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

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

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#Basic syntax):

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 (20px) that appears in the toolbar.
• If you're curious about how this works, see: Extension:CodeMirror.

• Bold: Use three apostrophes(') on either side. foo
• Italics: Use two apostrophes(') on either side. foo
• Bold + Italics: Use five apostrophes(') on either side. foo
• {{strikethrough|Strikethrough}}: Use the template {{tl|strikethrough}}. {{strikethrough|foo}}
• {{underline|Underline}}: Use the template {{tl|underline}}. {{underline|foo}}
• {{smallcaps|small caps}}: Use the template {{tl|smallcaps}}. {{smallcaps|foo}}

To format a link, add the apostrophes around the parentheses: foo

If you do it the other way around, it will not work since the parentheses interpret the apostrophes as part of the page name.

• If you press {{key top|Enter}} once, it will place a line break in the markup but not in the rendered result.
• If you press {{key top|Enter}} 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 {{key top|Enter}} twice, type
,
, or {{tl|pb}}. But, use sparingly.

a
b
c

produces:

• a
• b
• c

a
b
c

produces:

1. a
2. b
3. c

• Use foo to link to an article
• Use a pipe (|) to insert a parameter which changes what the link says. For example:
• Wikipedia:About gives Wikipedia:About
• About page of Wikipedia gives About page of Wikipedia

Link images in the same way that you would link any other internal page. For example, File:Abacus 6.png gives:

File:Abacus 6.png

Extended syntax for an image looks something like this:

File:Name

Here, only File is technically necessary. Most images only require:

File:Name

Here, thumb stands in for the size parameter.

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.

• 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, :fa:زرتشت 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
• Zarathustra in Farsi gives Zarathustra in Farsi

• Use the template {{tl|interlanguage link}} ({{tl|ill}} for short) if you wish to link to the other-language article until the English article becomes available.
• {{interlanguage link|INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier|fr}} gives {{interlanguage link|INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier|fr}}

• Add a prefix (shortcuts available) before the page name to link to other Wikimedia projects. For example:
• :wikt:toothbrush gives :wikt:toothbrush
• :simple: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#Prefix codes for linking to Wikimedia sister projects for a comprehensive chart.

• Use the template {{tl|Wikidata entity link}} ({{tl|q}} or {{tl|wde}} for short) to link to an existing Wikidata item.
• {{q|Q20155952}} gives {{q|Q20155952}}
• {{q|P197}} gives {{q|P197}}
• You can also use {{tl|ill}} to display links to Wikidata and Reasonator! We will try with the item for {{q|20155952}}, since this does not currently have a Wikipedia page.
• {{ill|Reasonator|qid=Q20155952}} gives {{ill|Reasonator|qid=Q20155952}}
• {{ill|Reasonator|qid=Q20155952|reasonator=1}} gives {{ill|Reasonator|qid=Q20155952|reasonator=1}}
• {{ill|Reasonator|reasonator=1}} gives {{ill|Reasonator|reasonator=1}}
• If no |qid= is given, Reasonator will perform a search for the item. Note that this can be imprecise, and often requires disambiguation.

• Use [foo] to add an external, non-Wikimedia link
• Technically, any link (even internal links) can be made this way, but the internal link rules (using foo) make those look much cleaner
• Use a space ( ) to label the link. For example:
• [https://insulin.library.utoronto.ca/] just gives [https://insulin.library.utoronto.ca/]
• [https://insulin.library.utoronto.ca/ Insulin Collection at the University of Toronto Libraries] gives [https://insulin.library.utoronto.ca/ Insulin Collection at the University of Toronto Libraries]

• 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)

• You can notify ("ping") a user by making an edit that links to their user page.
• Typing @Username 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:
• {{u|Utl_jung}} gives {{u|Utl_jung}} and notifies the user (this option does not append an "@")
• {{ping|Utl_jung}} gives {{ping|Utl_jung}} and notifies the user
• {{re|Utl_jung}} gives {{ping|Utl_jung}} and notifies the user

On talk pages, add a colon(:) to indent every time you reply within a thread. For example:

Hello world! ~~~~
:I see your comment. ~~~~
::{{re|Utl_jung}} 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)

::{{re|Utl_jung}} I, too, see your comment. Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

----

Once there are too many indents, it can help to {{tl|outdent}} ({{tl|out}} for short) for better readability. For example:

[...]
:::::The latest in a long thread of comments. ~~~~
{{out|:::::}}{{re|Utl_jung}} 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)

{{out|:::::}}{{re|Utl_jung}} Let's reset the indents for readability. Utl jung (talk) 17:13, 7 August 2020 (UTC)

----

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

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

{{Wikipedia:Transclusion/How Transclusion Works}}

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

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