Warhammer - The Old World - Lexicanum:Tutorial (Page 1)
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Contents
Edit an existing article
The most fundamental part of any Wiki is the ability for any user to edit, change, and alter information on any article that they come across. So long as you register an account then this is true on Lexicanum, with the exception of locked pages, the Main Page, and categories, mostly to prevent vandalism and things from breaking.
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: Open the Lexicanum:Chaos wastes in another tab as you read this page, click the 'edit' tab, and see where it takes you. Let's talk about how to edit a page:
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 your article. It is usually best to use these features as they can improve and speed up your editing.
Main edit section
The main edit section is the large, darker tan 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:
- Wikitext - The first tab to open when you edit a page displays the full text of the article, including the code used for things like bolding a word. It can look quite a lot different than the final displayed page. Hitting "edit" on a page to open the Wikitext view is a great way to learn what each notation does on a finish article.
- Preview - This views does just what it says- it gives you a preview of how the article will appear once you've saved your edits. No actual changes are made until you do save the page, so flipping back and forth between Wikitext and Preview is very helpful. Do note that some code you put in, like categories, will not appear in Preview view but will still be there once you've saved. It is a good idea to always use Preview before saving your edits, just in case you missed something.
- Changes - The last tab shows a side-by-side comparison of all the changes you've made to the page in this editing session. It is very useful when you've been working on an article for an hour and lose your place. It will not show changes from previous edits, which we will explore more when we get to the "history" tab.
Summary box
The summary box is somewhere to put a brief statement about 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
You can mark an edit as a minor edit by checking this small box. This serves to show to others that you have not changed anything substantially. 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.
Save page button
When you press this button, the page is saved and “published” for everyone to view. 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, just like the “Preview” tab we saw earlier. 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 precisely 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!
Create a new article
Before creating a new page on Lexicanum first verify that an existing article doesn't already exist. Try different names for the subject and check if anything that could link to it already does. If nothing comes up, then it's time to build one. There are two methods of doing so:
- Type your desired article title into the search box exactly as you want it to appear, and search. You will see a red link saying it doesn't exist, and when you click that you'll be prompted to make the page.
- Manually enter Lexicanum's URL with the desired article title into your browser address bar and hit enter. This will move you right to the "create an article" page but is generally not recommended.
Both methods will open the same window with the same functions as discussed in "Edit an existing article" above.
Formatting the text
Changing the formatting style, adding links, and even more advanced functions are performed on Lexicanum using simple code called "wikitext" or "wikicode", designed to be easy for anyone to use. We'll cover how in the proceeding tutorial steps.
Moving On
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.
Now proceed to the next stage in the tutorial.
