Wikicode

Wikicode

Wikicode is the strange syntax used by all wikipedias including this one. If you don't know it and are prepared to learn, continue reading. Otherwise, MediaWiki's Help:Formatting article is the definite wikimarkup reference list, and Wikipedia:Help:Wiki_markup works as well.

This page is meant to be a much shorter list than one you would find on wikipedia, and also meant for some of our own internal templates or similar tools. Really, this will be some kind of list of some basic/advanced formatting techniques and how to use them.

Page Links

Page links are important because without them, finding pages becomes too hard. Linking to other pages minimizes the total amount of information needed on one page, but also chains pages together for ease of access.

The easiest method to link to another page on our wiki is to use [[A_page_name]]. For example:

This	Gives us this
This will direct you to the [[Atmospheric Technician]] page.	This will direct you to the Atmospheric Technician page.

But lets say you want to link to a specific header or part of the page. Instead, we add a # symbol with the header name. like this: [[Name_of_page#Header]]. An example:

This	Gives us this
This will direct you to the [[Engineer#Doing_your_duty]] header.	This will direct you to the Engineer#Doing_your_duty header.

Alternatively, you can use an {{anchor}} on your page. The Anchor is a template that creates an invisible anchor on the page for linking. All you do is type {{Anchor|Name_of_Anchor}}, and all you need to do is make a link to the anchor. See the templates section for more info. An example:

This	Gives us this
{{Anchor|donk}} This [[Wikicode#donk]] will bring you here.	This Wikicode#donk will bring you here.

In many cases, we don't want the actual page name to be in the link we make. So now we use [[Name_of_page|Name_of_link]]. An example:

This	Gives us this
Doing [[Janitor#Mopping_and_Spills|gods work]]	Doing gods work

Redirecting pages

In some cases, creating a blank page to redirect to a similar named page or object is helpful. This especially helps when using the search function on the wiki. To make a redirect, create a new page of the word you need redirected, and only enter #REDIRECT [[page_to_redirect_to]]. This makes it so whenever someone loads the page, they will be automatically redirected to the indicated page.

Headers

Headers separate the page into their respective sections (duh). As referenced earlier, headers can be linked to directly using the # symbol with the header name combined with the page name. ([[PageName#HeaderName]]) Headers are created by using the equals symbol (=) before and after a header name. For example:

This	Gives us this
=Heading=	Heading

If you want to make a sub-section, all you have to do is add another set of equals (=) symbols.

Just

== Just ==

Like

=== Like ===

This

==== This ====

Also, as you may have noticed at the top of most pages, there is a 'contents' menu. All of the headers and sub-headers are listed here for quick access.

Page Formatting

In most cases, just using the return/enter key and headers is good enough for a page. But sometimes, you just want to add some extra flair to your pages.

Text

Some text editing tools are built into the page editor. Some examples are:

This	Gives us this	This	Gives us this
'''bold'''	bold	<small>Small text</small>	Small text
''Italics''	Italics	<big>Big text</big>	Big text
<s>striking text</s>	striking text	<u>Underline</u>	Underline

Other Than Text

<br> works similar to using the return/enter key, but sometimes works better. Forces the line of text to break off and leave space above it.

This	Gives us this
Spacing out <br> your text	Spacing out your text

Numbering and bullet points can also be used on a page without having to space it out. They both follow the same format, but use different symbols.

This	Gives us this	This	Gives us this
# Line one # Line two ## Sub #: Continuing Stopping # Starting a new line	Line one Line two Sub Continuing Stopping Starting a new line	* Line one * Line two ** Sub *: Continuing Stopping * Starting a new line	Line one Line two Sub Continuing Stopping Starting a new line

Templates

Templates are exactly what they sound like; They are a predefined format for easy use. Similar to the anchor template listed earlier, templates are their own separate pages that are designed to only require variable data to be inserted. Most, if not all templates should have a detailed description of how to use it on its page. The currently used templates can be found here, and the currently unused templates can be found here. Note, just because a template is unused, doesn't mean it is useless. If you can find a use for one, use it! To use any template, you need to reference the name of it's page within double brackets {{}}, then define the variables. A good example of a useful template is the {{DMG}} template. When you want to use the {{DMG}} template, paste the code from the page like so:

{{DMG|Toxin}}

Then your template (in this case, our damage text) shows on the page like so: TOXIN

Every template acts a bit different but they all have a use. Refer to their page for a more in-depth explanation on how they are used: Template:DMG

Tables

Tables are a little tricky to cover in depth without taking up a ton of space. So for more detailed information, check out Wikipedia's table page here. Here.
Tables are similar to templates, mostly just because they are a type of coding that define stuff. Most templates end up using a table of some sort to make it look pretty anyways. An extremely simple table works like so:

Very simple table

{| class="wikitable" |-  ! One | Two |- | Three | Four |}

One	Two
Three	Four

Each part of the code defines where it belongs and what it does. The {| and |} are the opening and closing brackets of our table, they indicate the start and the end. The class="wikitable" defines the style of the table borders. Instead, you could replace the class with border= and define the size and style of the border. The |- indicates the end of a row, and adding a new line after it will make an extra row beneath it. The ! defines the row to be a title of sorts, which also defaults the text to be centered in the box. In the case of the class="wikitable", it makes the row a different color. The || marks the end of the box, and any data past it will be in the next box over. To add more to a table, simple add a column with || or by going to a new line and adding one |, or add a new row by making a new line and adding |- then another line and |.

---

Another table

{| class="wikitable" |-  ! One  ! Two  ! Five |- | Three | Four | Six |- | One | More | Time |}

One	Two	Five
Three	Four	Six
One	More	Time

---

A more colorful table

{| class="wikitable" | style="text-align: center;" |- | style="background: #0d5a00; color: black" | X | style="background: #0d5a00; color: black" | One | style="background: #0d5a00; color: black" | Two | style="background: #0d5a00; color: black" | Three |- | style="background: #0d5a00; color: black" | One | 1 | 2 | 3 |- | style="background: #0d5a00; color: black" | Two | 2 | 4 | 6 |- | style="background: #0d5a00; color: black" | Three | 3 | 6 | 9 |}

X	One	Two	Three
One	1	2	3
Two	2	4	6
Three	3	6	9

---

Sortable Table

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |-  ! scope="col" | *  ! scope="col" | A  ! scope="col" | B  ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | C  ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | D |- !E | 1 || 4 || 2 || 6 |- !F | 2 || 8 || 4 || 1 |- !G | 0 || 4 || 1 || 2 |- !H | 3 || 6 || 9 || 1 |- |}

*	A	B	C	D
E	1	4	2	6
F	2	8	4	1
G	0	4	1	2
H	3	6	9	1

---

Advanced Table

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 100%;" !class="unsortable" style="width:5%; padding:5px;" | '''Icon''' !style="width:15%; padding:5px;" | '''Item''' !style="width:2.5%; padding:5px;" | '''Cost''' !class="unsortable" style="width:77.5%; padding:5px;" | '''Description''' |-  ! [[File:Mk 58.png|64px]]  ! style="text-align:center;" | '''Mk58''' | style="background-color:#0d5a00; text-align:center;" | 6 | A cheap, ubiquitous sidearm, produced by a NanoTrasen subsidiary. Uses .35 auto ammo. |-  ! [[File:Python.png|64px]]  ! style="text-align:center;" | '''Python''' | style="background-color:#0d5a00; text-align:center;" | 8 | A loud and deadly revolver. Uses .45 Magnum. |}

Icon	Item	Cost	Description
	Mk58	6	A cheap, ubiquitous sidearm, produced by a NanoTrasen subsidiary. Uses .35 auto ammo.
	Python	8	A loud and deadly revolver. Uses .45 Magnum.

This table makes use of Images, colors, styles and proper use of "Width" to allow for consistency and cleaner readability for both user and editor. This is the sort of table that should be prioritized during contributions. Don't use this specific table everywhere but inspire yourself on how it is formatted.

Images

Unless you put an external link to an image on a image hosting site, you will be using images uploaded to the wiki. Mostly GIF and PNG formats are preferred. The best way to get an image from the game is to download the Source Code, and export the image. Images can be placed by placing [[File:Example.png]]. An example:

This	Gives us this
[[File:Engineer.png]]

When you simply call up an image, it will be in it's full sized format. Resizing the image is not simple anymore. Adding |thumb after the file name forces it to be a thumbnail size. If the image is already smaller than the thumbnail size, then the image will not be re-sized. Also, the image will be placed in a frame (which you can add without making the image a thumbnail by adding |frame instead) and default to the right side of the page. The location of the image can also be changed by adding |left or |center.

This	Gives us this
[[File:Engineer.png|thumb|left]]

Sometimes the thumb is too big or too small. So instead, you can replace |thumb with |64px, where the 64 can be any sized number (assuming you don't want it larger than an average screen). The px stands for pixels, and does not need to be changed.

When any image is placed on a page, clicking the picture will take you to another page. The default setting takes you to the images page, where you can view the upload history of that specific image. By adding a |link=www.example.com or |link=Engineering, you can make the image link to another internal or external page. Also, adding text such as |text goes here adds a small pop-up dialog that shows the defined text.

This	Gives us this
[[File:C4.png|link=Syndicate_Items#Explosives|This is C4]]

Rule of two

Make sure to use the rule of two, aka multiplying or dividing by two, when you plan to up-size or down-size an image to avoid the image looking weird and unappealing to the eyes.

Image	Description
	Normal sized wrench, 32px.
	Up-sized wrench, from 32px to 64px.
	Up-sized wrench if you can't do math, from 32px to 52px.

It's pretty self explanatory and easily avoidable.

Hiding/collapsing content

Add "mw-collapsed" to the class to have it start collapsed. See examples 1 and 3. Mediawiki's Collapsible elements manual does a good job at explaining it.

Example 1: Table

{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable"
! The header || remains visible
|-
| This content || is hidden
|-
| at first || load time
|}

The header	remains visible
This content	is hidden
at first	load time

Example 2: Text

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible" style="width:400px">
This text is collapsible. {{Lorem}}
</div>

This text is collapsible.

[Show/hide] Example 3: Section

Text

Text

== <span class="mw-customtoggle-0" style="font-size:small; display:inline-block; float:right;"><span class="mw-customtoggletext">[Show/hide]</span></span> Example 3: Section ==
<div id="mw-customcollapsible-0" class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Text
Text
</div>