Basic Editing Guidelines

Basic Editing Guidelines

Welcome! This page will help you make your first edits using the Visual Editor — no special codes or markup required. If you can use a word processor like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, you already know most of what you need.

Getting Started

1. Go to the page you want to edit.
2. Click the Edit button at the top of the page (or the pencil icon next to a section).
3. The Visual Editor will open, and you'll see the page just like it looks when published — click anywhere in the text to start typing.

Formatting Text

Highlight the text you want to change, then use the toolbar at the top:

• Bold: Click the B icon, or select text and press Ctrl+B (Cmd+B on Mac)
• Italics: Click the I icon, or press Ctrl+I (Cmd+I on Mac)
• Headings: Click the dropdown that says "Paragraph" and choose Heading 2, Heading 3, etc., to organize your page into sections
• Bullet or numbered lists: Use the list icons in the toolbar

Adding Links

1. Select the text you want to turn into a link.
2. Click the link icon (looks like a chain) in the toolbar.
3. Start typing the name of the page you want to link to — the editor will suggest matching pages.
4. Click the correct page from the list, or press Enter.
5. To link to an outside website, paste the full web address (starting with http:// or https://) into the same box.

Adding Images

1. Click the Insert menu in the toolbar.
2. Choose Media.
3. Search for an image already on the wiki, or upload a new one.
4. Click the image to add it to the page. You can drag its corners to resize it or click it to add a caption.

Saving Your Changes

1. When you're happy with your edit, click Save Changes (usually a blue button, top right).
2. A box will pop up asking you to briefly describe what you changed (for example: "Fixed spelling" or "Added new paragraph"). This helps other editors understand the history of the page.
3. Click Save Changes again to publish your edit. It's live immediately.

A Few Friendly Tips

• Don't worry about breaking anything. Every past version of a page is saved automatically. If a mistake is made, it can always be undone.
• Preview before saving. Use the "Show changes" or "Preview" option to see how your edit will look before it goes live.
• Small edits are welcome. You don't need to rewrite a whole page — fixing a typo or adding one sentence is a valuable contribution.
• When in doubt, ask. If you're unsure whether a change is a good idea, leave a note on the page's Talk page (click "Discussion" at the top) before making a big change.