Help:Wiki markup examples

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

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

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

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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.
Two colons further indents the paragraph.
Three colons indents further.

A manual newline starts a new paragraph.

: A colon indents a line or paragraph.
::Two colons further indents the paragraph.
:::Three colons indents further.
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 top}}Centered text.{{center bottom}}
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

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More information at Help:Link

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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...
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)

*For more info 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#Sealand]].

Piped link

Use a pipe "|" to create a link label:

*[[Help:Link|About Links]]
*[[List of cities by country#Morocco|
Cities in Morocco]]
"blank" pipes hide:

After you save, the server automatically fills in the link label.

*In parentheses: [[kingdom (biology)|]]. 
*Namespace: [[Meta: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

You should "sign" your comments on talk pages:

Your user name: Karl Wick
Or your user name plus date/time: Karl Wick 08:10 Oct 5, 2002 (UTC)
Five tildes gives the date/time alone: 08:10 Oct 5, 2002 (UTC)

The server will fill in the link after you save.

You should "sign" your comments on talk pages:
: Your user name: ~~~
: Or your user name plus date/time: ~~~~
: Five tildes gives the date/time alone: ~~~~~
Redirects

one article title to another with this special link.

#REDIRECT [[United States]]
Media links

To include links to non-image uploads such as sounds, use a "media" link.
Sound


[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg|Sound]]
Links to Categories

To include links to a Category page.
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]]
will all appear as 20 July-1969 if you set your date display preference to 1 January 2001.
Special pages

"What links here" and "Recent changes" can be linked as:
Special:Whatlinkshere/Help:Wiki markup examples and Special:Recentchangeslinked/Help:Wiki markup examples

[[Special:Whatlinkshere/
Help:Editing]] and
[[Special:Recentchangeslinked/
Help:Editing]]
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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.

Images, video, and sounds

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See also Help:Media for detailed help with uploading and using media files.

What it looks like What you type
In-line picture
 
Wikiversity logo
  • Web browsers render alternative text when not displaying an image -- for example, when the image isn't loaded, or in a text-only browser, or when spoken aloud. See Alternative text for images for help on choosing alternative text.
A picture:
[[File:Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg|thumb]]

or, with alternative text (strongly encouraged)

[[File:Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg|thumb|Wikiversity logo]]
Other ways of linking to pictures
  • The Image page: File:Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg (note the initial colon in the markup text, on the right)
  • A link to the image page as a piped link: Wikiversity logo
  • Clicking on an image displayed on a page (such as any of the ones above) also leads to the description page
  • You can also use the "media" link: Wikiversity logo
* [[:File::Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg]]
* [[:File:Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg|Wikiversity logo]]
* [[media:Wikiversity-logo-Snorky.svg|Wikiversity logo]]
Other Media - Video and Sounds
  • Use an "Image" link: Example 1 (even though it is a sound file, it will be added to the "Image" namespace)
  • Use the "audio" template:   Example 2 
* [[:Image:My Masterpiece 2 - GarageBand example.ogg|Example 1]]
* {{audio|My Masterpiece 2 - GarageBand example.ogg|Example 2}}

Text formatting -- controlling how it looks

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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 
<kbd>technical terms</kbd> 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 <s>strike out deleted material</s>
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]]

Spacing things out -- spaces and tables

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Using non-breaking spaces

x2    ≥    0 true.

<i>x</i><sup>2</sup>&nbsp;
&nbsp;&ge;
&nbsp;&nbsp;0 true.
Using Wikitext piped tables
x2 ≥0 true.
a b

See templates Template:hs1, Template:hs, and Template:vs for more examples

{||-
|<i>x</i><sup>2</sup> 
| width=20px | || width=20px | ≥0 || true.
|-
| a || || b
|}

See Help:Table for more information

Just show what I typed

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<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;
typewriter font

arrow →

italics link

<kbd>arrow      &rarr;</kbd>

<kbd>''italics''</kbd>
<kbd>[[link]]</kbd>
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

Complicated mathematical formulae

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<math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>

Special characters

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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

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

transclusion
Including the contents of another page into the current page.
Does this really work?
{{: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.

This is underlined
{{H:title|hovertext|This is underlined}}