CZ:How to edit an article

Try also our help system (under development)

See also: CZ:How To

Quick start

This page is about the code.

When you work on your article, it's mostly just like writing a long e-mail. But to make text bold or italicized, or to create links, you'll be using wiki "markup." Don't worry--it's not complicated and, for some markup, you have a toolbar! There are just a few bits of code you'll be using again and again:

• To start a new paragraph, skip down two lines. Skipping down one line has no effect; it will look the same as a space.
• To make text bold, put three single quotation marks around it: '''bold'''
• To italicize text, use two single quotes: ''italicized text''
• To link to a page, surround the text to be linked with double brackets: [[link]]
• To make a link that points to an article that is different from the text of the link, use a "pipe," or vertical bar: [[Biology|link]]
• To start a new section, mark the section title like this, using equals signs (on a new line, flush left): == My new section ==
• To start a subsection, mark the subsection title like this (flush left): === My new sub-section === (Sections and sub-sections are also called "headings.")
• To make a bulleted list, precede a list item with * and make sure it's flush left (on a new line): * My bullet point
• To make a numbered list, use #, like this: # My numbered point, also flush left (on a new line).

If you see some formatting you'd like to replicate, just click the "edit" button to see how it's done. This is how most of us learned! But there is a more complete list below.

Introduction

The Citizendium is a Wiki, which is a really simple webpage publishing application. It allows anyone to edit any page (on the wiki) and publish those changes to the web immediately. Whether authors, editors, or constables, anyone taking part in Citizendium can edit almost any article.

To edit a page, click on the "edit this page" tab at the top of the window, and you will see the editable text of that page. Make any changes you want to, and put a short explanation in the small field below the edit-box (the "edit summary"). When you have finished, press the "show preview" button to see how your changes will look. You can also see the difference between the page with your edits and the previous version by pressing the "show changes" button. It is always a good idea to preview for yourself your work, just to make sure you've gotten how you wanted it. When you're satisfied, press "Save page" .

If the changes that you have made are small and uncontroversial, such as spelling corrections, grammar corrections, formatting, and minor rearrangement of text - you can mark your changes as "minor" in the edit summary. It is possible to "hide" minor edits when viewing the "recent changes" link on the left side navigation bar of the Citizendium. If you accidentally mark an edit as minor, please edit the source again, and in the new edit summary, say that your previous edit was a major, not a minor edit.

If you click on the "Discussion" tab you will see the "talk page", which contains comments about the article from other Citizendium users. Edit the page in the same way as an article page. Always sign your messages on talk pages. Signing is easy -- just type four tildes (~~~~) at the end of what you post. The software will convert this to your name or signature and a timestamp, e.g. Matt Innis 08:24, 16 April 2007 (CDT). Note that three tildes (~~~) will only sign your name, i.e. Matt Innis. Please use the four tildes on all talk pages.

You should not sign edits you make to regular articles. Each article's page histories function within the MediaWiki software keeps track of which user makes each change.

References and citations

As you progress and start building more knowledge on the Citizendium. You may want to reference your information with footnotes. Here's how to do that.

To add references or footnotes,

• The markup <ref>Put text to appear in note here</ref> creates a numbered note.
• Then at the bottom of the page, add <references/>. This will automatically create the list of references.
• Sometimes you may need to use the same reference several times. The markup <ref name=Smith>Put text to appear in note here</ref> gives the reference a name. Next time that you wish to use the same reference, instead of writing out the full reference you can use the ref name. No space can be used in the name. These named references can be used again and again in the text by using <ref name=Smith /> (note the trailing slash).
• For guidance on citation style, see Help:citation style.

Wiki markup

The wiki markup is the syntax system you can use to format a Citizendium page. The table below lists some of the edits you can make. The left column shows the effects, the right column shows the wiki markup used to achieve them. Some of these edits can also be made using the formatting buttons at the top of any page's edit box.

What it looks like	What you type
Headings New section Subsection Sub-subsection A Table of Contents (TOC) will automatically be added to an article with four or more sections.	==New section== ===Subsection=== ====Sub-subsection====
Line Breaks A single explicit linebreak (i.e., a newline character) generally has no effect on the layout. These can be used to separate sentences in a paragraph. Some editors find that this aids editing. But an empty line starts a new paragraph. When used in a list, a newline does affect the layout (see below).	A single explicit linebreak (i.e., a [[newline]] character) generally has no effect on the layout. These can be used to separate sentences in a paragraph. Some editors find that this makes editing clearer. But an empty line starts a new paragraph.
You can break lines without starting a new paragraph. 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.
Lists To create a list: Start every line with a star (asterisk). More stars means deeper levels. A newline in a list marks the end of a list item. An empty line starts a new list.	* It's easy to create a list: ** Start every line with a star. *** More stars means deeper levels. **** A newline in a list marks the end of a list item. * An empty line starts a new list.
Numbered lists are very organized easy to follow easier still	# Numbered lists are ## very organized ## easy to follow ### easier still
Definition Lists Definition list list of definitions item the item's definition another item the other item's definition	; Definition list : list of definitions ; item : the item's definition ; another item : the other item's definition
You can 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 create mixed lists *# and nest them *#* like this *#*; can I mix definition list as well? *#*: yes *#*; how? *#*: it's easy as *#*:* a *#*:* b *#*:* c
Line Indents, Quotes, and Centering 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. A manual newline starts a new paragraph.
When you want to separate a block of text, The blockquote command is useful, for example, to display a quotation.	<blockquote> The '''blockquote''' command is useful, for example, to display a quotation. </blockquote>
IF a line starts with a space THEN it will be formatted exactly as typed; in a fixed-width font; lines will not wrap; This is useful for: pasting preformatted text; algorithm descriptions; program source code; ASCII art; chemical structures; 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 starts with a space THEN it will be formatted exactly as typed; in a fixed-width font; lines will not wrap;
Centered text. Please note the American spelling of "center".	<center>Centered text.</center>
Horizontal Line A horizontal dividing line: this is above it and this is below it. Mainly useful for disambiguation - but to be used sparingly, only to separate completely unrelated (groups of) meanings separating threads on Talk pages.	A [[horizontal dividing line]]: this is above it ---- and this is below it.

Links and URLs

The wiki allows for simple connections between webpages either on this site or off this site. See CZ:Links for more information.

What it looks like	What you type
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. A link to another Citizendium article.	Edinburgh is the capital of [[Scotland]].
Glasgow is the largest Scottish city. Same target, different name. This is a piped link; the "piped" text comes before the text that will be displayed.	Glasgow is the largest [[Scotland| Scottish]] city.
San Francisco also has public transportation. Examples include buses, taxicabs and streetcars. Word endings are blended into the link, so you don't need to use a piped link for these. Blending can be suppressed by using <nowiki></nowiki> tags, which may be needed sometimes. Example: a microsecond.	San Francisco also has [[public transport]]ation. Examples include [[bus]]es, [[taxicab]]s, and [[streetcar]]s. [[micro]]<nowiki>second </nowiki>
See CZ:Article mechanics. A link to another namespace.	See [[CZ:Article mechanics]].
See Category:Citable versions of articles. A link to a category.	See [[:Category:Approved Articles]].
CZ:Article mechanics#Optional subpages is a link to a section within another page. #Links and URLs is a link to another section on the current page. #example is a link to an anchor that was created using ...... ...... an id attribute The part after # must match a section heading on the page. Matches must be exact in 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. Include "| Link title" to create a stylish link-title.	[[CZ:Article mechanics#Optional subpages]] is a link to a section within another page. [[#Links and URLs]] is a link to another section on the current page. [[#example]] is a link to an anchor that was created using..... .....<div id="example">an id attribute </div>
Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: Kingdom. Automatically hide namespace: Article mechanics. Automatically hide category: approved articles. Or namespace and pagename: Optional subpages The server fills in the part after the pipe character (|) when you save the page. The next time you open the edit box you will see the expanded piped link. When previewing your edits, you will not see the expanded form until you press Save and Edit again. The same applies to links to sections within the same page (see previous entry).	Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: [[Kingdom (biology)|]]. Automatically hide namespace: [[CZ:Article mechanics|]]. Automatically hide category: [[:Category:Approved Articles|approved articles]]. Or namespace and pagename: [[CZ:Article mechanics#Optional subpages| Optional subpages]]
National sarcasm society is a page that does not exist yet. You can create it by clicking on the link. See Start article and naming conventions.	[[National sarcasm society]] is a page that does not exist yet.
When adding a comment to a Talk page, sign it by adding three tildes: Ben Brockert or four to add user name plus date/time: Ben Brockert 00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC) Five tildes gives the date/time alone: 00:18, Nov 19, 2004 (UTC)	When adding a comment to a Talk page, sign it by adding three tildes: : ~~~ or four to add the date/time: : ~~~~ Five tildes gives the date/time alone: : ~~~~~
Redirect one article title to another by placing a directive as shown to the right on the first line of the article. While it is possible to link to a section, it is not (yet) possible to redirect to a section.	#REDIRECT [[United States]]
What links here and Related changes pages can be linked as: Special:Whatlinkshere/Citizendium:How to edit a page and Special:Recentchangeslinked/Citizendium:How to edit a page	'''What links here''' and '''Related changes''' pages can be linked as: [[Special:Whatlinkshere/ Citizendium:How to edit a page]] and [[Special:Recentchangeslinked/ Citizendium:How to edit a page]]
A user's Contributions page can be linked as: Special:Contributions/UserName or Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0	A user's '''Contributions''' page can be linked as: [[Special:Contributions/UserName]] or [[Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0]]
Two ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources: Unnamed link: [1] (only used within article body for footnotes) Named link: Nupedia See MetaCitizendium:Interwiki_map for the list of shortcuts. Square brackets indicate an external link. Note the use of a space (not a pipe) to separate the URL from the link text in the "named" version. In the URL, all symbols must be among: A-Z a-z 0-9 . _ \ / ~ % - + & # ? ! = ( ) @ If a URL contains a character not in this list, it should be encoded by using a percent sign (%) followed by the hex code of the character, which can be found in the table of ASCII printable characters. For example, the caret character (^) would be encoded in a URL as %5E. If the "named" version contains a closing square bracket "]", then you must use the HTML special character syntax, i.e. &#93; otherwise the MediaWiki software will prematurely interpret this as the end of the external link. There is a class that can be used to remove the arrow image from the external link. It is used in Template:Ref to stop the URL from expanding during printing. It should never be used in the main body of an article. However, there is an exception: wikilinks in Image markup. An example of the markup is as follows: Markup: <span class="plainlinksneverexpand"> [http://www.sysinternals.com/ ntw2k/freeware/winobj.shtml WinObj]</span> Display: WinObj See Citizendium:External links for style issues.	Two ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources: # Unnamed link: [http://www.nupedia.com/] (only used within article body for footnotes) # Named link: [http://www.nupedia.com Nupedia]
To link to a book ISBN 012345678X ISBN 0-12-345678-X ISBN links do not need any extra markup if you use one of the indicated formats.	ISBN 012345678X ISBN 0-12-345678-X
Text mentioning RFC 4321 anywhere Link to Internet Engineering Task Force RFCs.	Text mentioning RFC 4321 anywhere
Sound To include links to non-image uploads such as sounds, use a "media" link. For images, see next section.	[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg|Sound]]

Images

Only images that have been uploaded to Citizendium can be used. To upload images, use the Upload Wizard.

After you upload an image with the Upload Wizard, the basic code to place it will appear right on the image page. Some things you can do to vary the placement are described below.

All uploaded images are at the image list.

NOTE: Citizendium is not yet able to totally support all of the following coding for image resizing and such.

What it looks like	What you type
A picture:	A picture: [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg]]
With alternative text:	With alternative text: [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg|citi key logo]] Alternative text, used when a mouse hovers over the image or when the image is not loaded in a text-only browser, or when spoken aloud, is strongly encouraged. See Alternate text for images for help on choosing it.
Floating to the right side of the page and with a caption: Citizendium Encyclopedia	Floating to the right side of the page and with a caption: [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg|frame|Citizendium Encyclopedia]] The frame tag automatically floats the image right. The caption is also used as alternate text.
Floating to the right side of the page without a caption:	Floating to the right side of the page ''without'' a caption: [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg|right|Citizendium Encyclopedia]]
A picture resized to 100 pixels...	A picture resized to 100 pixels... [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg|100 px|citi key logo]]
A picture resized to 100 pixels with a caption: citi key logo	A picture resized to 100 pixels with a caption: [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg|thumb|100 px|citi key logo]] Thumb tag must be used to resize a picture with a caption. The thumb tag automatically floats the image right.
A picture resized to 100 pixels floating in the center with a caption: citi key logo	A picture resized to 100 pixels floating in the center with a caption: [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg|thumb|center|100 px|citi key logo]] Note that the location can be defined as being center or left (not shown).
A failed attempt to resize to 100 pixels, float in the center with a caption using frame: citi key logo	A failed attempt to resize to 100 pixels, float in the center with a caption using '''frame''': [[Image:Logo200gr.jpg|frame|center|100 px|citi key logo]] If frame is used to try and resize a picture with a caption it will display the picture at its actual size (in this case 200px). Always use thumb. The help topic on Extended image syntax explains more options.
Linking directly to the description page of an image: Image:Logo200gr.jpg	Linking directly to the description page of an image: [[:Image:Logo200gr.jpg]] Clicking on an image displayed on a page (such as any of the ones above) also leads to the description page
Linking directly to an image without displaying it: Image of the citi key logo	Linking directly to an image without displaying it: [[media:Logo200gr.jpg|Image of the citi key logo]] To include links to images shown as links instead of drawn on the page, use a "media" link.
Using the div tag to separate images from text (note that this may allow images to cover text):	Example: <div style="display:inline; width:220px; float:right;"> Place images here </div>
Using wiki markup to make a table in which to place a vertical column of images (this helps edit links match headers, especially in Firefox browsers):	Example: {| align=right |- | Place images here |}

See the Citizendium's image use policy. For further help on images, including some more versatile abilities, see the topic on Extended image syntax.

Character formatting

What it looks like	What you type
Emphasized text Strong emphasis Even stronger emphasis	''Emphasized text'' '''Strong emphasis''' '''''Even stronger emphasis'''''
A typewriter font for monospace text or for computer code: int main() For semantic reasons, using <code> where applicable is preferable to using <tt>.	A typewriter font for <tt>monospace text</tt> or for computer code: <code>int main()</code>
You can use small text for captions.	You can use <small>small text</small> for captions.
Better stay away from big text, unless it's within small text.	Better stay away from <big>big text</big>, unless <small> it's <big>within</big> small</small> text.
You can strike out deleted material and underline new material. You can also mark deleted material and inserted material using logical markup. For backwards compatibility better combine this potentially ignored new logical with the old physical markup. When editing regular Citizendium 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. For backwards compatibility better combine this potentially ignored new <del>logical</del> with the old <s><del>physical</del></s> markup.
Suppressing interpretation of markup: Link → (''to'') the [[Citizendium FAQ]] Used to show literal data that would otherwise have special meaning. Escape all wiki markup, including that which looks like HTML tags. Does not escape HTML character references. To escape HTML character references such as &rarr; use &amp;rarr;	<nowiki>Link &rarr; (''to'') the [[Citizendium FAQ]]</nowiki>
Commenting page source: not shown when viewing page Used to leave comments in a page for future editors. Note that most comments should go on the appropriate Talk page.	<!-- comment here -->
Diacritical marks: 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 See special characters.	&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; &sect; &para; &dagger; &Dagger; &bull; &ndash; &mdash; &lsaquo; &rsaquo; &laquo; &raquo; &lsquo; &rsquo; &ldquo; &rdquo;
Commercial symbols: ™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤	&trade; &copy; &reg; &cent; &euro; &yen; &pound; &curren;
Subscripts: x1 x2 x3 or x₀ x₁ x₂ x₃ x₄ x₅ x₆ x₇ x₈ x₉ Superscripts: x1 x2 x3 or x⁰ x¹ x² x³ x⁴ x⁵ x⁶ x⁷ x⁸ x⁹ The latter methods of sub/superscripting cannot be used in the most general context, as they rely on Unicode support which may not be present on all users' machines. For the 1-2-3 superscripts, it is nevertheless 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	''x''<sub>1</sub> ''x''<sub>2</sub> ''x''<sub>3</sub> or <br/> ''x''&#8320; ''x''&#8421; ''x''&#8322; ''x''&#8323; ''x''&#8324; <br/> ''x''&#8325; ''x''&#8326; ''x''&#8327; ''x''&#8328; ''x''&#8329; ''x''<sup>1</sup> ''x''<sup>2</sup> ''x''<sup>3</sup> or <br/> ''x''&#8304; ''x''&sup1; ''x''&sup2; ''x''&sup3; ''x''&#8308; <br/> x&#8309; x&#8310; x&#8311; x&#8312; x&#8313; &epsilon;<sub>0</sub> = 8.85 &times; 10<sup>&minus;12</sup> C&sup2; / J m. 1 [[hectare]] = [[1 E4 m&sup2;]]
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	&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;
Mathematical characters: ∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞ ≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥ × · ÷ ∂ ′ ″ ∇ ‰ ° ∴ ℵ ø ∈ ∉ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇ ¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇐ ⇓ ⇑ ⇔ → ↓ ↑ ← ↔ See also WikiProject Mathematics and TeX.	&int; &sum; &prod; &radic; &minus; &plusmn; &infin; &asymp; &prop; &equiv; &ne; &le; &ge; &times; &middot; &divide; &part; &prime; &Prime; &nabla; &permil; &deg; &there4; &alefsym; &oslash; &isin; &notin; &cap; &cup; &sub; &sup; &sube; &supe; &not; &and; &or; &exist; &forall; &rArr; &lArr; &dArr; &uArr; &hArr; &rarr; &darr; &uarr; &larr; &harr;
$\sin x+\ln y\,$ sin x + ln y $\mathbf {x} =0\,$ x = 0 Ordinary text should use wiki markup for emphasis, and should not use <i> or <b>. However, mathematical formulas often use italics, and sometimes use bold, for reasons unrelated to emphasis. Complex formulas should use <math> markup, and simple formulas may use <math>; or <i> and <b>; or '' and '''. According to WikiProject Mathematics, wiki markup is preferred over HTML markup like <i> and <b>. In non-TeX mathematical notation, variables, but not digits and not punctuation, should usually be italicized, thus matching TeX style. In some simple instances of TeX, seemingly superfluous spacing created by \, (a backslash followed by a comma) is sometimes needed for proper rendering.	<math>\sin x + \ln y\,</math> sin ''x'' + ln ''y'' <math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math> '''x''' = 0
Spacing in simple math formulas: Obviously, x² ≥ 0 is true when x is a real number. To space things out without allowing line breaks to interrupt the formula, use non-breaking spaces: &nbsp;.	Obviously, ''x''&sup2;&nbsp;&ge;&nbsp;0 is true when ''x'' is a real number.
Complicated formulas: $\sum _{n=0}^{\infty }{\frac {x^{n}}{n!}}$ See Help:Displaying mathematical formulas for how to use <math>. A formula displayed on a line by itself should probably be indented by using the colon (:) character.	: <math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>

(see also: Chess symbols in Unicode)

WYSIWYG

"WYSIWYG" stands for "what you see, is what you get!" There a few formatting codes that will tell the Wiki to display things how you typed them or to ignore coding symbols.

	What it looks like	What you type
<nowiki> tags	The nowiki tag ignores [[Wiki]] ''markup''. It reformats text by removing newlines and multiple spaces. It still interprets special characters: →	<nowiki> The nowiki tag ignores [[Wiki]] ''markup''. It reformats text by removing newlines and multiple spaces. It still interprets special characters: &rarr; </nowiki>
<pre> tags	The pre tag ignores [[Wiki]] ''markup''. It also doesn't reformat text. It still interprets special characters: →	<pre> The pre tag ignores [[Wiki]] ''markup''. It also doesn't reformat text. It still interprets special characters: &rarr; </pre>
Leading spaces	Leading spaces are another way to preserve formatting. Putting a space at the beginning of each line stops the text from being reformatted. It still interprets Wiki markup and special characters: →	Leading spaces are another way to preserve formatting. Putting a space at the beginning of each line stops the text from being reformatted. It still interprets [[Wiki]] ''markup'' and special characters: &rarr;

Table of contents

Having at least four headers on a page causes a TOC to appear above the first header (ie, after introductory sections).
Putting __TOC__ or {{TOC}} anywhere forces the TOC to appear at that point (instead of just before the first header).
Putting {{TOC|left}} or {{TOC|right}} anywhere causes the TOC to be floated to the left or right of that point.
Putting __NOTOC__ anywhere forces the TOC to disappear, so long as __TOC__ or {{TOC}} has not also been used.

Tables

There are two ways to build tables:

• in special Wiki-markup (see How to make tables)
• with the usual HTML elements: <table>, <tr>, <td> or <th>.

Citation tools for Citizendium

There are some tools available to assist citations into Citizendium. See CZ:MediaWiki Citation Tools.

Enhancing your editing with JavaScript

You can enhance and make easier your experience using wiki markup through the use of JavaScript extensions. See Enhancing your editing with javascript extensions.