View source for VideoLAN Wiki:Syntax

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{{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 <abbr title="HyperText Markup Language">HTML</abbr>.<br />
Commands to modify plain text include:
* "tags" around words, for example:
*: <code><nowiki><big>example text</big></nowiki></code> → <big>example text</big>
*: <code><nowiki><big><big>example text</big></big></nowiki></code> → <big><big>example text</big></big>
*: <code><nowiki><big><big><big>example text</big></big></big></nowiki></code> → <big><big><big>example text</big></big></big>
*: <code><nowiki><small>example text</small></nowiki></code> → <small>example text</small>
*: <code><nowiki><code>example text</code></nowiki></code> → <code>example text</code>
* "templates" (common snippets of formatting or often-used text), for example:
*: {{tl|VLC}} → {{VLC}}
*: {{tl|VLC icon}} → {{VLC icon}}
*: {{tl|VLC:latest version}} → {{VLC:latest version}}
* a particular way of linking to other pages and websites on the Internet:
*: <code><nowiki>[[Sandbox]]</nowiki></code> → [[Sandbox]]
*: <code><nowiki>[[Sandbox|Sandbox page]]</nowiki></code> → [[Sandbox|Sandbox page]]
*: <code><nowiki>https://example.com</nowiki></code> → https://example.com
*: <code><nowiki>[https://example.com Example]</nowiki></code> → [https://example.com Example]
*: <code><nowiki>[https://example.com]</nowiki></code> → [https://example.com]
* a particular way of making things bold or italic:
*: <code><nowiki>'''example text'''</nowiki></code> → '''example text'''
*: <code><nowiki>''example text''</nowiki></code> → ''example text''
*: <code><nowiki>'''''example text'''''</nowiki></code> → '''''example text'''''
* a particular way of inserting images:
*: <code><nowiki>[[File:VLC - icon.png]]</nowiki></code> → [[File:VLC - icon.png]]
*: <code><nowiki>[[File:VLC - icon.png|16px]]</nowiki></code> → [[File:VLC - icon.png|16px]]
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.

Another important feature is the page layout:
* making lists: simply start a line with *. For an indentation, use **.
* making tables: better explained [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Table 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 <code><nowiki><pre>example text</pre></nowiki></code>:
 example text

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 />
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 {{tl|Dead link}} after a dead link
* Adding {{tl|Stub}} at the bottom of a page to show that it needs work
* Adding {{tl|Check}} after something you think might be incorrect
* Adding {{tl|Outdated}} to the bottom of out-of-date pages
* Adding {{tl|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 ([[Special:PrefixIndex/Template:|full list]])

== Further reading ==
* [//www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing MediaWiki exhaustive reference guide]

[[Category:VideoLAN Wiki]]