Tutorial (Formatting)
From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
Formatting TJ Wiki articles is somewhat (but not totally) similar to writing on a standard word processor. Most basic functions you will find familiar, but even more advanced ones are nothing to be intimidated by! Keep in mind that if you've pasted an article into the editing box from a pre-existing document (Word document, WordPerfect, etc.), the formatting will not translate, so you will need to go back and do that.
Bold and Italics
Two of the most commonly used formatting changes are bold and italics. To make any text bold or italic, simply select the desired text by highlighting it, and click on the bold or italic shortcut button (or both!) in the row of buttons above your editing box. That's it!
Headings and Subheadings
It's a good idea to use headings and subheadings for a longer article. To insert a heading:
- Put your cursor where you would like the heading to go.
- Click the "Level 2 headline" shortcut button above your editing box (it's about in the middle of your row of editing buttons and has a big letter A).
- Replace the default "Headline text" with your heading title.
You will notice that when you click the "Level 2 headline" button, "Headline text" gets inserted into your article with two equal signs on either side. To create a subheading, follow the steps for creating a regular heading, and add one more equal sign on either side of your subheading text, making three on each side. (Sorry, no shortcut button for subheadings!)
If an article has at least four headings, a table of contents will automatically be generated; it will appear at the top of the article. Try creating a heading in the sandbox. It will be added automatically to the table of contents for the page, assuming three others already exist.
Formatting conventions
The most important convention to keep in mind as you get started, and which may not be familiar to you, is to always mark the name or subject of an article in bold the first time it is mentioned in the article. This helps orient the reader. For example, the article Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson begins:
Martha Skelton Jefferson (October 19, 1748 O.S. – September 6, 1782) was Thomas Jefferson's wife.
For a more in-depth discussion of Thomas Jefferson Wiki formatting conventions, please see our Style Manual.
Next up: fun with links!
