Wiktionary:How to change a page

This page is a soft rule on Wiktionary. Many editors agree with acting this way. It is a good idea to follow it, but it is not a hard rule. Feel free to change the page as needed, but please use the talk page to suggest any big changes.

Shortcut: WT:EDIT

Simple English Wiktionary is a wiki. This means that it can be edited (changed) by anyone. We have some rules here at Simple English Wiktionary on how to edit, which include editing principles, hard and soft rules, and the style guide.

It is easy to edit a page. When you are on a page, click the tab at the top that says "change this page." That will take you to an edit window, which will have a large box where you can change things, add things, or remove things. The best place to test this out is either in the sandbox, where no one will mind if you make mistakes, or by improving a page. When you have made the changes you want to make, you can see how the page will look by clicking on "Show preview." This will give an example of how the page will look, with the edit box below the example. If you want to see what changes you have made, click "Show changes." If the change is very small, you can click the check box that says "This is a minor edit" and it will be marked as "m" for "minor" on the new changes page. If you are not sure if the edit is minor, do not check the box. Other editors dislike when major changes are marked as minor. It is seen as dishonesty (lying). If you are logged in (creating an account is free), you can click the "Watch this page" check box and the page will then appear on "your watchlist" whenever someone makes a change to the watched page.

When all the changes are exactly the way you want them, click "Save page" to post it to the web. If you are logged in, the newest changes page will attribute the edit to you, but if you are not registered, it will list your IP address as the author of the change. Note: Anyone else with web access can now edit, revert, remove, or add to what you did.

To start a new entry, it is important to check if it already exists. All links that are red are to entries that do not exist yet. If you find a page with a link to the word on it, if the link is blue, the entry exists, if it is red, the entry does not exist. You may also search (look) for the word using the search box on the left of every page. If the page exists, searching will take you to it. If not, it will send you to a page that says that the entry does not exist, with a red link to an edit box where you can start the new entry.

In most Wiktionaries the first line is ==language== because they include words in all languages. In this Wiktionary, all the words are in English. So start with ==part of speech== (such as ==Verb==), then add the headword using the appropriate template (adding the appropriate forms). Then add one or more definitions, each starting with a #. Wikify significant (important) words by putting them in double square brackets [[like this]]. Follow each definition with one or more example sentences to show how the word is used. These examples should be in italics by putting two single quotes around it, ''like this'', which will appear like this. The entry word should be in bold in the entry by adding three single quotes '''like this''' which appears like this. You may add extra sections like synonyms using ===Synonyms=== (for example). These extra sections may include usage, synonyms, antonyms, related words, see also, and any other logical section. Then add a {{wikipedia}} template to the top of the page if there is an article about the word in the Simple English Wikipedia. Add a category if it belongs to any categories such as [[Category:Tools]], but do not add the entry to the part of speech categories, since the templates already do that. Here is an example, from the cat entry:

{{wikipedia}}

==Noun==
{{noun}}
#A '''cat''' is a [[domestic]] [[animal]] often kept as a [[pet]]; it has [[whisker]]s and likes to chase [[mice]]. {{syn|feline}}
#:''Our pet '''cat''' has just had kittens.''
#Many different [[wild]] animals that are related to the domestic cat.
#:''Lions and tigers are big '''cats'''.''

===See also===
*[[kitten]]

[[Category:Mammals]]

A more complicated example is at duck.

For more information on formatting, see entry layout explained.

For information on how to link and other things, see Wiki markup.