Mediawiki

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Additional MediaWiki formatting tips

(The following tips expand on the info contained in the handbook)

Gdocs/Html to Wiki conversion

We have come up with a nifty way to convert text from Gdocs or anywebsite into Wikitext, saving us hours of formatting time. The procedure is described within "Additional MediaWiki Questions" above, but here is is broken down for maximum clarity:

• Whether in Google docs or a website, select and copy the text
• Go to the Online HTML Editor. Paste the Gdoc/web text on the right hand window
• Now go to the left hand window, select all within and copy the html code that has been generated.
• Next go to the Wiki converter and paste the html on the top window. Hit "convert".
• Copy the converted text on the bottom window. Paste it in your wiki entry.

As excellent as this methods is, it leaves out three important elements that you will have to add manually: footnotes, images, internal links and unbolding headings. To insert these you will have to a/b the original Gdoc or web article with your wiki entry to identify where each of these need to be altered using the methods below:

Footnotes

The way to insert footnotes in Mediawiki by using references. Whenever there is a footnote, you need to paste its content between the two reference tags in the same location in the text where the reference is signalled. You do this by enclosing the footnote text within these two tags: <ref>...</ref>, e.g.:

<ref>PASTE FOOTNOTE CONTENT HERE</ref>

So, when copying from Google docs, you will have to copy every single footnote into the wikicode as a reference. If this isn't 100% clear, ask for a quick video demonstration or watch this tutorial.

Images

Unfortunately the editor doesn't convert images into wikitext, no matter whether you're copying from Gdocs or the web - it just leaves a space. This means that, just like with the footnotes, you will have to a/b the document, see where the images are located and upload them to the wiki version. So, if you're transferring from the handbook:

• When happening upon an image, et your cursor on the corresponding space in the wiki editor.
• Go to the option wheel dropdown menu to the right of the search box. Select "upload file".
• Under "Source file" hit the "Choose file" button. This will bring up a search box.
  • If you're doing this for the Handbook, you will need to have the images downloaded in your local drive first. Gdocs doesn't let you download images easily but don't worry, as all handbook images are compiled here. Download them to your local drive from the Gfolder and proceed as normal.
• Once you've chosen the file copy the destination filename from the box of the same name.
• Hit "Upload file"
• Now, in the place where you want to insert your image, write the following code:

[[image: PASTE DESTINATION FILENAME HERE]]

• If you want to resize the image you'd write:

[[image: PASTE DESTINATION FILENAME HERE | center]]

• And if you wanted to center and resize it to (for example) 750 pixels, you'd write:

[[image: PASTE DESTINATION FILENAME HERE | center | 750 px]]

Try this procedure out in the Sandbox and watch this vid for more info on inserting images