Wikitext is a simplified markup language that is used to format and structure text and other data.
While HTML is the most common markup language for web pages, Wikitext is used in wiki systems. Like HTML, it uses tags to mark parts of text or other data.
How do I use Wikitext?
When you edit a page, you can switch between visual editing and source editing using the editor toolbar.
Wikitext can be entered in source editing mode. When you are in visual editing mode, VisualEditor inserts Wikitext "behind the scenes". If VisualEditor doesn't format elements on a page correctly, you can always switch to source editing to correct the issues directly in Wikitext.
Examples of Wikitext
Here are some typical examples of Wikitext:
Text formatting
- This is
'''bold''' - This is
''italic'' - This is
<u>underlined</u>
Structuring
- This is a
==Heading== - This is an
*unordered list element - Table:
{| class="wikitable" |- !header 1 !header 2 |- |row 1, cell 1 |row 1, cell 2 |- |row 2, cell 1 |row 2, cell 2 |}
Links / Embedded files
Link to internal wiki page
[[Wikipage|Label]]
[[Pancake|Best Pancake]]
Link to external website
[url label]
[https://wikipedia.org Wikipedia]
Link with parameters
<span class="plainlinks">[{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} Edit this page]</span>
This link opens the referenced page in edit mode in a new tab.
Embed image/file
[[Datei:image-or-pdf-name.png]]- - - Image/PDF is embedded on page- the wiki checks, if a preview can be generated (e.g., for "png", "jpeg", "gif", "svg") and embeds the preview
- otherwise, a link to the file description page is created
- can be embedded: PDF, Tiff (with extension)
- cannot be embedded: Microsoft Office- und Libre Office-Dateien; Shell-Skripte, ...
[[Media:image-or-pdf--name.png]]- - - - Links to image / PDF[[:Datei:image-or-pdf--name.png]]- - - Links to file description page
Magic words
| Type of Wikitext | Example |
|---|---|
| Special character | ã → ã
UTF-8 is possible |
| Comment | <!-- unnoticed -->
|
| No "wiki translation" | <nowiki> and </pre>
|
| Table of contents | __TOC__ and __NOTOC__
|
| Signature | --~~~
|
| Redirect | #REDIRECT [[targetpage]]
|
| Template | {{template name}}
|
Other magic words are available via this link.
HTML tags
Some html tags can be used in wikitext. The paragraph and character formatting tags in particular are useful for formatting templates or pages, but are not usually required for creating and editing a page itself.
Allowed tags
- Paragraph and character formatting: <div>, <span>, <p>, <br>, <hr>
- Table formatting: <table>, <tr>,<td>, <th>
- Headings: <h1>, <h2>
Complete overview: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:HTML_in_wikitext/de
Not allowed tags
- Classic html tags are not allowed, like <a>, <img>, <script>, <form>, <fieldset>, and structural tgas like <head> or <title>.
Help pages for source code editing
As most of the source code editing functions - such as formatting with wikitext - originate directly from MediaWiki, these functions are documented on mediawiki.org. Below you will find a selection of help pages on the subject of source text editing:
| Topic | Help page |
|---|---|
| Wikitext | General information on formatting with Wikitext |
| Links | Include links |
| Bilder | Include images |
| Magic words | Magic words are text strings that Mediawiki links to a return value or a function. These are also an example of wikitext. |
| Parser-Funktionen | Parser functions can be used to insert simple logical queries, e.g. in templates.
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:ParserFunctions |
| Semantic MediaWiki | Parser functions: https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Parser_functions
Properties: https://www.semantic-mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Property_declaration |
