Help:Formatting in wikitext

You can format your text using the formatting toolbar or wiki markup. Wiki markup can be thought of as a simplified version of html and it consists of normal characters like asterisks, single quotes or equation marks which have a special function in the wiki. For example, to format a word in italic, you include it in two single quotes like ''this''.

Text Formatting

Description	You type	You get
character (inline) formatting – applies anywhere
Italic text	`''italic''`	italic
Bold text	`'''bold'''`	bold
Bold and italic	`'''''bold & italic'''''`	bold & italic
Ignore wiki markup	`<nowiki>no ''markup''</nowiki>`	no ''markup''
section formatting – only at the beginning of the line
Preformatted text	preformatted text is done with a '''space''' at the ''beginning'' of the line This way of preformatting only applies to section formatting, and character formatting markups are still effective.	preformatted text is done with a space at the beginning of the line

Organizing

Headers & Lines

Description	You type	You get
section formatting – only at the beginning of the line (with no leading spaces)
Headings of different levels	=level 1= ==level 2== ===level 3=== ====level 4==== =====level 5===== ======level 6====== Level 1 is normally set aside for the article title. An article with 4 or more headings automatically creates a table of contents.	Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
Horizontal rule	`----`

Lists

Description	You type	You get
section formatting – only at the beginning of the line (with no leading spaces)
Bullet list	* one * two * three three point one three point two Inserting a blank line will end the first list and start another.	one two three three point one three point two
Numbered list	# one # two<br />spanning more lines<br />doesn't break numbering # three ## three point one ## three point two	one two spanning more lines doesn't break numbering three three point one three point two
Definition list	;item 1 : definition 1 ;item 2 : definition 2-1 : definition 2-2	item 1 definition 1 item 2 definition 2-1 definition 2-2
Adopting definition list to indent text	: Single indent :: Double indent ::::: Multiple indent This workaround may be controversial from the viewpoint of accessibility.	Single indent Double indent Multiple indent
Mixture of different types of list	# one # two #* two point one #* two point two # three #; three item one #: three def one # four #: four def one #: this rather looks like the continuation of # four #: and thus often used instead of <br /> # five ## five sub 1 ### five sub 1 sub 1 ## five sub 2 ;item 1 :* definition 1-1 :* definition 1-2 : ;item 2 :# definition 2-1 :# definition 2-2 The usage of `#:` and `*:` for breaking a line within an item may also be controversial.	one two two point one two point two three three item one three def one four four def one this rather looks like the continuation of `# four` often used instead of `<br />` five five sub 1 five sub 1 sub 1 five sub 2 item 1 definition 1-1 definition 1-2 item 2 definition 2-1 definition 2-2

For even more on list, check out Wikipedia's List Help article.

Signatures

You should always sign your comments, though signatures can be inserted anywhere on a wiki page.

Description	You type	You get
character (inline) formatting – applies anywhere
Signature	Three tildes for just a signature, ~~~	Three tildes for just a signature, Cynthia (UBC LSIT)
Signature with Date and Time	Four tildes for your signature with date and time, ~~~~	Four tildes for your signature with date and time, Cynthia (UBC LSIT) 22:27, 26 May 2010 (UTC)
Only Date and Time	Five tildes for date and time only, ~~~~~	Five tildes for date and time only, 22:27, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

Note: Once you save, the signature and date/time are automatically created. The next time someone edits, it no longer show the tildes.

Links

Please see Help:Links for detailed information on creating hyperlinks

Paragraphs

MediaWiki ignores single line breaks. To start a new paragraph, leave an empty line. You can force a line break within a paragraph with the HTML tags <br />.

HTML Formatting

Some HTML tags are allowed in MediaWiki, for example <code>, <div>, <span> and <font>. These apply anywhere you insert them.

Description	You type	You get
Underscore	`<u>underscore</u>`	underscore
Strikethrough	`<del>Strikethrough</del>` or `<s>Strikethrough</s>`	~~Strikethrough~~
Fixed width text	`<tt>Fixed width text</tt>` or `<code>source code</code>`	`Fixed width text` or `source code`
Blockquotes	`text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text <blockquote> quote quote quote quote quote quote </blockquote> text text text text text text text text text text text text`	text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text text quote quote quote quote quote quote text text text text text text text text text text text text
Typewriter font	Puts text in a <tt>typewriter font</tt>. The same font is generally used for <code> computer code</code>.	Puts the text in a `typewriter` `font`. The same font is generally used for `computer code`.
Superscripts and Subscripts	X<sup>2</sup>, H<sub>2</sub>O	X², H₂O
Centered text	<center>Centered text</center> * Please note the American spelling of "center".	Centered text
Comment	`<!-- This is a comment -->` Text can only be viewed in the edit window.
Completely preformatted text	`<pre>this way, all markups are '''ignored'''</pre>`	this way, all markups are '''ignored'''.
Customized preformatted text	`<pre style="CSS text">this way, all markups are '''ignored''' and formatted with a CSS text</pre>`	this way, all markups are '''ignored''' and formatted with a CSS text

Mathematical formulas

MediaWiki allows you to use LaTeX to insert mathematical formulae by typing in <math>Formula here</math>. Included here are a couple of examples and commonly used functions and expressions.

	What you type	What it looks like
Superscript	<math> a^2 </math>	$a^{2}$
Subscript	<math> a_3 </math>	$a_{3}$
Grouping	<math> a_{x,y} </math>	$a_{x,y}$
Combination	<math> a_3^2 or {a_3}^2 </math>	$a_{3}^{2}$ or ${a_{3}}^{2}$
Root	<math> ([n] is optional) \sqrt[n]{x} </math>	${\sqrt[{n}]{x}}$
Fraction	<math> \frac{3}{4}=0.75 or (small) \tfrac{1}{3}=0.\bar{3} </math>	${\frac {3}{4}}=0.75$ or (small) ${\tfrac {1}{3}}=0.{\bar {3}}$
More Complex Example	<math> \sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{x^n}{n!} </math>	$\sum _{n=0}^{\infty }{\frac {x^{n}}{n!}}$

See WikiMedia's Help on Displaying a Formula for a full article on using TeX to display formulae. Beginning at Section 3 (Functions, symbols, special characters) is a comprehensive list of all the symbols.

Footnotes

You can add footnotes to sentences using the ref tag -- this is especially good for citing a source.

What it looks like	What you type
There are over six billion people in the world.^[1] References: ↑ CIA World Factbook, 2006.	There are over six billion people in the world.<ref>CIA World Factbook, 2006.</ref> References: <references/>