Editing the wiki

Editing the wiki

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You can format your text by using wiki markup. This consists of normal characters like asterisks, apostrophes or equal signs which have a special function in the wiki, sometimes depending on their position. For example, to format a word in italic, you include it in two pairs of apostrophes like ''this''.

Links

Description	You type	You get
Internal link	[[Main Page]] [[Help:Contents]] [[Extension:DynamicPageList (Wikimedia)]]	Main Page
Piped link	[[Help:Editing pages|editing help]] [[Help:Editing pages#Preview|previewing]]	editing help previewing
Pipe trick	[[Manual:Extensions|]] [[User:John Doe|]] [[Extension:DynamicPageList (Wikimedia)|]] [[Extension:DynamicPageList (third-party)|]] The pipe trick involves less typing for editors, but is potentially confusing to readers, as seen in these DynamicPageList examples.	Extensions John Doe DynamicPageList DynamicPageList
Word-ending links	[[Help]]s [[Help]]ing [[Help]]ers [[Help]]almostanylettersyoulikehere [[Help]]BUTnotalways Follows so-called "linktrail rules" Template:Ll per Template:Ll.	Helps Helping Helpers Helpalmostanylettersyoulikehere HelpBUTnotalways
Avoiding word-ending links	[[Help]]<nowiki />ful advice [[wikipedia:GNU General Public License|GPL]]<nowiki />v3	Helpful advice GPLv3
Redirect	#REDIRECT [[Main Page]] Should be the first and only line on the page.	File:Redirect arrow without text (cropped).svg Main Page
Link to an anchor on the same page	[[#See also]] Anchors are provided automatically on section headings and to the top of the page.	#See also
Piped link to an anchor on the same page	[[#See also|different text]]	different text
Setting an anchor for incoming links	<div id="Unique anchor name 1">optional text</div> <span id="Unique anchor name 2">optional text</span> Rendered block-level and inline, respectively. Doing this would allow for [[#Unique anchor name 1]] on the same page or [[Editing the wiki#Unique anchor name 1]] on a different page. Omit the "optional text" for an invisible anchor.	optional text optional text
Setting an anchor in a section heading	==<span id="Alternate Section Title"></span>Section heading== Note the placement. This must be a "span" tag, not a "div". (Such anchors allow sections to be retitled without breaking incoming links.)	Section heading
Link to an anchor at another page	[[Help:Images#Supported media types for images]]	Help:Images#Supported media types for images
Link to the current page's talk page	[[{{TALKPAGENAME}}|Discussion]]	Discussion
Link to a subpage	[[/example]] Shortcut for [[Help:Links/example|/example]].	/example
Link to a subpage without the leading slash	[[/example/]] Shortcut for [[Help:Links/example|example]].	example
Visible link to a category page	[[:Category:Help]] Without the leading colon the link would not be visible and the page would instead be placed into the category; this is a very common mistake.	Category:Help
Visible link to an image or media file	[[:File:example.jpg]] [[:File:example.jpg|this example]] [[media:example.jpg]] Without the leading colon on the "File:" examples, the images would actually be displayed. See also Help:Images. Note that using the "media:" prefix links directly to the uploaded file.	this example
Link to a page specific to each reader (user page, etc.)	[[Special:MyPage]] [[Special:MyTalk]] [[Special:Preferences]]	Special:MyPage Special:MyTalk Special:Preferences
Internal link to a specific revision	[[Special:PermanentLink/2393992]] Revision numbers can be found in each page's Template:Ll. (It is very common to see links to specific revisions implemented as external links because it's easy to cut-and-paste an entire URL to form an external link.)	Special:PermanentLink/2393992
Internal link to a "diff"	[[Special:Diff/2393992]] [[Special:Diff/2390639/2393992]] The default (in the first example above) is to show the changes from the previous revision. See also the comments in the previous item.	Special:Diff/2393992 Special:Diff/2390639/2393992

Text formatting markup

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 ======	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 2Template:Anchor
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 <br />.

HTML tags

Some HTML tags are allowed in MediaWiki, for example <code>, <div>, <span> and <font>. These apply anywhere you insert them.

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
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:

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 —.

---

Hover over any character to find out the symbol that it produces. Some symbols not available in the current font will appear as empty squares.

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	‍	‌

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: &רלמ; and &رلم; 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)

€  → €

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

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

Nowiki for HTML

<nowiki /> can prohibit (HTML) tags:

• <<nowiki />pre>  → <pre>

But not & symbol escapes:

• &<nowiki />amp;  → &

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