Help:Formatting

You can format your text using wiki markup. This consists of normal characters like asterisks, single quotes or equation marks which have a special function in the wiki, sometimes depending on their position. For example, to format a word in italic, you include it in two single quotes like ''this''. Please note that this page is largely reproduced from the official MediaWiki page (see References). Play around in the sandbox to get a feel for wiki markup.

Text formatting markup [1]

Description	You type	You get
character formatting - applies anywhere
Italic text	''italic''	italic
Bold text	'''bold'''	bold
Bold and italic	'''''bold & italic'''''	bold & italic
Escape wiki markup	<nowiki>no ''markup''</nowiki>	no ''markup''
section formatting - only at the beginning of the line
Headings of different levels	=level 1= ==level 2== ===level 3=== ====level 4==== =====level 5===== ======level 6====== An article with four or more headings will automatically create a table of contents. Use of a level 1 heading is highly discouraged as it appears with the same formatting and size as the page title, which can be confusing.	Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
Horizontal rule	----
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 several lines<br />without breaking the numbering # three ## three point one ## three point two	one two spanning several lines without breaking the 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 adoption 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 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
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

Paragraphs

Description	You type	You get
Line breaks (1)	Merely pressing enter does not make line breaks.	Merely pressing enter does not make line breaks.
Line breaks (2)	Adding the<br/> break command<br/> does.	Adding the break command does.
Paragraph breaks	Double enter makes paragraph breaks.	Double enter makes paragraph breaks.

HTML [2]

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
Fixed width text	<tt>Fixed width text</tt>	Fixed width text
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
Comment	<!--This is comment-->
Completely preformatted text	<pre>this way, all markups are '''ignored'''</pre>	this way, all markups are '''ignored'''

Links

Description	You type	You get
Internal links	Internal links use double brackets ( [[ ]] ) and a pipe ( | ) for link text. [[Some Wiki Page]] [[Some Wiki Page|My page]] [[Some Wiki Page|My page]]s rock When linking to long pages (such as this one) it might be desirable to link to a certain section. This will save the user the time of looking for the section you were refering to in the page you linked from. Linking is done as before but a # is added followed by the section name. [[Help:Formatting#Links|Using links]] This link will take you directly to this section of the page.	Some Wiki Page My page My pages rock Using links
External links	External links normally use single brackets ( [ ] ) and a trailing space for link text http://www.google.com [http://www.google.com] [http://www.google.com Google] [http://www.google.com Google]Search Page	http://www.google.com [3] Google GoogleSearch Page
Redirecting	Redirects are used to direct all common names for a page, to the same page, e.g. on this wiki, the page PMC redirects to the page Process Modelling and Control. Redirects can be added (on the page you want to redirect FROM) in this way: #REDIRECT [[Main Page]]	This creates a redirect to the Main Page from the page in which the redirect is added. REMEMBER: Redirects work instantly, the page from which you redirect will not be shown.
Mail addresses	Use this to create a link that opens up your default mail client and starts a new email to the address in the link. [mailto:example@up.ac.za Example]	Example

Other formatting

Beyond the text formatting markup shown above, here are some other formatting references: (on the MediaWiki site)

• Images
• Tables

References

• 1-2: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting