Help:Wiki markup examples

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

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

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.

  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
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.

: 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]].
Section of page

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:

*[[Help:Link|About Links]]
"blank" pipes hide:

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 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      &rarr;

''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

&Agrave; &Aacute; &Acirc; &Atilde; &Auml; &Aring;
&AElig; &Ccedil; &Egrave; &Eacute; &Ecirc; &Euml;
&Igrave; &Iacute; &Icirc; &Iuml; &Ntilde; &Ograve;
&Oacute; &Ocirc; &Otilde; &Ouml; &Oslash; &Ugrave;
&Uacute; &Ucirc; &Uuml; &szlig; &agrave; &aacute;
&acirc; &atilde; &auml; &aring; &aelig; &ccedil;
&egrave; &eacute; &ecirc; &euml; &igrave; &iacute;
&icirc; &iuml; &ntilde; &ograve; &oacute; &ocirc;
&oelig; &otilde; &ouml; &oslash; &ugrave; &uacute;
&ucirc; &uuml; &yuml;

Punctuation:
¿ ¡ « » § ¶ † ‡ • - – —

¿ ¡ « » § ¶
† ‡ • - – —

¿ ¡ « » § ¶
† ‡ • - – —

&iquest; &iexcl; &laquo; &raquo; &sect; &para;
&dagger; &Dagger; &bull; - &ndash; &mdash;

Commercial symbols:
™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤

™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤
™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤

&trade; &copy; &reg; &cent; &euro; &yen; &pound; &curren;
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

&alpha; &beta; &gamma; &delta; &epsilon; &zeta;
&eta; &theta; &iota; &kappa; &lambda; &mu; &nu;
&xi; &omicron; &pi; &rho;  &sigma; &sigmaf;
&tau; &upsilon; &phi; &chi; &psi; &omega;
&Gamma; &Delta; &Theta; &Lambda; &Xi; &Pi;
&Sigma; &Phi; &Psi; &Omega;

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

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

Problem symbols:

ℵ ∉

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

&int; &sum; &prod; &radic; &minus; &plusmn; &infin;
&asymp; &prop; &equiv; &ne; &le; &ge; 
&times; &middot; &divide; &part; &prime; &Prime;
&nabla; &permil; &deg; &there4; &oslash;
&isin; &cap; &cup; &sub; &sup; &sube; &supe;
&not; &and; &or; &exist; &forall; &rArr; &hArr;
&rarr; &harr; &uarr;

Problem symbols:

ℵ ∉

&notin; &alefsym; 

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}}
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}}