New Members Guide by Birgitte

Category:Guides
Welcome to Wiki! Here are some Random Tid Bits to help you out!! If you have any other questions/concerns that I don't address here, feel free to go to my User Talk Page and ask and I will put in a new answer on here and on your Talk page:
=General Editing Practices=
==Show Preview==
First and Foremost, the Show Preview Button. 
If you use the Show Preview Button below instead of hitting Save Page it will show you the changes you have made so far without saving the page. 
:
By doing this, you avoid clogging up the Recent Changes section with just you editing one page. This will make everyone happy.
==Short-Cut Keys==
When you are going to Edit a page you see the shortcut keys above the Subject/Headline Part.
:They are this in the following order: 
::B - BOLD It puts 3 ' in front and behind the word you want Bold 
:I - Italic It puts 2 ' in front and behind the word you want Italicized 
:Ab - Is a short cut for an internal link - Puts a around a word and you now have linked that word to a page in the FFXIclopedia 
:The World - It is a link to an external page - Puts a [ ] around a website to link it to outside of the FFXIclopedia 
:The BIG A - Puts == == around a Word or Phrase making it a Headline like How to Obtain in the Item Template 
:The Picture Icon - Puts a picture into a web page :File:Example.jpg
:Media Link - Personally don't know
:Mathematical Equation - Puts a mathematical equation into the page
:The Anti-Wiki Sign - Makes whatever you put inside of it the formatting non-wiki formatted
:The Scribbles are your Signature (See the Following Section for more details) 
:The Straight line - Puts a line in between what you are typing.
==Signing your Name==
If you want to write your User Name and the Time you wrote at the end of a post on a Talk Page - User Talk or an Item Talk Page, you can either hit the second to last Button on the above Editing Button tabs that looks like a signature or simply type in: --~~~~. I find that typing in the two straight lines and the 4 squiggly is easier than using your mouse to click on the signature button since you are already typing.
=Item Template=
==Making/Editing Pages==
When editing or making Item Page, please make sure to view and follow the current Item Template. 
If you have any trouble with understanding or using the Template, Chris made the FFXIclopedia:How to use the Item Template and other useful Editing Tips Guide that can help you through the Template step by step as well as familarize yourself with some of our other Templates and Policies.
==General Coding Information==
===To Start a New Line===
At the end of each sentence to make sure it goes to the next line you write . The only times you do not have to do this is if it is in a table or if the next line has a : (Colon) in front of it which will make a different line automatically.
===Strange Lines & What Not to Do===
Sometimes just deleting one thing like a "|-" can screw up a whole page. What I did when I first started was just copy straight from the Item Template what I needed and carefully take out the information I didn't need. Now I can just type what is needed from memory, but at first it can be hard.
 |width="50%" valign="top"| won't dissappear on the Edit section unless you delete it, but you won't see it on the actual page. It is part of a table code that places things in different sections. You see how Statistics and then Other Uses are put into columns? That is because of that code. Now if look at the end of Other Uses you will see that instead of just |width="50%" valign="top"| it is |- on one line, then: |width="50%" valign="top"| on the following. That is to allow the next section, being Synthesis Results to be below Statistics rather than beside Other Uses. Do you understand? Also, at the end of every table there needs to be |} which you will see at the end of Obtained From Desynthesis and before How to Obtain. 
==Editing the Item Template Itself==
===What to Bold===
You only need to Bold the names of the Stats such as DMG:, Delay:, and whatever other added Stat is there such as STR or Convert HP to MP. The number the Stat is increased is not Bolded and should look like DMG: 1 or STR +1 for example. 
===Using Spaces===
Make sure that you put a space between the name of the Stat and the amount it is being increased or decreased by so it looks like this: "DMG: 43" rather than "DMG:43". 
===What to Link===
The additional Stats after DMG: & Delay: can be turned into Links. You can do that to those to by just putting a around them. For example: Convert 30 HP to MP or STR +1.
===Categories===
The Categories at the top of pages are user defined categories for the Item at hand. They differ from the others on the page because they actually categorize the entry rather than providing a link to the category. The colon before the word category tells the software that you are intending to code a link and not actually categorize the article. This will be good to note for later editing of many other sections in which you want to directly link something back to the correct category.
===Pictures===
We like to keep up-to-date photos on our site that include the new ToAU jobs in the pictures. If there is already an image for a page that needs to be updated to the ToAU picture and you have the ToAU picture upload it OVER the old picture and if there is no picture, you do not need to type in ToAU in the name of the Image, just name it after said Item. To upload a picture over an old one, just copy the exact name (case sensitive) of the old Image and Upload the new one over it. ^^ The only time we don't upload an image over another is when its a SS.
Speaking of Pictures, please make sure to only upload pictures that follow the FFXIclopedia:Image Policy which means, no pictures with see-thru backgrounds, no pictures with your name or anyone else's name in the picture, and no pictures that are rude, lewd or inappropriate.
For an example of suitable Picture Backgrounds, scroll down this Forum Discussion on Solid Backgrounds. Examples 2 & 6 are the general way to go on Background choices for uploading, but if your version of Background 4 isn't too light, that can be used as well.
===Templates within the Item Template===
====Rare/Exclusive====
To put the Rare and Exclusive Images into the Item Page, you don't have to go typing the full picture name or even remembering it. You can now use the Template for Rare and Exclusive. You can do this by typing {{Rare}} and {{Exclusive}} and it will look like: You can split them up and use one or the other as the occasion calls as well.
====Resist & Craft Templates====
 Means an Internal Link... {{ }} Is another Template within this template. Such as {{Resist Fire}} to get . When you see {{Craft|<Craft type>|(Skill cap)}} when you hit Edit and copy and paste that to whatever page you are editing, what in fact you are putting in there is . It looks different when you hit edit, but its a Template that simplifies what you have to write in. So instead of having to write all that - all you have to plug into that is the Craft Type aka Woodworking or Leathercraft where it says <Craft Type> and the Skill Cap between the ( ). 
In the Synthesis Recipe section, the Article tab shows the following: 
[[:category:<Craft type>|<Craft type>]] (Skill cap)
However, the Edit tab shows the following: 
{{Craft|<Craft type>|(Skill cap)}}
This gets back to how the templates work. The {{Craft|<Craft type>|(Skill cap)}} is a template that when the user inputs a craft type (i.e Cooking) and a skill cap (i.e. 10) it outputs . So by typing a two words and number only you get the same output as had you typed [[:category:<Craft type>|<Craft type>]] (Skill cap). This is intended to make the coding easier. Because the template does not have the fields filled in (because it is a template), the output into the template is just the underlying template code. Hope that makes sense. The visual result of using either is the same, but the template (a) should be easier and (b) allows for some more uniform changes down the line if needed.
====Crystal Templates====
The Crystal Templates are Similar. The Template shows them as: and when you hit Edit it will read like this [[XXX Crystal|{{XXX|XXX Crystal}}]]. Now all YOU have to do is add in whatever Crystal is used in the Recipe where the XXX's are. But since I want you to understand the Code, the following should help you understand it. What this code right here is allowing is for one, it to link to whatever Crystal Page it is, hence this part right here [[XXX Crystal| which if it was Wind Crystal for example it would link it to the Wind Crystal Page. Now notice this isn't colored, that is what the second part (and the Template) is for: |{{XXX|XXX Crystal}}]] is allowing it to have the proper Color while showing us the proper name for what we want to put there. For example it makes Wind Crystal now into . The Template for the color of Wind is called Wind, so that is what we put in there. We could just do but while it would Link to Wind Crystal, it wouldn't say Wind Crystal when we looked at it, it would just say what the Wind Template itself says when nothing is programed in. Hence why we need to have it {{Wind|Wind Crystal}} to look like Wind Crystal. But as you can see the Template alone doesn't link itself to anything, so we have to. Using this example the end result would need to read: [[Wind Crystal|{{Wind|Wind Crystal}}]] to be linked, in color, and Showing the link as whatever we want it to be.
====All Templates====
Here is the Link to the recorded list of All Templates out there as well as the list for when you search for Templates: Template Search List
===When The Quantity is None or Unknown===
When you are taking sections from the Item Template and you find that the Item that you are editing/making a page for has nothing that should go in one of the sections, you can write None - It should look like this: None in every section except: Used in Recipes and Obtained from Desynthesis in which case None should be written like this *None and look like this: *None. This should only apply to things above the How to Obtain section. Anything below there that doesn't apply can be taken out as needed. 
If you are unsure or if you think there may be something that belongs in a slot but don't know for sure you can write Unknown which should look like: Unknown. The same rules apply as above with None. It should look like that in every section except: Used in Recipes and Obtained from Desynthesis in which case Unknown should be written like this: *Unknown and look like this: *Unknown. And this only applies to things above the How to Obtain section. Anything below there that doesn't apply can be taken out as needed. 
===How to Obtain Section===
====Auction House Categories====
When putting in the Categories for the Auction House Category under the How to Obtain section, make sure to include the whole Category like this: [[:category:<Main Category>|<Main Category>]] > [[:category:<Sub Category>|<Sub Category>]]. So instead of writing: [[Armor]], please make sure to write: [[:Category:Armor|Armor]]. That links it directly to the Category and not to the redirect. It should look like this when done properly:: 
Auction House Category: Armor >> [[<subcategory>]]
*Note:: When doing this remember to put the Colon in front of the Category so it looks like this :Category. Otherwise you will have nothing appear there and might become a bit baffled. 
====Crafted Only?!====
Under How to Obtain, if an Item is only Crafted, please write underneath the Auction House Category: Information, Crafted Only!. So it should look like this::
Auction House Category: [[<Category>]] >> [[<Category>]]
Crafted Only!
==Enfield's Parser==
Want to help but this is way to complicated for you? Follow Enfield's example and try out his Handy Dandy Parser. "To use it, copy the information from an item page at Somepage starting with the item name all the way to the bottom of the page. Be sure not to copy the item picture, navigation, or ad sidebars. Then just paste it into the text box and hit sumbit. It should output the information formatted for the wiki." It isn't perfect but for adding new pages it gets the core information down and any other minor editing can be done right after to ensure that the Item Template is being fully applied.