Help:Getting Started
Icaruspedia's
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This is a basic guide to getting started with editing Icaruspedia. We're appreciate that you have taken an interest in helping out, so here's everything you need to begin editing right away! If you want to make some test edits, be sure to head to our community sandbox!
Editing Pages
So you've found a page that you want to edit. To do this, go to the top of the page and click the little button that says "edit". This pulls up the editing screen, where you can make changes to pages. From here, edit the article how you see fit (as long as it is within the realm of Icaruspedia's Quality Standards). But don't save just yet! You'll want to make sure that the edit is okay, and that there are no broken images or that nothing else is messed up.
From here, click "Show preview". This will allow you to see the edits before you save them. Check to make sure that everything is in order (and sometimes spelling errors are easier to notice here). It is also preferred for the "Edit summary" to be used - simply type a short summary of the edit you've made (i.e. "Fixed 'als' to 'also'", etc.), then click "Save page". This will save your edits for everyone to see!
In a nutshell, the basic steps for editing are:
- Click "edit" and make the changes in the edit box.
- Change the edit summary to detail the edit you've made.
- Click "show preview" and make sure that everything is working as it should.
- Click "save page".
Basic Wiki Coding
Wikis have their own special coding system. This is a short list of some of the most-used Wiki markup:
Text Formatting
| What you see | What you type |
|---|---|
| Bold Text | '''Bold Text''' |
| Italic Text | ''Italic Text'' |
| Bold and Italic Text | '''''Bold and Italic Text''''' |
| Underlining works, as does |
<u>Underlining</u> works, as does <s>striking out</s>. |
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A line break won't be registered with only one new line. This line appears to be in the same paragraph as the previous line. Two new lines, however, begins a new paragraph. |
A line break won't be registered with only one new line. This line appears to be in the same paragraph as the previous line. Two new lines, however, begins a new paragraph. |
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You can break lines |
You can break lines<br> without starting a new paragraph. |
| This makes '''all''' of the [[wiki]] coding not display. | <nowiki>This makes '''all''' of the [[wiki]] coding not display.</nowiki> |
| Big text or small text | <big>Big text</big> or <small>small text</small> |
| Superscript or subscript | <sup>Superscript</sup> or <sub>subscript</sub> |
| Hidden page comments: not shown when viewing page |
<!-- This is a hidden comment --> |
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A typewriter font for monospace text
or for computer code:
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A typewriter font for <tt>monospace text</tt> or for computer code: <code>int main()</code> |
Signing Posts
When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it by adding four tildes to add your user name plus date/time:
Other, less recommended alternatives are:
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When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it by adding four tildes to add your user name plus date/time: : ~~~~ Other, less recommended alternatives are: *Three tildes to add user name alone: : ~~~ *Five tildes gives the date/time alone: : ~~~~~ |
Link Formatting
| A direct link and a piped link (one that shows different text than its actual link): Pit is the main character of Kid Icarus. Any type of link can be a piped link. |
[[Pit]] is the main character of [[Kid Icarus]]. |
| This is a link to a page that doesn't exist or a redlink. If you want to create that page, you could do so by clicking the link. |
[[This is a link to a page that doesn't exist]] or a redlink. If you want to create that page, you could do so by clicking the link. |
| Linking to a different namespace that is not Category: Talk:Main Page |
[[Talk:Main Page]] |
| Linking to the category namespace: Category:Characters |
[[:Category:Characters]] |
| Linking to a subpage: User:Maxite/sig |
[[User:Maxite/sig]] |
External links:
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*[http://www.kidicaruswiki.org] (very bad) *http://www.kidicaruswiki.org (bad) *[http://www.kidicaruswiki.org Icaruspedia] (good) |
| Linking to Wikipedia: | [[Wikipedia:Kid Icarus]]<br> |
| To have a page automatically send a user to a different page, use this code. (See Help:Redirects for more information) |
#REDIRECT [[page name]] |
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Kid Icarus#History is a link to a section within another page. #Links and URLs is a link to a section on the current page. #example is a link to an anchor that was created using an id attribute
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[[Kid Icarus#History]] is a link to a section within another page. [[#Links and 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> |
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Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: Pit. Automatically hide namespace: Characters.
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Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: [[Palutena|]]. Automatically hide namespace: [[:Category:Characters|]]. |
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[[Category:Characters]]
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Linking to other wikis:
Linking to another language's wiktionary:
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Linking to other wikis: # [[Interwiki]] link: [[Wiktionary:Hello]] # Named interwiki link: [[Wiktionary:Hello|Hello]] # Interwiki link without prefix: [[Wiktionary:Hello|]] Linking to another language's wiktionary: # [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour]] # [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|bonjour]] # [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|]] |
Sections and Lists
New section
Subsection
Sub-subsection
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== New section == ==== Subsection ==== ===== Sub-subsection ===== |
Text.
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Text. :Indented text. ::Further indented text. |
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*A list *You can go in the same level **Or create a sub-level ***As many as needed *Then start a new list with an empty line |
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#You can also make numbered lists #The numbers are automatically added ##It's easy to create them |
| : A colon indents a line or paragraph. |
: A colon indents a line or paragraph. |
<center>Centered text.</center> | |
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A horizontal dividing line: this is above it and this is below it. |
A horizontal dividing line: this is above it ---- and this is below it. |
Other Syntax
- For images, see Help:Images
- For more detailed information on wiki editing, search on MediaWiki.org
Creating a Page
To create a page, follow these steps:
- First, think: does my page stay within the realm of the Wiki? That is to say, is it important enough or part of what the Wiki covers? An article about "Palutena" is acceptable as it is related to Kid Icarus; an article about "Orange Soda" is not, because it is not related to Kid Icarus or Nintendo in any way.
- If you deem it acceptable, CHECK THE WIKI TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PAGE DOESN'T ALREADY EXIST. This includes alternate spellings, alternate capitalization (i.e. Kid Icarus is an existing article whereas "Kid icarus" counts as a different article, and may be a source of possible confusion in creating an article), and alternate possible names. Use the search feature as much as possible!
- If you're sure that your article doesn't exist, search for it on the Wiki. When no results appear, you will see text stating that you can create the page in question. Click it, and create the page, making sure to stay within the Wiki's Quality Standards. If all is well and good, save the page.
- Note: Clicking on a red link will also take you to a "create this page" screen.
In a nutshell, the basic steps for page creation are:
- Figure out if your topic deserves its own page
- Find out whether or not it already exists
- Create the page using the search function's "create this page" link