Help:Links

To add or edit pages in the FamilySearch Wiki, you must be a registered user. To register, go here.

To add or edit a link on a page, do the following:


 * 1) [[Image:HighlightEdit Link.png|right|150px|HighlightEdit Link.png]]Sign in to the FamilySearch Wiki.
 * 2) Navigate to the page where you want to add or edit a link. If the page does not exist, then create it.
 * 3) Once you have reached the page you want to edit, click the Edit option in the sidebar to open the editing window.

Page Editors
The FamilySearch Wiki uses two types of editors to create and edit pages:


 * 1) The Rich Editor has a toolbar similar to many word processors. [[Image:RichEditor.jpg|500px|RichEditor.jpg]]  To switch to the Standard Editor, click on [Disable rich editor].
 * 2) The Standard Editor works in Wikitext and its limited tools help you edit a page. [[Image:StandardEditor.jpg|500px|StandardEditor.jpg]]  To switch to the Rich Editor, click on [Rich Editor].

There are four types of links

 * 1) internal links to other pages in the wiki. These links pertain only to the Wiki.  They do not include any other FamilySearch sites.
 * 2) external links to other websites, inlcuding other FamilySearch sites
 * 3) interwiki links to other websites registered to the wiki in advance
 * 4) Interlanguage links to other websites registered as other language versions of the wiki

Internal and External Link

 * 1) Enter and highlight or highlight the existing text that you want to use for your link. The text does not have to match the title of page you are linking.
 * 2) Click on the globe/earth icon with an unbroken chain [[Image:LinkGlobe.jpg|20x20px|LinkGlobe.jpg]] in the toolbar to open the link window. [[Image:RichEditorHighlightText.jpg]]

Internal links
To add an internal link, enclose the name of the page you want to link to in double square brackets. When you save the page, you'll see the new link pointing to your page. If the page exists already it is displayed in blue, if it does not, in red. Selflinks to the current page are not transformed in URLs but displayed in bold. (If you really want to link to the current page, use an anchor (see below), or current page which always links to the top.)

The first letter of the target page is automatically capitalized, unless otherwise set by the admins, and spaces are represented as underscores (typing an underscore in the link will have a similar effect as typing a space, but is not recommended, since the underscore will also be shown in the text).


 * 1) Start typing the name of the FamilySearch Wiki page to which you want to link in the Link field. Pages that match what you type appear in the window below the Link Field. [[Image:RichEditorTypeLink.jpg]]
 * 2) Highlight the desired page from the list and click OK to complete setting up the internal link. [[Image:RichEditorHighlightDesiredLinkt.jpg]]

Using the Standard Editor and Wikitext



 * See Advanced Linking

Avoiding auto-links
By default, when you write a URL as is, it will be transformed to an external link.

To avoid that effect, put the URL between  tags as in:

http://mediawiki.org &lt;/nowiki&gt;

Template Link
"The example uses the Wikipedia Template Wpd and adds optional link text parameter. The result for this template entry is 'See also ' In the rich editor, templates appear as ."
 * 1) Open the editor and place your cursor where you want to add the template link.
 * 2) Click on the  {T}  icon in the editor's toolbar. This will open the Template editor window. [[Image:RichEditorTemplateText.jpg]]
 * 3) Type two left curly braces  .
 * 4) Click OK to finish setting up the template. [[Image:Template Properties Text.png]]

Link Templates

 * See Advanced Linking

Interwiki links

 * See Advanced Linking

Interlanguage links

 * See Advanced Linking

FAQ
How do I edit a link?

Links to both internal FamilySearch Wiki pages and external internet pages can and often do change.


 * In the Standard Editor, type the new page, internet link address, or template text over the old material.
 * In the Rich Editor, place your cursor over the link text and click the the blue globe/earth icon with an unbroken chain [[Image:LinkGlobe.jpg|20x20px|text-bottom]] on the toolbar. Then replace the page title or internet address link with the correct link.
 * If you are editing a template in the Rich Editor, highlight the template [[Image:TemplateSymbolInRichEditor.png]] and click on the template  {T}  icon on the toolbar. Then edit the template text.

Don't forget to summarize what you have done so others know the change you've made.

Does the text on the page need to match the title of the linked page?

It is not required, but the linking text should clearly convey the content of the linked page to the researcher and may 1) expand on the title of the linked page, 2) be more concise and 3) external links, which should always use linking text in place of the full internet http:// address.

Example 1:

Page Title: Mennonites Linking Text: Researching Mennonite Records

Example 2:

Page Title: Pennsylvania Biography Linking Text: Biographies

Example 3:

Page URL: http://www.classbrain.com/artstate/publish/article_561.shtml Linking Text: Famous Pennsylvanians

How do I avoid making a Link?

Generally, when you type an URL address (with the http:// ), it will be transformed to an external link. To avoid making a link, put the URL address between  tags in the Standard Editor:

http://mediawiki.org &lt;/nowiki&gt;

Can I create a new page by adding a link?

Yes. You do this by typing the title of the non-existing page as your link. This works only for internal links and will display the new page link in red text. When you click on the link, you will be taken to a new page that will not exist until you edit and save it.

Before you use this method to create a new page, search the FamilySearch Wiki to make sure it does not already exist. If you have not already done so, please read the material on the Creating a page page.

What happens if I add a link to a page that does not exist?

The link to the non-existing page will be created, but the link will be displayed in red text. You can use this method to create new pages in the FamilySearch Wiki as you edit an existing page. If you click on the link, it will take you to the page where you can create it.

What do the symbols at the end of the External Links mean?

The following symbols can appear behind an external link.


 * 1) [[Image:ExternalLinkSymbol.png|20x20px]] This is the standard external link symbol. Internal links have no symbol attached to the link text.
 * 2) [[Image:ExternalSecureLinkSymbol.png|20x20px]] This link symbol indicates that the link is a secure link, using https:// in the link address.
 * 3) [[Image:DocumentSymbol.png|20x20px]] The document symbol indicates a link to a document and not a Wiki page.
 * 4) [[Image:AudioSymbol.png|20x20px]] The audio (sound) symbol indicates a link to a sound file.
 * 5) [[Image:VideoSymbol.png|20x20px]] The video symbol indicates a link to a video file.
 * 6) [[Image:EmailSymbol.png|30x40px]] The email symbol indicates an email address and will usually start the email program. Please do not use.

What is an Interwiki Link?

Interwiki links are Links to other wiki's such as Wikipedia. These appear as an internal link, but contain the name of the wiki: History of Pennsylvania. Please use the Wikipedia Template Wpd to create an external link to Wikipedia pages. This will allow all Wikipedia links to be updated at the same time if Wikipedia changes the way it links to pages.

What is an Inter-language Link?

An inter-language link is a link to a Wiki page in a different language. Inter-language links are usually found in a bar at the bottom of the page. The links are created using the H-langs template. If this page is available in other languages and someone has added the links, you will see a bar displaying the links at the bottom of the page.

Quick Reference for the Rich Editor: Quick Reference for the Standard Editor:
 * [[Image:LinkGlobe.jpg|20x20px|LinkGlobe.jpg]] The blue globe/earth icon with an unbroken chain on the toolbar is used for adding or editing links.
 * [[Image:UnLinkGlobe.jpg|20x20px|UnLinkGlobe.jpg]] The blue globe/earth icon with a broken chain on the toolbar is used for deleting a link, but not the text. The icon is active during editing when a link is selected.
 * [[Image:RichEditorTemplateButton.png|20x20px|RichEditorTemplateButton.png]] The {T} icon button is used for adding a Template, including template links.
 * [[Image:StandardEditorInternalLink.png|20x20px|StandardEditorInternalLink.png]] The  Ab  icon button is used for defining internal links.
 * [[Image:StandardEditorExternalLink.png|20x20px|StandardEditorExternalLink.png]] The globe icon button is used for defining external links.

Ways to Add Links

You can add a link to a page in one of three ways:


 * 1) Use the Rich Editor to add internal and external links and to use templates using features similar to those found on many word processors..
 * 2) Use the  Standard Editor  and Wikitext to add code manually for features not enabled in the rich editor, including internal or external link or to use a template.
 * 3) Use a Template to add interwiki links and other links that need special requirements set up. You can use either the rich editor or wikitext to add a template link.

Watch a video demonstration of how to add a link.