Wiki Tutorial

How-To Wiki

Editors

Below is a quick cheatsheet with commonly used Wikitext markup.
But first, it's good to know that there are two ways to edit a page:

Visual editor

• Click Edit to open it.
• Uses a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface — no code needed!
• Visual Editor User Guide

Wikitext editor

• Click Edit source to open it.
• Uses a markup language called Wikitext (like writing in simplified code).
• Wiki Syntax User Guide

Cheatsheet

''italics''

'''bold'''

'''''bold and italics'''''

== Standard header ==

=== Sub-header ===   (...and so on)

[[Page name]]   (internal link)

[[Page name|custom text]]   (internal link with alternate text)

[http://example.com link text]   (external link)

[[Category:Example]]   (add to category)

[[:Category:Example]]   (link to category)

----   (horizontal line)

* bulleted item

# numbered item

: indentation

:: double indentation   (...and so on)

;term : definition   (definition list)

[[File:Image.jpg|thumb|frame|Caption text]]   (insert image)

<gallery>
File:Image1.jpg
File:Image2.jpg
</gallery>   (image gallery)

<blockquote>
Quoted text here.
</blockquote>   (block quote)

<code>inline code</code>   (for code snippets)

<br />   (line break)

🔗 More details: MediaWiki Formatting Help Guide

Wiki Editing

How to write on the wiki?

There are two modes: Read and Edit.

Edit lets you enter new content or make changes to existing content.

While editing, you can preview your changes in the Show preview window before saving.

Once you’re done editing, don’t forget to Save changes — otherwise your changes will be lost!

Title Headings

You can create section titles using equals signs (=). The number of = signs sets the level:

=Main Title=

==Sub Title==

===Sub-sub Title===

===Sub-sub-sub Title===

You can place content under each of these sections.

Page creation

How to create a page?

All wiki content is organized into wiki pages.
For example, every article in your book could have its own wiki page. How you organize your content is totally up to you!

To create a page, simply create an internal link like this:

[[Name of new page]]

Another easy method is to use the search bar: type the name of the page you want to create. If it doesn't exist, MediaWiki will give you the option to create it.

Red link = the page does not exist yet

Blue link = the page already exists

Examples:

Wiki Tutorial – existing page

oooooooo – non-existing page

Links

There are two types of links:

• internal (to another page in this wiki)
• external (to a page outside this wiki)

Internal Links

To link to a page in this wiki:

[[Name of page]]

Example:

 [[Main Page]]

will result in: Main Page

Note: these links are case sensitive.

External Links

You can add external links in several ways:

Paste the URL:

https://birdcall.online/: https://birdcall.online/

Using link text:

[https://birdcall.online/ Birdcall's website]: Birdcall's website

Or as a "footnote"

[https://birdcall.online/]: [1]

Red Links

Wikis allow you to link to pages that don't exist yet — these are called red links or redlinks.

This is a great way to build "potential" or "to-do" pages — others can see what’s missing and contribute.

Even before they’re created, redlinked pages still show backlinks (what links to them), though they won’t show up in Special:AllPages. They do appear in Special:WantedPages.

Files

Uploading Images

Let’s add some visuals to our wiki pages!

Accepted formats: PNG, GIF, JPG, JPEG, PDF, SVG
Max file size: 10 MB

(Admins can increase this limit or allow more formats if needed.)

To upload, use the image icon in the editor. You’ll be asked to provide the file name and (optionally) a caption.

Basic syntax to insert an image:

[[File:myimage.png|My caption]]

You can add a caption using the | pipe symbol:

[[File:myimage.jpg|Caption under the image]] 

Videos

You can upload and embed video files (such as .mp4) directly into wiki pages.

→ Uploading a Video

Click the Upload file link.

Select your .mp4 file.

Give it a clear filename (e.g., Test.mp4) and upload it.

Allowed format: .mp4 Max file size: 10 MB (admins can increase this)

→ Displaying the Video Once uploaded, embed it in a page using:

[[File:Test.mp4]]
This will show a video player on the page.

→ Optional Features You can control width and add a caption, just like with images:

[[File:Test.mp4|640px|My sample video]]
640px sets the width of the video

The caption ("My sample video") appears below the player

→ Example

[[File:LaunchDemo.mp4|480px|Launch sequence demo]] 🡺 Renders a video with a width of 480 pixels and a caption: Launch sequence demo

Embedding an Iframe

To embed external content like videos or widgets, use the <safeiframe> tag.

Here’s the syntax:

<safeiframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ" width="800" height="450" allowfullscreen />

This will display the embedded content if the source URL is valid and allowed.

You can adjust:

• src — the URL of the embedded content
• width and height — to control the size
• allowfullscreen — to enable fullscreen mode (optional)

Changing Page Titles

To rename a page, use the Move function (found in the dropdown menu next to the star at the top-right corner).

This lets you:

• Move content to a new page title
• Automatically create a redirect from the old page to the new one (so links won’t break)

Think of Move as: Move = Copy + Redirect

Deleting Pages

Pages can be deleted, but it’s more like hiding than erasing — the title disappears from listings like Special:AllPages, but the page history is still viewable.

Citations

Using the Cite extension, you can make academic-style footnotes:

<ref>This is an example source.</ref>

This is a sentence with a reference.

Page History / version tracking

One of the most powerful features of a wiki is that it keeps track of every change made to a page. You can view, compare, and undo edits at any time. This is called the Page History.

To access the history of a page, click the View history tab at the top of the article.

This shows a chronological list of all changes, who made them, and when. You can also see a summary (if the editor wrote one), and compare any two versions.

Scenario #1

Someone accidentally deleted two paragraphs from your article. What now?

• Go to the page.
• Click View history.
• You'll see a list of past edits. Find the version before the deletion.
• Click on the date to preview that version.
• If it's correct, click Edit on that version, then save. You've now restored the content!

Special:RecentChanges

Want to know what's happening across the entire wiki? That’s what the Recent Changes page is for.

You can find it here: Special:RecentChanges

It shows all the latest edits, new pages, uploaded files, and other activities — listed in real time, with timestamps and usernames of the editors.

Scenario #2

You’ve been away from the wiki for a month. When you return, you notice that:

• Several new articles have appeared
• A bunch of images have been uploaded
• You wonder — who added all this?
• By visiting Special:RecentChanges, you can:

1. Quickly see who created or edited what
2. Spot new contributions from specific users
3. Detect any suspicious activity (like spammy page titles or bot-generated edits)

If you notice unwanted changes, you can revert them directly from the list. You can also block persistent spammers or bots if you're an admin.

Tip: Logged-in users can customize the number of days or edits shown in the RecentChanges preferences.

Special:AllPages

Special:AllPages – an alphabetical list of all pages (like an index).

Redirects

Redirects are useful for:

• Synonyms (e.g. "Dog" redirects to "Canine")
• Choosing a preferred title

Syntax:

#REDIRECT Better title

Redirects are respected by search, backlinks, and special pages.

HTML + CSS

Basic HTML and CSS tags are allowed on wiki pages. This is useful for fine-tuning formatting or adding style.

Examples:

Line breaks: <br />

Span with style: <span style="color:red;">red text</span>

Div block: <div style="background:#f0f0f0; padding:10px;">highlighted area</div>

You can use this to:

• Change text color

• Add padding/margins

• Highlight sections

• Align images or elements

Note: Some tags and styles may be restricted for security reasons, depending on the site's configuration.

For more: Help:HTML in wikitext

nowiki

The <nowiki> tag tells the wiki to ignore formatting — great for showing code or wikitext as plain text.

Example:

<nowiki>[[Link]]</nowiki>
This will display: [[Link]] instead of turning it into a real link Link.

Use it when you want to explain syntax without it being rendered.

Categories

Categories help group related pages together. They work like tags or folders.

To add the current page to a category:

[[Category: People]]

This adds the page to the People category. A link to the category will appear at the bottom of the page.

You can also organize categories into hierarchies by tagging a category page with another category.

To link to a category page without putting the current page into it, add a colon at the beginning:

[[:Category:Fish]]
This produces a normal link: Category:Fish

Note: Some extensions can help manage complex category trees.

Sidebar Navigation

How to customize the main navigation (sidebar)?

The sidebar shown on every page (usually on the left) is defined in the page:

MediaWiki:Sidebar

To edit it:
Make sure you're logged in as a user with admin or interface-admin rights.

Go to: MediaWiki:Sidebar

Edit it like a simple list using a specific syntax:
* navigation
** mainpage|Home
** recentchanges-url|Recent Changes
** randompage-url|Random Page


You can also add your own custom sections and links:
* mysection
** page1|Bird Sounds
** page2|About the Project


Transclusion

Transclusion means including the content of one page inside another, like a live copy. If the original page changes, all pages that transclude it will update too.

To transclude a page:

{{:Name of page}}

This pulls in the content of "Name of page" and displays it wherever you place the tag.

Useful for:

• Reusing standard text (like intros or instructions)
• Building pages from smaller parts
• Keeping things consistent across multiple pages

Note: The colon (:) before the page name avoids treating it like a template.

Templates

Templates are reusable chunks of content you can insert on many pages — like a copy-paste that stays updated.

To use a template:

{{TemplateName}}

Great for shared layouts like footers, notes, or bios.

More info: Help:Templates

Magic Words

Magic Words or Variables are dynamic placeholders that show things like the current page name, time, or user.

Examples:

• {{CURRENTPAGE}} → shows this page's name
• {{CURRENTTIME}} → shows the current time
• {{CURRENTUSER}} → shows your username (if logged in)
• {{NUMBEROFPAGES}} ? → total number of pages on the wiki

More: Magic words – Variables

Magic Tags

These special commands change how a page behaves — they’re like invisible instructions to the wiki.

Some examples:

• __NOTOC__ → hides the table of contents
• __NOINDEX__ → prevents the page from appearing in search engines
• __HIDDENCAT__ → hides this category from the bottom of the page

You can also control how a page appears and is sorted:

• DISPLAYTITLE: Set the proper title
• DEFAULTSORT: Tell the wiki how to order the page title

{{DISPLAYTITLE:cat}} → sets how the page title is displayed

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wales, Jimmy}} → tells the wiki how to sort the page in categories

More info: Magic words – Behavior switches

Communication

How do collaborators, editors, proofreaders, coordinators, and designers communicate within the wiki?

Let’s say one person completely disagrees with something written on a shared page — what now?

There are a few ways to handle this:

• Use the Discussion page (tab at the top of any article) — it's a space to discuss changes, ask questions, or raise concerns without editing the main content.
• Leave a note in the edit summary when saving changes.
• Some groups create a dedicated discussion page or use categories like.

The key is: talk it out!

Further Exploring

Want to go deeper? Here are some helpful features and concepts in MediaWiki you might explore:

• Navigation tools:

Special:RecentChanges, Special:NewFiles, Special:AllPages, Special:Random

• Editing tricks:

Wikitext basics — headers, formatting, and behaviour switches like Section editing (avoids edit conflicts)

• Organising content:

Namespaces — like Main, Category, and User pages Redirects and renaming pages

• Linking smartly:

Subpages, redirects, name normalization

• Media files:

Images and files, audio/video embedding

Resources

• Working with MediaWiki by Yaron Koren — a clear and gentle introduction to MediaWiki. It explains core concepts and topics like
• wikitext syntax in a narrative, beginner-friendly way.

Colophon

Special thanks to XPUB — the Master of Arts in Fine Art and Design: Experimental Publishing at the Piet Zwart Institute — for introducing us to MediaWiki software and co-created the first version of this how-to guide.