Help:VisualEditor/User guide/Citations

The toolbar
center|1200px|alt=Screenshot of the VisualEditor toolbar

Editing references
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Editing an existing reference

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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 1.png
 * To edit an existing reference, click on it where it appears in the text (usually as a bracketed number). You will see either a "" icon (bookmark) or an icon (and name) for the template that was used to create this reference. Clicking on this icon will open a dialog where you can edit the reference.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 6.png
 * If what appears is the "" icon, clicking on it opens the Reference dialog, where you can edit the reference's contents.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 6.png
 * If what appears is the "" icon, clicking on it opens the Reference dialog, where you can edit the reference's contents.
 * If what appears is the "" icon, clicking on it opens the Reference dialog, where you can edit the reference's contents.

Many wikis use templates to format references. If a template is used in your reference, then all the text in the template will be highlighted when you click on the reference information.

If a template was used and you've clicked on information in that template, then the icon (puzzle piece) will appear. Click on that icon to edit the content of the template in the template mini-editor dialog.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Web.png
 * If, instead of the "" icon (bookmark), what appears when you click on a reference is an icon for a standard template for citations, then clicking on that icon will take you directly to the template mini-editor dialog.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 5.png
 * Inside the template mini-editor, you can add or remove types of information or change current content. Only fields (template parameters) that have content are supposed to be shown initially. To add fields, click on "" at the bottom of the mini-editor.
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 * Click on "" when you're done.
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 * Click on "" when you're done.
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Re-using an existing reference

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 * VisualEditor Cite menu re-use.png
 * If the page already contains a citation that applies to the text you want to source, then you can choose to re-use the existing citation.
 * VisualEditor Cite menu re-use.png
 * If the page already contains a citation that applies to the text you want to source, then you can choose to re-use the existing citation.

To re-use an existing reference, place your cursor in the body of the text where you want to add a new reference (number) for that citation. Then click on the "" item from the "" menu.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 18.png
 * In the dialog, look at the list for the reference you want to reuse, and select it. If there are many references, you can use the search box (labeled "") to list only those references that include certain text.
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Adding a new reference

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 * VisualEditor references more.png
 * To add a citation using the "" menu, place your cursor where you want to add it in the text. Then select the appropriate citation type in the menu.
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 * To add a citation using the "" menu, place your cursor where you want to add it in the text. Then select the appropriate citation type in the menu.
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Using the "Basic" citation

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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 20.png
 * Shown here is what you will see if you select the "" item. In the Reference editor, you can add your citation, including formatting.
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 20.png
 * Shown here is what you will see if you select the "" item. In the Reference editor, you can add your citation, including formatting.

You can make the reference belong to a given group, although normally this is left blank. (This option is used to display groups of references with the "" tool.)
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 * In the Reference dialog, if you want to include a template in your new reference, click the icon (puzzle piece) in the "" toolbar menu within the Reference editor.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 9.png
 * Then, look for the template you want to use, add it and edit it as you would any other template. (See the Editing templates section, below, if you need more information about templates.)
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references 9.png
 * Then, look for the template you want to use, add it and edit it as you would any other template. (See the Editing templates section, below, if you need more information about templates.)
 * Then, look for the template you want to use, add it and edit it as you would any other template. (See the Editing templates section, below, if you need more information about templates.)

After you're done editing your new template, click on "" to return to the Reference editor, and "" again to return to the page you're editing.
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 * If there isn't already a list of references on the page (for example, if you're adding the first reference for the page), you need to specify where the list of references, and their text, will be displayed to the reader.
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 * If there isn't already a list of references on the page (for example, if you're adding the first reference for the page), you need to specify where the list of references, and their text, will be displayed to the reader.

Place the cursor where you want to display the references list (usually at the bottom of the page), open the "" menu and click the "" icon (three books).
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 * If you are using several groups of references, which is relatively rare, you can specify the group in this dialog. Only the references that belong to that group will be displayed here.
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 * If you are using several groups of references, which is relatively rare, you can specify the group in this dialog. Only the references that belong to that group will be displayed here.

The final step in the References list dialog is to click "".
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Using standard cite templates

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 * VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Pulldown.png
 * Your local wiki may have added extra citation templates to this menu. This offers quick access to the most-used citation templates. (Instructions for adding extra citation templates to your local wiki are available at VisualEditor/Citation tool.)
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references - Cite book required fields.png
 * Clicking on a template icon such as "Cite book" will take you into the template mini-editor for that template. Important information fields may be marked with an asterisk. While the most common fields will be shown, not all of them are required.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references - Add parameter.png
 * To add more parameters, scroll down in the template mini-editor and click on the "" option.
 * Clicking on a template icon such as "Cite book" will take you into the template mini-editor for that template. Important information fields may be marked with an asterisk. While the most common fields will be shown, not all of them are required.
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 * VisualEditor - Editing references - Add parameter.png
 * To add more parameters, scroll down in the template mini-editor and click on the "" option.
 * VisualEditor - Editing references - Add parameter.png
 * To add more parameters, scroll down in the template mini-editor and click on the "" option.

Click on "" when you're done.
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Using Citoid
When Citoid is enabled, the "" menu is different (separation in three tabs) and offers an automatic option for citing.