WilmottWiki:How to start a page
From WilmottWiki
Any member can write for WilmottWiki. The edit page has a link for Editing help, so you won't be lost.
New pages can be started by following a link to a non-existent page, the so-called "red links". Or you can start a completely fresh page through the URL, see below.
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General principles
- Search to see whether someone has written a similar page before you start one yourself. Choose the title carefully.
- Review conventions of the project you are working in regarding e.g.:
- naming conventions.
- whether a separate page is justified; perhaps it is better to add the text to a related page (especially if the text is not very long); that page can always be split later, after it has grown.
- how-to guidance for writing regarding style, content and formatting. E.g. for WilmottWiki see WilmottWiki:How to write a great article.
- While creating the page and before saving it, check the What links here link on the creation page. Align the new content with existing links, or change the new title, or fix the other links.
- If nothing points here, the page is isolated. Links to it will need to be added on other pages.
Starting a page from an existing link or after creating a link
Links to non-existing pages are common. They are typically created in preparation for creating the page, and/or to encourage other people to do so.
New page links look different from links to existing pages. A different color is used. (Sometimes links to new pages are called "red links".) Links to non-existent pages are created with [[New page name]] from the wiki editor. (In this case, the empty page "New page name" would be created).
To start a new page, you can click a link to the new page. This takes you to edit mode of the non-existing blank page, which allows creation.
Of course, you can also create the link yourself, in a related page, index page or your user page. However, it may be better to wait with creating links until after creating the new page, especially if the new link replaces one to an existing page. In this case, create the link but press Preview, instead of Save. From preview area, clicking the new link will create the new page (without updating the referring page).
Starting a page through the URL
Using the browser address bar to enter a URL to a new page is an easy way to start the new page process. Easier still is editing the pagename part of a URL for an existing page. Using the URL for the new page displays the default 'no article' message. The default page has the usual Edit this page link, which can be used to begin adding content.
Creating an empty page
A new page is distinguished from a blank page: the latter has a page history. However, creating a new page is just like editing a blank page, except that a new page displays the default text from MediaWiki.
Occasionally it is useful to create an empty page - For example a template can be made such that, depending on a parameter, it produces either just a standard text or also an additional text. This is done by having it call another template, of which the name is a parameter; one version of the other template contains the additional text, the other version is blank.
To create an empty page, save a page with the wikitext __END__. This code will not be saved, it just prevents refusal by the system to create an empty page. Alternatively, first create a non-empty page, e.g. with just one character, then edit the page to make it empty. A page with one or more blank spaces at the end, including a page only contating one or more blank spaces, is not possible.
