Many Matters : PmWiki/Basic Editing

authors (basic)
The pages on this site are WikiWikiWeb pages, which means that pages can be created and edited by multiple authors. To edit a page, click the Edit link that exists somewhere on the page, usually in the header or footer. Some pages may be password-protected, depending on the system’s security policies, but many systems allow open editing of pages.

When editing a page, you see the markup text that describes the content of the page. The basic rules for page markup are fairly simple:

Put a blank line between paragraphs
To make a list, start each line with # for numbered (ordered) lists or * for bulleted (unordered) lists.
To make a heading, start a line with two or more ! marks; !! is a subheading, and !!! is a sub-subheading.
To emphasize text, enclose it in 2 or 3 single quotes; ''text'' for italics or '''text''' for bold.
To make a link to another page, enclose the page’s name in double brackets; for example [[basic editing]] links to this page. Links to nonexistent pages ? are displayed specially, to invite others to create the page.
To make a link to another site, type its address, such as http://www.example.com/ .

If you want to experiment with editing a page, try it on the WikiSandbox. You can edit the WikiSandbox without affecting anything important on this site. If you do edit other pages, it’s courteous to sign your contribution; using ~~~ effectively ‘signs’ the name that you provide in the Author field on the Page Edit form.

Examples

The table below demonstrates many of the common markups used to format pages. The left column shows the effect of the markup, the right column shows what to write to achieve the effect. More details are available from the text formatting rules and other documentation pages. An exhaustive list of default markup is available as the markup master index

General Usage

What it looks like	What to type
An empty line starts a new paragraph.	An empty line starts a new paragraph.
A single newline usually doesn’t affect the layout. Use two backslashes to break a line.	A single newline usually doesn't affect the layout. Use two backslashes\\ to break a line.
A single backslash joins the next line to the previous one.	A single backslash \ joins the next line \ to the previous one.
Use three backslashes for two line breaks.	Use three backslashes\\\ for two line breaks.
Lists are created by using asterisks More asterisks produce deeper lists The list is terminated by the first line that is not a list Numbered lists are also possible and lists can nest	* Lists are created by using asterisks More asterisks produce deeper lists * The list is terminated by the first line that is not a list # Numbered lists # are also possible ** and lists can nest
An arrow (→) indents content. Line up text to continue the indent. Longer arrows (→) indent further. A reverse arrow (-<) creates a hanging indent, the first line is outdented and remaining lines are indented. Longer reverse arrows indent further.	-> An arrow (->) indents content. Line up text to continue the indent. -->Longer arrows (-->) indent further. -<A reverse arrow (-<) creates a \ hanging indent, the first line \ is outdented and remaining lines \ are indented. --< Longer reverse arrows indent \ further.
Definition list list of definitions item the item’s definition another item that item’s definition	: Definition list : list of definitions : item : the item's definition : another item : that item's definition
Lines that begin with a space are formatted exactly as typed, in a fixed-width font. Note that very long lines of preformatted text can cause the whole page to be wide.	Lines that begin with a space are formatted exactly as typed, in a fixed-width font.
This text is centered. This text is right justified.	%center% This text is centered. %right% This text is right justified.
Four or more dashes at the beginning of a line produce a horizontal line.	Four or more dashes at the beginning of a line ---- produce a horizontal line.

Links

What it looks like	What to type
Practice editing in the wiki sandbox. Text in double brackets become links to other pages. Words are automatically capitalized in page titles.	Practice editing in the [[wiki sandbox]].
Practice editing in the WikiSandbox. Which one? Oh, in the Main.WikiSandbox. When linking to a page in a different wikigroup, provide the group name, followed by a separator, and then the page name. If the separator you use is a slash, only the page name will appear. If the separator you use is a dot, the full string will appear.	Practice editing in the [[Main/WikiSandbox]]. Which one? Oh, in the [[Main.WikiSandbox]].
Practice editing in the practice area. Practice editing in the practice area. Practice editing in the practice area. Text after a pipe (\|) is used as the link text, or use the alternate (and perhaps more understandable) arrow (text → link) notation.	Practice editing in the [[WikiSandbox \| practice area]]. Practice editing in the [[Main.WikiSandbox \| practice area]]. Practice editing in the [[practice area -> WikiSandbox]].
Practice editing in the wiki sandboxes. Practice editing in the sandbox. Endings become part of the link text. Parentheses hide parts of the link name.	Practice editing in the [[wiki sandbox]]es. Practice editing in the [[(wiki) sandbox]].
What’s an aardvark, anyway? Pmwiki can use InterMap prefixes that have specific meanings. Parentheses can hide those too.	%newwin%What's an [[(Wikipedia:)aardvark]], anyway?
Links to external sources can be entered bare url: http://google.com link text: Google as reference: [1]	Links to external sources can be entered # bare url: http://google.com # link text: [[http://google.com \| Google]] # as reference: [[http://google.com \|#]]
Links can open in another window, as in http://www.pmwiki.org.	Links can open in another window, as in %newwin% http://www.pmwiki.org.

Character formatting

Emphasize, strongly,
very strongly.

These are all apostrophes (single-quote marks), not double-quotes.

''Emphasize'', '''strongly''', 
'''''very strongly'''''.

Monospaced text

This is a
  preformatted
    text block

@@Monospaced text@@

 
[@This is a
  preformatted
    text block@]

Text with ^superscripts
Text with _subscripts
deleted ~~strikethrough~~ text
inserted underline text
big, bigger text
small, smaller text

* Text with '^superscripts^'
* Text with '_subscripts_'
* deleted {-strikethrough-} text
* inserted {+underline+} text
* [+big+], [++bigger++] text
* [-small-], [--smaller--] text

WikiStyles allow text
to be
different colors.

Use lowercase letters for RGB colors (#ff7f00, not #FF7F00).

[[WikiStyles]] allow %red% text
%blue% to %green% be 
%color=#ff7f00% different %%colors.

Headings and blocks

Major Subheading

Major Subheading With Smaller Text

Minor Subheading

And More

Subheadings

Headings are useful for creating a “well-structured” page.
They’re not just for making big text.

!! Major Subheading
!! [-Major Subheading With Smaller Text-]
!!! Minor Subheading
!!!! And More
!!!!! Subheadings

Page titles

Not shown

The (:title:) directive sets the page’s title to something other than its name.

(:title Basic Editing:)

Block styles

All of the text in this block
is purple.

Purple cows and purple flowers
Purple people eater
Now this list is red
and this text is centered
and this text is right justified
And this is normal

>>purple<<
All of the text in this block
is purple.
* Purple cows and purple flowers
* Purple people eater
>>red<<
* Now this list is red
>>center<<
* and this text is centered
>>right<<
* and this text is right justified
>><<
* And this is normal

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