ConRunner:Tutorial (Editing)

Editing pages is one of the easiest ways to have fun with ConRunner. But remember, everyone will see the results of your work immediately.

Editing pages

This is the most basic wiki feature of all: Edit this page! With the exception of a few protected pages, every wiki page has a link at the top that says "edit this page" (sometimes it is just labeled "Edit", and some browsers show it at the bottom). This link lets you do exactly what it says: edit the page you're looking at. Sites such as these where anyone can edit anything are known as wikis. Try it in the Wikipedia:Sandbox, and then click on the "edit this page" link. You'll see the wiki code for that page. Add something fun or interesting like "Fantastical Funtimes", then save it and see what you have done! There is more detail at Wikipedia:How to edit a page.

Show preview

An important feature to start using now is Show preview, which lets you see what the page will look like after your edit, before you actually save. Try making an edit in the sandbox, then clicking the Show Preview button. We all make mistakes (yes we do), and this lets you catch them immediately. If you make a habit of using Show Preview before saving, you'll save yourself and other editors a lot of trouble. It also lets you try out format changes without actually changing the article until you're satisfied.

This is especially important if you think you may be making other edits on the page. It is a good idea to save just once, to keep the page history uncluttered. Saving less often is also a way of avoiding edit conflicts, which occur when two editors try to change a page at the same time. However, when you change large amounts of text you should consider doing this in successive steps (e.g. one paragraph at a time) so that others can follow your edits quickly and easily.

Another important thing to remember is to save the edits that you have previewed before moving on. A common mistake is to click to the preview page, read through it, and then click on through to other pages and forget to ever go back and save your changes. Certainly you should click through links you've added to make sure they go where you expect, but click back immediately, and save your original edit. A good way to remember this is to remember to focus on getting rid of the red links (empty target page) before leaving a page for good.

Edit summary

Before you hit Save, it's considered good practice to enter a very brief summary of your changes in the "Edit summary" box between the edit window and the Save and Preview buttons. It can be quite terse; for example if you just enter "typo," people will know you made a minor spelling or punctuation correction, or some other small change.

Play around in the sandbox if you'd like, and then continue with the tutorial.

Wikipedia can be a lot of fun once you get the hang of it!

Continue with the tutorial.