Help:VisualEditor/User guide

 If you would like to try VisualEditor without editing an article, [ here is a page] where you can freely test it. You don't need an account to use VisualEditor on that page.

== Opening VisualEditor ==

== Getting started: the VisualEditor toolbar ==

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

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== Saving changes ==

== Editing links ==

== Editing references ==

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Determining which system is in place
=== Editing an existing reference === File:VisualEditor - Editing references 1.png |frameless|border|400px|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. In either case, clicking on the "Edit" button will open a dialog where you can edit the reference. File:VisualEditor - Editing references 6.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] For the "" icon, clicking "Edit" opens the Reference dialog. To start changing the reference information, click on it.
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 * Your wiki may use one of three footnote systems. The one shown on the right is the simplest system, where the "" menu does not include any citation templates.  If your wiki uses this system, then everything you need to know about footnotes is on this page.
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 * The second system has the same type of "" menu, but with several popular citation templates set up for quick access. If your wiki uses this system, then you will find more details at Help:VisualEditor/User guide/Citations-Templates
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 * VisualEditor citoid Cite button.png
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 * In the third system, you again start by clicking the Cite button. Then a dialog box opens, which includes an automatic citation process using the citoid service. If your wiki uses this system, you will find more details at Help:VisualEditor/User guide/Citations-Full
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 * VisualEditor citoid Cite button.png
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 * In the third system, you again start by clicking the Cite button. Then a dialog box opens, which includes an automatic citation process using the citoid service. If your wiki uses this system, you will find more details at Help:VisualEditor/User guide/Citations-Full
 * VisualEditor Citoid Automatic tab.png
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 * In the third system, you again start by clicking the Cite button. Then a dialog box opens, which includes an automatic citation process using the citoid service. If your wiki uses this system, you will find more details at Help:VisualEditor/User guide/Citations-Full
 * VisualEditor Citoid Automatic tab.png
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Many wikis use templates to format references. If a template is used in your reference, then when you move your pointer over the reference information, all the information in that field will be highlighted.

If a template was used and you click on the reference information, then the  icon (puzzle piece) will appear with some information. Click on the "edit" button to edit the content of the template in the template mini-editor dialog. File:VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Web.png |frameless|border|center|400px]] If what appears when you click on a reference is an icon for a standard template for citations (an example is at left), then clicking "Edit" will open 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 will show, initially. To add fields, click on "" at the bottom of the mini-editor. Click on "</>" when you're done. === 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 that existing citation.
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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 "<tvar|re-using-reference></>" item from the "<tvar|cite></>" menu.

(Note: If your wiki has the third footnote system described above, you'll see a "Re-use" tab, in a dialog, instead of a "Re-use" item on 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.
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=== Adding a new reference === File:VisualEditor references more.png |frameless|border|150px|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.
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==== 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.
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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 citation template, or any other 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|400px]] 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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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.
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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). 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 on the page at the location where you are placing the group.
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The final step in the References list dialog is to click "<tvar|insert-button></>".
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====

Using standard cite templates ====
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File:VisualEditor - Editing References - Cite Pulldown.png |frameless|border|170px|center]] Your local wiki may have added extra citation templates to the "<tvar|cite></>" menu. If so, you have quick access to the most-used citation templates for your wiki. (Instructions for adding extra citation templates to your local wiki are available at VisualEditor/Citation tool.) 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. 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.
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Click on "<tvar|insert-citation></>" when you're done.
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== Editing images and other media files ==

=== Editing images ===

=== Editing media galleries ===

== Editing templates ==

=== Starting ===

{| cellpadding="15" To add a new template to a 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. Start typing 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 a template that is already on the page. When you click on the template to select it, it turns blue, and a box appears with an "<tvar|template></>" icon (puzzle piece). Then click on the "<tvar|edit></>" link. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 1.png |frameless|border|300px|center]]
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 * Some templates are not visible to someone reading a page. In VisualEditor, such hidden templates are shown as puzzle icons.
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 * When you select the icon, the context menu is displayed, and you can edit the template.
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 * When you select the icon, the context menu is displayed, and you can edit the template.
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Template parameters
For an existing template, you can edit the parameters shown in the dialog, and you can add 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.
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 * When you add a new template or open an existing one, VisualEditor opens the "<tvar|transclusion-title></>" dialog. What you see depends upon whether there is TemplateData for that template.
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 * The template shown here has no TemplateData set up for it. The dialog shows a link to documentation for the template. You can read the documentation to figure out if the template has any parameters (fields), and what goes in each field. Use numbers as the name for each nameless parameter. The first un-named parameter is named, the second is named  , and so forth.
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 * If a template has been updated to contain TemplateData information, then the dialog will show a list of individual (named) parameters.
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 * If a template has been updated to contain TemplateData information, then the dialog will show a list of individual (named) parameters.
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New sub-templates are added by following the steps for 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]]
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Finishing
When you have finished editing a template, click "<tvar|apply></>" to close the dialog and return to editing the main page. === Substituting templates === When a template must be substituted, type  (colon included) before the template's name.
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Autocompletion doesn't work with. If you want to use autocompletion, first find the template you are looking for, and then add  in front of the template name.

Then, click the green "<tvar|add-transclusion></>" button. File:VisualEditor - Template editing 7.png |frameless|border|center|500px]] Add any parameters as usual and click "<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></>". File:VisualEditor - Template editing 8.png |frameless|border|center|700px]]
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Editing lists
== Editing tables ==

== Editing categories ==

== Editing page settings ==

== Editing mathematical formulae ==

== Editing poems and other special items ==

== 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: