VideoLAN Wiki:Syntax

See also: Documentation:EditingGuidelines

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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}} →

  {{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.com → https://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]] →

  [[File:VLC - icon.png|16px]] →

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It's understood that a wiki will eventually become outdated, and needs to stay up-to-date.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

• MediaWiki exhaustive reference guide