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What computer language controls the Wiki?
The coding of FamilySearch Wiki is Wikitext. It is the coding of the various "wiki type" sites on the internet. In order to fix problems with the coding in the Wiki, you will be required to learn Wikitext. Wikitext is a fun and easy code. The lessons on Wikitext are available on the tutorial tool bar labeled: WIKITEXT. All missionaries are required to learn Wikitext. But do not be dismayed. The lessons come in short and easily digestable portions. All missionaries have gone through the material and have become programmers and have gained skills that will be useful after their missions are up.

Part of your duties is to fix errors in coding
There are many ways the Wikitext coding can be wrong and become a problem on a page. It is not possible to cover them all. Some of the ones seen most often are covered in this lesson.

Missing container tags

 * In Wikitext, as in other computer languages, information is often placed inside "containers." Wikitext coding is applied to these containers to affect the look and format of the information.

Div tags
  This is text placed between opening and closing div tags.
 * Div tags are probably the most often used containers, but there are other kinds with special uses. This is the opening tag:   and this is the closing tag:   .  It is between these tags that text, images, etc. are placed.
 * Frequently the closing div tag  is left out or mistyped.  All kinds of crazy things can happen; but the one problem you often see is the sidebars disappear.  You will find them at the very bottom of the page.  Obviously you need to find where this missing div tag needs to go. To see the complete coding for Div tags Click Here >>.

Table tags

 * Table tags are used to create tables. To see the complete coding for tables click here.
 * All sorts of problems happen with missing elements.

Images

 * Sometimes images are very large and take up a lot of space on a page. Click here to learn how to limit the size.

Bold and italic tags
  This is bold text placed between opening and closing  '''   This is italicized text placed between opening and closing ' ''
 * Occasionally you will see large sections of text in bold or italicized print. Again the ending tags have been left out or mis-typed.
 * To make text bold you flank the text with three apostrophes. Look for the missing ending three apostrophes.
 * To make text italic you flank the text with two apostrophes (not quote marks). Look for the missing ending two apostrophes.

Text in a box with a light gray border

 * Problem: Text inside a light gray border box like this:

A space has been placed between the first word of a text and the left side of the page.
 * Cause: A space has been placed between the first word of a text and the left side of the page.
 * Fix: Remove the space, making sure the text is up against the left side of the page, and the dashed box should disappear.

Alignment

 * Missing tags can cause text or images not to be in the place where you think they should be. Click here to learn about how elements are aligned on a page.

Broken links

 * Another major issue is links. They are sometimes "broken" in that, for example, they lead to sites that do not exist anymore or were entered wrong and do not function at all.
 * There is a page in the Wikitext lessons to cover this topic. Click here to see the different kinds of broken links and how to fix them.

Try these out


 Quick Quiz
 * You need to be familiar with Wikitext to be able to fix coding problems on a page.
 * True
 * False


 * It's okay to place a space between the first word of a text and the left side of the page.
 * True
 * False


 * An occasional missing div tag is no big deal.
 * True
 * False


 * An occasional broken link is ok.
 * True
 * False


 * A page that is messed up may have a closing div tag missing.
 * True
 * False

Check your answers

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