Wikisource:How to edit a page

This page is the reference for Wiki markup.

Simply click on the "Edit this page" link at the top or bottom (also on the sidebar) of a Wiki page to change the page itself, or click on "Discuss this page" link and then on "Edit this page" to write on the corresponding talk page. This will bring you to a page with a text box containing the editable text of that Wiki page.

Then type away, write a short edit summary on the small field below the edit-box and when finished press "Save"! You can also preview your changes before saving if you like. Depending on your system, pressing Enter while the edit box is not active (there is no typing cursor in it) may have the same effect as pressing Save.

If during editing you want to see the current version again, open "Cancel" in a new window: this does not cancel your edit.

It is often more convenient to copy and paste the text first into your favorite text editor, edit and spell check there, and then paste back into the browser to preview. This way, you can also keep a local backup copy of the pages you authored so that you can make changes offline. Some text editors can be specially adapted to edit Wikipedia articles: see Wikipedia:syntax highlighting.

After making a new page, it's a good idea to

With your page displayed, use What links here to check that articles already link to it, and make sure that they are all expecting the same meaning that you have supplied;
Check for corresponding articles in the Wikipedias of other languages that you can read.

Minor edits

See also Wikipedia:Minor edit

When editing a page, a logged-in user can mark that edit as "minor". Minor edits generally mean spelling corrections, formatting, and minor rearranging of text. It is possible to hide minor edits when viewing Wikipedia:Recent Changes. Marking a real 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, open the edit box again and save it without making any change (unless if you wish) except for writing in the summary: "the previous edit was major".

The wiki markup

If you want to try out things without danger of doing any harm, you can do so in the Sandbox.

Meta-Wikimedia version of this page, the official version.