Share Your Knowledge by Adding to the Wiki



By sharing your knowledge, you can help build the Wiki. For help in that process, follow the information below:


 * Sign In to your FamilySearch account. If you don't have one already, you will be directed to the Create Account page. There is no cost for FamilySearch accounts.

Adding information to an existing article

 * Go to an article that you'd like to edit or to add additional information. Chose articles that are of special interest to you or which you have some knowledge about.


 * Click on the Edit This Page button, found at the top right of the page.
 * [[Image:Edit this page icon.png|thumb|left]]

Editing in the Edit Window
The Edit Window will now open in Wikitext. The Wikitext may seem a little scary at first because the text looks unusual. Just remember to avoid the following characters [ { < and ] } > and you will do OK.
 * You can insert text by clicking before, in, or after a paragraph and typing.
 * You can delete text by using the Backspace key or Delete key.
 * You can add space by pushing the Enter key.
 * You can move text by highlighting it, click on the highlight and hold for a second, then move to the place desired.

Mistakes

 * If you make a mistake, don't worry. Its not permanent. You can fix it or someone else will.

Finishing Up

 * When you are finished, scroll down to the bottom and add a short Edit Summary. Example: Added links to digital newspapers.


 * Then click the Save page button. This page will now contain your changes. Everyone who looks at your page, from around the world, will see the changes that you made. Its a good feeling to help others.


 * Remember to Save the page you are working on about every 10 minuets or so. If you let it go much longer, the system will drop you out and you will loose all the changes that you have made. If that happens, just begin again and make those changes all over again. You will spend more time than you thought, but no harm done.

Edit a Section of an Existing Article

 * To edit just a section of an existing article, click on the Edit Icon on the right side of the page by the section header.




 * Edit that section of the article using the same WYSIWYG tool.
 * Add a comment to the Summary field at the bottom of the page.
 * Click on the Save Page button and you are done.

Create a New Article

 * To add a new article to the wiki, firstsearch for the subject to see if an article or articles already exists that covers the subject. If they already exist, don't create a new article. Add information to the existing article.


 * If there wasn't an article that covers the subject, search again for the title of the page you want to create. Example:  Scotland Clan Tartans    That article doesn't currently exist.  The search results shows this statement:  "Create the page "Scotland Clan Tartans" on this wiki!
 * Click on the name in  red  and start typing on the new article page you just created!
 * Use WYSIWYG editing tool bar to add links, bold, etc.
 * Remember to add a note to the Summary field at the bottom of the page stating that the new article about "xxxx" subject was created.
 * Click on the Summary button to save the article. NOTE:  Save the article fairly often while you are writing it.  There isn't an autosave in the wiki.  You could loose all of your work though an inadvertant click if you haven't saved it earlier.

Additional Information

 * For more in-depth information about creating and editing articles on the wiki, visit these articles:




 * Editing a Page
 * Video Tutorial
 * Wiki guiding principles
 * Understand Wiki publishing policies