Simple editing is one of the major benefits of using a wiki. Users can edit pages without knowing HTML, and still use many formatting features of HTML. Most wikis define a set of formatting rules to convert plain text into HTML. Some wikis (like this one) also allow some HTML "tags", like <b>, <i>, and <pre> within a page.
The following text is an overview of the MediaWiki text formatting rules. For examples without all the explanatory text. Feel free to use our Sandbox to test your skills. To see how any page is formatted, just follow the link "Edit" at the top of the page.
Basic text formatting 
Edit
| Code | In the article | Explanation |
| '''Text''' | Text | Bold text. |
| ''Text'' | Text | Italic text. |
| '''''Text''''' | Text | Bold and italic text. |
Paragraphs Edit
You should divide your text into paragraphs to improve the readability of the article. To start a new paragraph, just add a blank line between two lines.
Headlines Edit
The text "Headlines" is formatted as a headline. Headings are delimited by 1-6 equal signs (=). They correspond to HTML's <h1> to <h6> tags.
= Headline size 1 = == Headline size 2 == === Headline size 3 === ==== Headline size 4 ==== ===== Headline size 5 ===== ====== Headline size 6 ======
Lists Edit
Simple (bulleted) lists Edit
* List 1, item 1. * List 1, item 2. ** List 2, item 1. *** List 3, item 1. *** List 3, item 2. * List 1, item 3.
- List 1, item 1.
- List 1, item 2.
- List 2, item 1.
- List 3, item 1.
- List 3, item 2.
- List 2, item 1.
- List 1, item 3.
Numbered lists Edit
# List 1, item 1. # List 1, item 2. ## List 2, item 1. ### List 3, item 1. ### List 3, item 2. # List 1, item 3.
- List 1, item 1.
- List 1, item 2.
- List 2, item 1.
- List 3, item 1.
- List 3, item 2.
- List 2, item 1.
- List 1, item 3.
This means that list 2 is a sub-item of list 1, item 2 and list 3 is a sub-item of list 2, item 1.
Internal links Edit
Internal links are links to another article in this wiki. Put the article's name (as displayed at the top of the page) between [[ and ]]. For instance, [[N]] is displayed like that: N.
If the displayed text diverses from the article's name, use this syntax: [[Article's name|text which shall be displayed]]. For example, the link [[N|this page]] is used in the following sentence:
To learn more about N, visit this page.
Some internal links are displayed red which means that the corresponding articles don't exist yet. When following the link, you come to the "Edit" page where you can create the article if you want. If you want to create an article, it's the best strategy if you insert a link to this page in another article first. This way, other wikipedians will find your article easier.
External links Edit
External links use this syntax: [URL text which shall be displayed]. For example, this link has this syntax: [http://metanet.2.forumer.com this link].
If you use only [http://metanet.2.forumer.com] without any other text, a link like this is created: [1] (The numbers increase; for example the 5th external link without description in one article is displayed as [5].)
Tables Edit
- To start a table, start a new line and add only {|.
- To start a new table row, start a new line and add only |-.
- To start a table cell, start a new line, add | followed by a space and the content of the table cell.
Indented text Edit
Text can be indented to several levels. Example:
: Text indented to first level :: Text indented to second level ::: Text indented to third level
- Text indented to first level
- Text indented to second level
- Text indented to third level
- Text indented to second level
Preformatted text Edit
Preformatted text is used for instance to display code examples.
<pre> Text number one Text number one </pre> Text number two Text number two
creates this two paragraphs:
Text number one Text number one
Text number two Text number two
Text number one is defined as pre-formatted text by the <pre> tag while text number two is formatted like pre-formatted text because of the spaces at the beginning of each line. Pre-formatted text means that every format (like line breaks or multiple spaces) is displayed in the same way.
Line breaks and multiple spaces are reduced to one single space. Use <br> to create a line break and to create a space that won't be reduced.
Horizontal lines Edit
To insert a line between two paragraphs, write four hyphens on a separate line.
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Disable formatting Edit
You can disable Wiki formatting for a certain region of text by enclosing this region in <nowiki> and </nowiki>. For example, the code:
<nowiki>''This isn't italic.''</nowiki>
creates this paragraph:
''This isn't italic.''
This feature should only be used to describe Wiki formatting to new users, like on this page.
Redirecting Edit
You can create a redirecting page by typing "#REDIRECT [[example]]". For example, Help: Contents redirects to this page:
#REDIRECT [[Help:Editing]]
This feature should be used when there are two or more terms for the same thing, or in a similar scenario.
Rules Edit
- To quote text without applying the wiki formatting rules, enclose it within a ... section. Within a nowiki section, only HTML-quoting of special characters (<>&) will occur--no other formatting rules will be applied.
- A line which ends in a backslash character (\) will be joined with the next line before most formatting rules are applied. This can be useful for breaking up long sections of text in line-sensitive sections (like lists or indented text).
- If raw-HTML sections are enabled (they are disabled by default), you can enter raw HTML code within a <html> ... </html> section. Note that no special character escaping is done, so you will need to use sequences like < if you want to display a < character.
- Most of the formatting rules are order-independent. On rare occasions the order of processing may be important. The rules are processed in the following order: raw HTML sections, HTML quoting, nowiki tags, backslash line joining, preformatted sections, paragraphs, lists and indented text, horizontal lines, italic/bold text, URLs, and finally ordinary WikiName links.
- Do not indent paragraphs. (Indenting may cause your text to appear in a monospaced font.)
- Leave a single blank line between paragraphs.
- To create a horizontal line, type 4 or more minus/dash/hyphen (-) characters.
- If you want to test your abilities, use the Help:Sandbox.
- When writing an article, please write more than one sentence. Reasons:
- This is simply stupid.
- Others will think: "Hey, this link is blue, so there's nothing to do." The article will never be improved or expanded, even if there were people who know how to expand it.
Please respect these rules. There are people called administrators or sysops (system operators) like Maestrosync, Lord of Destiny, or Maniac who will delete stupid articles. These administrators are even allowed to ban you if you misbehave. If you have any questions, however, you should leave a message on their user talk pages.
- Wikis based on the new Unified Community Platform (UCP) may look or behave differently to what is described below.
See this page for more information on the new platform.
The VisualEditor
The classic editor
Editing on Fandom is as simple as clicking the "Edit" button on a page. Doing so will take you to an edit page where you can make changes to the page and add new information and media, correct errors, or update the formatting.
Depending on whether you are logged in or not, you may receive a different editing experience:
- Help:VisualEditor
- Most anonymous and newer users will see the VisualEditor. It's an editing experience based around showing you an accurate visual representation of your changes.
- Help:Classic editor
- Other users will see the classic editor, including the older visual editing experience and basic source wikitext editing.
Quick tips
- Once you are in an editor, you can use the available tools to quickly add and remove information, change the formatting, add new images and videos, update the page's layout, and much more! Once you're done making your changes, just click the "Publish" button to update the page.
- Don't be afraid if you "break" anything. All edits to a page are stored in the page history, and if something does go wrong you can simply revert to an older version.
- If you want to edit a page without clicking the "Edit" button, you can press E on your keyboard, and the page will automatically load the preferred editor.
- Editing is not yet possible through the Fandom app or Community Apps.
Choosing an editor
Logged in users can choose their default editor from a dropdown list in their user preferences (found here).
| Setting | Meaning |
|---|---|
| VisualEditor | Shows the VisualEditor on all communities. |
| Classic rich-text editor (where available) | Shows the classic rich-text editor where available. If not, the source editor is shown. |
| Source editor | Shows the basic source editor on all communities. |
Anonymous users will almost always see the VisualEditor by default. In a few specific cases, the VisualEditor may not be available on a particular community.
Additionally, the alternative editors can still be found under the Edit button dropdown - for example, you can still access the classic editor from the dropdown even if the VisualEditor is the default.
Further help and feedback
- Browse and search other help pages at Help:Contents
- Check Fandom Community Central for sources of further help and support
- Check Contacting Fandom for how to report any errors or unclear steps in this article
- Learn how to use Fandom in Fandom University: short how-to videos for all levels of experience
