Help:Editing

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It's easy to start editing on WikiFur! Here are some quick tips (see also the cheatsheet):

  • To experiment with editing, go to the sandbox. Open that in another window so you can still see this!
  • You can edit any page by clicking edit this page at the top - do this if you think it could do with more information, or if there's an error in the page. You can also see how the wiki features work by editing existing pages - just make sure you don't save without meaning to!
  • Anywhere you see a red link, you can create a new page. You can also just put it in the search box at the left and press Go (not Search) or type the name of a page into the URL box after the /index.php/ or /wiki/ bit, or create a link to that page in the sandbox and then click it. Why not start with a wanted page or stub?
  • To link to a page (even if it doesn't exist yet), write it like this: [[article name]]. It is case-sensitive except for the first letter.
  • You can link with different text like this: [[article name|text to display]]
  • To link to a Wikipedia article, write it like this: [[Wikipedia:article name|Text to display]]
  • To link to a page on another site, write it like this: [http://whatever.com/page.htm Description]. Note:
    • Only one pair of brackets, not two.
    • Space between URL and description, not | character.
    • You can't insert images with this - you have to upload them, as described below.
  • To redirect one page to another (useful for different spelling or capitalization), write this: #REDIRECT [[Other Page]]. Redirects to a page that is also a redirect will not work correctly.
  • To revert a page to a previous version click on the page's History tab, click a date and time prior to the edit you want to remove, click Edit, then save. You might want to do this after vandalism, or if you make a change and don't like it.
  • Write plurals like this unless the article title is plural: [[Agent]]s.
  • Italics can be done with two single quotes, ''like this''; bold with three, '''like this'''
  • Numbered lists can be created by putting one or more # at the start of each line, with no spaces before
  • Unnumbered lists, like this one, have one or more * at the start of each line
  • To indent text, place one or more : at the start of each line
  • A space at the start of each line will stop the text from wrapping - you can also use the <pre> tag
  • More complicated formatting is possible with the <div>, <span> and <font> HTML tags, which work here
  • You can make headers like this: == Header text == - add a = mark on each side for increasing depth of headers
  • You can use images as well, but you need to log in and upload the file first. Add an image with [[Image:imagename.png|left or right or none|frame or thumb (if you want a frame or thumbnail - if not, leave this out)|Description]]. Examples:
    • [[File:Wiki.png|left|frame|This is the [[WikiFur]] logo!]]
    • [[File:Testimage.png|right|This text only shows up when you hover over the image]]
    • [[File:Yourimage.jpg|right|220px|This is will be sized to 220px in width]]
    • [[File:Myimage.jpg|right|thumb|100px|This is 100px wide and has a frame with this text]]
    • [[File:Smallthumb.jpg|link=File:Largeimage.jpg|right|Custom thumbnail linking to a different file to improve layout or due to incorrect auto-resizing]]
  • To put a page (or another category) into a category, write this at the end: [[Category:Whatever]]
    • If you do this to a page with a title like Category:Something, it makes that page a subcategory of the category you wrote.
    • To link to a category page, use [[:Category:Whatever|Whatever category]].
    • Put an article into the most specific category level, and don't duplicate it in higher category levels. For instance, an article on a fur that is known to be in California should be in Category:California, but not in the higher level Category:United States of America as well.
      • There is an exception to this - all articles about people should be added to Category:People.
    • To make a list including members of particular categories or subcategories, use CategoryTree (simpler; has a special page) or DynamicPageList (powerful, but often overkill).
    • To do a quick search on the intersection of two or more categories, use MultiCategorySearch.
  • If you need to sign your name, use ~~~, or ~~~~ to include the date too. You shouldn't normally do this unless talking to someone on a talk page or making a personal note outside the normal flow of the article - wherever you can't avoid saying "I" ;-)
  • Use the Summary Box to leave a brief summary of the changes you made (Max. 200 characters). If many changes were made summary abbreviations can be used. Note: Once saved, summaries cannot be changed or searched.
  • Please remember to click Preview before saving. Check all your links!
  • Don't forget, every signed in user gets a User Page! If you're signed in, you can also take advantage of your Watchlist to keep track of updates on your favorite articles.
  • We have a large selections of templates that you can use for various purposes. Have a look!
  • You can embed videos from YouTube like this: {{#ev:youtube|6BNPhf9rb90|250|right|Description}}. The ID code can be found in the address bar of your browser when viewing the video.
    • Other videos can be embedded with {{#ev:videotype|...}}, including dailymotion, funnyordie, googlevideo, sevenload, revver and myspace
  • You can add Google Maps to a page.
  • Images can be displayed in a gallery format like this (caption, widths, heights and perrow are optional):
<gallery caption="Sample gallery" widths="100px" heights="100px" perrow="2">
Image:SomeImage.png|[[Something]], an interesting object
Image:AnotherImage.jpg
Image:ThirdOne.png|The previous image had no caption
</gallery>
  • You can make images that link to one or more defined pages (also known as imagemaps)
  • Use <noinclude> tags to exclude template contents from transclusion, <includeonly> to exclude material from being displayed on the template page itself, and <onlyinclude> to force only material inside the tags to be included.
  • Need a table with automatically-updated ranking based on position, and you really don't want a numbered list? Use variables: put
    {{#vardefineecho:n|{{#expr:{{#var:n}}+1}}}}
    in the place of each number. Replace 'n' for multiple tables on the same page. See List of conventions by attendance for an example.
  • Got a helpful hint? Add it in above this line!


Rules of thumb

  • Try to be kind and courteous with respect to all people, organizations, ideas, and locations when creating content on WikiFur.
  • In order to maintain a good library of all things furry related, it is best to try and use an impartial point of view when you compose your additions and changes. Avoid taking sides in any matter, but simply report on the subject you wish to share; if there are sides, try to represent them both fairly.
  • Keep in mind that this is an international resource. Use full place names. For example: Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A rather than Cleveland, OH.
  • If there is controversy, make sure to include resources and links to both sides of the issue, and attribute opinion to specific groups of people.
  • Double check to make sure what you are adding is not already present somewhere. Make good use of those search buttons.
  • Make sure you cite your sources. If the source is elsewhere on WikiFur or on the web, make sure to provide the proper link to the original content.
  • Be careful when editing. It is best to first create your content in a text editor and run spell check. This helps avoid some of the simpler errors as well as provides you a back up in case your browser quits unexpectedly.

Further resources

For more technical help, see these detailed resources:

For more details on the non-technical side of editing WikiFur, check out our policies and guidelines and the Community Central.