Formatting Text

The Formatting Toolbar

In compatible browsers, an edit toolbar can be automatically displayed with the edit box. This functions partly as a typing aid and partly as a reminder of the available functions. All the functions are available simply by typing the code directly into the edit box (such as [[link]]).

The toolbar works with Internet Explorer, the Mozilla Suite, SeaMonkey, Firefox, Konqueror, Safari and Opera.

In some browsers, you can format existing text by highlighting the text you want to format and clicking the relevant button on the toolbar. If you click a button without selecting any text, sample text will be inserted at the cursor's position (like so: Bold text). In other browsers, clicking on the button presents an explanation for that feature.

Toolbar Functions

Icon	Function	What it shows when editing	What it shows on the page
	Bold or strong emphasis	'''abc'''	abc
	Italic or emphasis	''abc''	abc
	Internal link	[[Productions]]	productions
	External link	[http://www.rcs.ac.uk RCS Website]	RCS Website
	Section heading	== abc ==	abc
	Insert image	[[Image:Icon.jpg]]
	Ignore wiki formatting	<nowiki>abc '''[[Bold text]]'''</nowiki>	abc '''[[Bold text]]'''
	Sign talk comments (with time stamp)	--~~~~	--Jmcgowan 16:43, 9 December 2007
	Horizontal line	----

Common wiki markup explained

Here are the most frequently used types of wiki markup - the codes used to format text on wiki pages

What it looks like	What you type
You can italicize text by putting 2 apostrophes on each side. 3 apostrophes will embolden the text. 5 apostrophes will embolden and italicize the text. (4 apostrophes don't do anything special -- there's just 'one left over'.)	You can ''italicize text'' by putting 2 apostrophes on each side. 3 apostrophes will embolden '''the text'''. 5 apostrophes will embolden and italicize '''''the text'''''. (4 apostrophes don't do anything special -- there's just ''''one left over''''.)
You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: - Three tildes give your user name: jmcgowan - Four tildes give your user name plus date/time: jmcgowan 07:46, 27 November 2005 (UTC) - Five tildes give the date/time alone: 07:46, 27 November 2005 (UTC)	You should "sign" your comments on talk pages: <br /> - Three tildes give your user name: ~~~ <br /> - Four tildes give your user name plus date/time: ~~~~ <br /> - Five tildes give the date/time alone: ~~~~~ <br />
Section headings Headings organize your writing into sections. The Wiki software can automatically generate a table of contents from them. Subsection Using more equals signs creates a subsection. A smaller subsection Don't skip levels, like from two to four equals signs. Start with 2 equals signs not 1 because 1 creates H1 tags which should be reserved for page title.	== Section headings == ''Headings'' organize your writing into sections. The Wiki software can automatically generate a table of contents from them. === Subsection === Using more equals signs creates a subsection. ==== A smaller subsection ==== Don't skip levels, like from two to four equals signs. Start with 2 equals signs not 1 because 1 creates H1 tags which should be reserved for page title.
Unordered lists are easy to do: Start every line with a star. More stars indicate a deeper level. Previous item continues. A new line in a list marks the end of the list. Of course you can start again.	* ''Unordered lists'' are easy to do: ** Start every line with a star. *** More stars indicate a deeper level. *: Previous item continues. ** A new line * in a list marks the end of the list. * Of course you can start again.
Numbered lists are: Very organized Easy to follow A new line marks the end of the list. New numbering starts with 1.	# ''Numbered lists'' are: ## Very organized ## Easy to follow A new line marks the end of the list. # New numbering starts with 1.
A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph. A newline starts a new paragraph. Often used for discussion on talk pages. We use 1 colon to indent once. We use 2 colons to indent twice. 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.	: A colon (:) indents a line or paragraph. A newline starts a new paragraph. <br> Often used for discussion on talk pages. : We use 1 colon to indent once. :: We use 2 colons to indent twice. ::: 3 colons to indent 3 times, and so on.
Here's a link to the Main Page. But be careful - capitalization counts!	Here's a link to the [[Main Page]].
The weather in London is a page that doesn't exist yet. You could create it by clicking on the link.	[[The weather in London]] is a page that doesn't exist yet. You could create it by clicking on the link.