Help:Editing

Editing a BelieveTheSign page is not very hard. Simply click on the "edit this page" tab at the top of a BelieveTheSign page (or on a section-edit link). This will bring you to a new page with a text box containing the editable text of the original page. If you just want to experiment, please do so in the sandbox; not here. You should write a short edit summary in the small field below the edit-box. You may use shorthand to describe your changes, as described in the legend, and when you have finished, press the Show preview button to see how your changes will look. You can also see the difference between the page with your edits and the previous version of the page by pressing the "Show changes" button. If you're satisfied with what you see, be bold and press the Save page button. Your changes will immediately be visible to other BelieveTheSign users.

You can also click on the "Discussion" tab to see the corresponding talk page, which contains comments about the page from other BelieveTheSign users. Click on the "+" tab to add a new section, or edit the page in the same way as an article page.

You should remember to sign your messages on talk pages and some special-purpose project pages, but you should not sign edits you make to regular articles. In page histories, the MediaWiki software keeps track of which user makes each change.

BelieveTheSign is a Wiki, which means that anyone can easily edit any unprotected page and save those changes immediately to that page. After your first edit you are a BelieveTheSign editor! To request a change to a protected page, please leave a message on that article's discussion page.

This Editing Overview has a lot of wikitext examples. You may want to keep this page open in a separate browser window for reference while you edit.

Basic Page Contents

Every page requires certain basic information. That info can be found on - Help:Basic Page Contents

Editing basics

Each page in BelieveTheSign contains an article, and a discussion page (usually called "Talk...")

You can see these above, the article is labelled "project page", the discussion page is the tab to the right of it. These are treated as two separate pages in BelieveTheSign, but are shown side by side on the tab bar, for ease of use.

Whether you are looking at the article or project page, or the discussion page, you will see there is a button marked "edit this page", possibly a button "+", and a button labelled "watch" or "unwatch".

Start editing

To start editing a MediaWiki page, click on the "Edit this page" at the top of the page (or just the "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 [[{{BelieveTheSign:Sandbox|sandbox]], not here.

• Edit this page - this is the key to contributing to BelieveTheSign. When you click this button, you change from viewing an article or discussion about an article, to being able to edit the article, or add comments to the discussion that is going on.

Occasionally, pages that are important are locked, in which case the "edit" will show "view source", and you will not be able to edit the article at that time.

Page editing is simple with BelieveTheSign, and you cannot harm a page if you make a mistake, since all changes can be undone. This is part of MediaWiki's vandal protection system.

• "+" - adds a new section to a page, without changing what is already there.

• Watch/unwatch - adds or removes a page from your watchlist, the list of pages you are tracking. You can view your watchlist with the user option button "my watchlist" at the top right of the screen.

Summarize your changes

You should write a short edit summary in the small field below the edit-box. You may use shorthand to describe your changes, as described in the legend.

Preview before saving

When you have finished, press preview to see how your changes will look -- before you make them permanent. Repeat the edit/preview process until you are satisfied, then click "Save" and your changes will be immediately applied to the article.

Minor edits

An editor can mark an edit as "minor". Minor edits are generally spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearrangement of text. Users may choose to hide minor edits when viewing Recent Changes.

Marking a significant change as a minor edit is considered bad etiquette. If you have accidentally marked an edit as minor, make a dummy edit, verify that the "[ ] This is a minor edit" check-box is unchecked, and explain in the edit summary that the previous edit was not minor.

Wikitext markup -- making your page look the way you want

This is page Help:Wiki markup examples, transcluded in Help:Editing.

• If you want to try out things without danger of doing any harm, you can do so in the BelieveTheSign:Sandbox.
• More information on HTML tags in wikitext

Organizing your writing -- sections, paragraphs, lists and lines

What it looks like	What you type
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 an appropriate 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) 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.
You can break lines without starting 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.
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.	# 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 and nest them or break lines in lists	* You can even do mixed lists *# and nest them *#* or break lines<br>in lists
Definition list 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 indents a line or paragraph. A manual newline starts a new paragraph. This is often 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>
Centered text. Please note the US-English spelling of "center".	<center>Centered text.</center>
A horizontal dividing line: 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.

Links, URLs

More information at Help:Link

Internal links

General notes:

• Enclose the target name in double square brackets -- "[[" and "]]"
• First letter of target name is automatically capitalized
• Spaces are represented as underscores (but don't do underscores yourself)
• Links to nonexistent pages are shown in red -- Help:Starting a new page tells about creating the page.
• When the mouse cursor "hovers" over the link, you see a "hover box" containing... hover over links bellow to see.

What it looks like	What you type
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 alreay 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]]
"blank" pipes hide: 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 The weather in London is 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.	[[The weather in London]] is a page that doesn't exist yet.
Link to yourself Please "sign" comments on talk pages: Your user name: BelieveTheSign Your user name plus timestamp: BelieveTheSign 08:10 Apr 29, 2006 (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:Sg_mrob.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 Categry 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]]

External links

Nupedia, [1]	[http://www.nupedia.com Nupedia], [http://www.nupedia.com]
Email Example, [2]	[mailto:email@example.com Email Example], [mailto:email@example.com]
Or just give the URL: http://www.nupedia.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.

.

Text formatting -- controlling how it looks

What it looks like	What you type
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}}.
A typewriter font, sometimes used for 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 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 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.
Subscript: x2 Superscript: x2 or x² Most browsers have an easier time formatting lines with &sup2; than with <sup>2</sup> 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]]

Just show what I typed

<nowiki> and <pre> tags can tell the server and the browser to display things as you typed them.

Example arrow → italics link	arrow → ''italics'' [[link]]
<nowiki> interpret special characters don't interpret special wiki markup reformat text (removing newlines and multiple spaces) arrow → ''italics'' [[link]]	<nowiki> arrow &rarr; ''italics'' [[link]] </nowiki>
<pre> interpret special characters don't interpret special wiki markup don't reformat text arrow → ''italics'' [[link]]	<nowiki><pre>arrow &rarr; ''italics'' [[link]] </nowiki>
leading space interpret special characters interpret special wiki markup don't reformat text arrow → italics link	arrow &rarr; ''italics'' [[link]]
preformatted text 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; For larger preformatted text passages you can use the <pre>a lot of text</pre> tag. WARNING If you make it wide, you force the whole page to be wide and hence less readable. Never start ordinary lines with spaces. (see also below)	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 arrow → italics link	<tt>arrow &rarr;</tt> <tt>''italics''</tt> <tt>[[link]]</tt>
Show special character codes &rarr;	&amp;rarr;
Comments The text between here and here won't be displayed	The text between '''here''' <!-- comment here --> '''and here''' won't be displayed

Special characters

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: ™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤ ™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤	™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤ ™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤
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	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

Including another page -- transclusion and templates

Changing a transcluded file will change every file that transcludes it.

transclusion Including the contents of another page into the current page. Help:Transclusion Demo	{{: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. Template:H:title	{{H:title|hovertext|This is underlined}}

See also

• Help:Editing tips and tricks
• Help:Editing FAQ
• Help:Automatic conversion of wikitext
• Help:Editing toolbar
• Help:HTML in wikitext
• Protecting pages
• Help:Starting a new page
• Help:Variable

External links

• Special characters in HTML