Help:Editing

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See Gamepedia Help for basic MediaWiki usage!

Editing is the process of changing a wiki page. Any unprotected article on Wowpedia is editable by anyone who has logged in. Before editing, make sure your changes are in line with the Wowpedia's policies and guidelines and provide some constructive addition to the article. If you see information that is clearly incorrect, feel free to correct it by editing the page. Wikis survive only by the contributions of others, and the more edits you make, the more you are helping Wowpedia grow.

The following will give you some basic tools to use when editing pages.

Basic editing

To edit a MediaWiki page, click on the Edit link at the top of the article. This will bring you to a page with a text box containing the wikitext: the editable source code from which the server produces the webpage. For the special codes, see below.

After adding to or changing the wikitext it is useful to press "Preview", which produces the corresponding webpage in your browser but does not make it publicly available yet (not until you press "Save"). Errors in formatting, links, tables, etc., are often much easier to discover from the rendered page than from the raw wikitext.

If you are not satisfied you can make more changes and preview the page as many times as necessary. Then write a short edit summary in the small text field below the edit-box and when finished press "Save". Depending on your browser, pressing the "Enter" key while the edit box is not active (i.e., there is no typing cursor in it) may have the same effect as pressing "Save".

You may find it more convenient to copy and paste the text first into your favorite text editor, edit and spell check it there, and then paste it back into your web browser to preview. This way, you can also keep a local backup copy of the pages you have edited. It also allows you to make changes offline. However, before you submit your changes, please make sure nobody else has edited the page since you saved your local copy by clicking on the History tab. Otherwise you may accidentally revert someone else's edits. If someone has edited it since you copied the page, you'll have to merge their edits into your new version. (You can find their specific edits by using the "diff" feature of the page history.) These issues are handled automatically by the MediaWiki software if you edit the page online, which will warn you if someone has edited the page since you pressed Edit .

Dummy edit

A dummy edit is a change in wikitext that has no effect on the rendered page, such as changing the number of newlines at some position or adding text that is commented out. This allows an edit summary, and is useful for correcting a previous edit summary, or an accidental marking of a previous edit as "minor" (see below). Also it is sometimes needed to refresh the cache of some item in the database. As an example, see the following section of Help:Category.

If the wikitext is not changed, no edit will be recorded and the edit summary is discarded.

Minor edits

When editing a page, a logged-in user has the option of flagging the edit as a "minor edit". This feature is important because users can choose to hide minor edits in their view of the recent changes page, to keep the volume of edits down to a manageable level.

When to use this is a matter of personal preference. The rule of thumb is that an edit of a page that consists of spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearranging of text should be flagged as a "minor edit". A major edit is basically something that makes the entry worth revisiting for somebody who wants to watch the article rather closely. So any "real" change, even if it is a single word, should be flagged as a "major edit".

The wiki markup

In the left column of the table below, you can see what effects are possible. In the right column, you can see how those effects were achieved. In other words, to make text look like it looks in the left column, type it in the format you see in the right column.

You may want to keep this page open in a separate browser window for reference. If you want to try out things without danger of doing any harm, you can do so in the Sandbox.

Sections, paragraphs, lists and lines

To edit this table, go to Help:Editing/Basic.

What it looks like	What you type
Start your sections with header lines: New section Subsection Sub-subsection	== New section == === Subsection === ==== Sub-subsection ====
Newline: A single newline has no effect on the layout. But an empty line starts a new paragraph. (<p> disables this paragraphing until </p> or the end of the section)	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. <br> is sufficient as wikitext code. The XHTML code <br /> is not required; the system produces this code.	You can break lines<br> without starting a new paragraph.
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.	* 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 create mixed lists and nest them like this can I mix definition list as well? yes how? it's easy as a b c	* You can even create mixed lists # and nest them #* like this #; can I mix definition list as well? #: yes #; how? #: it's easy as #:* a #:* b #:* c
You can also break lines inside lists like this	* You can also **break lines<br>inside lists<br>like this
Definition list list of definitions item the item's definition	; Definition list : list of definitions ; item : the item's definition
A colon indents a line or paragraph. A manual newline starts a new paragraph. This is primarily for displayed material, but is also used for discussion on Talk pages.	: A colon indents a line or paragraph. A manual newline starts a new paragraph.
IF a line of plain text starts with a space THEN it will be formatted exactly as typed; in a fixed-width font; lines won't wrap; ENDIF This is useful for: pasting preformatted text algorithm descriptions program source code ASCII art WARNING If you make it wide, you force the whole page to be wide and hence less readable. Never start ordinary lines with spaces.	IF a line of plain text starts with a space THEN it will be formatted exactly as typed; in a fixed-width font; lines won't wrap; ENDIF
Centered text.	<center>Centered text.</center>
A horizontal dividing line: above and below. Useful for a variety of separation needs, mainly within some kind of box, but rarely used within the text of an article.	A horizontal dividing line: above ---- and below.

Keep in mind that a newline anywhere by itself has no effect, but it can end a list or indented item. Remove newlines from lists and indented items to keep the formatting from breaking. See also Don't use line breaks.

Links, URLs

To edit this table, go to Help:Editing/Links.

<td">

[[Travel_Guide#Alliance]] is a link to a section in another article.
[[#Links, URLs]] is a link to a section on the current page.
[[#example]] is a link to an
anchor that was created using
<div id="example">an id attribute
</div>

What it looks like	What you type
Sue is reading the Molten Core article. The first letter of target is automatically capitalized. So typing [[Molten Core]] is the same as typing [[molten Core]]. Internally spaces are automatically represented as underscores (typing an underscore has the same effect as typing a space, but is not recommended). Thus the link above is to http://wowpedia.org/Molten_Core, which is the page with the name "Molten Core".	Sue is reading the [[Molten Core]] article.
Link to a section on a page, e.g. Travel_Guide#Alliance #Links, URLs #example When section editing does not work the link is treated as link to the page, i.e. to the top; this applies for: links to non-existent sections links in redirects interwiki links Section linking: The part after the number sign (#) must match a section heading on the page. Matches must be exact in terms of spelling, case, and punctuation. Links to non-existent sections are not broken; they are treated as links to the top of the page. Identifiers may be created by attaching an id="..." attribute to almost any HTML element. This doesn't work with legacy browsers
Link text and target are different: the naming policy page. This is called a piped link.	Same target, different text: [[Wowpedia:Naming policy\|the naming policy page]]
Endings are blended into the link: potions, pwned	Endings are blended into the link: [[potion]]s, [[pwn]]ed
Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: Go'el. Automatically hide namespace: Village pump. The server automatically fills in the part after the \| when you save the page. Next time you open the edit box you will see the expanded piped link. A preview interprets the abbreviated form correctly but does not expand it yet in the source. Press Save and again Edit and you will see the expanded version. The same applies for the following feature.	Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: [[Druid (lore)\|]]. Automatically hide namespace: [[Wowpedia:Village pump\|]].
Link to a different Wiki. This only works if the wiki has been registered with the Wowpedia server, so not all wikis produce inter-wiki links.	Link to a different [[Wikipedia:Wiki\|]]
When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it. You can do this by adding three tildes for your user name: Rustak or four for user name plus date/time: Rustak 08:10 Oct 5, 2002 (UTC) You can also simply place the date/time manually using five tildes if you have a custom signature.	When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it. You can do this by adding three tildes for your user name: : ~~~ or four for user name plus date/time: : ~~~~ You can also simply place the date/time manually if you have a custom signature. : {{User:Rustak/Signature}} ~~~~~
This page doesn't exist is a page that doesn't exist yet. You can create it by clicking on the link. To create a new page: Create a link to it on some other page. Save or preview that page. Click on the link you just made. The new page will open for editing. Have a look at how to start a page guide and the naming conventions page for your project.	[[DELETE THIS PAGE IF IT EXISTS\|This page doesn't exist]] is a page that doesn't exist yet.
Redirect one article title to another by putting text like this in its first line. The redirect line should be the only* line in the article for a redirect to work.*	#REDIRECT [[Creatures]]
"What links here" and "Related changes" can be linked as: Special:Whatlinkshere/Wowpedia:How to edit a page and Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wowpedia:How to edit a page Most special pages work in this format: The name of the special page followed by the specific page. For example, contributions links are Special:Contributions/Username.	[[Special:Whatlinkshere/ Wowpedia:How to edit a page]] and [[Special:Recentchangeslinked/ Wowpedia:How to edit a page]]
External links: Wikipedia, [1]	External links: [http://www.wikipedia.com Wikipedia], [http://www.wikipedia.com]
Or just give the URL: http://www.wikipedia.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 %5E (to be looked up in ASCII). A blank space can also be converted into an underscore.	Or just give the URL: http://www.wikipedia.com.
To include links to non-image uploads such as sounds, use a "media" link. Sound	[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg\|Sound]]
Link to templates {{tocright}}. This will provide a nicely formatted link to the template instead of adding the template to the page. See the section on templates below.	Link to templates {{t\|tocright}}.

Images

To edit this table, go to Help:Editing/Images.

Appearance	Description and Code
A picture:	Inline picture `A picture: [[Image:INV_Axe_04.png]]`
	Inline picture scaled to 32px wide `[[Image:INV_Axe_04.png\|32px]]`
	Picture with alternate text (which appears when a mouse hovers over the image, when the image is not loaded in a text-only browser, or when spoken aloud). `[[Image:INV_Axe_04.png\| A WoW inventory icon for an axe]]`
Image:Beastmaster1.jpg (or using a caption)	Text link to an image's description page. `[[:Image:Beastmaster1.jpg]] ([[:Image:Beastmaster1.jpg\|or using a caption]])`
Archmage Malin's helpful teleport!	Right-floating thumbnail with caption. `[[Image:Return_to_Jaina_teleport_from_Archmage_Malin.jpg\|thumb\|Archmage Malin's helpful teleport!]]`
Archmage Malin's helpful teleport!	Left-floating thumbnail with caption. `[[Image:Return_to_Jaina_teleport_from_Archmage_Malin.jpg\|thumb\|left\|Archmage Malin's helpful teleport!]]`
A WoW inventory icon for an axe	Full-size image, with a caption, in a right-floating frame. `[[Image:INV_Axe_04.png\|frame\|A WoW inventory icon for an axe]]`
A WoW inventory icon for an axe	Full-size image, with a caption, in a left-floating frame. `[[Image:INV_Axe_04.png\|frame\|left\|A WoW inventory icon for an axe]]`
	Image linking to a custom page instead of the image's description. `[[Image:INV_Axe_04.png\|link=Axe]]`

Character formatting

To edit this table, go to Help:Editing/Characters.

What it looks like	What you type
Emphasize, strongly, very strongly. These are double and triple apostrophes, not double quotes.	''Emphasize'', '''strongly''', '''''very strongly'''''.
You can also write italic and bold if the desired effect is a specific font style rather than emphasis, as in mathematical formulae: F = ma However, the difference between these two methods is not very important for graphical browsers, and many people choose to ignore it.	You can also write <i>italic</i> and <b>bold</b> if the desired effect is a specific font style rather than emphasis, as in mathematical formulas: :<b>F</b> = <i>m</i><b>a</b>
A typewriter font for `technical terms`.	A typewriter font for <code>technical terms</code>.
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 <strike>strike out deleted material</strike> and <u>underline new material</u>.
Umlauts and accents: (See Special characters) è é ê ë ì í 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	è é ê ë ì í 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 &oelig; õ ö ø ù ú û ü ÿ
Punctuation: ¿ ¡ « » § ¶ † ‡ • —	¿ ¡ « » § ¶ &dagger; &Dagger; • —
Commercial symbols: ™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤	™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤
Subscript: x₂ Superscript: x² or x² The latter method of superscript can't be used in the most general context, but is preferred when possible (as with units of measurement) because most browsers have an easier time formatting lines with it. ε₀ = 8.85 × 10⁻¹² C² / J m. 1 hectare = 1 E4 m²	Subscript: x<sub>2</sub> Superscript: x<sup>2</sup> or x² or in projects with the templates sub and sup: Subscript: x{{sub\|2}} Superscript: x{{sup\|2}} ε<sub>0</sub> = 8.85 × 10<sup>−12</sup> C² / J m. 1 hectare = 1 E4 m²
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 &sigmaf; τ υ φ χ ψ ω Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π Σ Φ Ψ Ω
Math characters: ∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞ ≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥ → × · ÷ ∂ ′ ″ ∇ ‰ ° ∴ ℵ ø ∈ ∉ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇ ¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔ → ↔	∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞ ≈ &prop; &equiv; ≠ ≤ ≥ → × · ÷ ∂ ′ ″ ∇ &permil; ° &there4; &alefsym; ø ∈ ∉ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ &sube; &supe; ¬ &and; &or; ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔ → ↔
x² ≥ 0 true. To space things out, use non-breaking spaces - ` `. ` ` also prevents line breaks in the middle of text, this is useful in formulas.	<i>x</i><sup>2</sup>  ≥  0 true.
For comparison for the following examples: arrow → italics link	arrow → ''italics'' link
Use <nowiki> to suppress interpretation of wiki markup, but interpret character references and remove newlines and multiple spaces: arrow → ''italics'' link	<nowiki>arrow → ''italics'' link</nowiki>
Use <pre> to suppress interpretation of wiki markup and keep newlines and multiple spaces, and get typewriter font, but interpret character references: arrow → ''italics'' link	<pre>arrow → ''italics'' link</pre>
Use leading space on each line to keep newlines and multiple spaces, and get typewriter font: arrow → italics link	arrow → ''italics'' link
Use typewriter font: `arrow →` `italics` `link`	<code>arrow →</code> <code>''italics''</code> <code>link</code>
Show character references: →	&rarr;
Commenting page source are not shown in the rendered page. Used to leave comments in a page for future editors.	<!-- comment here -->

HTML Tables

HTML tables can be quite useful as well. For details on how to use them and discussion about when they are appropriate, see Help:Table.

The finer points of editing

Templates

Some part of a page may correspond in the edit box to just a reference to another page, in the form {{name}}, referring to the page "Template:Name" (or if the name starts with a namespace prefix, it refers to the page with that name; if it starts with a colon it refers to the page in the main namespace with that name without the colon). This is called a template. In order to change text generated by a template, you must edit that template. Sometimes a separate edit link is provided for this purpose. Note that a change to a template effects every page that uses that template, so do so with caution.

See Wowpedia:Templates for a list of templates in use in Wowpedia, and Help:Template for helpful pointers on editing existing templates and making your own.

Page protection

In a few cases the link labeled Edit is replaced by the text "Protected page". In that case the page can not be edited.

Position-independent wikitext

Wikitext for which the result does not depend on the position in the wikitext page:

Categories
__NOTOC__, __FORCETOC__, {{DEFAULTSORT:}}, and a few others

Separating edits

When moving or copying a piece of text within a page or from another page, and also making other edits, it is useful to separate these edits. This way the diff function can be usefully applied for checking these other edits.