Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum:Tutorial (Page 1)

Lexicanum Tutorial:

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Helpful articles

Edit an article

The most fundamental and important part of any Wiki is the ability for any users to edit, change and alter information on any article that they come across. There are, however, a few pages which are protected from editing such as the Main Page and categories, simply to prevent them from being changed as they are as they should be.

At the top of all articles there is a tab which says 'edit', to the left of 'history' and the right of 'discussion'. By clicking this tab you will be taken to the article edit page which has a central section where the contents of the article can be changed.

• Practice: Go to the Immaterium and click the 'edit' tab and see where it takes you. There is more information on how to edit a page here.

Parts of the edit page

The edit page is made up of several sections, boxes and buttons, all of which have a profound effect on the output of your article. It is usually best to use these features as they can improve and speed up your editing.

Main edit secion

The main edit section is the large, lighter grey area with a scroll bar on the right hand side, and is usually located in the centre of the page. This is where the actual text of the article can be changed. This is done simply by typing the edits on your keyboard. At the top left of the edit section is a selection of buttons which each have different functions. These are from left to right:

• Bold - Make the text bold. It is used by putting three ' (i.e. '''), typing the text you want to be bold, and then typing another three ' (i.e. '''). Alternativly, you can press the bold button and it will produce '''Bold text''' and you simply have to change the words "Bold text" to whatever you want to be bold. Note that using double inverted commas (") will not work and will result in an error. Bolding is generally used in the first instance of the name of the article in the article text and should be used on every article. For further information on using bold, see Tutorial page 2.

• Italic - Make the text italic. This is very similar to bolding, although in this case you only need two ' (i.e. ''), the text and another two ' (i.e. ''). If you press the italic button, you will get ''Italic text'' and you just then need to change the worlds "Italic text" to whatever you want to be italicised. Note that again, using double inverted commas (") instead of '' will result in an error. For further information on using italics, see Tutorial page 2.

• Internal link - Make an internal link. An internal link is a clickable word or set of words which will take you to another place within Lexicanum. This is limited to pages only within Lexicanum, not including links to Lexicanum in other languages. To make an internal link, put two opening square brackets (i.e. [[), then the name of the article you want to link to (for example Space Marines) and then put two closing square brackets (i.e. ]]). Alternativly you can press the internal link button and this will produce [[Link title]] and you just need to change the worlds "Link title" to the page you want to link to. For further information on using internal links, see Tutorial page 3.

• External link - Make an external link. An external link is a clickable word or set of words which will take you to a site outside of Lexicanum. They have a special sign at the end of the link which indicates that they are an external link and can be used internally, but is considered bad practice. To make an external link you use one opening square brack (i.e. [), type in the entire website address (e.g. http://www.google.com), put in one space and then type a name for the external link (e.g. Google) and then put one closing square bracket (i.e. ]) to finish the link. Alternativly, you can click the external link button which gives you [http://www.example.com link title] and simply change the web address and link title to whatever you desire. For further information on using external links see Tutorial page 3.

• Level 2 headline - Insert a level 2 headline. This will allow you to put in larger font headings to help break up your text. This will give you the option to put in the largest heading which should be used to break up larger blocks of text into main sections. This is done by placing two equals signs (i.e. ==) and then type the text which will be made into the heading and then put another two equals signs (==). This will create a heading similar to Edit and article and Parts of the edit page above. Alternativly, you can click the level 2 headline button, and this will give you == Headline text == which you then change the words "Headline text" into whatever you want. For further information on headlines, see Tutorial page 2

• (Embedded) image link - Insert a link to an image. This is similar to putting in an internal link above. It uses the same format of using two opening and closing square brackets (ie.[[ ]]) but the text inside is slightly different. The word Image: is put first and this tells the Wiki that it is linking to an image. You then put the name of the image which you have uploaded, giving something like [[Image:Basilisk.gif]]. If you click the image link button, you will get [[Image:Example.jpg]] which you then change the word "Example.jpg" to whatever the name of the image is. For further information on images, see Uploading Images help and Images use help

• Media file link - Insert a link to media. This is again similar to inserting an internal link, but this is for anything other than images, such as sounds or videos. You need two open and close square brackets (i.e. [[ ]] and the word Media: to indentify it as a media file. You then put the name of the media file which you have uploaded. If you press the media link button, you will get [[Media:Example.ogg]], where you just need to change the words "Example.ogg" to whatever the file is. For further information on media, see Media help.

• Mathematical formulae - Insert a mathematical formula. These are used for inserting complex mathematical formulae, and are as such very complication. You will probably not need to use them in Lexicanum, but for reference, this is the link to the help article in Wikipedia, Math function.

• Ignore wiki formatting - Prevent wiki functions from occuring. This will stop any of the wiki functions from working, this includes all of the buttons at the top of the edit section and many others. This is useful when you want to make it obvious what you are doing when you are typing something, for example, you would type <nowiki>, then type in that which you don't want to such as an internal link and then type </nowiki> at the end. This will give something like this: [[Leman Russ]] and allows you to see exactly what is being written without having to edit the page. It is especially useful for writing help files (like these!).

• Signature and time of clicking - Insert your name and time. When clicked, this will produce --~~~~, which is simply two dashes and then the four tildes (~) which provide your name, the date and the time you pressed the button. It is mainly used in discussion pages where it is useful to know who made the comment and at what time. It is not generally accepted to put your signature at the bottom of an article as many people will edit it and the article might end up with a vast array of people's signatures. An example of the signature is: --Jonru 17:05, 20 February 2006 (CET)

• Horizontal line - Insert a horizontal line. This will produce a thick line across the entire width of the page. These are sometimes used for splitting up discussion topics, but should be used sparingly. They aren't generally used in articles. To make one, simply put four - (i.e. ----) and then move onto the next line and carry on. Alternativly, you can click the line button which will move down a line and put in the horizontal line.

There are some other useful methods for making things like lists and indents and are discussed further on in the tutorial.

Summary box

The summary box is somewhere to put a brief statement of what you have done to the article, for example if you have made changes to the spelling or structure or rewritten the entire article. This helps other users to see how things have changed throughout the history of an article.

Minor edits box

If you have logged into your account, you can mark an edit as a minor edit by checking a small box just above the save page button. This serves to show to others that you have not changed anything substantialy. There are no exact rules as to minor edits compared to major edits, but things like changing one or two spellings or adding a category can be seen as minor edits.

Watch this page box

If you tick the watch this page box, the article will be added to your 'my watchlist' and from there you can keep a track of any changes to the article. For more information on your 'my watchlist', see User menu help

Save page button

When you press this button, the page is saved and is from then on your articles are viewable by anyone. If you want to see what your writing will look like it is a good idea to press the show preview button rather than saving the change and then editing it again if you don't like it as this can create many minor edits which are annoying to check through.

Show preview button

Another important feature is the show preview button. It shows you, either above or below the main edit section, what the page will look like after your editing. We all make errors, and so this is a great way to check your links and spellings etc. If you check your work before you save it, it will save another editor a lot of time and effort fixing any mistakes you make.

Show changes button

The show changes button will allow you to see precisly how the page has been altered by you. When you press it, you will get the original text on the left of the page and how the text has been altered by you on the right. This is useful for comparing the old to the new text to find if the change was worth it.

Cancel link

The cancel link will take you back to the article you were editing without saving any changes. Be careful when using this!

Editing help link

The editing help link will take you the main help page where you can find help on any problem you come across.

That covers the majority of the basic functions of the article edit page. Further through the tutorial you will come across more detailed help on some of the aspects covered and also some more useful methods for improving your editing quality.

Please now proceed to the next stage in the tutorial.