Help:Visual Editor
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This page is for information on using the visual editor. For information on formatting and stylization visit the Style Guide.
Using the Visual Editor
The visual editor is one of the two editors we use on the wiki. It is more like a traditional word processor and allows the user to add code such as galleries, templates, and citations to a page without having to know the right syntax. It tends to be more beginner friendly. However, it has limitations. There are some features that cannot be edited via the Visual Editor, and namespaces such as Help:, Template:, and Mediawiki: cannot be edited in the visual editor at all. The visual editor does not work on page translations: for those, see Help:Translate.
Go to any editable page and click "Edit" in the tabs at the top right. This will take you to the visual editing view for that page.
Preview page before saving
It is good practice to preview a page before saving it to the wiki. This will allow you to catch any errors in formatting. To preview the page click "Show preview" under the editing box. The page will reload with a preview of what the wiki will look like at the top and the editing box below that. Note that this preview is not finalized: navigating away from the page at this point will not save your work. Review your work. If you need to make changes these changes will not reflect in the preview unless you click "Show preview" again. When you are satisfied, save the page. Note that some elements may not show in the preview, including galleries.
Save changes
Once you save your changes they can be viewed by anyone and are permanently recorded in that wiki page's version history. They can also be reversed or changed by any other wiki editor, including yourself. When saving a page please summarize your changes in the summary box. This lets others know what you have added or changed. If you are only fixing something minor like a typo, check the box to indicate that it was a minor change. This box is not visible when creating a new page.
Switch between visual and source editors
On most pages you can switch between the visual editor and the source editor while editing using the tabs at the top of the page. This can be useful if you find some things easier to do in one view and some things easier to do in the other. This will add the tag "Visual edit:switched" to the changelog.
Visual Editor Features
Basic text formatting
Headings
Different text formats including headings can be chosen under the first drop-down from the left. The menu will display which format is chosen as well as highlight it in the drop-down menu.
Style text
Bold, italics, and other text decoration can be selected using the second drop-down menu from the left.
Links
Use the link icon directly to the right of the style text menu to add a link. This will pop up a window at the place where the link is to be added.
Link to wiki page
Begin typing the name of the wiki page you want to link to and choose it from the list that pops up. To change the link click it and then click "Edit" in the popup.
Link to a wiki page in text
After choosing a page to link to click "Change text" in the popup and then type in the alternate text you want to add. To stop editing the text that is linked hit esc on your keyboard or click an area outside of the text.
Link outside the wiki
After clicking the link icon go to the second tab of the popup labeled "External site" and paste the URL into that box. Then click Insert.
Link outside the wiki in text
After entering the URL and inserting it, click the link and choose "Add label." Then type in the alternate text you want to add. To stop editing the text that is linked hit esc on your keyboard or click an area outside of the text.
Marking the text
Add a note inline
To add a note in the text click Cite and then Basic. Under Options type in "lower-alpha" and then enter the text of your note into the main box. Then click Insert.
Add notes section to page
Navigate to the bottom of the page and directly above the References section add a section using Heading (the second option in the headings menu) that is called Notes. Under this section click Insert>More>References List. This will add the regular reference table. To change it to show notes, click on it and click Edit. Under Use this group, put "lower-alpha" and then Apply changes.
Add citations
For information on adding citations please visit Help:Citations.
References
Insert a new section with a head called "References." Then insert the scrollbox template with <references /> as the contents. The references section should be directly after "Notes" and before "Navigation."
Add images
For information on adding images to a page please visit Help:Images.
Tables
Insert a table
In the top toolbar click insert>Table. This will add a simple table where your cursor was.
Add content in table
To add things to a table double click on the cell that you want to edit. From there, all of the usual editing tools should be available including templates. To switch a cell between a content cell and a header cell, select the cell/cells you want to change. Click the dropdown next to the undo/redo arrows in the top toolbar and then select either content cell or header cell.
Edit table rows and columns
To add a row or column select a cell right next to where you want to add it. Click one of the arrows that pop up: the one on top is for columns and the one on the side is for rows. Click "Insert before/above" or "Insert after/below" depending on where you want your new row/column to be.
To delete a row or column select a cell in that row/column. Click one of the arrows that pop up: the one on top is for columns and the one on the side is for rows. Click "Delete row/column."
To move a row or column select a cell in that row/column. Click the relevant arrow and then "Move before/above" or "Move after/below," depending on where you want to move it to. You will have to do this one row/column at a time.
Edit table formatting
To edit the table formatting click the table and then Properties in the popup. "Caption" adds or removes the header line at the top that is usually used for the title of the table. "Styled (wikitable)" toggles the color formatting: wikitable styled are the ones with the grey backgrounds in light mode. "Sortable" toggles being able to sort the columns using the header rows. If you don't have header cells this won't work. "Collapsible" toggles being able to collapse the table. "Collapsed initially" toggles whether or not the table is collapsed when the page is first visited.
For more complex table formatting including border color/width and alignment you will need to use the source editor.
Edit multiple cells
To edit multiple cells click and drag to select all relevant cells. With this you can move multiple rows/columns at a time. You can also merge cells. This will combine multiple cells into one cell which acts like a single cell but takes up the space of all of its parts. When merging cells with content in them use caution: it may delete your work.
Templates and Infoboxes
Create template
For information on creating templates please visit Help:Templates.
Add template to page
To add a template to a page click Insert>Template and then enter the template name and choose it from the list. It will take you to a page with boxes where you can enter all of the parameters. Required parameters will show with greyed out check boxes. Parameters that are not required will show with blue check boxes that can be unchecked if not applicable. If a parameter is required but you don't have the information use "TBA." Parameters should be named in a way that it is obvious what should be entered there.
Create infobox
For information on creating infoboxes please visit Help:Infoboxes.
Add infobox to page
Infoboxes are added in the same way that templates are.