Help:Editing

This is a condensed version of a much more comprehensive page in the Media Wiki User's guide.

Editing basics

Start editing

To start editing a Wiki page, click on the "Edit this page" (or just "edit") link at one of its edges. This will bring you to the edit page: a page with a text box containing the wikitext: the editable source code from which the server produces the webpage.

If you just want to experiment, please do so in the sandbox page, not here.

Preview before saving

When you have finished, press Show preview to see how your changes will look. Repeat the edit/preview process until you are satisfied, then click Save and your changes will be immediately applied to the article and accessible on the Web..

Basic text formatting

Here are some examples of the markup of Wikitext. It is not the same as HTML markup, however some HTML markup will work. Javascript won't.

What it looks like	What you type
You can emphasize text by putting two apostrophes on each side. Three apostrophes will emphasize it strongly. Five apostrophes is even stronger.	You can ''emphasize text'' by putting two apostrophes on each side. Three apostrophes will emphasize it '''strongly'''. Five apostrophes is '''''even stronger'''''.
A single newline has no effect on the layout. But an empty line starts a new paragraph.	A single newline has no effect on the layout. But an empty line starts a new paragraph.
You can break lines without starting a new paragraph.	You can break lines<br> without starting a new paragraph.<br>
You can format text in a monospace font with a dashed box around it either by marking it with the HTML <pre> tag, or by putting a blank space at the beginning of a line. Example. (This may not be very useful beyond the types of examples we show here, but it is a frequent source of confusion, when you find your text marked up this way by accident)	You can format text in a monospace font with a dashed box around it either by marking it with the HTML <pre> tag, or by putting a blank space at the beginning of a line. Example. (This may not be very useful beyond the types of examples we show here, but it is a frequent source of confusion, when you find your text marked up this way by accident)
Other special characters at the beginning of a line include: bulleted list numbered list term and definition	Other special characters at the beginning of a line include: * bulleted list # numbered list ; term : and definition
You should "sign" your comments on discussion pages: Three tildes gives your user name - Boris Steipe Four tildes: user name plus date/time - Boris Steipe 21:06, 11 December 2005 (EST) Five tildes: date/time alone - 21:06, 11 December 2005 (EST)	You should "sign" your comments on discusion pages: : Three tildes gives your user name - ~~~ : Four tildes: user name plus date/time - ~~~~ : Five tildes: date/time alone - ~~~~~
Use normal HTML character codes for special characters, or use Unicode. For example: > < & ° Å Ä ü →	Use normal HTML character codes for special characters, or use Unicode. For example: &gt; &lt; &amp; &deg; &Aring; &Auml; &uuml; &rarr;
You can use HTML tags, too, if you want. Some useful ways to use HTML: Put text in a typewriter font. The same font is generally used for computer code. Strike out or underline text, or write it in small caps. Superscripts and subscripts: x2, x2 Invisible comments that only appear while editing the page.	You can use <b>HTML tags</b>, too, if you want. Some useful ways to use HTML: Put text in a <tt>typewriter font</tt>. The same font is generally used for <code>computer code</code>. <strike>Strike out</strike> or <u>underline</u> text, or write it <span style="font-variant:small-caps"> in small caps</span>. Superscripts and subscripts: x<sup>2</sup>, x<sub>2</sub> Invisible comments that only appear while editing the page. <!-- Note to editors: blah blah blah. -->

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 to keep the pages consistently editable for all.

Links

You will often want to make clickable links to other pages.

What it looks like	What you type
Here's a link to a page named Sandbox. You can even say Sandboxes and the link will show up right. You can put formatting around a link. Example: Sandbox.	Here's a link to a page named [[Sandbox]]. You can even say [[Sandbox]]es and the link will show up right. You can put formatting around a link. Example: ''[[Sandbox]]''.
You can link an arbitrary piece of text with a piped link. Put the link target first, then the pipe character "|", then the link text - as in this example.	You can link an arbitrary piece of text with a ''piped link''. Put the link target first, then the pipe character "|", then the link text - as in [[Sandbox| this example]].
You can make an external link to a Web page just by typing an URL, e.g. http://www.cbio.ca Or you can link arbitrary text: CBIO. (Note: No "|", URL and text are separated by a blank, and only single square brackets!) Or you can generate a footnote-like link: [1].	You can make an external link to a Web page just by typing an URL, e.g. http://www.cbio.ca Or you can link arbitrary text: [http://www.cbio.ca CBIO]. (Note: No "|", URL and text are separated by a blank, and only single square brackets!) Or you can generate a footnote-like link: [http://www.cbio.ca].

Creating a new page

To create a new page simply insert a link to a Wiki page that does not exist yet. The link will appear in red, the new page will be created when you click on it.

Creating a new section or subsection on a page

To create a section or subsection, simply insert a section header into an existing section. Header levels are defined by the number of "=" characters before and after the header text. Click on an edit link of this page to see example code.

Inserting a stub template

Sometimes you may want a page (or a section within a page) to exist but to leave writing it to someone else or you may want to return to the task at a later time. Simply create the page or section and mark it as a stub by inserting a stub template.

{{stub}}

This is useful, because stub pages can be accessed through the Stub Category on the Categories page, this makes it easy to keep track of sections of the Wiki that need more attention.

Edit conflicts

If someone else makes an edit while you are making yours, the result is an edit conflict. Many conflicts can be automatically resolved by the Wiki. If it can't be resolved, however, you will need to resolve it yourself. The Wiki gives you two text boxes, where the top one is the other person's edit and the bottom one is your edit. Merge your edits into the top edit box, which is the only one that will be saved.

Reverting pages to a previous state

Sometimes a page needs to be reverted to a previous state. Access the page throug the Special pages menu to the left, where you can click on Special:Recentchanges. Find the page you need to revert, click on the hist link, click on the version you need and verify that it is the correct one. Then click on the edit tab at the top and Save page. A new version of the page is then created with the old text. Note that this does not actually overwrite anything - all edits are stored in the database.