Help:Editing

Editing refers to the changing of a page by a registered DJBWiki user. Unless certain restrictions are in effect, such as article protection, all pages are editable, by anyone one who registers. This is a brief overview of that process. For more detailed information, see the links under Further reading below.

This page is based on the Wikipedia equivalent page.

Editing basics

Review policy and conventions

Make sure that you submit information which is relevant to the specific purpose of the wiki, or your content might be deleted. You can always use the talk pages to ask questions or check to see if your idea will be accepted. Please make note of the license your contributions will be covered with.

Allows follow the Editing Policies.

Start editing

Click the edit this page tab at the top of the page. This brings you to the edit page: a page with a text box (the edit box) containing the wikitext – the editable code from which the server produces the finished page.

Type your changes

You can just type your text. However, also using basic wiki markup (described in the next section) to make links and do simple formatting adds to the value of your contribution. Style guidelines can be found in the Wikipedia Manual of Style. If you follow these, your contributions will be more valuable as they won't need to be cleaned up later.

Summarize your changes

Write a short edit summary in the small field below the edit-box. You may use shorthand to describe your changes.

Preview before saving!

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. Sometimes it is helpful to save in between.

Most frequent wiki markup explained

Here are the most frequently used types of wiki markup Also see the Getting Started guide.

What it looks like	What you type
You can italicize text by putting 2 apostrophes on each side. 3 apostrophes will embolden the text. 5 apostrophes will embolden and italicize the text. (4 apostrophes don't do anything special -- there's just 'one left over'.)	You can ''italicize text'' by putting 2 apostrophes on each side. 3 apostrophes will embolden '''the text'''. 5 apostrophes will embolden and italicize '''''the text'''''. (4 apostrophes don't do anything special -- there's just ''''one left over''''.)
You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: Three tildes give your user name: Windos (talk) Four tildes give your user name plus date/time: Windos (talk) 07:46, 19 October 2009 (UTC) Five tildes give the date/time alone: 07:46, 19 October 2009 (UTC)	You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: * Three tildes give your user name: ~~~ * Four tildes give your user name plus date/time: ~~~~ * Five tildes give the date/time alone: ~~~~~
Section headings Headings organize your writing into sections. The Wiki software can automatically generate a table of contents from them. Subsection Using more equals signs creates a subsection. A smaller subsection Don't skip levels, like from two to four equals signs. Start with 2 equals signs not 1 because 1 creates H1 tags which should be reserved for page title. Also notice spaces between the modifier and text do not matter.	==Section headings== ''Headings'' organize your writing into sections. The Wiki software can automatically generate a table of contents from them. ===Subsection=== Using more equals signs creates a subsection. ====A smaller subsection==== Don't skip levels, like from two to four equals signs. Start with 2 equals signs not 1 because 1 creates H1 tags which should be reserved for page title. Also notice spaces between the modifier and text do not matter.
Unordered lists are easy to do: Start every line with a star. More stars indicate a deeper level. Previous item continues. ** A new line 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 indicate a deeper level. : Previous item continues. * A new line * in a list marks the end of the list. * Of course you can start again.
Numbered lists are: Very organized Easy to follow Previous item continues A new line marks the end of the list. New numbering starts with 1.	# ''Numbered lists'' are: ## Very organized ## Easy to follow #: Previous item continues A new line marks the end of the list. # New numbering starts with 1.
A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph. A newline starts a new paragraph. Often used for discussion on talk pages. We use 1 colon to indent once. We use 2 colons to indent twice. 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.	: A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph. A newline starts a new paragraph. <br> Often used for discussion on talk pages. : We use 1 colon to indent once. :: We use 2 colons to indent twice. ::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
Here's a link to the Main Page. But be careful - capitalization counts!	Here's a link to the [[Main Page]].
Intentionally permanent red link is a page that doesn't exist yet. You could create it by clicking on the link.	[[Intentionally permanent red link]] is a page that doesn't exist yet. You could create it by clicking on the link.
You can link to a page section by placing a "#" before its title: Getting Started#Do you want to....	You can link to a page section by placing a "#" before its title: * [[Getting Started#Do you want to...]].

Restrictions

Some pages cannot be edited by everyone. A special function known as protection can be applied to a page by administrators, making the said page uneditable to certain classes of users.

There are various reasons why a page might be protected. Vandalism and spam can lead to protection, while content wars and other severe cases can also lead to protection. For the most part, protection is temporary and editing privileges are then restored. In any case, everyone can view the source of any page, irrespective of its level of protection.

Help:Editing

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