View source for Wiki143:FAQ/Editing

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 |shorttitle = Editing
 |title = Editing FAQ
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This FAQ answers the most common questions about editing Wikipedia. Editing most Wikipedia pages is easy. Wikipedia uses two methods of editing: the new [[Wikipedia:VisualEditor|VisualEditor]] (VE), and classic editing through [[Help:Wiki markup|wiki markup]] (wikitext). The explanations on this page deal with wikitext editing (the method most used). For instructions on using VisualEditor see the [[Wikipedia:VisualEditor/User guide|VisualEditor user guide]].
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==<span id="HOWTOEDIT"></span>How do I edit a page?==
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: To edit the whole page, click the "edit" tab at the top. To edit just one section, click the "edit" link to the right of the section heading.

== Is there a way to edit without having to deal with wikicode? ==
:[[Wikipedia:VisualEditor|VisualEditor]] (VE) is a way to edit pages without needing to learn wikitext markup. For instructions on using VisualEditor, see [[Help:VisualEditor]].

==<span id="BROWSER"></span>I have problems editing with my browser!==
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: See [[Wikipedia:Browser notes]].

== {{anchor|LINK}} How do I make links? ==
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:Double square brackets: <nowiki>[[page name]]</nowiki>. If you wish to link to a page while displaying text different from the page name, use <nowiki>[[page name|text]]</nowiki>.

:To add a link, find an article that supports both the immediate context and main topic. The spelling of the page name can come from visiting the target and copying its title, from the [[WP:Search|search box]] name-completion.

:Markup the link, and then you may activate a [[Help:Show preview|preview]] to test the new link. A missing link will be [[impssble-pagename|red]]. Finally, follow a new link to [[WP:TESTLINK|prove its intent]].

==<span id="NEWLINE"></span>How do I insert a new line?==
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: When editing in the visual mode, pressing the Enter key will start a new paragraph. To force a single new line in this mode, press Ctrl-Enter (or Command-Enter on Mac).

: When editing in "Edit source" mode, pressing the Enter key '''twice''' will start a new paragraph. To force a single new line, insert the [[HTML element]] <code><nowiki><br /></nowiki></code> after the line. To insert a poem, put the text of the poem into the <code><nowiki><poem></nowiki></code> tag.

==<span id="RENAME"></span>How do I rename a page?==
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: [[WP:AUTOCONFIRMED|Autoconfirmed]] users can [[Help:Moving a page|move a page]]; this moves the page content and edit history to a new title, and creates a [[Wikipedia:Redirect|redirect]] page at the old title. Use the "Move this page" tab at the top of the article to perform a move or rename. Once you have moved a page, click the "What links here" link in the "toolbox" in the right column and fix the links to the old page (which will be labelled as a redirect in the "What links here" list).

: Images and other media files can only be renamed by [[WP:Administrators|administrators]] and [[WP:File mover|file movers]].

==<span id="DEL"></span>How do I delete a page?==
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: The procedure for deletions is explained at [[Wikipedia:Deletion policy]]. Articles that should be deleted are most commonly nominated at [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion]].

==<span id="REDIRECT"></span>How do I edit a redirect page?==
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: The easiest way to edit the redirected page is to click on the link you see at the top of the page after being redirected: "redirected from ...". For example, if you try to go to the [[William Jefferson Clinton]] page, you are redirected to the [[Bill Clinton]] page. At the very top of that page, you will see a message: "(redirected from [[William Jefferson Clinton]])", Click on the [[William Jefferson Clinton]] link, and you can edit the redirect page.

==<span id="SUBTITLE"></span>How do I edit mobile subtitles?==
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:The mobile version often displays a "subtitle" or "subheading" below the page name and in search results. These pages have a "{{tl|short description}}", and works like this: <nowiki>{{short description|subtitle}}</nowiki>. See [[Wikipedia:Short description]].

==<span id="LONG"></span> How long should the ideal article be? ==
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: See [[Wikipedia:Article size]].

==<span id="SIZE"></span>How do I figure out how big an article is?==
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:On the right of the page, under "Tools", click "Page information" and you can see the byte size of a page.

==<span id="TOOLONG"></span> What do I do when an article is too long? ==
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: See [[Wikipedia:Summary style]].

==<span id="HIST"></span>How do I determine who made what changes to an article?==
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:Click the View History tab to see the revision history of a page. See [[Help:Page history]].

==<span id="IMAGE"></span>How can I add pictures to pages?==
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:First, you need the right to publish the picture under the [[GNU Free Documentation License]], an acceptable [[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/All#Creative Commons|Creative Commons]] license or another [[free license]]. This means that either you created the picture and therefore own the copyright, or it is in the public domain. If you have a registered account that is four days old with at least ten edits, you can use [[Wikipedia:File upload wizard]] to upload the image to Wikipedia, including it in wiki pages by including its file name, the thumbnail option, and a caption: <code><nowiki>[[File:NameOfImage.png|thumb|A descriptive caption]]</nowiki></code>.

==<span id="DELIMAGE"></span>How can I delete uploaded items?==
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: Only [[Wikipedia:Administrators]] can delete uploads, but anyone can upload a new item with the same name, thereby replacing the old one.

: If you want to nominate an uploaded image for deletion, see [[Wikipedia:Files for discussion]].

==<span id="IMAGEDESC"></span>How do I describe images?==
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: Click on the image to get the description page. Also, when you upload the file everything you put in the upload summary is placed into the [[image description page]]. See [[:File:Boat.jpg]] for an example of what goes onto one of these pages.

==<span id="TOOLS"></span>Are there any tools to make editing easier/faster?==
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: See [[Wikipedia:Tools]] for a list of such tools.

==<span id="CITE"></span>How do I cite sources? ==
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:See [[Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners]].

==<span id="COUNTER"></span>Is there any way to see how many people have viewed a particular page?==
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:On the right of the page, under "Tools", click "Page information", and you can see how many people have viewed the page in the past 30 days.

==<span id="REFTAGERR"></span>Why does part of an article not appear, although it's there in the edit screen?==
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:This is normally due to a mistake in the [[WP:REF|markup for citing sources]]; look for a [[HTML]] tag without a matching tag ('closing tag'), and add that closing tag in the appropriate place on the page. For more information, see [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]].

==Where can I find information on the markup used in editing, eg <nowiki><br /> and <noinclude></nowiki>?==
:See [[Wikipedia:Markup#Wiki_markup|Wiki markup]] and [[Help:HTML in wikitext]].

==Why have I been blocked?==
:Your edits were deemed disruptive by an administrator, or it may be due to an automatic block by the software, see [[Wikipedia:Autoblock]]. If you want to appeal your block, then put the text <nowiki>{{unblock|''reason''}}</nowiki> tag on [[Special:Mytalk|your talk page]], putting the reason you think you have been wrongly blocked in for ''reason''. An administrator will come and take a look, and decline or accept your request.

==How can I insert a new section in an article?==

: There is no automated way to create a new section within an article. Simply write the section heading as a short paragraph and apply appropriate formatting.

: When editing in the visual mode, write the section name and use the "Paragraph" button in the toolbar to select the heading or sub-heading style you want to apply to it.

: When editing in "Edit source" mode, place <code>=</code> signs around the heading's text, for example:
:<nowiki>==Main heading==</nowiki><br />
:<nowiki>===Sub-heading===</nowiki><br />
:<nowiki>==New main heading==</nowiki><br />

: See [[Help:Section]] for more details.

==Where can I find the quotation templates?==
:The big, blue quotation mark templates are {{tl|Cquote}} and {{tl|Rquote}}. Also see [[:Category:Quotation templates|Category:Quotation templates]]. 
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