Help:VisualEditor/User guide/en

 If you would like to try VisualEditor without editing an article, [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Project:Sandbox?veaction=edit here is a page] where you can freely test it. You don't need an account to use VisualEditor here.

Getting started: the VisualEditor toolbar
center|800px|The VisualEditor toolbar

Editing references
{| cellpadding="15"
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Editing an existing reference

 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 1.png
 * To edit an existing reference, click on it in the text. You will either see a "" icon (bookmark) or a template icon. Clicking on this icon will open a mini-editor to allow you to edit the reference.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 6.png
 * If what appears is the "" icon, clicking on it opens the reference mini-editor to in most cases allow you to edit the reference's text.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 6.png
 * If what appears is the "" icon, clicking on it opens the reference mini-editor to in most cases allow you to edit the reference's text.
 * If what appears is the "" icon, clicking on it opens the reference mini-editor to in most cases allow you to edit the reference's text.

Many wikis use templates to format references according to a specific standard. If a template is used on a wiki that does not yet support the cite menu or is not included among those commonly used templates, you will find that when you attempt to edit the template in the template editor, its contents turn blue.

Click on the icon (puzzle piece) to edit the content of the template in the template mini-editor.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Web.png
 * If what appears when you click on the reference is one of the several template icons, clicking on it takes you directly to the template mini-editor.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 5.png
 * Inside the template mini-editor, you can add or remove parameters or alter the content in currently used parameters.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Apply changes.png
 * Click on "" when you're done, and you'll go back to the editor. Please note that if you have entered the template mini-editor through the reference editor, you will have to hit "" twice to get back to the main editor.
 * Inside the template mini-editor, you can add or remove parameters or alter the content in currently used parameters.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Apply changes.png
 * Click on "" when you're done, and you'll go back to the editor. Please note that if you have entered the template mini-editor through the reference editor, you will have to hit "" twice to get back to the main editor.
 * VisualEditor - Apply changes.png
 * Click on "" when you're done, and you'll go back to the editor. Please note that if you have entered the template mini-editor through the reference editor, you will have to hit "" twice to get back to the main editor.

If there is nothing more to edit, click on "" again to return to the page.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Reusing an existing reference

 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor references more.png
 * If the page already contains references, you can choose to reuse an existing citation, if it applies to the text you want to source.
 * VisualEditor references more.png
 * If the page already contains references, you can choose to reuse an existing citation, if it applies to the text you want to source.

To reuse an existing reference, place your cursor where you want to add it in the text, and click on the "" icon (bookmark) from the "" menu. Look for the reference you want to reuse in the list, and select it.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 21.png
 * In the reference editor, click on the button that says "", in the bottom left corner of the window.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 18.png
 * If there are many references, you can use the search bar (labeled "") to only display references that match a given text.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 18.png
 * If there are many references, you can use the search bar (labeled "") to only display references that match a given text.
 * If there are many references, you can use the search bar (labeled "") to only display references that match a given text.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Adding a new reference

 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor references more.png
 * If your wiki uses the cite menu, this may be an appropriate and easier avenue for adding references. (See "Using the cite menu", below.) Otherwise, to add a new reference, place your cursor where you want to add it in the text and click on the "" icon (bookmark) in the "" menu on the toolbar.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 20.png
 * In the reference editor, you can add, edit and format your citation.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 20.png
 * In the reference editor, you can add, edit and format your citation.
 * In the reference editor, you can add, edit and format your citation.

You can make the reference belong to a given group; this is used to display groups of references with the "" tool.
 * colspan=2 |
 * border|center|300px
 * If you're adding a new reference and you want to include a template in it, click the icon (puzzle piece) in the "" toolbar menu on the reference editor.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 9.png
 * Then, look for the template you want to use, add it and edit it as you would an existing one.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 9.png
 * Then, look for the template you want to use, add it and edit it as you would an existing one.
 * Then, look for the template you want to use, add it and edit it as you would an existing one.

Click on "" to return to the reference editor, and "" again to return to the page.
 * colspan=2 |
 * border|center|300px
 * If there isn't already a list of references on the page (for example, if you're adding the first reference of the page), you need to add it in order for the text of your reference to be displayed.
 * border|center|300px
 * If there isn't already a list of references on the page (for example, if you're adding the first reference of the page), you need to add it in order for the text of your reference to be displayed.

Place the cursor where you want to display references (usually at the bottom of the page), and click the "" icon (three books) to add it.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 11.png
 * To simply add a references list, click "" on the dialog.
 * VisualEditor - Editing references 11.png
 * To simply add a references list, click "" on the dialog.

If you created groups of references, you can specify a group in this dialog, to selectively display references that belong to it.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Using the cite menu

 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Pulldown.png
 * If your wiki supports the cite menu, this may be an appropriate and easier avenue for adding references. (The cite menu can also be used for updating existing references; see above.) The cite menu offers quick access to some of the more familiar citation templates. It is not available on all MediaWiki projects yet and must be enabled.
 * VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Pulldown.png
 * If your wiki supports the cite menu, this may be an appropriate and easier avenue for adding references. (The cite menu can also be used for updating existing references; see above.) The cite menu offers quick access to some of the more familiar citation templates. It is not available on all MediaWiki projects yet and must be enabled.

(Instructions to add the cite menu to a specific wiki are available at VisualEditor/Citation tool.)

To add a citation using the cite menu, press "cite" and select the appropriate template from the menu.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references - Cite book required fields.png
 * Selecting the template icon will take you into the template mini-editor for the template you have chosen. Strongly recommended parameters may be marked with an asterisk. While the most common parameters will display, they are not all required. Unused parameters should not display.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Editing references - Add parameter.png
 * To add additional parameters, scroll down in the template mini-editor to the "add parameter" option.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Apply changes.png
 * Click on "" when you're done, and you'll go back to the editor. If there is nothing more to edit, click on "" again to return to the page.
 * }
 * To add additional parameters, scroll down in the template mini-editor to the "add parameter" option.
 * colspan=2 |
 * VisualEditor - Apply changes.png
 * Click on "" when you're done, and you'll go back to the editor. If there is nothing more to edit, click on "" again to return to the page.
 * }
 * Click on "" when you're done, and you'll go back to the editor. If there is nothing more to edit, click on "" again to return to the page.
 * }
 * }

Editing templates
{| cellpadding="15"
 * To add a new template to the page, place your cursor where you want the template to be inserted, and click on the "" icon (puzzle piece) in the "" menu on the toolbar.
 * border|300px|center
 * colspan=2 |
 * Enter the name of the template you want to insert, and click "".
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 4.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * You can also edit templates that are already on the page by selecting them (they turn blue), and clicking on the "" icon (puzzle piece) that appears, or the one in the toolbar.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 1.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * Adding a new template or opening an existing one opens the "" dialog, with a list of individual parameters and their values (if the template has already been updated to contain TemplateData information; otherwise, a link to the documentation will be available in the dialog).
 * You can also edit templates that are already on the page by selecting them (they turn blue), and clicking on the "" icon (puzzle piece) that appears, or the one in the toolbar.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 1.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * Adding a new template or opening an existing one opens the "" dialog, with a list of individual parameters and their values (if the template has already been updated to contain TemplateData information; otherwise, a link to the documentation will be available in the dialog).
 * colspan=2 |
 * Adding a new template or opening an existing one opens the "" dialog, with a list of individual parameters and their values (if the template has already been updated to contain TemplateData information; otherwise, a link to the documentation will be available in the dialog).
 * Adding a new template or opening an existing one opens the "" dialog, with a list of individual parameters and their values (if the template has already been updated to contain TemplateData information; otherwise, a link to the documentation will be available in the dialog).

You can add parameters or edit those already listed.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 2.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * To change a parameter's value, select the parameter in the list, and edit its value in the adjacent window.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 3.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * When a template embeds other templates, these sub-templates will appear inside the parameters that display them. They can be edited or removed inside the parameter field.
 * colspan=2 |
 * When a template embeds other templates, these sub-templates will appear inside the parameters that display them. They can be edited or removed inside the parameter field.
 * When a template embeds other templates, these sub-templates will appear inside the parameters that display them. They can be edited or removed inside the parameter field.
 * When a template embeds other templates, these sub-templates will appear inside the parameters that display them. They can be edited or removed inside the parameter field.

New sub-templates are added by following the steps of adding a parameter. You may need to check the template documentation to make sure that the sub-template is supported.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 5.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * When you're done, click "" to close the dialog and return to the page editor.
 * VisualEditor - Apply changes.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Substituting templates

 * colspan=2 |
 * When a template must be substituted, type  (colon included) before the template's name.
 * When a template must be substituted, type  (colon included) before the template's name.
 * When a template must be substituted, type  (colon included) before the template's name.

Autocompletion doesn't work with ; if you need the autocompletion, add   only after finding the template you're looking for.

Then, click the green "" button.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 7.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * Add any parameters as usual and "".
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 6.png
 * colspan=2 |
 * You will see the template expand on the page after you click "". When you're ready save the page.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 8.png
 * }
 * You will see the template expand on the page after you click "". When you're ready save the page.
 * VisualEditor - Template editing 8.png
 * }
 * }
 * }

Editing poems and other special items
Some items, such as poems and musical scores aren't yet supported by VisualEditor. Until they are, you will need to edit the source wikitext directly if you want to alter or add these.

Keyboard shortcuts
Many editors are used to entering wikitext directly, especially bold, italics and wikilinks. Keyboard shortcuts allow to quickly insert similar formatting without having to click the toolbar buttons. Common general shortcuts, and ones used by other editors, function in VisualEditor: