Editing and syntax rules
Howtopedia is a WikiWiki, which means that anyone can easily edit any unprotected article and have those changes posted immediately to that page.
Editing a Wiki page is very easy. Simply click on the "Edit this page" tab at the top (or the edit link on the right or bottom) of a Wiki page. This will bring you to a page with a text box containing the editable text of that page. If you just want to experiment, please do so in the sandbox, not here. You should write a short edit summary in the small field below the edit-box. You may use shorthand to describe your changes, as described in the legend, and when you've finished, press preview to see how your changes will look. If you're happy with what you see, then press "Save" and your changes will be immediately applied to the article.
You can also click on the "Discussion" tab to see the corresponding talk page, which contains comments about the page from other Wikipedia users. Click on the "+" tab to add a new section, or edit the page in the same way as an article page.
Contents
Tips on editing Wikipedia articles
Always use a neutral point of view, as Wikipedia is not a place to promote points of view.
Cite your sources so others can check and extend your work. Most Wikipedia articles currently lack good references, and this contributes to Wikipedia's single greatest criticism – that it is not a reliable source. Please help by researching online and print resources to find references for the article you are working on, then cite them in proper form, and consider inline citation for contentious facts. There is no consensus on the best way to do that, but anything is better than nothing. You can either use inline citation in academic form such as (Example, 2004, pp 22-23) or as a superscript1 to a footnote that you place at the end of an article.
After making a new page, it's a good idea to:
- With your page displayed, use What links here to check the articles that already link to it, and make sure that they are all expecting the same meaning that you have supplied;
- Use the Search button to search Wikipedia for your topic title (and possible variants), to find articles that mention it, and make links from them if appropriate
Minor edits
See also Wikipedia:Minor edit
When editing a page, a logged-in user can mark that edit as being "minor". Minor edits generally mean spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearrangement of text. It is possible to hide minor edits when viewing Wikipedia:Recent Changes. Marking a significant change as a minor edit is considered bad behavior, and even more so if it involves the deletion of some text. If one has accidentally marked an edit as minor, the person should edit the source once more, mark it major (or, rather, ensure that the check-box for "This is a minor edit" is not checked), and, in the summary, state that the previous change was a major one.
Wiki markup
The wiki markup is the syntax system you can use to format a Wikipedia page.
In the left column of the table below, you can see what effects are possible. In the right column, you can see how those effects were achieved. In other words, to make text look like it looks in the left column, type it in the format you see in the right column.
You may want to keep this page open in a separate browser window for reference. If you want to try out things without danger of doing any harm, you can do so in the Sandbox. Try opening the Sandbox in a separate window or tab and keeping this page open for reference.
Sections, paragraphs, lists and lines
| What it looks like | What you type |
|---|---|
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Start your sections as follows: New section Subsection Sub-subsection
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==New section== ===Subsection=== ====Sub-subsection==== |
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A single newline generally has no effect on the layout. These can be used to separate sentences within a paragraph. Some editors find that this aids editing and improves the function diff (used internally to compare different versions of a page). But an empty line starts a new paragraph.
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A single [[newline]] generally has no effect on the layout. These can be used to separate sentences within a paragraph. Some editors find that this aids editing and improves the function ''diff'' (used internally to compare different versions of a page). But an empty line starts a new paragraph. |
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You can break lines
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You can break lines<br> without starting a new paragraph. |
marks the end of a list item.
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* Lists are easy to do: ** Start every line with a star. *** More stars means deeper levels. **** A newline in a list marks the end of a list item. * An empty line starts a new list. |
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# Numbered lists are also good ## very organized ## easy to follow ### easier still |
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* You can even do mixed lists *# and nest them *#* like this |
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; Definition list : list of definitions ; item : the item's definition ; another item : the other item's definition |
A manual newline starts a new paragraph.
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: A colon indents a line or paragraph. A manual newline starts a new paragraph. |
IF a line starts with a space THEN it will be formatted exactly as typed; in a fixed-width font; lines won't wrap; ENDIF
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IF a line starts with a space THEN it will be formatted exactly as typed; in a fixed-width font; lines won't wrap; ENDIF |
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<center>Centered text.</center> |
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A horizontal dividing line: this is above it and this is below it.
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A [[horizontal dividing line]]: this is above it ---- and this is below it. |
Links and URLs
| What it looks like | What you type |
|---|---|
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London has public transport.
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London has [[public transport]]. |
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San Francisco also has public transportation.
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San Francisco also has [[public transport|public transportation]]. |
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San Francisco also has public transportation. Examples include buses, taxis and streetcars.
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San Francisco also has [[public transport]]ation. Examples include [[bus]]es, [[taxi]]s and [[streetcar]]s. |
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See the Wikipedia:Manual of Style.
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See the [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style]]. |
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Economics#See also is a link to a section within another page. #Links and URLs is a link to a section on the current page. #example is a link to an anchor that was created using an id attribute
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[[Economics#See also]] is a link to a section within another page. [[#Links and URLs]] is a link to a section on the current page. [[#example]] is a link to an anchor that was created using <div id="example">an id attribute</div> |
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Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: kingdom. Automatically hide namespace: Village Pump. Or both: Manual of Style But not: [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]]
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Automatically hide stuff in parentheses: [[kingdom (biology)|]]. Automatically hide namespace: [[Wikipedia:Village Pump|]]. Or both: [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style (headings)|]] But not: [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Links|]] |
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The weather in London is a page that doesn't exist yet.
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[[The weather in London]] is a page that doesn't exist yet. |
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Wikipedia:How to edit a page is this page.
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[[Wikipedia:How to edit a page]] is this page. |
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When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it by adding three tildes to add your user name: or four to add user name plus date/time:
Five tildes gives the date/time alone:
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When adding a comment to a Talk page, you should sign it by adding three tildes to add your user name: : ~~~ or four for user name plus date/time: : ~~~~ Five tildes gives the date/time alone: : ~~~~~ |
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#REDIRECT [[United States]] |
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[[fr:Wikip�dia:Aide]] |
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What links here and Related changes pages can be linked as: Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page and Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page |
'''What links here''' and '''Related changes''' pages can be linked as: [[Special:Whatlinkshere/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]] and [[Special:Recentchangeslinked/Wikipedia:How to edit a page]] |
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A user's Contributions page can be linked as: Special:Contributions/UserName or Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0 |
A user's '''Contributions''' page can be linked as: [[Special:Contributions/UserName]] or [[Special:Contributions/192.0.2.0]] |
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[[Category:Character sets]] |
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[[:Category:Character sets]] |
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Three ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources:
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Three ways to link to external (non-wiki) sources:
# Bare URL: http://www.nupedia.com/ (bad style)
# Unnamed link: [http://www.nupedia.com/] ('''very bad style''')
# Named link: [http://www.nupedia.com Nupedia]
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Linking to other wikis:
Linking to another language's wiktionary:
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Linking to other wikis: # [[Interwiki]] link: [[Wiktionary:Hello]] # Named interwiki link: [[Wiktionary:Hello|Hello]] # Interwiki link without prefix: [[Wiktionary:Hello|]] Linking to another language's wiktionary: # [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour]] # [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|bonjour]] # [[Wiktionary:fr:bonjour|]] |
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ISBN 012345678X ISBN 0-123-45678-X
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ISBN 012345678X ISBN 0-123-45678-X |
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Date formats:
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Date formats: # [[July 20]], [[1969]] # [[20 July]] [[1969]] # [[1969]]-[[07-20]] |
Some uploaded sounds are listed at Wikipedia:Sound. |
[[media:Sg_mrob.ogg|Sound]] |
Images
| What it looks like | What you type |
|---|---|
| A picture: File:Wiki.png
or, with alternative text: jigsaw globe or, floating to the right side of the page and with a caption: File:Wiki.png Wikipedia Encyclopedia or, floating to the right side of the page without a caption:
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A picture: [[Image:Wiki.png]] or, with alternative text: [[Image:Wiki.png|jigsaw globe]] or, floating to the right side of the page and with a caption: [[Image:Wiki.png|frame|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]] or, floating to the right side of the page ''without'' a caption: [[Image:Wiki.png|right|Wikipedia Encyclopedia]] |
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Clicking on an uploaded image displays a description page, which you can also link directly to: Image:Wiki.png |
[[:Image:Wiki.png]] |
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To include links to images shown as links instead of drawn on the page, use a "media" link. |
[[media:Tornado.jpg|Image of a Tornado]] |
Character formatting
| What it looks like | What you type |
|---|---|
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Emphasize, strongly, very strongly.
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''Emphasize'', '''strongly''', '''''very strongly'''''. |
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<math>\sin x + \ln y</math> <math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math> Ordinary text should use wiki markup for emphasis, and should not use |
<math>\sin x + \ln y</math>
sin''x'' + ln''y''
<math>\mathbf{x} = 0</math>
'''x''' = 0
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A typewriter font for monospace text
or for computer code:
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A typewriter font for <tt>monospace text</tt> or for computer code: <code>int main()</code> |
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You can use small text for captions. |
You can use <small>small text</small> for captions. |
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You can You can also mark
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You can <s>strike out deleted material</s> and <u>underline new material</u>. You can also mark <del>deleted material</del> and <ins>inserted material</ins> using logical markup rather than visual markup. |
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Diacritical marks:
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À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Ù Ú Û Ü ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ñ ò ó ô œ õ ö ø ù ú û ü ÿ |
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Punctuation:
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¿ ¡ § ¶ † ‡ • – — ‹ › « » ‘ ’ “ ” |
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Commercial symbols:
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™ © ® ¢ € ¥ £ ¤ |
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Subscripts:
Superscripts:
ε0 = 8.85 × 10−12 C² / J m. |
x<sub>1</sub> x<sub>2</sub> x<sub>3</sub> or <br/> x₀ x₁ x₂ x₃ x₄ <br/> x₅ x₆ x₇ x₈ x₉ x<sup>1</sup> x<sup>2</sup> x<sup>3</sup> or <br/> x⁰ x¹ x² x³ x⁴ <br/> x⁵ x⁶ x⁷ x⁸ x⁹ ε<sub>0</sub> = 8.85 × 10<sup>−12</sup> C² / J m. 1 [[hectare]] = [[1 E4 m²]] |
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Greek characters:
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α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ ς τ υ φ χ ψ ω Γ Δ Θ Λ Ξ Π Σ Φ Ψ Ω |
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Mathematical characters:
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∫ ∑ ∏ √ − ± ∞ ≈ ∝ ≡ ≠ ≤ ≥ × · ÷ ∂ ′ ″ ∇ ‰ ° ∴ ℵ ø ∈ ∉ ∩ ∪ ⊂ ⊃ ⊆ ⊇ ¬ ∧ ∨ ∃ ∀ ⇒ ⇔ → ↔ |
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Spacing in simple math formulas:
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Obviously, ''x''² ≥ 0 is true. |
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Complicated formulas:
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: <math>\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!}</math>
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Suppressing interpretation of markup:
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<nowiki>Link → (''to'')
the [[Wikipedia FAQ]]</nowiki>
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Commenting page source:
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<!-- comment here --> |
(see also: Chess symbols in Unicode)
Table of Contents
Placement of the Table of Contents (TOC)
At the current status of the wiki markup language, having at least four headers on a page triggers the TOC to appear in front of the first header (or after introductory sections). Putting __TOC__ anywhere forces the TOC to appear at that point (instead of just before the first header). Putting __NOTOC__ anywhere forces the TOC to disappear. See also compact TOC for alphabet and year headings.
Keeping headings out of the Table of Contents
If you want some subheadings to not appear in the Table of Contents, then make the following replacements.
Replace == Header 2 == with <h2> Header 2 </h2>
Replace === Header 3 === with <h3> Header 3 </h3>
And so forth.
For example, notice that the following header has the same font as the other subheaders to this "Tables" section, but the following header does not appear in the Table of Contents for this page.
This header has the h4 font, but is NOT in the Table of Contents
This effect is obtained by the following line of code.
<h4> This header has the h4 font, but is NOT in the Table of Contents </h4>
Tables
There are two ways to build tables:
- in special Wiki-markup (see Help:Table)
- with the usual HTML elements: <table>, <tr>, <td> or <th>.
For the latter, and a discussion on when tables are appropriate, see Wikipedia:How to use tables.
Variables
(See also Help:Variable)
| Code | Effect |
|---|---|
| {{CURRENTMONTH}} | 11 |
| {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} | November |
| {{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}} | November |
| {{CURRENTDAY}} | 25 |
| {{CURRENTDAYNAME}} | Monday |
| {{CURRENTYEAR}} | 2024 |
| {{CURRENTTIME}} | 16:20 |
| {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} | 269 |
| {{PAGENAME}} | Editing and syntax rules |
| {{NAMESPACE}} | |
| {{localurl:pagename}} | /wiki/Pagename |
| {{localurl:Wikipedia:Sandbox|action=edit}} | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbox?action=edit |
| {{SERVER}} | http://en.howtopedia.org |
| {{ns:1}} | Talk |
| {{ns:2}} | User |
| {{ns:3}} | User talk |
| {{ns:4}} | Howtopedia - english |
| {{ns:5}} | Howtopedia - english talk |
| {{ns:6}} | File |
| {{ns:7}} | File talk |
| {{ns:8}} | MediaWiki |
| {{ns:9}} | MediaWiki talk |
| {{ns:10}} | Template |
| {{ns:11}} | Template talk |
| {{ns:12}} | Help |
| {{ns:13}} | Help talk |
| {{ns:14}} | Category |
| {{ns:15}} | Category talk |
| {{SITENAME}} | Howtopedia - english |
NUMBEROFARTICLES is the number of pages in the main namespace which contain a link and are not a redirect, i.e. number of articles, stubs containing a link, and disambiguation pages.
CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN is the genitive (possessive) grammatical form of the month name, as used in some languages; CURRENTMONTHNAME is the nominative (subject) form, as usually seen in English.
In languages where it makes a difference, you can use constructs like {{grammar:case|word}} to convert a word from the nominative case to some other case. For example, {{grammar:genitive|{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}}}} means the same as {{CURRENTMONTHNAMEGEN}}.
Templates
The MediaWiki software used by Wikipedia has support for templates. This means standardized text chunks (such as boilerplate text) can be inserted into articles. For example, typing {{stub}} will appear as "This article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it." when the page is saved. See Wikipedia:Template messages for the complete list. Other commonly used ones are: {{disambig}} for disambiguation pages, {{spoiler}} for spoiler warnings and {{sectstub}} like an article stub but for a section. There are many subject-specific stubs e.g.: {{Geo-stub}}, {{Hist-stub}} and {{Linux-stub}}. For a complete list of stubs see Wikipedia:Template messages/Stubs.
Hiding the edit links
Insert __NOEDITSECTION__ into the document to suppress the edit links that appear next to every section header.
More information on editing wiki pages
You may also want to learn about:
- How to start a page
- Informal tips on contributing to Wikipedia
- Editing tasks in general at the Wikipedia:Editing FAQ
- Why not to rename pages boldly, at Wikipedia:How to rename (move) a page
- Preferred layout of your article, at Guide to Layout (see also Wikipedia:Boilerplate text)
- Style conventions in the Wikipedia:Manual of Style
- An article with annotations pointing out common Wikipedia style and layout issues, at Wikipedia:Annotated article
- General policies in Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines
- Wikipedia:Naming conventions for how to name articles themselves
- If you are making an article about something that belongs to a group of objects (a city, an astronomical object, a chinese character...) check if there is a WikiProject on the group and try to follow its directions explicitly.
- Finally, for a list of articles about editing Wikipedia consult Wikipedia:Style and How-to Directory.
- Help:Formula
- Mediawiki user's guide to editing
- Wikipedia:MediaWikibe:Вікіпэдыя:Як рэдагаваць існуючы артыкулbg:Уикипедия:Как се редактират страници
[[ca:Viquip�dia:Com s'edita una p�gina]] [[cs:Wikipedie:Jak editovat str�nku]] da:Wikipedia:Hvordan redigerer jeg en sideel:Wikipedia:Πώς να επεξεργαστείτε μια σελίδα eo:Vikipedio:Kiel redakti pagxon [[es:Wikipedia:C�mo se edita una p�gina]] fi:Wikipedia:Kuinka_sivuja_muokataan [[fr:Wikip�dia:Syntaxe wikip�dia]] [[ga:Vicip�id:Conas a cuirtear leathanach in eagar]] he:ויקיפדיה:איך לערוך דף[[hu:Wikip�dia:Hogyan szerkessz egy lapot]] id:Wikipedia:Menyunting_sebuah_halaman it:Wikipedia:Guida_essenziale lt:Wikipedia:Kaip_Redaguoti_Puslapį ja:Wikipedia:編集の仕方 minnan:Help:Pian-chi̍p no:Wikipedia:Hvordan man redigerer en side nl:Help:Uitleg nn:Hjelp:Redigeringro:Wikipedia:Cum să editezi o paginăsimple:Wikipedia:How to edit sl:Wikipedija:Urejevanje slovenskih strani sr:Википедија:Како_се_мења_страна sv:Wikipedia:Hur man redigerar en sida th:Wikipedia:การแก้ไขหน้า tr:Wikipedia:Sayfa_nasıl_değiştirilir ur:صفحہ_کس_طرح_ترميم_کريں vi:Wikipedia:Cách_chọn_lọc_trang zh-cn:Wikipedia:如何编辑页面 zh-tw:Wikipedia:如何編輯頁面
