Help:Tutorial
From Genealogy
This page is an easy step-by-step tutorial to follow for those who need help using this Wikia.
Contents |
[edit] Editing a wiki
A wiki is a type of website that anyone can edit. If you can type and click, you can edit almost every page on this Wikia site. (Pages you cannot edit include stuff for administrators, so you don't really need to be concerned about those.)
To edit part of a page, click the [edit] button on a section title. You can also edit a whole page at once using the "edit" tab or button at the top or side of the page. When the edit box opens, type away just as in a wordprocessing program (with minor variations). Then hit the Preview button, then the Save button.
For more information on editing, see our Help:Editing page.
Now that you know the basics, you may want to create a page about one or more of your ancestors. But first, if you do not have an account, it is recommended that you create one. Why?.
[edit] Creating pages about people
Before creating an article on your ancestors, check whether there may be some pages about them already created.
Start with the "Find" box. Type your ancestor's name in, then click "Go" or hit your Enter key. If you recognize a name, click on the article. If you get dozens of hits listed, and the first few seem unrelated to your person, you may try the surnames category.
Go to our Surname index, which includes over 2,300 surnames. Use the navigator (the box with the letters) on the page to quickly find a surname, so as not to jump from page to page.
If your ancestors do not have an article yet, you can create one. The simplest procedure is on Help:Model page for person. Our Help:Alternative types of page for individual is another page that can be used. In one of those boxes, for whatever template you want, type in the name of the person:
For example: "John Isaac Smith III (1902-1985)". If there is unknown information about him, the article could alternatively be named:
- John Smith III (c1905-aft1980)
- John Smith (bef1910-aft1980)
- John I. Smith III (c1905-bef1990)
- John Smith (?-?)
When you get to the article, you can edit it. Once you reach the edit page of the person, fill in as much information as you know. Remember, you can and should link people to other people and make pages about their relatives. You can also link that person's page to all places mentioned.
Once you've created an article, you can reopen its edit box to make changes to it for any improvements/updates you may have. So can anyone else.
[edit] Creating pages about surnames
See Help:Surname
[edit] Help the rest of us to help you
After some use of this and other "Help" pages, you may still have problems or may see that something might be easier if rewritten. Please see Forum:Help improve the help pages and add your comments.
[edit] Help for administrators
See Help:Administrators' how-to guide
Welcome to the tutorial. This is a simple guide to editing on Wikia. If you would like to see a list of help topics instead, try Help:Contents.
What is Wikia?
Wikia is a collection of community websites that you can edit. All the sites here can be edited and improved by any visitor.
Creating an Account
You don't have to create an account to edit, but it is a good idea to do so. It's free, and very easy.
- Click on the Log in / create account link in the top right of any page.
- Fill in your chosen user name and a password (remember, this user name will show against all your edits).
- Type in your password again in the 'Retype password' box.
- If you want to, add your email. You don't have to add an email, but it will mean that you won't lose your account if you forget your password.
- Click the 'Create new account' button.
What can I do here?
Don't be afraid to edit - anyone can edit almost any page, and we encourage you to have a go! Find something that can be improved, either in content, grammar or formatting, and fix it.
You can't break Wikia. Anything can be fixed or improved later. So go ahead, find a page and edit.
For more help on how to edit, go to page two of this tutorial.