Difference between revisions of "VideoLAN Wiki:Syntax"

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Please follow these guidelines when editing this wiki.
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__FORCETOC__
There will be more guidelines later.
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{{See also|Documentation:EditingGuidelines}}
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Please sign your name on talk pages with four tildes: <code><nowiki>~~~~</nowiki></code>. It will automatically expand to your username and date.
  
 
== The basics ==
 
== The basics ==
This "wiki" ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki/ Wikipedia entry]) inherits its syntax from the MediaWiki code ([https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki official site]). This means that editing this wiki will be very similar to any other wiki you may have encountered, such as Wikipedia or Wikia sites.
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:''Note: You can practice editing at the [[Sandbox]] whenever you like.''
  
Wikimarkup, as it's called, is simplified HyperText Markup Language (HTML), and was designed for ease of use. You can learn the basics of it within a few minutes.
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This wiki uses something called "wikimarkup", a way to include plain text on a page and modify how it looks. This is similar to both Wikipedia's markup and <abbr title="HyperText Markup Language">HTML</abbr>.<br />
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Commands to modify plain text include:
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* "tags" around words, for example:
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*: <code><nowiki><big>example text</big></nowiki></code> → <big>example text</big>
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*: <code><nowiki><big><big>example text</big></big></nowiki></code> → <big><big>example text</big></big>
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*: <code><nowiki><big><big><big>example text</big></big></big></nowiki></code> → <big><big><big>example text</big></big></big>
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*: <code><nowiki><small>example text</small></nowiki></code> → <small>example text</small>
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*: <code><nowiki><code>example text</code></nowiki></code> → <code>example text</code>
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* "templates" (common snippets of formatting or often-used text), for example:
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*: {{tl|VLC}} → {{VLC}}
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*: {{tl|VLC icon}} → {{VLC icon}}
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*: {{tl|VLC:latest version}} → {{VLC:latest version}}
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* a particular way of linking to other pages and websites on the Internet:
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*: <code><nowiki>[[Sandbox]]</nowiki></code> → [[Sandbox]]
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*: <code><nowiki>[[Sandbox|Sandbox page]]</nowiki></code> → [[Sandbox|Sandbox page]]
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*: <code><nowiki>https://example.com</nowiki></code> → https://example.com
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*: <code><nowiki>[https://example.com Example]</nowiki></code> → [https://example.com Example]
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*: <code><nowiki>[https://example.com]</nowiki></code> → [https://example.com]
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* a particular way of making things bold or italic:
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*: <code><nowiki>'''example text'''</nowiki></code> → '''example text'''
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*: <code><nowiki>''example text''</nowiki></code> → ''example text''
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*: <code><nowiki>'''''example text'''''</nowiki></code> → '''''example text'''''
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* a particular way of inserting images:
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*: <code><nowiki>[[File:VLC - icon.png]]</nowiki></code> → [[File:VLC - icon.png]]
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*: <code><nowiki>[[File:VLC - icon.png|16px]]</nowiki></code> → [[File:VLC - icon.png|16px]]
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Single lines <em>are ignored by the software</em>. To add a line break, use <code><nowiki><br /></nowiki></code> or enter two newlines in the wikitext.
  
=== How to... ===
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Another important feature is the page layout:
The markup might be best learned by practicing in the [https://wiki.videolan.org/Sandbox/ Sandbox page] after looking over this quick list:
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* making lists: simply start a line with *. For an indentation, use **.
;Lists
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* making tables: better explained [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Table at Wikipedia]
* Asterisks (*) at the beginning of one or more lines create a bulleted list
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* using page headings to create sections: use pairs of equal signs around text, starting at two
* Pound signs (#) at the beginning of one one or more lines create numbered lists—this is incredibly convenient if you have long lists, because the line numbers are auto-calculated
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* To show code as pre-formatted text, insert a blank space at the beginning of each line or wrap in pre tags as <code><nowiki><pre>example text</pre></nowiki></code>:
;Markup
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example text
* Add two apostrophes around a word or phrase to make it italic: <nowiki>''example''</nowiki> → ''example''
 
* Add three apostrophes around a word or phrase to make it bold: <nowiki>'''example'''</nowiki> → '''example'''
 
* Add five apostrophes around a word or phrase to make it italic and bold: <nowiki>'''''example'''''</nowiki> → '''''example'''''
 
;Linking
 
* Two sets of double brackets around words, e.g. <nowiki>[[example]]</nowiki>, will link to the page "Example"
 
* External URLs, like http://example.com, will automatically link
 
* The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:PIPELINK "pipe trick"] enables you to link to one page but display a different text label
 
** The text on the ''left'' is the target page you wish to link to
 
** The text on the ''right'' is the label
 
** For example, <nowiki>[[VLC|this totally awesome media player]]</nowiki> becomes [[VLC|this totally awesome media player]]
 
  
=== General words of advice ===
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If you have a minute, learn the basics of editing: a [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cheatsheet one-page summary] and [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Wikitext an extensive manual] are available at the English Wikipedia.<br />
* Use the editing toolbar to help you; it provides buttons to help you out.
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If you want to "dive right in", find the ''Edit Toolbar'' (directly above the edit box) and use the buttons and the dropdown help for assistance.
* Keep things simple, and don't be afraid to make mistakes.
 
* Wikipedia has already prepared a cheat-sheet for you (all of it should work nicely here): [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cheatsheet Wikipedia:Cheatsheet]
 
  
== Templates ==
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== Calling attention to pages ==
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It's understood that a wiki will eventually become outdated, and needs to stay up-to-date. You can help by:
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* Adding {{tl|Dead link}} after a dead link
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* Adding {{tl|Stub}} at the bottom of a page to show that it needs work
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* Adding {{tl|Check}} after something you think might be incorrect
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* Adding {{tl|Outdated}} to the bottom of out-of-date pages
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* Adding {{tl|Image requested}} on the page needing better imagery
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See also the [[VideoLAN Wiki:List of templates]] for an visual listing of (most) of the templates ([[Special:PrefixIndex/Template:|full list]])
  
* See the [[List of templates|Documented List of Templates]].
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== Further reading ==
* See [[Special:PrefixIndex/Template:|all templates on {{SERVERNAME}}]]
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* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing MediaWiki exhaustive reference guide]
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[[Category:VideoLAN Wiki]]

Latest revision as of 05:07, 13 February 2019

Please sign your name on talk pages with four tildes: ~~~~. It will automatically expand to your username and date.

The basics

Note: You can practice editing at the Sandbox whenever you like.

This wiki uses something called "wikimarkup", a way to include plain text on a page and modify how it looks. This is similar to both Wikipedia's markup and HTML.
Commands to modify plain text include:

  • "tags" around words, for example:
    <big>example text</big>example text
    <big><big>example text</big></big>example text
    <big><big><big>example text</big></big></big>example text
    <small>example text</small>example text
    <code>example text</code>example text
  • "templates" (common snippets of formatting or often-used text), for example:
    {{VLC}} → VLC media player
    {{VLC icon}} → LargeVLC.png
    {{VLC:latest version}} → 3.0.12
  • a particular way of linking to other pages and websites on the Internet:
    [[Sandbox]]Sandbox
    [[Sandbox|Sandbox page]]Sandbox page
    https://example.comhttps://example.com
    [https://example.com Example]Example
    [https://example.com][1]
  • a particular way of making things bold or italic:
    '''example text'''example text
    ''example text''example text
    '''''example text'''''example text
  • a particular way of inserting images:
    [[File:VLC - icon.png]]VLC - icon.png
    [[File:VLC - icon.png|16px]]VLC - icon.png

Single lines are ignored by the software. To add a line break, use <br /> or enter two newlines in the wikitext.

Another important feature is the page layout:

  • making lists: simply start a line with *. For an indentation, use **.
  • making tables: better explained at Wikipedia
  • using page headings to create sections: use pairs of equal signs around text, starting at two
  • To show code as pre-formatted text, insert a blank space at the beginning of each line or wrap in pre tags as <pre>example text</pre>:
example text

If you have a minute, learn the basics of editing: a one-page summary and an extensive manual are available at the English Wikipedia.
If you want to "dive right in", find the Edit Toolbar (directly above the edit box) and use the buttons and the dropdown help for assistance.

Calling attention to pages

It's understood that a wiki will eventually become outdated, and needs to stay up-to-date. You can help by:

  • Adding {{Dead link}} after a dead link
  • Adding {{Stub}} at the bottom of a page to show that it needs work
  • Adding {{Check}} after something you think might be incorrect
  • Adding {{Outdated}} to the bottom of out-of-date pages
  • Adding {{Image requested}} on the page needing better imagery

See also the VideoLAN Wiki:List of templates for an visual listing of (most) of the templates (full list)

Further reading