Help:The Editing Tool (FCK Editor)

Toolbars - "FCK" or "Rich Text" Editor vs. Wikitext
The FCK or Rich editor is the editing tool used in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. FCK stands for Frederico Caldeira Knabben, the creator of this editing tool. Registered users may edit or add new information to almost any page by clicking on the Edit link within the navigation bar. After clicking the Edit link, the editing window will open. If the FCK Editor is turned on, the user will see the following toolbar at the top of the editing window:

If, however, the FCK editor is turned off, the user will see the following toolbar at the top of the editing window:

Although there are benefits to using both toolbars, for beginners we recommend working with the FCK editor turned on, because the user does not have to view WikiText which can be confusing and difficult to work with. The default settings for all users is the FCK editor turned on. If you are a beginner, you don't need to change any settings to use the FCK editor. The FCK editor is often referred to as "the editing tool" in the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Using the editing toolbar (aka "Rich" or "FCK" editor)
The editing tool allows users who are editing or contributing articles to edit in a user-friendly, and familiar word processing environment. Without the editing tool enabled, the user would edit in a computer code environment. This can be especially intimidating for new users, or those who are unfamiliar with computer code. The editing tool allows you to format text, add bullets and numbering, create tables, add images, and add hyperlinks much like you would using an e-mail account or word processing software by clicking on buttons at the top of the editing window. Many of the buttons on the toolbar will be familiar to you. Below is a description of each of the buttons on the FCK editor:

Wikitext mode
Some editing in the FamilySearch Wiki is easier when the the editing tool (FCK editor) is disabled, or turned off. For example, dragging and dropping or copying and pasting text into the FamilySearch Wiki is often easier with the editing tool turned off. Also, in some situations, formatted text may only be copied into the Wiki in one of two ways: With the editor tool turned off, or with the editor tool in "WikiText" mode. To switch the editor into "Wikitext" mode, click the Wikitext button (shown below) on the FCK editor toolbar, and paste the text into the editor window.

To see what it will look like, click on the Wikitext button again to switch back to the visual mode, or the "What You See is What You Get" mode. NOTE: ''In the Wikitext mode, most of the buttons are "inactive" or cannot be used. To reactivate the buttons on the toolbar, click on the Wikitext button again.''

Turning the editor tool off and on
As mentioned above, it is sometimes necessary to turn the FCK editor, or editing tool, off. To turn off the editing tool, the user must be logged in to the FamilySearch Wiki.


 * 1) Make sure you are signed in to the FamilySearch Research Wiki.
 * 2) In the navigation bar, locate the "Personal tools" box.
 * 3) Under the "Personal tools" box, click My preferences.
 * 4) This will open a page titled "Preferences". Several options will be listed, including "User profile," "Skin," "Files," etc. Click on the option, titled, "Editing"
 * 5) After clicking on the "Editing" tab, a list of options will appear on the page with checkboxes next to each option.
 * 6) In the list of checkboxes, locate the box with the words, "Show edit toolbar (requires JavaScript)" next to it. It is the 5h checkbox in the list.
 * 7) To turn the editor off, click this box so that a check mark is removed from the check box. (To turn the editor back on click on the check box so that the check mark appears.)
 * 8) Click the Save button to save your changes.
 * 9) After clicking the Save button, a message should appear at the top of the page that reads, "Your preferences have been saved." You may now return to the main page, or begin searching for an article to read or edit!

Learn more about the editing tool
To learn more about the FCK editor, browse through the FCK Editor User's Guide.

Click here to view a demonstration on using the editing tool.