a section, it is not possible to redirect to a section. For example, "#REDIRECT [[United Nations#International_Years]]" will redirect to the Wikipedia:United Nations page, but not to any particular section on it. This feature will not be implemented in the future, so such redirects should not be used.

 NO USE!
 #REDIRECT [[United Nations#International_Years]]

• In the article link to a page on any subject in another language by using a link of the form: [[:language code:Title]].
  • [[:fr:Encyclopedia]] produces a link like this: Wikipedia:fr:Encyclopédie
    
  • [[:fr:Encyclopedia|Read in french!]] produces a link like this: Read in french!
  • Since they may not help many users, use with discretion for e.g.: the same subject or information only available in another language
• On the sidebar link to a page on the same subject in another language by using a link of the form: [[language code:Title]].
  • It does not matter where you put these links while editing as they will always show up in the same place when you save the page, but placement at the end of the edit box is recommended.
  • Only [[fr:Encyclopédie]] adds a french language link to the side menu for the article.
    
  • Only use for the same subject
• Please see Wikipedia:Interlanguage links and the list of languages and codes.

[[:fr:Wikipédia:Aide]]
[[fr:Wikipédia:Aide]]

What links here and Related changes pages can be linked as: Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page and Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page

'''What links here''' and '''Related changes'''
pages can be linked as:
[[Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]
and
[[Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]]

A user's Contributions page can be linked as: Special:Contributions/UserName or Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0

A user's '''Contributions''' page can be linked as:
[[Special:Contributions/UserName]]
or
[[Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0]]

• To put an article in a Wikipedia:Category, place a link like the one to the right anywhere in the article. As with interlanguage links, it does not matter where you put these links while editing as they will always show up in the same place when you save the page, but placement at the end of the edit box is recommended.

[[Category:Character sets]]

• To link to a Wikipedia:Category page without putting the article into the category, use an initial colon (:) in the link.

[[:Category:Character sets]]

Three ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources:

1. Bare URL: http://www.nupedia.com/ (bad style)
2. Unnamed link: [1] (only used within article body for footnotes)
3. Named link: Nupedia

See MetaWikiPedia:Interwiki_map for the list of shortcuts.

• Square brackets indicate an external link. Note the use of a space (not a pipe) to separate the URL from the link text in the "named" version.
• In the URL, all symbols must be among:
  A-Z a-z 0-9 . _ \ / ~ % - + & # ? ! = ( ) @ \x80-\xFF
• URLs must start with the protocol (eg. [http://www.nupedia.com], not [www.nupedia.com])
• If a URL contains a character not in this list, it should be encoded by using a percent sign (%) followed by the hex code of the character, which can be found in the table of ASCII printable characters. For example, the caret character (^) would be encoded in a URL as %5E.
• There is a class that can be used to remove the arrow image from the external link. It is used in Template:Ref to stop the URL from expanding during printing. It should never be used in the main body of an article. However, there is an exception: wikilinks in Image markup. An example of the markup is as follows:
  • Markup: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"> [http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml SEC Filing]</span>
  • Display: SEC Filing
• See Wikipedia:External links for style issues.

Three ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources:
# Bare URL: http://www.nupedia.com/ (bad style)
# Unnamed link: [http://www.nupedia.com/]
      (only used within article body for footnotes)
# Named link: [http://www.nupedia.com Nupedia]

Linking to other wikis:

1. Wikipedia:Interwiki link: Wiktionary:Hello
2. Named interwiki link: Hello
3. Interwiki link without prefix: Hello

• All of these forms lead to the URL http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hello
• Note that interwiki links use the internal link style.
• See MetaWikiPedia:Interwiki_map for the list of shortcuts; if the site you want to link to is not on the list, use an external link (see above).
• See also Wikipedia:How to link to Wikimedia projects.

Linking to another language's wiktionary:

1. Wiktionary:fr:bonjour
2. bonjour
3. fr:bonjour

• All of these forms lead to the URL http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/bonjour

Linking to other wikis:
# [[Interwiki]] link: [[Wiktionary:Hello]]
# Named interwiki link: [[Wiktionary:Hello|Hello]]
# Interwiki link without prefix: [[Wiktionary:Hello|]]

Linking to another language's wiktionary:
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour]]
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|bonjour]]
# [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|]]

ISBN 012345678X

ISBN 0-12-345678-X

• Link to books using their ISBN. This is preferred to linking to a specific online bookstore, because it gives the reader a choice of vendors.
• ISBN links do not need any extra markup, provided you use one of the indicated formats.

ISBN 012345678X

ISBN 0-12-345678-X

Date formats:

1. Wikipedia:July 20, Wikipedia:1969
2. Wikipedia:20 July Wikipedia:1969
3. Wikipedia:1969-Wikipedia:07-20
4. Wikipedia:1969-07-20

• Link dates in one of the above formats, so that everyone can set their own display order. If logged in, you can use Special:Preferences to change your own date display setting.
• All of the above dates will appear as "20 July 1969" if you set your date display preference to "15 January 2001", but as "July 20, 1969" if you set it to "January 15, 2001", or as "1969-07-20" if you set it to "2001-01-15".

Date formats:
# [[July 20]], [[1969]]
# [[20 July]] [[1969]]
# [[1969]]-[[07-20]]
# [[1969-07-20]]

Sound

• To include links to non-image uploads such as sounds, use a "media" link. For images, see next section.

Some uploaded sounds are listed at Wikipedia:Sound.

[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg|Sound]]

A picture: 
[[Image:wiki.png]]

With alternative text:
[[Image:wiki.png|jigsaw globe]]

• Alternative text, used when a mouse hovers over the image, when the image is loaded in a text-only browser, or when spoken aloud, is strongly encouraged. See Alternate text for images for help on choosing it.

Floating to the right side of the page and with a caption:
[[Image:wiki.png|frame|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]

• The frame tag automatically floats the image right.
• The caption is also used as alternate text.
• to cancel a float at a certain text point, see Forcing a break,

Floating to the right side of the page ''without'' a caption:
[[Image:wiki.png|right|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]]

• The help topic on Extended image syntax explains more options.

Image:wiki.png

Linking directly to the description page of an image:
[[:Image:wiki.png]]

• Clicking on an image displayed on a page (such as any of the ones above) also leads to the description page

Image of the jigsaw globe logo

Linking directly to an image without displaying it:
[[media:wiki.png|Image of the jigsaw globe logo]]

• To include links to images shown as links instead of drawn on the page, use a "media" link.

Emphasize, strongly, very strongly.

• These are double, triple, and quintuple apostrophes (single-quote marks), not double-quote marks.

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

sinx + lny

x = 0

Ordinary text should use wiki markup for emphasis, and should not use <i> or <b>. However, mathematical formulas often use italics, and sometimes use bold, for reasons unrelated to emphasis. Complex formulas should use <math> markup, and simple formulas may use <math>; or <i> and <b>; or '' and '''. According to WikiProject Mathematics, wiki markup is preferred over HTML markup like <i> and <b>.

<math>\sin x + \ln y</math>

sin''x'' + ln''y''

<math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math>

'''x''' = 0

A typewriter font for monospace text or for computer code: int main()

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

A typewriter font for <tt>monospace text</tt>
or for computer code: <code>int main()</code>

You can use small text for captions.

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

You can strike out deleted material and underline new material.

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

• When editing regular Wikipedia 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 <s>strike out deleted material</s>
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.

Diacritical marks:
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

• See 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

Punctuation:
¿ ¡ § ¶
† ‡ • – —
‹ › « »
‘ ’ “ ”

¿ ¡ § ¶
† ‡ • – —
‹ › « »
‘ ’ “ ”

Commercial symbols:
™ © ® ¢ € ¥
£ ¤

™ © ® ¢ € ¥ 
£ ¤

Subscripts:
x₁ x₂ x₃ or
x₀ x₁ x₂ x₃ x₄
x₅ x₆ x₇ x₈ x₉

Superscripts:
x¹ x² x³ or
x⁰ x¹ x² x³ x⁴
x⁵ x⁶ x⁷ x⁸ x⁹

• The latter methods of sub/superscripting cannot be used in the most general context, as they rely on Unicode support which may not be present on all users' machines. For the 1-2-3 superscripts, it is nevertheless preferred when possible (as with units of measurement) because most browsers have an easier time formatting lines with it.

ε₀ = 8.85 × 10⁻¹² C² / J m.

1 Wikipedia:hectare = Wikipedia:1 E4 m²

x<sub>1</sub> x<sub>2</sub> x<sub>3</sub> or
<br/>
x&#8320; x&#8321; x&#8322; x&#8323; x&#8324;
<br/>
x&#8325; x&#8326; x&#8327; x&#8328; x&#8329;

x<sup>1</sup> x<sup>2</sup> x<sup>3</sup> or
<br/>
x&#8304; x&sup1; x&sup2; x&sup3; x&#8308;
<br/>
x&#8309; x&#8310; x&#8311; x&#8312; x&#8313;

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

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

Greek characters:
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

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

• See also WikiProject Mathematics.

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

Spacing in simple math formulas:
Obviously, x² ≥ 0 is true.

• To space things out without allowing line breaks to interrupt the formula, use non-breaking spaces: &nbsp;.

Obviously, ''x''² ≥ 0 is true.

Complicated formulas:

• See Wikipedia:Help:Formula for how to use <math>.
• A formula displayed on a line by itself should probably be indented by using the colon (:) character.

: <math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>

Suppressing interpretation of markup:
Link → (''to'') the [[Wikipedia FAQ]]

• Used to show literal data that would otherwise have special meaning.
• Escape all wiki markup, including that which looks like HTML tags.
• Does not escape HTML character references.
• To escape HTML character references such as &rarr; use &amp;rarr;

<nowiki>Link &rarr; (''to'') 
the [[Wikipedia FAQ]]</nowiki>

Commenting page source:
not shown when viewing page

• Used to leave comments in a page for future editors.
• Note that most comments should go on the appropriate Talk page.

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