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Usage[edit]

These templates are for use when answering questions on the help desk.

Each type of comment can be inserted by using a short code, as shown below. If the parameter is not recognized by the template, it will be displayed as plain text. You should substitute this template. Additional text may be included directly after the template.

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This page is for questions about editing Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link, select the relevant section, and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rd}}

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Computing reference desk. They specialize in answering computer questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rdc}}

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Science reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rds}}

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Mathematics reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rdma}}

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Miscellaneous reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rdmi}}

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Humanities reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rdh}}

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Language reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rdl}}

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Entertainment reference desk. They specialize in knowledge questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps. {{subst:HD/rde}}

Please see Why was my page deleted? The most common reasons are:

To find the specific reason a particular page was deleted:

Go to the Deletion Log
Type the page title in the case-sensitive search field
The date, time and reason for deletion will be displayed

To create an article, follow these steps:

Read Your first article carefully.
If you don't have an account, consider creating one (it's not essential, but it makes some things easier, especially communicating with other editors) and logging in.
Learn the basics of editing with the Wikipedia:Tutorial
Make sure the subject is notable enough to warrant a stand-alone article
Gather reliable sources to cite in the article
Make sure no article on the subject exists under a different title by typing the subject into the search box and clicking 'Search'
Use the Article Wizard to create a draft.
Create the article, including all your references, making sure you adhere to the Manual of Style and our article layout guidelines. Base the article on what the references say, rather than on what you know.
Once you believe that your draft meets Wikipedia's requirements, submit it for review by picking the "Submit your draft for review" button in the draft.
Be aware that many drafts are not accepted the first time, or even the second time they are submitted for review, for failing to adhere to our policies and guidelines. New articles by new users are particularly likely not to be accepted, due to new users' unfamiliarity with our rules. Consider gaining experience by editing existing articles before attempting to create new ones.

To use an image on Wikipedia, follow these steps:

Ascertain carefully the copyright status of the image. If in doubt, ask. As a rule of thumb, images that you did not take yourself are almost always under copyright, and images that you took can be released under a free license.
If the image is in the public domain, or under a free license compatible with Wikimedia Commons' license requirements, or if you hold the copyrights and are willing to release the image under such a license, upload it on Wikimedia Commons using the Upload Wizard.
If the image is neither public domain nor available under a free license, check whether it satisfies all non-free content criteria. In particular, photographs of living people almost never qualify. If it does not, it cannot be used on Wikipedia; do not upload it. If it does, upload it on Wikipedia (not on Wikimedia Commons).
Once the image has been uploaded to the Wikimedia Foundation's servers (either to Commons or Wikipedia), follow the steps in the picture tutorial to place the image in an article.

Question: {{subst:HD/q}}

Note: {{subst:HD/n}}

We cannot offer medical advice. Please see the medical disclaimer, and contact an appropriate medical professional.

We cannot offer medical advice. Please see the medical disclaimer. Contact a veterinarian. {{subst:HD/vet}}

We cannot offer legal advice. Please see the legal disclaimer. Contact a lawyer. {{subst:HD/leg}}

We cannot offer financial advice. Please see the general disclaimer. Contact a financial adviser. {{subst:HD/fin}}

We cannot offer risk management advice. Please see the general disclaimer. Contact a risk management professional. {{subst:HD/risk}}

Please wait before creating an article about a company or organization.
Since you have a close connection to the company or organization, you have a conflict of interest. Please read the FAQ first. If you still think your article is appropriate, you can submit it to Articles for creation. Just click this link and follow the instructions. {{subst:HD/org}}

Your edit request is misplaced. Please go to the article talk page and make the request there. {{subst:HD/editreq}}

Please do your own homework.
Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here not to do others' homework, but merely to aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems.
Please attempt to solve the problem yourself first. You can search Wikipedia or search the Web.
If you need help with a specific part of your homework, the Reference desk can help you grasp the concept. Do not ask knowledge questions here, just those about using Wikipedia. {{subst:HD/dyoh}}

Please do not vandalise.

Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be pure vandalism. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here to warn, and eventually block, users who disrupt the encyclopedia building project.
If you have a question about how to use Wikipedia, feel free to ask it. If you see a problem: fix it yourself!

I'm checking it out now. Just wait a couple of seconds and I'll come back with an answer! {{subst:HD/c}}

Try clearing your browser's cache which is a common fix for the problem you have described. If this does not clear up matters, you might also try purging Wikipedia's own cache for the page. {{subst:HD/cache}}

Please sign your posts by typing four tildes (~~~~) or clicking the signature button above the edit box which looks like this: , but do not sign in articles. {{subst:HD/s}}

Read more: page

Please do not include contact details in your questions. We are unable to provide answers by any off-wiki medium and this page is highly visible across the internet. The details have been removed, but if you want them to be permanently removed from the page history, please email oversight-llists.wikimedia.org. {{subst:HD/cd}}

Please use a descriptive title in future questions. {{subst:HD/t}}

Thank you for your suggestion regarding page. When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make those changes. Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the edit this page link at the top. The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold in updating pages. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes — they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills. New contributors are always welcome. You don't even need to log in (although there are many reasons why you might want to). {{subst:HD/fix|page}}

Did you click on the Show Preview button instead of the Publish changes button?

Edit summary (Briefly describe your changes)

This is a minor edit Watch this page

By publishing changes, you agree to the Terms of Use, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the CC BY-SA 4.0 License and the GFDL. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.

Publish changes Show preview Show changes Cancel

If you didn't click on Publish changes, the edit wasn't saved.

It used to be possible to re-attribute edits from IP addresses to named accounts, but not since 2005 (see this page). However, as that page says, you can list your contributions made with the IP address(es) on your user page. {{subst:HD/re-attribute}}

If you go to Wikipedia:Enable mobile version on your mobile device and click on the link there, you will re-enable the mobile version. {{subst:HD/mobile}}

When creating sortable tables, there can be issues with how a column sorts. See Help:Sorting for a complete overview.

Columns that mix alpha and numerical data will sort alphabetically— this can be resolved by using {{nts}}.
When using general text with and without wikilinks, use {{sort}}.
To sort dates, use {{Date table sorting}}.
For sorting names in the format last, first use {{sortname}}.

Wikipedia currently has no method to control content other than manually blocking individual images for logged-in users. There is an ongoing discussion on adding content control features; see meta:2010 Wikimedia Study of Controversial Content: Part Two, especially the section User-Controlled Viewing Options. See also WP:NOTCENSORED, WP:CHILDPROTECT and Wikipedia:Guidance for younger editors. {{subst:HD/filter}}

URLs containing certain characters will display and link incorrectly unless those characters are encoded. For example, a space must be replaced by %20.

sp	"	'	,	;	<	>	?	[	]
%20	%22	%27	%2c	%3b	%3c	%3e	%3f	%5b	%5d

Single apostrophes do not need to be encoded; multiples will be parsed as italic or bold markup

The link button on the enhanced editing toolbar will encode a link.

The URL must start with a supported URI scheme. http:// and https:// are always supported. gopher://, irc://, ircs://, ftp://, news:// and mailto: will create a link and an icon but require an agent registered in the browser.

Because Wikipedia content is licensed under the GFDL and CC BY-SA, all edits must be kept for attribution purposes, and so your account cannot be deleted. You do, however, have the right to vanish, which you can exercise by (1) requesting your user page (found at Special:Mypage) and subpages be deleted, by adding the {{db-userreq}} template to them; (2) requesting to change your username to something that is unconnected with you (possibly a random collection of letters and numbers); (3) never logging in to your account again. The "right to vanish" does not mean anyone has the right to a fresh start under a new identity. Anyone who wants to continue editing should request a change of username instead so edits can be reattributed. {{subst:HD/vanish}}

Facebook community pages may incorporate content from Wikipedia—such use complies with Wikipedia policies on reuse of content. We at Wikipedia have no control over how the content is included nor can we help to remove it. Facebook once had a topic on Community pages and profile connections (2011 archive) on their Help Center. The information may be obsolete. {{subst:HD/facebook}}

The MediaWiki software as of 5 October 2011 checks image metadata such as EXIF and automatically rotates the image when it is uploaded. The file page may show the upright image, but thumbnails may be rotated. At the bottom of the file page there is a Metadata section— click on "Show extended details" to see the orientation.

The file may be stored on Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons. If the text below the image is "This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons", then it is on Commons.

If the file is on Commons, then click on "description page there" to directly open the image on Commons.
- If you are registered and logged in, then use the Request rotation link directly below the image and a bot will correct the orientation automatically.
- If you are not registered, then edit the page and add {{rotate}} per the documentation.
- See also: Commons:Rotation
If the file is on Wikipedia, then
- the file will need to be downloaded, fixed using editing software and reuploaded.
- the file could be moved to Commons (if it is allowed there — e.g. fair use images are not) and rotated by the bot there (see above).
- If you don't have any of those abilities, then you can add {{Cleanup image|rotate 90 degrees clockwise}}, {{Cleanup image|rotate 90 degrees anticlockwise}}, or {{Cleanup image|rotate 180 degrees}} to the top of the file description page. You can also place a request on the Help Desk.

Editing without logging in:

Occasionally a registered editor will edit while logged out. While not usually an egregious issue, there can be some concerns about attribution and privacy.

If you made an edit without logging in, you cannot go back and directly tie that edit to your account. If your desire to account for the edit overrides your desire for anonymity, you can log in, make a dummy edit, and add a note in the edit summary about the previous edit.
It used to be possible to re-attribute edits from IP addresses to named accounts, but not since 2005. However, you can list your contributions made with the IP address(es) on your user page.
If you make a comment on a talk page without logging in, then your signature will include your IP address. You can log in and edit the comment by replacing the signature; be aware that automated tools have used editing behavior like this to connect your username and IP address in public databases.
If you feel that the connection between the IP address and your username is an issue, then you can request that the edit be removed; see Wikipedia:Oversight#Policy and Wikipedia:Requests for oversight.
Wikipedia does show a message box when an unregistered or logged out user edits a page. This may not be obvious— as a visual reminder you can make the Save page button green when logged in by adding this rule to your CSS page:

/* Turn the "Save page" button green when logged in */
INPUT#wpSave {
 background-color:#88ff88;
}

If you use Firefox, you can disable the Save page button while logged out by installing Greasemonkey and the MediaWiki: Prevent anon editing script. This must be applied to each computer you use and will not be available on public computers.

Pages that redirect to another page will sometimes redirect to an old version of the page for users who are not logged in. This is a known issue and has been reported. Purging the page should fix it. The time of the displayed version can be seen at the bottom of the page after "This page was last modified on". {{subst:HD/redirect}}

The StumbleUpon browser toolbar may cause HTML to show. This can be resolved by unchecking Tools → Toolbar Options → Configuration tab → Web Search Show names of friends who like search results. {{subst:HD/stumbleupon}}

Wikipedia is funded by donations and does not display advertisements on any of our articles. If you see ads, then something at your end or in between must be placing them. Some browser extensions or plugins can do it, for example, Codec-C and InfoAtoms. Codec-C is marketed as needed to play videos. Your computer may be infected with malware – consider using anti-malware software. You may be viewing a mirror or fork hosted by someone else, not the Wikimedia Foundation, and that host may have added advertising and perhaps other content – verify that the whole URL in your browser address bar is for this website and not a mirror or fork, and if you're not sure then copy this address and find the content you want from it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. There may also have been inappropriate user edits to Wikipedia which look like an ad or even claim to be an ad, but such edits are against our policies and not real paid ads. {{subst:HD/Ads}}

Are you by any chance referring to a photo or text shown to the right of a Google search? Google's Knowledge Graph uses a wide variety of sources. There may be a text paragraph ending with "Wikipedia" to indicate that particular text was copied from Wikipedia. An image and other text before or after the Wikipedia excerpt may be from sources completely unrelated to Wikipedia. We have no control over how Google presents our information, but Google's Knowledge Graph has a "Feedback" link where anyone can mark a field as wrong. The same feedback facility is also provided on Bing and some other search engines. {{subst:HD/GKG}}

Are you by any chance referring to a photo or text shown in a box to the right of a Yahoo search? Such Yahoo boxes use a wide variety of sources. There may be a text paragraph ending with "Wikipedia" to indicate that particular text was copied from Wikipedia. An image and other text before or after the Wikipedia excerpt may be from sources completely unrelated to Wikipedia. We have no control over how Yahoo presents our information, but a Yahoo box has a "Feedback" link where anyone can mark a field as wrong. {{subst:HD/YKG}}

Are you by any chance referring to a photo or text shown to the right of a Bing search? Bing uses a wide variety of sources to populate that area. There may be a text paragraph ending with "Wikipedia" to indicate that particular text was copied from Wikipedia. An image and other text before or after the Wikipedia excerpt may be from sources completely unrelated to Wikipedia. We have no control over how Bing presents our information, but Bing has a "Feedback" link at the bottom of the page where anyone can request corrections. {{subst:HD/Bing}}

Automatically generated reference lists are a feature that automatically creates a reference list at the bottom of any page that has <ref> tags without reference list markup. On talk pages you can add {{reflist-talk}} at the end of a discussion to properly place the reference list. For more issues see the Automatically generated reference lists help page. {{subst:HD/agrl}}

You can print a Wikipedia page by selecting File → Print from your browser.

In the left sidebar of each Wikipedia page is a selection for 'Printable version'. This is a very basic print function, mainly of use for very old browsers. See Help:Printable.
If the file menu does not show on a Windows system, pressing Alt should reveal it.
On a Mac using Safari, Reader mode is usually a better choice for printing. Older versions of Safari will show the Reader button to the right of the web address; newer versions show an icon to the left of the web address. Reader mode assembles articles that are split over multiple pages and removes ads, menu bars, and other clutter.
For more control over printing, log into your account and enable Preferences → Gadgets → Print options gives you more control when printing content. 'Printable version' will then show as 'Print page'.

In Wikipedia, a page can usually be renamed if the existing title is incorrect; this is called moving a page. A page may also be moved to another namespace without changing the base title—for example, a userspace draft may be moved to article space. Autoconfirmed rights are required for page moving but you may request a page move at Wikipedia:Requested moves if you are not yet autoconfirmed, there is a technical barrier to the move, or the retitling is expected to be controversial and you seek consensus for the name change.

For details, see Help:How to move a page.

Wikipedia has little interest in what the subject of an article says or wants to say about themselves, or what their associates say about them. Wikipedia is almost entirely interested in what people who have no connection with the subject, and who have not been prompted or fed information on behalf of the subject, have chosen to publish about the subject in reliable sources. If enough material is cited from independent sources to establish notability, a limited amount of uncontroversial factual information may be added from non-independent sources. {{subst:HD/WINI}}

Welcome and thank you for your question about donations! To hide the fundraising banners, you can create an account and uncheck Preferences → Banners → Fundraising. The Wikimedia Foundation does not track the identity of IP addresses, so it doesn't know your age, income level or whether you donated in the past.
None of the Wikipedia volunteer editors here who add and improve content in articles receive any financial benefit. We all simply contribute our time because we care about building a great encyclopedia for you and innumerable others around the world to use.
If you cannot afford it, no one wants you to donate. Wikipedia is not at risk of shutting down, and the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the Wikipedia platform and is asking for these donations, is richer than ever.
You are welcome to communicate directly with the donor-relations team by emailing donate@wikimedia.org. Thank you! {{subst:HD/Donation}}

Help desk templates:
{{Article deleted}} {{Astray}} {{Astray astray}} {{Creation}} {{Edit refs}} {{Explain semi-protected}} {{HD/GKG}} {{Linking}} {{Lost password}} {{Otherwiki}} {{Otherwiki-sister}} {{Refref}} {{Refref2}} {{Renaming}} {{Report vandal}} {{7STEPS}} {{RD2}} {{RD3}} {{RSIS}} {{UPIMG}} {{WP search protocol}} {{HD}}
Coordination
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Usage[edit]

See also[edit]