Help/Formatting

You can format your text by using wiki markup or the visual editor.

Wiki markup

Wiki markup consists of normal characters like asterisks, apostrophes or equal signs which have a special function in the wiki, sometimes depending on their position. For example, to format a word in italic, you include it in two pairs of apostrophes like ''this''.

Text formatting markup

Character (inline) formatting – applies anywhere

Description	You type	You get
Italic text	''italic''	italic
Bold text	'''bold'''	bold
Bold and italic	'''''bold & italic'''''	bold & italic
Escape wiki markup	<nowiki>no [[wiki]] ''markup''</nowiki>	no [[wiki]] ''markup''

Section formatting

Only at the beginning of the line

Description	You type	You get
Section Headings of different levels	== Level 2 == === Level 3 === ==== Level 4 ==== ===== Level 5 ===== ====== Level 6 ====== Skip Level 1, it is page name level. Do not put any text on the same line after the ending equal signs. An article with 4 or more headings automatically creates a table of contents.
Horizontal rule	Text before --- Text after	Text before Text after
Bullet list	* Start each line * with an asterisk (*). ** More asterisks give deeper *** and deeper levels. * Line breaks <br />don't break levels. *** But jumping levels creates empty space. Any other start ends the list. * combine bullet list ** with definition ::- definition ** creates empty space * combine bullet list ** with definition *:- definition ** without empty spaces *bullet list :- definition :* sublist that doesn't create empty :* spaces after definition	Start each line with an asterisk (*). More asterisks give deeper and deeper levels. Line breaks don't break levels. But jumping levels creates empty space. Any other start ends the list. combine bullet list with definition - definition creates empty space combine bullet list with definition - definition without empty spaces bullet list - definition sublist that doesn't create empty spaces after definition
Numbered list	# Start each line # with a number sign (#). ## More number signs give deeper ### and deeper ### levels. # Line breaks <br />don't break levels. ### But jumping levels creates empty space. # Blank lines # end the list and start another. Any other start also ends the list.	Start each line with a number sign (#). More number signs give deeper and deeper levels. Line breaks don't break levels. But jumping levels creates empty space. Blank lines end the list and start another. Any other start also ends the list.
Definition list	;item 1 : definition 1 ;item 2 : definition 2-1 : definition 2-2	item 1 definition 1 item 2 definition 2-1 definition 2-2
Mixture of different types of list	# one # two #* two point one #* two point two # three #; three item one #: three def one # four #: four def one #: this looks like a continuation #: and is often used #: instead <br />of <br /> # five ## five sub 1 ### five sub 1 sub 1 ## five sub 2	one two two point one two point two three three item one three def one four four def one this looks like a continuation and is often used instead of <br /> five five sub 1 five sub 1 sub 1 five sub 2

Paragraphs

MediaWiki ignores single line breaks. To start a new paragraph, leave an empty line. You can force a line break within a paragraph with the HTML tag <br />.

HTML tags

Some HTML tags are allowed in MediaWiki, for example <code>, <div>, and <span>. These apply anywhere you insert them.

Description	You type	You get
Inserted (Displays as underline in most browsers)	<ins>Inserted</ins> or <u>Underline</u>	Inserted or Underline
Deleted (Displays as strike-through in most browsers)	<s>Strike-through</s> or <del>Deleted</del>	Strike-through or Deleted
BlockquotesSee also Citations	Text before <blockquote>Blockquote</blockquote> Text after	Text before Blockquote Text after
Superscript	1<sup>er</sup>	1er

Inserting symbols

Symbols and other special characters not available on your keyboard can be inserted in a multitude of ways. Many Operating Systems and browsers allow you to insert special characters through a menu option or Operating System panel. Additionally, you can use the WikiEditor or VisualEditor to insert them into the edit screen.

As a last resort, you can use a special sequence of characters. Those sequences are called HTML entities. For example, the following sequence (entity) → when inserted will be shown as right arrow HTML symbol → and — when inserted will be shown as an em dash HTML symbol —. The entity   will produce a non breakable space, used in French typography.

Description	You type	You get
Guillemets with non breakable spaces	« Text »	« Text »
Copyright symbol	©	©
Euro currency symbol	€	€

See the list of all HTML entities on the Wikipedia article List of HTML entities.

Other formatting

Beyond the text formatting markup shown hereinbefore, here are some other formatting references:

• Links
• Images
• Tables
• Citations
• References
• Notes
• Table of contents

Visual Editor

To edit a page using the visual editor, press on the "Edit" tab at the top of the page. It may take a few seconds for the page to open for editing, and longer if the page is very long.

The VisualEditor's toolbar

The visual editor's toolbar appears at the top of the screen when you begin editing. It includes some familiar icons:

• Undo and Redo the changes you have made.
• Headings pull-down menu: allows you to change how the paragraph is formatted. To change the style of a paragraph, put your cursor in the paragraph and select an item in this menu (you don't have to highlight any text). Section titles are formatted "Heading", and subsections are "Sub-heading 1", "Sub-heading 2", and so on. The normal format for text is "Paragraph".
• Formatting: Pressing the "A" opens a menu. If you have not selected any text, then when you press the "A" to open the menu, and then select an item, that formatting will apply to the text that you start typing, from wherever your cursor is located.
• Linking tool: The chain icon is the linking tool. Pressing on it (usually after selecting some text) opens the link dialog.
• Cite menu: The "Cite" menu is used to add inline citations (also called "footnotes" or "references"). You have access to basic reference formatting and the ability to reuse citations by using this menu.
• Lists and indentation: The first two items allow you to format text as either a "Bullet list" or a "Numbered list". The last two items allow you to decrease or increase the indentation level of list items.
• Insert.
• Special character insertion: The "Special character" (Ω) icon is next to the "Insert" menu.
• The Edit notices button displays any notices for the page.
• The Page options menu is to the left of the Publish changes button and the Switch editor menu. On this menu there is a button to open an Options dialog.
• The switch to source editing button is next to the Publish changes button. It allows you to switch to the wikitext editor.
• Publishing changes: When you are finished editing, press the blue "Publish changes" button in the toolbar. If you have made no changes, the button will be disabled (grayed out). To cancel all your editing changes, close your browser window, or press the "Read" tab above the edit toolbar.

For more details, visit the VisualEditor's User guide.

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