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Help:Contents – Site map  Help FAQs Index of FAQ topics Frequently asked questions (FAQs) Index of FAQs Main FAQ Overview Readers Schools Contributing Editing Featured articles Administrators Blocks Technical Problems Article subjects Categories Categorization Copyright Forking Templates Main Page Miscellaneous Help desk See also Wikipedia:Questions, for other places to get answers. General FAQs Main FAQ – Main FAQ about using and contributing to Wikipedia. Overview FAQ – General questions about the Wikipedia project. Readers' FAQ – Finding, reading and using Wikipedia material. Schools' and Teachers' FAQ – Using Wikipedia in the classroom. Contributing FAQ – Why you might want to contribute to the Wikipedia project, and how you can do it. Editing FAQ – The ins and outs of creating and editing Wikipedia pages. Administration FAQ – What an administrator (or "sysop") is, sysop status, and server administration. Blocks FAQ – Information about blocks. Technical FAQ – Questions about Wikipedia software and hardware and their limitations. Problems FAQ – Questions relating to past or present difficulties and criticism. Article subjects' FAQ – Questions relating to an article about you, someone you represent, or your organization or business Copyright FAQ – Questions pertaining to copyright issues. Template FAQ – Questions about templates. Miscellaneous FAQ – Everything else. Specific FAQs Forking FAQ – How to download Wikipedia content and/or software and/or create derivative works of Wikipedia. Categorization FAQ – Editor's guide to the Category feature. Categories FAQ – Readers' guide to categories. Main Page FAQ – How it works and other common answers. ClueBot NG FAQ – Specific to ClueBot NG Similar pages Citing Wikipedia – Detailed information about how to cite Wikipedia when you use it as a reference. Who writes Wikipedia – An overview of the process and people behind Wikipedia. What is an article? – What constitutes an article. Glossary – Definitions of Wikipedia jargon and acronyms. See also Help contents – A page to guide you to the right place. Help directory – A descriptive directory of informative, instructional and supportive pages. The Wikipedia Help Desk – For questions about How to use Wikipedia. Troubleshooting – Help with various technical difficulties with accessing or editing Wikipedia pages. The Wikipedia Manual of Style – Stylistic guidebook to help keep Wikipedia's appearance self-consistent. Replies to common objections – Responses to common criticisms leveled at Wikipedia. Press Kit – Resources for media inquiries, and corrections to common misconceptions about Wikipedia. For other useful directories and indexes, see Wikipedia:Directory. This page is about help in general. For the software feature for newly registered users, see Wikipedia:GettingStarted. "WP:WELCOME" redirects here. For the Welcoming committee, see Wikipedia:Welcoming committee. As a new editor, you may feel a little overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of Wikipedia. Don't fret! Here are some resources that you can look into: The contributing to Wikipedia page provides information, links, videos and other resources on the basics needed to edit Wikipedia. The five pillars is a popular summary of the most pertinent Wikipedia principles. The community portal is a central location to find collaborations, tasks, and news about Wikipedia. There are volunteers available to answer your questions at the Teahouse. Overview tutorials Introductory editing tutorials These tutorials explain how to edit with wiki markup (Wikipedia's source code) and with VisualEditor (a user-friendly interface). Starting introduction Policies and Guidelines Editing Referencing Images Tables Editing Referencing Images Tables Talk pages Navigating Wikipedia Manual of Style Conclusion A video that articulates the diversity and enthusiasm of the Wikipedia Community. (4:10 min) Introduction: our main tutorial to the core principles of how to edit contained in thirteen short modules (as listed below). The Wikipedia Adventure: a module-guided tour with fun, interactive learning, and practice. Your first article: an article that discusses some of the dos and don'ts, then shows you how to create an article. Note: The ability to create articles directly in mainspace is restricted to autoconfirmed users, though non-confirmed users and non-registered users can submit a proposed article through the Articles for Creation process, where it will be reviewed and considered for publication. Topic-specific introductions Introduction to navigating Wikipedia: a seven-part guide to navigating Wikipedia: Introduction; Namespaces; Searching pages; Page histories; Redirects and shortcuts; Useful links; and Summary. Protocols and conventions Introduction to policies and guidelines: a four-part guide to the rules: Policies and guidelines; Content; Conduct; and Summary. Introduction to the Manual of Style: a six-part introduction to the Manual of Style: The Manual of Style; Article sections; Images and refs; Linking; Consistency; and Summary. Introduction to the deletion process: discusses the guidelines and policies relevant to deletion, as well as the overall process. Editing with Source editor Introduction to editing: a six-part guide to editing: Editing pages; Formatting; Links and wikilinks; Saving your changes; Creating new articles; and Summary. Introduction to referencing: a five-part introduction to referencing: Verifiability; Inline citations; RefToolbar; Reliable sources; and Summary. Introduction to uploading images: a four-part guide on uploading images: Introduction; Uploading images; Using an image; and Summary. Introduction to tables: a four-part guide to putting tables in pages: Introduction to tables; Editing tables; Expanding tables; and Summary. Introduction to talk pages: a six-part guide to using talk pages: Talk pages; User talk pages; Layout; Examples; Drawing attention; and Summary. Editing with VisualEditor Introduction to editing with VisualEditor: a six-part introduction to editing with VisualEditor: Opening the editor; Toolbar basics; Links and wikilinks; Publishing changes; Creating new articles; and Summary. Introduction to referencing with VisualEditor: a six-part introduction to referencing: Verifiability; Adding references; Editing existing ones; Reusing references; Reliable sources; and Summary. Introduction to uploading images with VisualEditor: a six-part guide on uploading images: Introduction; Uploading images; Inserting images; Editing the details; Galleries; and Summary. Introduction to tables with VisualEditor: a five-part guide to putting tables in pages: Introduction to tables; Editing tables; Adding new tables; Expanding tables; and Summary. Training for student assignments These self-guided trainings help users involved with student assignments to learn the basics of Wikipedia. Training for students: students start here! A four-part, 57-page training intended for students doing assignments on Wikipedia, with more detailed introductions to core Wikipedia policies, editing basics, and more specific editing advice for students. Chapters: Welcome (4 pages); The Core (14 pages); Editing (24 pages); and Advanced and background (15 pages). Training for educators: educators start here! A five-part, 97-page training for professors and other educators who want to run Wikipedia assignments for class, with introductions to core Wikipedia policies, editing basics, and an overview of best practices for designing and implementing Wikipedia assignments. Guides VisualEditor user guide: a full manual for Wikipedia:VisualEditor. Plain and simple: the basic mechanics of Wikipedia. There are similar guides for: Plain and simple conflict of interest guide: for editors with a conflict of interests. Plain and simple guide for medical editors: for editing medical subjects. Plain and simple non-free content guide: discusses how Wikipedia's copyright guidelines are probably the most complicated part of the whole site, and breaks down what the rules are and what they mean. Smartphone editing (Personal User essay): a Wikipedia administrator's personal experiences and advice about phone editing. Quick guides Edit toolbar: how to use the edit toolbar while editing. Media help: how to get media to work on your computer. Citations quick reference: a quick guide to using citations. Wikitext cheatsheet: a quick guide to wikitext. Overview articles 8 simple rules for editing our encyclopedia: describes some basics about contributing and interactions with others. 10 Simple Rules for Editing Wikipedia: discusses some basic aspects of Wikipedia norms and practices. A primer for newcomers: an overview intended for new contributors. Avoiding common mistakes: discusses a few common mistakes everyone should try to avoid. Expectations and norms of the community: discusses the general social norms that Wikipedia editors are expected to follow. Everything you need to know: a quick overview of some of Wikipedia's most important policies. Learning the ropes: discusses how to learn about Wikipedia. Books and videos The Missing Manual: a comprehensive how-to book that explains everything about contributing for novice to expert editors. Wikipedia instructional material : a listing of screencasts, videos, and books. The Bookshelf: (external link) a vast collection of high-quality, freely licensed, user-generated informational material about Wikipedia. Specialised tutorials Pictures tutorial: how to insert pictures in pages. A long tutorial, but the basics are simple. Wikipedia:Graphics tutorials: lots of links to graphics software tutorials. IRC tutorial: how to use Internet Relay Chat on Wikipedia. Help resources and assistance Help desk There is the Help Menu and Help Directory for a listing of help related pages. Wikipedia:Directory: a descriptive list of Wikipedia's directories and indexes. Wikipedia:FAQ: a list of Frequently Asked Questions. Wikipedia:Questions: discusses how to ask questions on Wikipedia. Wikipedia:Tips: how to use Wikipedia in bite-sized morsels. Wikipedia:Dos and don'ts: summarizes some of Wikipedia's protocols in a bullet-point format. Find this page confusing? ; a volunteer will visit you there shortly! Navigating Wikipedia [Edit] What is Wikipedia? A place to learn and share. Develop and explore. Basic navigation Navigation Browsing Wikipedia = scrolling, clicking on links Good starting points: To browse the encyclopedia: Wikipedia:Contents To browse the Wikipedia community: Wikipedia:Department directory To browse help resources: Help:Menu or Help:Contents/Directory Searching   —   type your search term into the search box (at the top right of every page) Go to the search screen   —   clicking on the magnifying glass will get you there too Browse the encyclopedia via the contents navbar: Advanced navigation Advanced browsing Shortcut List of shortcuts Tabbed browsing   —   open multiple links at the same time Tabbed browsing in Firefox Tab Mix Plus   —   add-on for Firefox Tabbed browsing in Opera Advanced searching Search titles with grep Searching Wikipedia with regular expressions (regex) See also Main Page alternatives Featured content Researching with Wikipedia Viewing media Using Wikipedia on your phone Pronouncing words shown in IPA Editing Wikipedia [Edit] Basic editing If you can't find what you're looking for on this page, you can ask questions at the Help desk or at the Teahouse. Volunteers will respond as soon as possible. Be bold! Introductory tutorial Contributing to Wikipedia How to edit a page Experiment in the sandbox Show preview to review your edits before you save Editing sections Creating links Making categories Saving your edits "Show preview"   —   always use this to avoid errors Edit summary   —   please explain your edits Minor edits   —   check this for typos and small corrections Edit conflict   —   what to do when another editor changes the page while you're editing it How to write an article Starting an article Article Wizard Name a page Naming conventions in general Full list of specific naming conventions Your first article Article development (advanced editing) Layout The perfect article Writing better articles Editing shortcuts Contributing to articles outside your native language Editing with a text editor Special page types Disambiguation pages Creating subpages Style and formatting Wikipedia's Manual of Style Article size Categorization Citing sources Article components Lists Tables Redirects Infoboxes Using templates Creating templates List of templates Modules, an advanced form of templates Pictures and videos Mathematical formulas Hatnotes Footnotes and references Wiki markup Cheatsheet "Magic words" Variables Valid HTML codes in wikitext Easy timeline syntax Article standards Biographies of living persons Citing sources Copyrights Editing External links Image use Using redirects Include only verifiable information Deletion Manual of Style Neutral point of view What Wikipedia is not Article maintenance Use talk pages (discussion pages) Archive a talk page Tagging pages for problems Merge two or more pages Move or rename a page Requested moves Delete pages/images/categories Stub articles List of stub types Revert a page to an earlier version Dealing with vandalism Protect and unprotect pages (Administrators only) Link together Wikipedia articles in different languages Link words in articles to Wikimedia sister projects Use page names Use namespaces Use headings as anchors to link to Do a purge Test edits and other things See also Tips on editing Simplified ruleset — Essential information to understand when editing articles (for new editors) Category:Wikipedia information pages and Category:Wikipedia how-to Links and references [Edit] Links Help:Link Types of links Category link Dates External link Internal link InterLanguage link InterWiki link ISBN, PMID and RFC Piped link Self link Guidance Wikipedia:Linking Wikipedia:Embedded list Wikipedia:Template messages/Links References How | Why | What is a reliable source?, info on citing sources Category:Wikipedia resources for researchers Wikipedia:Public domain resources Wikipedia:WikiProject Resource Exchange Wikipedia:Example requests for permission Wikipedia:Citation tools Images and media [Edit] Overview of images Creation and usage of media files Upload an image to Commons (preferred) or to English Wikipedia. Find Finding images tutorial Requested pictures Graphics Lab Image copyright tags Help File description pages How to upload files to Wikipedia Images and other uploaded files Preparing images for upload Visual file markup How to insert and use pictures in Wikipedia articles Use the Extended image syntax to place an image in an article Sound file markup Graphics tutorials How to request images or media for deletion Category:Wikipedia image help Media copyright questions Policy and guidelines Image use policy Guide to captions Guide to use of logos Guide to use of alternative text for images Other Featured pictures Featured picture candidates Public domain image resources Wikipedia:Requesting copyright permission Wikipedia:Example requests for permission Wikipedia:Moving images to the Commons Category:Wikipedia images Keeping track of changes [Edit] Tracking with the Wikipedia interface Edit summary Minor edit Recent changes (and the recent changes patrol) Enhanced recent changes Page history User contributions pages Talk pages Recent changes page Patrolling the recent changes Watching pages Public watchlists Related changes page Using "What links here" Diff pages Keyboard shortcuts Special pages Vandalism Reverting a page to undo vandalism (and the Three-revert rule) Reporting vandalism to administrators (urgent cases only) How and when to report to administrators Current vandalism Persistent vandals The Counter Vandalism Unit Most vandalized pages Don't provoke the vandals! Fighting vandalism Policies and guidelines [Edit] The principles which the policies and guidelines are based on Five pillars — statement of our principles Jimbo's statement — historic principles Simplified ruleset — synopsis of our conventions Wikimedia principles — common to all projects Principles — other essays on Wikipedia's principles Tutorial on policies Introduction to policies and guidelines —  a quick introduction to the major policies and guidelines for very new users. General policies Consensus Dispute resolution Editing policy Ignore all rules What Wikipedia is not Procedural policies Policies & guidelines — how policies and guidelines should be developed and maintained. Mediation Bot policy Content policies and guidelines Core content policies Neutral point of view No original research Verifiability Other content policies Article titles Biographies of living persons Deletion Image use Content guidelines Citing sources Disambiguation Do not create hoaxes Do not include copies of primary sources Identifying reliable sources Notability Patent nonsense Behavioural policies and guidelines Behavioural policies Civility Child protection Incivility is not tolerated Edit warring Harassment Legal threats Personal attacks Ownership of content Sock puppetry Behavioural guidelines Assume good faith Conflict of interest Do not disrupt Wikipedia to illustrate a point Etiquette Gaming the system Please do not bite the newcomers Editing policies and guidelines Editing policies Editing policy Editing guidelines Be bold Article size Hatnotes Signatures Subpages Talk page guidelines User pages Vandalism WikiProjects Style and formatting conventions Manual of Style Contents Accessibility Dates and numbers Images Layout Lead section Linking Lists Classification guidelines Categories, lists, and navigation templates Categorization Template namespace See also List of policies and guidelines — a list of principle policies and guidelines. List of policies — a comprehensive descriptive directory of policies. List of guidelines — a comprehensive descriptive directory of guidelines. Manual of Style contents — a comprehensive descriptive directory of the pages which make up the Manual of Style. Related essays Simplified rule-set — some basic aspect of Wikipedia norms and practices. Eight rules for editing  —  if you start out by following these simple rules, the rest should come naturally. Ten rules for editing  — Wikipedia can be daunting, but here we provide tips to make editing smoother. Trifecta — ultra fast overview of foundational principles related to policies and guidelines. The rules are principles — policies and guidelines exist as rough approximations of their underlying principles. Wikimedia Foundation policies List of policies Licensing and copyright Privacy Values Asking questions [Edit] First check these lists of frequently asked questions FAQ main page   —   questions about using and contributing. Administration   —   answers some questions related to Administrators. Article subjects   —   what to do about specific articles. Categories   —   about using Wikipedia's categories. Contributing   —   answers to questions commonly asked by contributors. Copyright   —   four most commonly asked questions about copyright. Editing   —   answers the most common questions about editing. Forking   —   how do I download and use Wikipedia content? IRC (live chat)   —   about "chat rooms" – real-time discussions. Organizations   —   editing without displaying a conflict of interest. Problems   —   solving problems you may encounter when browsing or editing. Readers   —   addresses concerns and questions readers may have. Schools   —   questions that teachers, librarians and administrators might have. Technical   —   answers some questions related to the technical workings of the site. (Miscellaneous)   —   questions that do not fit into any of above sections. If you can't find your question, then it's time to ask someone... Where to ask questions Where to ask factual questions Reference desk   —   volunteers will attempt to answer any factual question you may have. They are organized into the following subject areas: Computing Entertainment Language Humanities Mathematics Science Miscellaneous Where to ask help-related questions Help desk   —   the volunteers here will help you with Wikipedia-related questions. Wikipedia:Questions   —   another help page Wikipedia:Teahouse   —   friendly place for new editors to become accustomed to Wikipedia culture, ask questions, and develop community relationships. Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)   —   the place to ask technical questions about Wikipedia and all related technology. Wikipedia:Media copyright questions   —   about images, audio files, and other media. {{Help me}}   —   write a question or request on your user talk page, and place {{Help me}} with it, and someone will be by shortly to help you on it. Live help   —   ask other editors questions in real time in a Wikipedia chat room. See also Adopt-a-user   —   new users can find mentors here. Mentors are dedicated to answering questions and teaching. Questions and comments Requests department   —   for when you need assistance. The Wikipedia community [Edit] The Community Portal Wikipedia department directory Wikipedia quick directory Community support Teahouse - peer support for new editors Harmonious editing club - keep the peace, peacefully Kindness Campaign - spread kindness and recognition of users Adopt-a-User - experienced editors can "adopt" newer editors, helping to mentor them along the way as they learn about Wikipedia Welcoming committee Editor assistance User pages How to report a bug Mailing lists In-person meetings Wikipedians Local Embassy – find a user that speaks your language Babel – Another way to find multi-lingual Wikipedians Surveys Expressing thanks Voting and consensus Feedback by editors, to editors. Featuring an article Featuring lists Featuring pictures Featuring sounds Featuring portals Featuring topics Good articles Peer review Administrator nominations Discussing Deleting pages Deleting articles (full policy) Deleting categories (or a stub type) Deleting templates Deleting files Moving/Merging a page (and how to actually do it) Protecting pages (full policy) Resolving disputes Stay cool! Be nice to newcomers Alert others Dispute resolution Arbitration policy Keeping informed: News Community Portal – Bulletin board collaborations and updates – Wikipedia's hub of activity. The Signpost – Wikipedia's newspaper Wikipedia in the media Wikipedia milestone announcements Wikizine – news letter about the Wikimedia projects Press releases Stats Milestones Regional notice boards Goings-on Dashboard Administrators Administrator nominations List of administrators Administration FAQ Administrator's reading list Bureaucrats Elections Meta Fix cut & paste moves Page protection Wikipedian culture Wikipedians: the people who contribute to Wikipedia List of Wikipedians WikiProjects: where people interested in specific topics work together List of WikiProjects WikiProjects category Collaborations: Wikipedians focusing on one article for a set amount of time List of collaborations Wikipedia essays User essays Wikipedian humor Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense Department of Fun Wikipediholism Unusual articles Editcountitis: a condition that can be fatal Wikipedian games Barnstars Awards programs More about Wikipedia Overview of Wikipedia (All about Wikipedia) Category:Wikipedia Category-based access to pages about Wikipedia Another way to browse help topics Category:Wikipedia how-to (a full list of help topics) The wider community Meta – The site that organizes all Wikimedia projects. Resources and lists [Edit] List of wiki markup Categories General information Resource Description Wikipedia:Categorization Introduction to categorization. Wikipedia:Naming conventions (categories) Discusses naming conventions for categories. Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates Discusses the three different ways to group and organize articles. WikiProject Categories-related pages /uncategorized Taskforce page for categorizing and patrolling for uncategorized articles. Category:Wikipedia categorization Category page listing our project pages. Wikipedia:WikiProject Categories/Current subprojects WikiProject Categories subprojects. Category:WikiProjects Category page containing list of WikiProjects and helpful resources. Category:Category needed Category containing articles that need categorization. Category:Uncategorized pages Category containing pages that need categorization. Special:UncategorizedPages Special page for uncategorized pages. Uncategorized Categories Special page for uncategorized categories. Advanced resources Wikimedia stats:Category Overview Index Dumps of the category tree. Wikipedia:Database_reports#Categories Page containing generated reports about categories. Wikipedia:Categories for discussion Where deletion, merging, and renaming of categories is discussed. Miscellaneous Wikipedia:WikiProject Stub sorting Similar WikiProject for stubs. Wikipedia:Contents Browse Wikipedia's contents. Wikipedia:Contents/Overviews Browse Wikipedia's contents overviews. Wikipedia:Categories are different from articles Wikipedia:Categories vs lists Wikipedia:Categorising fiction Wikipedia:Do not write articles using categories Wikipedia:Overcategorization/Intersection of location and occupation User:Alan Liefting/Essays/On categorisation Lists General Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates Wikipedia:Lists Wikipedia:Lists (stand-alone lists) Wikipedia:Embedded list Wikipedia:Manual of Style (lists of works) Wikipedia:Naming conventions (long lists) Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies) Wikipedia:Pro and con lists Help Help:List Help:Table. External links section has free HTML-to-wiki converters. User:Hyacinth/How to use tables Wikipedia:When to use tables Help:Sorting. All about automatic sorting of table rows. Rejected proposals Wikipedia:Overlistification Wikipedia:Proposed guideline for lists of people by ethnicity, religion, and other cultural categorizations Essays Wikipedia:Lists in Wikipedia Wikipedia:Listcruft Wikipedia:Write the Article First - one solution to cruft-y red links in lists Creating A Better List - A User Essay Wikipedia:Lists within articles Stubs List of stub types How to name stubs Guide to stubbing Infoboxes List of infoboxes List of templates used in infoboxes Templates List of templates List of navigational templates List of citation templates Wikiprojects & article series List of WikiProjects Creating a WikiProject List of article series Shortcuts & "magic words" List of shortcuts List of "magic words" - Magic words can be used to automate text or change the display of pages. Other resources Cleanup resources List of Resources for researchers Public domain resources Wikipedia:Free online resources Wikipedia:Free or semi-free non-Public-Domain information resources Wikipedia:Public domain image resources Wikipedia:Free sound resources WikiProject Resource Exchange Web Browser tools - Tools for your Web browser Web colors Administration Mailing lists List of protected pages Links to disambiguating pages List of controversial issues Administrators List of administrators Requests for administrator attention Copyright Sample letters requesting content be made available to Wikipedia Sample letters for violations of Wikipedia's licence (GFDL) New user greetings Standard user greeting Welcome templates Essays Account settings [Edit] Customize your Wikipedia experience Change your preferences Change your signature Change your username Confirm your email address Delete your account Log in (troubleshooting) User page help User page design Customizing your display with CSS (advanced web design knowledge required) Technical information [Edit] Tools to make Wikipedia work better. Catalogue of CSS classes used on the English Wikipedia Editing articles of such length that you can't edit them The MediaWiki software MediaWiki User hub – help with installation and configuration of the MediaWiki software that runs Wikipedia, for those looking to set up their own wiki. MediaWiki User's Guide – help with general use of the MediaWiki software that runs Wikipedia Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) Requests and bug reports Browser notes Bots Download Wikipedia content – how to download Wikipedia and Wikimedia content Export page(s) in XML Computer help desk – Help with computers and software generally (i.e. not related to Wikipedia) See also: Category:Wikipedia information pages and Category:Wikipedia how-to