View source for Help:Technical Help and Hints

''This is a work-in-process draft.''

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Because we are using the Mediawiki software platform—the same platform used by Wikipedia—some of the links on this page will direct you to documentation on the Mediawiki site or the Wikipedia site.
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== The Editing Process ==

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You should be familiar with both the [[Help: Content Guidelines | Content Guidelines]] and [[Help:Style Guide | Style Guide]] before editing content. Also, to use the editors you must have [[Help:Your Account and Personalization | created an account ]] and be logged in.
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The JFA Wiki provides two editing tools that are often found on wiki sites, the source editor and the visual editor. When you are logged in, you can begin editing a page by clicking or tapping on ''Edit Source'' for the default editor or ''Edit'' for the visual editor, near the top-right of a page, or beside each Section Heading. Depending on your preference settings, one or both buttons may appear.

=== Source Editor ===

If you have edited a Wikipedia page you have used the source editor, which is the default editor. When you need to use some type of formatting, such as for new headings or bolding of text, you do this using wiki syntax or the buttons in the edit toolbar above the editing zone. For help with editing see [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing Help Editing]. For help with formatting, see [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Formatting Mediawiki Help Formatting].

One advantage of the source editor over the visual editor is that it's easier to edit template tags (enclosed by <nowiki>{{ }}</nowiki>).

=== Visual Editor ===

The [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide Visual Editor] provides more of a ''what you see is what you get'' editing experience. This editor was developed by the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) to provide a way of editing that does not require editors to learn wiki markup. 

Experienced editors may still prefer editing wikitext because they find it faster and more precise. Even editors who enable [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide Visual Editor] will have the wikitext option available from the toolbar for each page and section. The [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide Visual Editor] is fairly stable, but it still has some bugs and missing features. Also, the visual editor requires a separate server that periodically may not be available. See [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide the Visual Editor User Guide] for help.

One of the advantages of the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide Visual Editor] is that it lets you go through the article without the visual interference of citations and other tags. In addition, the [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide Visual Editor] offers substantial advantages in [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide#Editing_tables editing tables] and [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:VisualEditor/User_guide#Editing_images_and_other_media_files including images from Wiki Commons]].

== Research and Citations ==

In doing research for an article, the [https://scholar.google.com Google Scholar] search engine is your friend.

As the [[Help:Style Guide |Style Guide]] and [[Help:Content Guidelines |Content Guidelines]] indicate, citations are formatted according to ''The Chicago Manual of Style (17th Edition)''. If you haven't committed this format to memory, we recommend [https://zbib.org Zotero's online tool] to assist. Be sure to choose ''Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (full note)'' from the dropdown.

== Practicing in the Sandbox ==

If you would like to play around with editing you can create an article in the ''Sandbox'' namespace and edit to your heart's content. To create your sandbox page, fill out the text box below, replacing ''Jane.Doe'' with your username, then click the button.  A page will be created with some boilerplate content to help you get started. You must save the page for it to actually be created.

{{#createpage:Sandbox | Sandbox for Jane.Doe | Create a Sandbox Page | Template:jfa-boilerplate }}

To get back to the page, use the ''Sandbox'' link under ''Other Namespaces'' in the sidebar, or search for ''Sandbox:Page Name'' on the search field at the top of the page. The page may be deleted if it goes unedited for over a month, but you can always create another one.

== Learning from Existing Articles ==

One of the best ways to see how something is done on the site is to look at existing articles. If you are not logged in, click on the  ''View source'' link at the top-right of every article to see the wiki markup text for that article. If you are logged in, you can click on the ''Edit source'' button, look at the markup, then use the browser's ''back'' button to escape the edit.

If you are not comfortable clicking the ''Edit source'' button while you are logged in, here's a handy trick: Open a private or incognito window in the browser you are using, or use another browser for which you are not logged in.

== Getting Help ==

If you need help creating and editing content, please email [mailto:your.friends@justiceforanimals.org email us] with your questions. Before you do, please carefully read this article, the [[Help:Content Guidelines | Content Guidelines]] and the [[Help:Style Guide]]. You will also need to peruse [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Editing Mediawiki's Help Editing]