Help:Copying and Pasting into a Wiki Page

 Quick Reference:  Copy and Paste is easiest in the "Wikitext" view, or use the following quick keys: Copy = CTRL + C; Cut = CTRL + X; Paste = CTRL + V.

What is "Copy and Paste?"
Copy and Paste is the ability to copy text from one location, and insert it into another location. It is possible to "Copy and Paste" text from PDFs, Internet pages, and document files into the FamilySearch Research Wiki, however, not all of the formatting will be included when copying and pasting between different computer program files. Pertaining to the Wiki, copying and pasting usually means to copy information from one location or file, and pasting it, or adding it into the editing window of a Wiki page.

Before Copying and Pasting
Before you copy and paste, first know what text you want to copy, and where you want to paste, or add it.

How to Copy and Paste into a Wiki Page
1. Log in to the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

2. Navigate to the page you want to paste text into. This may be done by searching for the page title in the "Search" box.

3. Locate "Edit" in the page options and click it. This will open the editing window.

4. Locate the toolbar at the top of the editing window. If your toolbar looks like the image below, continue to step 5. If not, skip to step 8.



5. Before pasting, you must highlight and copy the text you want to paste. To do this, locate the text you want to copy. Using your mouse, position your cursor to the left of the text. While holding down the left button of your mouse, drag the cursor to the end of the text you want to copy, and release the left mouse button. Without clicking either mouse button, position the cursor over the highlighted text. On your keyboard, locate, and hold down the "CTRL" and while holding it down, tap the "C" key on your keyboard. Although you will not see any visible change, the text will be "copied."

6. If you attempt to "paste" in the editor window, a new window will pop up, prompting you to paste into that window. To save time, click on the "Wikitext" button located in the upper left-hand corner of the editing toolbar, highlighted below. When you click on the Wikitext button, most of the icons on the toolbar will turn to a grey color.

buttonand using the left button on your mouse, drag your cursor over the text you want to

There are two ways to copy and paste in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. These instructions apply to those using the Editor Tool. If you aren't sure what the editor tool is, We recommend that you use keystrokes to cut and paste information into a wiki page.

Modern Web browser software has security settings that often disallow users from cutting and pasting text into a wiki page. However, using these keystrokes, you can get the job done:


 * Copy: CTRL-C
 * Cut: CTRL-X
 * Paste: CTRL-V

To copy text from a Word document into a wiki page, you would highlight the text you want to copy, hold down the CTRL key while pressing the C key, place your cursor in the wiki page, and hold down the CTRL key while pressing the V key. The wiki will then open a window for the copy/paste feature. The final step is to press the CTRL-V key again to copy the text into the wiki window provided. Then press the OK button.

Formatting your text after you have copied and pasted it onto the page will likely be needed.