How-To Guide

So you want to make your own page, but don't know where to start. There are three steps to creating a character: Creating the Character Page, Updating the Infobox, and Adding Categories.

## Creating the Character Page

This step will teach you how to create the page for your character.

1. **Copy the Template**:
	* Go find the applicable template you want to copy. You can find them in the navigation bar under Useful Pages. Most people will be using the Protagonist OC Template.
	* In the upper right-hand corner of the page, you'll see a button labeled "View Source". Click it, and it will provide the source code of the template. It looks complicated, but don't worry, you don't have to understand any of it.
	* Copy everything in the white box to your clipboard.
2. **Transfer the Template to Your Character's Page**:
	* At the top right of every page, above the navigation bar, is a button that says "Add New Page." Click it.
	* A prompt will pop up asking you to name the page. Put your character's full name here.
		+ If you get an error that says that page already exists, then someone already created a character by that name. This will occur most often to people who used default names for their characters. To work around this, add your username in parentheses after your character's name when creating the page. Example: Garrett Hawke (SomeDoofus)
	* Wikia will then jump to the page you just created and open an editor. In the upper-right side of the editor is a dropdown list marked by three bars. Click on it and open Source Editor.
	* A new editor will open. Paste the code you copied from the template into this new editor and click "Apply Changes". You should then return to the original editor, where you can see a copy of whichever template you used.
	* You can now edit the page as if you were in a text editor. The only major exception is the info box.

## Updating the Gallery

This step will teach you how to update your gallery to include pictures of your character.

* Scroll down until you've reached the gallery on your OC's page. All OC templates come with a gallery preloaded so you don't need to worry about creating one yourself.
* There should be a button labeled 'Add Photos' on the bottom right corner of the gallery. Click it.
* This opens the gallery editor dialogue. Once the pop up box with the editor opens, you'll be met with a grid of photos that have already been uploaded to the wiki. You can choose from these, or if you need to add your own photos, upload them. Clicking the add photos button in the dialogue box will allow you to choose photos from your computer or elsewhere on the internet to add to your OC's page. Unfortunately, these can only be added one at a time.
* Once you've selected or uploaded all of the photos you need, you can reorganize them if necessary in the gallery editor. Once you are satisfied, simply click the button labeled 'Publish' to save your changes.

## Updating the Infobox

This step will teach you to update the infobox (the sidebar with pictures on it) on your character's page.

* **Click on the infobox. A grey square will pop up in the upper-right hand corner of the infobox. Click on it.**
	+ Note: If you don't see an infobox in the editor and instead see a green puzzle piece, you're in the wrong editor. Refer to the FAQ for the solution
* **Fill out all of the text fields. If you want to add your own picture, you'll need to be signed in.**
* **If you don't want to fill out one of the fields or it doesn't apply to your character, leave it completely blank and it won't appear on your Infobox**

## Adding Categories

This step will teach you how to add categories. It's technically optional, but will allow people to find your characters while browsing. **DO NOT create your own categories**. If you can't find a category in the drop-down menu at the top of the page, that is because it doesn't exist, and there's a reason for that. Keeping the categories consistent benefits YOU, as it will allow others to easily locate your character.

1. **Open the dropdown list in the upper-right corner of the editor and click Categories**
2. **An options page will open. Type the Categories you want to add into the Add a Category textbox.**
	* These are the Categories that are most useful to include
		+ The OC's Role - (Inquisitor/Hero of Ferelden/Hawke/Non-protagonist)
		+ The OC's Race
		+ The OC's Class
		+ The OC's Specialization(s) - (for an OC with no specialization, use 'No Specialization')
		+ The OC's Background - (Trevelyan/Amell/Lavellan/Hawke/etc.)
		+ The OC's Love Interest - (Format as "[charactername] Romance" for it to appear correctly; for an OC with no love interest, use 'No Romance')
		+ Your Reddit Username
3. **Unlike the other categories, your Username has to be manually added to the index if you want people to be able to browse by it.**
	* To do this, save the page and scroll to the bottom. Your username will be listed next to the other categories, but in red text. Click it.
	* You should see a page that include all of the characters you've made so far. In the upper-right hand corner there is a Create Page button. Click it.
	* Navigate to the categories section again, and give this new page the category of "Username". Your username will then appear with everyone else in the list of usernames.

## Adding a Text Box

This step will teach you to add a text box to your page. It is not necessary, but some creators may find it useful to have extra information included about their universe that is relevant to their character, but not entirely about them.

1. **Edit your page.** Make sure you are not in the classic editor.
2. **Click the "Insert" dropdown menu, and select "Template". You are looking for the template called "TextBox" - use the search bar to find it.**
3. A window will pop up once you select this template: **you will be able to insert text into this field**. This field will be where your information goes, so insert your text and click the "Apply Changes" button.
	* **You can change this text later.** If you do not insert text at this time, or insert placeholder text for the time being, you can double-click the box to edit this field at a different time, much like the info box.
4. The text box should show up in the visual editor now! You can now click and drag it to the position you want it to be.