WikiIslam:How to Edit: Difference between revisions

==Editing articles3==

{{see also|Wikipedia:Core content policies}}

An [[Wikipedia:Writing better articles#Information style and tone|encyclopedic style]] with a [[Wikipedia:Writing better articles#Tone|formal tone]] is important: straightforward, [[Wikipedia:Summary style|just-the-facts]], instead of essay-like, argumentative, or opinionated. The goal of a Wikipedia article is to create a comprehensive and [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|neutrally written]] summary of existing mainstream knowledge about a topic. Wikipedia does not publish [[Wikipedia:No original research|original research]]. An encyclopedia is, by its nature, a [[tertiary source]] that provides a survey of information already published in the wider world. Ideally, all information should be [[Wikipedia:Citing sources|cited]] and [[Wikipedia:Verifiability|verifiable]] by [[Wikipedia:Reliable sources|reliable sources]]. Sourcing requirements are significantly stricter in [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|articles on living persons]].

Editing most Wikipedia pages is simple. Wikipedia uses two interface methods: classic editing through [[Help:Wikitext|wikitext]] (wiki markup), and a new [[Wikipedia:VisualEditor|VisualEditor]] (VE). Wikitext editing is chosen by clicking the <kbd>Edit</kbd> tab at the top of a Wikipedia page (or on a [[Help:Section|section-edit link]]). This will take you to a new page containing the editable contents of the current page. Wikitext is used extensively throughout Wikipedia for such things as [[Help:Link|hyperlinks]], [[Help:Table|tables]] and [[Help:Columns|columns]], [[Help:Footnotes|footnotes]], [[Wikipedia:Inline citation|inline citation]], [[Help:Special characters|special characters]] and so on.

The VisualEditor option is intended as a user-friendly, "What You See Is What You Get" ([[WYSIWYG]]) editing aid, allowing one to edit pages without the need to learn wikitext markup. It is only available to registered logged-in users through an opt-in choice available through [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures|personal preferences]], see the [[Wikipedia:VisualEditor/User guide|VisualEditor user guide]] for more information.

File:Wikipedia article in VisualEditor 2018-02-12.png|Screenshot showing the same article in [[Wikipedia:VisualEditor|VisualEditor]]. Unlike the wikitext display, VisualEditor will show the text being edited almost as if it were already published.

The Wikipedia community has developed [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style|style guidelines]] to make articles and facts appear in a standardized form, and Wikipedia easier to use as a whole. A basic list of [[Help:Wikitext|wikitext]] can be found on the [[Help:Cheatsheet|cheatsheet]]. An "[[Help:Edit toolbar|edit toolbar]]" is provided just above the edit box (pictured below), which allows logged-in users (by selecting the option in [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-gadgets|personal preferences]]) to automatically place and format various aspects of wiki code. See [[Help:Wikitext]] for more information, remember that you can't break Wikipedia, and, although there are many protocols, [[Wikipedia:Editing policy#Wikipedia is a work in progress: perfection is not required|perfection is not required]], as [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is a work in progress|Wikipedia is a work in progress]].

When you have finished editing, you should write a short [[Help:Edit summary|edit summary]] in the small field below the edit box (pictured below). You may use shorthand to describe your changes, as described in the [[Wikipedia:Edit summary legend|legend]]. To see how the page looks with your edits, press the "'''Show preview'''" button. To see the differences between the page with your edits and the previous version of the page, press the "'''Show changes'''" button. If you're satisfied with what you see, '''[[Wikipedia:Be bold|be bold]]''' and press the "'''Publish changes'''" button. Your changes will immediately be visible to all Wikipedia users.

{{further|Help:Referencing for beginners|Wikipedia:Citing sources}}

Generally, sources are added directly after the facts they support at the end of the sentence and after any punctuation. Wikipedia permits editors to use any citation system that allows the reader to understand where the information came from, and strongly encourages use of [[Wikipedia:Inline citation|inline citations]] to do so. Common methods of placing inline citations include [[Help:Footnotes|footnotes]], [[Help:Shortened footnotes|shortened footnotes]] and [[Wikipedia:Citing sources#Parenthetical referencing|parenthetical references]].

Inline citations are most commonly placed by inserting a reference between <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code> ... <code><nowiki></ref></nowiki></code> tags, directly in the text of an article. The reference is a footnote, appearing as an inline link (e.g. <small>^{<span style="color:#002BB8">[1][2]</span>}</small>) to a particular item in a collated, numbered list of footnotes, found wherever a {{tl|reflist}} template or <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code> tag is present, usually in a section titled "References" or "Notes". If you are creating a new page or adding references to a page that didn't previously have any, don't forget to add a references section with this display markup.

There are a number of tools available to help with citation placement and formatting, some of which are internal tools and scripts, while others are available from external sites. For an example of the former, [[Wikipedia:RefToolbar|RefToolbar]] is a [[JavaScript]] toolbar displayed above the edit box that provides the ability to automatically fill out various [[Wikipedia:Citation templates|citation templates]] and insert them in the text already formatted inside <code><nowiki><ref></nowiki></code> ... <code><nowiki></ref></nowiki></code> tags. For an example of the latter, the [https://alyw234237.github.io/wiki-doi-gbooks-citation-maker/ Wikipedia DOI and Google Books Citation Maker] converts a [[digital object identifier]] (DOI) or [[Google Books]] address (URL) into a filled-out {{tl|cite journal}} or {{tl|cite book}} template ready to be pasted into an article. See [[Help:Citation tools]] for many others.

A file that is already hosted on Wikipedia or the [[Wikimedia Commons]] can be inserted with the basic code <code><nowiki>[[File:FILENAME|thumb|DESCRIPTION]]</nowiki></code>. (<code>Image:</code> can be substituted for <code>File:</code> with no change in effect; the choice between the two is purely a matter of editorial preference.) Using <code>thumb</code> generates a [[thumbnail]] of an image (the most common placement option), which is typically sized differently from the original image. The Wikimedia Commons' [[Commons:Special:UploadWizard|File Upload Wizard]] and Wikipedia's [[Wikipedia:File Upload Wizard|File Upload Wizard]] will guide you through the process of submitting media. There are various file formats available.