Editing Help:Editing manual

{{PageSeo
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| description = A brief guide on how to contribute to the Baldur's Gate 3 Community Wiki
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BG3Wiki is a collaborative, living project created and maintained by community volunteers.
Don't be afraid to contribute – anyone can edit and contribute to BG3Wiki, no sign-up necessary! Proceed to [[Help:Editing basics|Editing basics]] when you're ready.
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== Introduction to editing ==
==== Creating an account ====
[[Special:CreateAccount|Creating an account]] is an optional but recommended step. Editing using an account attributes wiki edits to your account. You can edit pages without an account, but your IP address will be publicly logged.
 
==== Sandboxes ====
[[Special:MyPage/Sandbox|Click Here]] to create your personal sandbox page. You can use this to learn how to edit, or simply to experiment. You are free to edit this page as much as you wish, it is disconnected from the rest of the wiki.

==== Join the Discord server ====
We recommend you join the [https://discord.gg/K6R89fSZuF BG3Wiki Discord] to discuss wiki editing with other contributors. This is completely optional, but be aware many decisions are taken during live discussions, even though we recommend the use of the Discussion page for most content articles.

== Policies and guidelines ==
BG3Wiki only has a few simple [[BG3Wiki:Content rules|content rules]]. In addition to these, we also have an Editing policy and a Style manual, both with principles and practices that the wiki strives to adhere to. Reading these is {{em|not required}} to edit the wiki.
* [[BG3Wiki:Editing policy|Editing policy]]: A set of guidelines and principles to follow when editing the wiki.
* [[Help:Style manual|Style manual]]: The style and formatting guidelines for articles and files. If you're unsure about grammar, format or capitalisation, you can look it up here!
* [[BG3Wiki:Verification|Verification]]: BG3Wiki relies on verification to ensure readers can know where in the game information on the wiki comes from.

=== How to edit pages ===
To edit an existing page, click either '''Edit''' (opens Visual Editor) or '''Edit source''' (opens Source Editor) above the page. Within either editor view, you can switch between the Visual Editor and the Source Editor at any time via the upper-right menu button.

When you've finished editing, feel free to add a brief '''Summary''' of your changes and click the '''Save changes''' button!

[[File:edit_visual_or_source.png|right|thumb|Visual Editor and Source Editor buttons]]
[[File:switch_visual_or_source.png|right|thumb|Switching between editor types]]
* The Visual Editor is helpful for contributors who are new or not yet familiar with [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting wiki markup], but it doesn't allow you to directly manipulate wiki markup.
* The Source Editor is more powerful and flexible, but requires at least a basic understanding of wiki markup.

== Categories ==
[[File:category_example.png|right|thumb|Example of a Category]]
'''[[Special:Categories|Category]]''' pages list all the pages within that Category.
 
==== Browsing categories ====
The '''Everything''' search option includes Categories in the search results. You can also find them on the [[Special:Categories]] page. Categories can prove useful when looking for a specific image or page, particularly when you don't know the exact name of the thing you're looking for.

==== Adding a page to a category ====
[[File:visual_editor_categories.png|right|thumb|Adding Categories in the Visual Editor]]
Some templates will automatically add the correct category to the page it is used on. However, in some cases, you'll want to manually add pages to additional categories.

To add a page to a category:
* When using the Visual Editor, you can add a page to a category by clicking on the upper-right menu and selecting '''Categories'''. Start typing a category name in the provided box, and the editor will suggest autocomplete options for the category, if any exist.
* When using the Source Editor, use the markup {{code|<nowiki>[[</nowiki>Category:<em>Name of category here</em><nowiki>]]</nowiki>}} at the bottom of the page. You can repeat this as many times as needed for additional Categories.

== Templates ==
{{hatnote|See also: [[Help:Using templates]]}}
A Template is a special type of page designed to be included within other pages. Templates are often used as 'shorthand' to automatically insert frequently-used images, code, and formatting on a page. We use templates extensively on bg3.wiki.

See the [[Help:Template Quick Reference|Template Quick Reference]] for an overview of the most commonly-used templates.

== Other namespaces ==
There are other types of pages that use different guidelines and principles than the rest of the wiki.

==== Guides ====
{{hatnote|See also: [[Help:Guide namespace]]}}
The Guide namespace is where users can create and edit guides on BG3Wiki.

To create a Guide, simply start an article name with {{code|Guide:}}. For example, {{code|Guide:How to use torches}}.

==== Modding ====
{{hatnote|See also: [[Modding:Modding resources]]}}
The Modding namespaces is all about modding, such as how to create and use mods.

To create a Modding page, simply start an article name with {{code|Modding:}}. For example, {{code|Modding:How to use mods}}.

== Additional resources ==
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Contents MediaWiki help pages]
* [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting MediaWiki formatting]

[[Category:Wiki Help]]