Help:VisualEditor/User guide

 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 on that page.

Getting started: the VisualEditor toolbar
[[|frameless|center|800px|alt=

Screenshot of the VisualEditor toolbar ]]

Editing references
{| cellpadding="15" === Editing an existing reference === File:VisualEditor - Editing references 1.png |frameless|border|150px|center]] 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. File:VisualEditor - Editing references 6.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] If what appears is the "" icon, clicking on it opens the Reference dialog, where you can edit the reference's contents.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

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.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

File:VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Web.png |frameless|border|center|150px]]

If, instead of the "" icon (bookmark), what appears when you click on a reference is an icon for a standard template for citations, clicking on that icon will take you directly to the template mini-editor dialog. File:VisualEditor - Editing references 5.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] 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. File:VisualEditor - Apply changes.png |frameless|border|center|150px]] Click on "" when you're done.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Re-using an existing reference
File:VisualEditor Cite menu re-use.png |frameless|border|200px|center]] 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.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

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 "<tvar|cite></>" menu. File:VisualEditor - Editing references 18.png |frameless|border|500px|center]] In the <tvar|reference-title></> 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 "<tvar|input></>") to list only those references that include certain text.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Adding a new reference
File:VisualEditor references more.png |frameless|border|330px|center]] To add a citation using the "<tvar|cite></>" menu, place your cursor where you want to add it in the text. Then select the appropriate citation type in the menu.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Using the "Basic" citation
File:VisualEditor - Editing references 20.png |frameless|border|500px|center]] Shown here is what you will see if you select the "<tvar|basic></>" item. In the Reference editor, you can add your citation, including formatting.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

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 "<tvar|referencelist></>" tool.) In the Reference dialog, if you want to include a template in your new reference, click the <tvar|template></> icon (puzzle piece) in the "<tvar|insert></>" toolbar menu within the Reference editor. File:VisualEditor - Editing references 9.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] 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.)
 * colspan=2 |
 * border|center|300px
 * border|center|300px
 * border|center|300px
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

After you're done editing your new template, click on "<tvar|apply></>" to return to the Reference editor, and "<tvar|apply></>" again to return to the page you're editing. 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.
 * colspan=2 |
 * border|center|300px
 * border|center|300px
 * border|center|300px

Place the cursor where you want to display the references list (usually at the bottom of the page), open the "<tvar|insert></>" menu and click the "<tvar|referencelist></>" icon (three books). File:VisualEditor - Editing references 11.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] 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.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

The final step in the References list dialog is to click "<tvar|insert-button></>".
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

Using standard cite templates

 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

File:VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Pulldown.png |frameless|border|130px|center]]

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.)


 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

File:VisualEditor - Editing references - Cite book required fields.png |frameless|border|430px|center]]

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.
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

File:VisualEditor - Editing references - Add parameter.png |frameless|border|230px|center]]

To add more parameters, scroll down in the template mini-editor and click on the "<tvar|add-param></>" option.

Click on "<tvar|insert-citation></>" when you're done.
 * }

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 "<tvar|template></>" icon (puzzle piece) in the "<tvar|insert></>" menu. Type the name of the template you want to insert. When you see it on the list, click on its name. Then click "<tvar|add-transclusion></>". File:VisualEditor - Template editing 4.png |frameless|border|500px|center]] You can also edit templates that are already on the page by selecting them (they turn blue), and clicking on the "<tvar|template></>" icon (puzzle piece) that appears. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 1.png |frameless|border|300px|center]] Adding a new template or opening an existing one opens the "<tvar|transclusion-title></>" dialog. If the template has have been updated to contain TemplateData information, then the dialog will show a list of individual parameters; otherwise, a link to the documentation will be available in the dialog.
 * border|300px|center
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

If you are editing an existing template, and the template has been updated, then the dialog will show the values for the parameters. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 2.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] For an existing template, you edit the parameters already listed, and you can add additional parameters by clicking "<tvar|add-param></>", at the very bottom of the dialog. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 3.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] 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 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

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. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 5.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] When you're done, click "<tvar|apply></>" to close the dialog and return to the page editor. File:VisualEditor - Apply changes.png |frameless|border|center|150px]]
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |

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

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

Then, click the green "<tvar|add-transclusion></>" button. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 7.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] Add any parameters as usual and "<tvar|apply></>". File:VisualEditor - Template editing 6.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] You will see the template expand on the page after you click "<tvar|apply></>". When you're ready save the page. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 8.png |frameless|border|center|700px]]
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * colspan=2 |
 * }

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

Keyboard shortcuts
Many editors are used to entering wikitext directly, especially bold, italics and wikilinks. Keyboard>mw:VisualEditor/Portal/Keyboard shortcuts</>|Keyboard shortcuts allow to quickly insert similar formatting without having to use toolbar items. Here are the common general shortcuts in VisualEditor: