Editing basics
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Start editing
[edit section]This section concerns itself with editing only. Please click here if you would like to find out how to create a new article.
To start editing an article, click the 'Edit' link. This brings you to the edit page: a page with a text box containing the 'wikitext'. The wikitext consists of the article text plus formatting characters ('markup') to indicate section headings, subheadings, plain paragraphs, lists, links, etc. For example, putting an equals sign at the beginning and the end of a line makes it into a heading. Two equals signs makes it a sub-heading, three a sub-sub-heading, and so on. You can just type plain text if you want, but using basic wiki formatting adds to the value of your contribution by making it easier for people to read the article.
Basic formatting markup is described below. If you want to experiment with editing, go to the sandbox which is an article that you can make any changes to without the risk of deleting anything important. If you are creating a new article, remember to choose one or more categories for it (see How do I add a new article?).
Preview before saving
[edit section]When you have finished, click 'Show 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 page' and your changes will be immediately applied to the article.
Basic wiki markup
[edit section]Paragraphs
[edit section]Always leave a blank line between paragraphs, headings, etc. Otherwise they will be put on the same line.
Section headings
[edit section]Put two equals signs either side of the heading text for a main section heading. Use three equals signs for a subsection heading and four for a sub-sub section. For example, the headings for the section and subsection you are currently reading are marked up as follows:
==Basic wiki markup== ===Section headings===
Lists
[edit section]Bulleted lists
[edit section]Put an asterisk before each list item. For example, the following markup:
*list item 1 *list item 2 *list item 3
will result in the following list:
- list item 1
- list item 2
- list item 3
For sub-lists, use two asterisks, three asterisks and so on.
Numbered lists
[edit section]Put a hash sign (#) before each list item. For example, the following markup:
#list item 1 #list item 2 #list item 3
will result in the following list:
- list item 1
- list item 2
- list item 3
For sub-lists, use two hashes, three hashes and so on.
Visual formatting
[edit section]Italics
[edit section]Put 2 apostrophes either side of a word or phrase. For example, ''this is italics'' will be displayed as this is italics.
Bold text
[edit section]Put 3 apostrophes either side of a word or phrase. For example, '''this is bold''' will be displayed as this is bold.
Links
[edit section]To create a link to another article, put 2 square brackets either side of a word or phrase. For example, typing [[Planning a garden]] will insert a link to the article Planning a garden. If you want to use something other than the name of the article for the link text, put both the article name and the link text within the square brackets, separated by a vertical bar. For example, [[Welcome to Vipipedia | Home page]] will give you the link Home page, where the link text is Home Page and the article it points to is Welcome to Vipipedia.
If you create a link to an article which doesn't yet exist, it will appear in red and anyone who follows that link will be taken to the editor where they can create the article.
To link to an individual section of an article, use the article title followed by the section title separated by a hash sign (#). So [[Planning a garden#Water features in the Garden | Water features]] gives you the following link: Water features.
For external links, use single square brackets to surround the web address and the link text. For example, [http://www.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia] gives you the link Wikipedia.
More information
[edit section]For more extensive and detailed information covering all the editing commands and content types, see Wikimedia Editing Help.
