Wikipedia:GLAM/University of Toronto Libraries/Resources/Wiki markup

Going in
This page will cover:
 * What you need to know about Wiki markup (or Wikitext) to edit comfortably enough in most situations
 * Topics are broken out by task (e.g. formatting, linking, communicating with other editors) and include exercises
 * Tips and tricks for making Wiki markup editing work for you

This page will be useful if:
 * You have mostly edited Wikipedia (or some other Wikimedia project) with the Visual Editor, and have limited experience with the text (source) editor
 * You find the source view of Wikimedia projects confusing or complicated
 * You are somewhat familiar with the content, but wish to revisit it or just want some practice
 * You're a Wiki markup master but you've stepped away for six years and would like a refresher

To try some DIY exercises, you will need:
 * This page, for reference
 * A page in your sandbox where you can practise
 * Copy over the contents of User:Utl_jung/sandbox/LD40807try
 * To make a new sandbox page, simply "create a new file" by writing /something after /sandbox in the URL
 * For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Utl_jung/sandbox/workinghour1 allows me to start that page

Basics
Wiki markup (or Wikitext) is one of many lightweight markup languages (LML) that prioritise human readability.
 * Wiki markup works across all MediaWiki-based platforms, including all Wikimedia projects and other wikis built on MediaWiki
 * Wikibase, the software behind Wikidata, is a specially developed instance of MediaWiki and also uses Wiki markup (e.g. today's working hour page)
 * We are editing on Wikipedia today because Wikipedia allows us the luxury of a sandbox!
 * Technically, Wikitext refers to text snippets or documents written in the Wiki markup language. But many use the terms interchangeably.
 * Other LMLs include Markdown and GitHub Flavored Markdown.
 * By comparison, HTML allows you to do more things but compromises on human readability.

Here is a table demonstrating how Wiki Markup compares to HTML (from Wiki):

As we begin, you may find it helpful to turn on syntax highlighting!
 * This feature colours your syntax to make it easier (and more fun!) to use Wikitext.
 * To enable it, toggle the button (Codemirror-icon.png) that appears in the toolbar.
 * If you're curious about how this works, see: Extension:CodeMirror.

Characters

 * Bold: Use three apostrophes(') on either side.
 * Italics: Use two apostrophes(') on either side.
 * Bold + Italics: Use five apostrophes(') on either side.
 * Strikethrough: Use the template strikethrough.
 * Underline: Use the template underline.
 * : Use the template smallcaps.

Formatting a link
To format a link, add the apostrophes around the parentheses: If you do it the other way around, it will not work since the parentheses interpret the apostrophes as part of the page name.

Line breaks

 * If you press once, it will place a line break in the markup but not in the rendered result.
 * If you press twice, it will insert a line break in the rendered result.
 * Lists are an exception. These require one, not two, markup line breaks.
 * To insert a line break without pressing twice, type ,  , or pb. But, use sparingly.

Bullet lists
produces:
 * a
 * b
 * c
 * a
 * b
 * c

Numbered lists
produces:
 * a
 * b
 * c
 * a
 * b
 * c

Internal pages

 * Use  to link to an article
 * Use a pipe to insert a parameter which changes what the link says. For example:
 * gives About
 * gives About page of Wikipedia

Images
Link images in the same way that you would link any other internal page. For example,  gives:



Extended syntax for an image looks something like this: Here, only File is technically necessary. Most images only require: Here,  stands in for the   parameter.

Alt text
Please: always insert alt text! Alt text describes visual content for users of screen readers and other visual-to-auditory assistive technologies. Rule of thumb: write out alt text as if you're describing the image to someone in another room.

Other language Wikipedias

 * Look up the two-letter language code per ISO 639-1.
 * This is the same two-letter code at the beginning of the URL which takes you to that specific language Wikipedia.
 * For example, en.wikipedia.org with the ISO 639-1 code en (English) takes you to the English Wikipedia.
 * Use  two-letter language code   article name to link directly to the other-language Wikipedia page
 * For example,  gives fa:زرتشت. This is the Farsi page for Zarathustra
 * You can use what's called the "pipe trick" (add a pipe symbol(|) to the end of the article name) to have the output only display the article name
 * gives زرتشت
 * Or, as you did in previous sections, use a pipe to insert a parameter which changes what the link says
 * gives Zarathustra in Farsi

Pages that exist in other languages but not in English

 * Use the template interlanguage link (ill for short) if you wish to link to the other-language article until the English article becomes available.
 * gives

Other Wikimedia projects

 * Add a prefix (shortcuts available) before the page name to link to other Wikimedia projects. For example:
 * gives wikt:toothbrush
 * gives simple:toothbrush
 * Remember: you can always change what the links say by using a pipe(|)!
 * Sometimes, the prefixes don't work without a colon at the beginning. You may have to play around with it a bit.
 * See Help:Interwiki linking for a comprehensive chart.

Wikidata and Reasonator

 * Use the template Wikidata entity link (q or wde for short) to link to an existing Wikidata item.
 * gives
 * gives
 * You can also use ill to display links to Wikidata and Reasonator! We will try with the item for, since this does not currently have a Wikipedia page.
 * gives Reasonator
 * gives Reasonator
 * gives Reasonator
 * If no  is given, Reasonator will perform a search for the item. Note that this can be imprecise, and often requires disambiguation.

Sign

 * Signing is an etiquette on anonymous platforms! Use tildes to sign off on comments, add yourself to Wikiprojects, etc.
 * : Three tildes(~) produce your signature Utl jung (talk)
 * : Four tildes(~) produce your signature + timestamp Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Use this one on talk pages
 * : Five tildes(~) produce a timestamp 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

Ping

 * You can notify ("ping") a user by making an edit that links to their user page.
 * Typing  will not automatically ping the user.
 * There are many ways to do this. To use myself (User:Utl_jung) as an example, you can write:
 * gives and notifies the user (this option does not append an "@")
 * gives and notifies the user
 * gives and notifies the user

Indent
On talk pages, add a colon to indent every time you reply within a thread. For example: Hello world! ~
 * I see your comment. ~
 * I, too, see your comment. ~

produces:

Hello world! Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)
 * I see your comment. Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)
 * I, too, see your comment. Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

Outdent
Once there are too many indents, it can help to outdent (out for short) for better readability. For example: [...]
 * The latest in a long thread of comments. ~

Let's reset the indents for readability. ~

produces:

[...]
 * The latest in a long thread of comments. Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

Let's reset the indents for readability. Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

Documentation
When writing documentation, it can help to know a few templates and HTML snippets which make it easier to distinguish input from output.


 * Use  to escape all contained Wiki markup
 * Use  to stylise contained text as code
 * Use  to write about a template without triggering the template itself
 * To use, write:  +   + template name +
 * For example,  displays the link to, but does not trigger, archival records

Journey ahead
Once comfortable with the basics of Wiki markup, I highly recommend that you reference these wonderful existing documentation pages to do more and more things with Wiki markup!
 * Help:Cheatsheet
 * Help:Wikitext
 * mw:Help:Contents

Nifty customisation!

 * Syntax highlighter tool - allows custom coloured highlighting for Wiki markup syntax.
 * Enable under Preferences (user toolbar in the top right) > Gadgets