RuneScape:Editing/Source mode basics

The default editor for newly made accounts or for users who are not logged into an account is the VisualEditor. When making some types of edits using the VisualEditor will introduce errors along with your edit to the page. Source mode allows you to see all of the wikicode on a page and to edit this directly. If you want to make a more complex edit you should switch to the Source mode editor. Use Source mode for these types of edits:


 * Making a redirect

Switching editors
There are two ways to change your editing mode, depending on if you have made an account or not.

If you do not have have an account you will have to switch editors while making an edit. This will only last for the single edit you are making.


 * Click the edit button to open the VisualEditor. (image)
 * Click the options next to the cancel button - select Source Editor. (image)

If you have made an account you can adjust your preferences so that source mode is used by default when you edit a page.


 * Click on your account at top right of the page. (image)
 * Go to My Preferences > Editing. (image)
 * Under preferred editor select source editor and save the change (image).

First look at the Source mode interface
(image of interface with numbers on)


 * 1) Shortcuts  for performing some kinds of edits.
 * 2) Edit summary: may be used to explain what changes you made/why you have changed something to other editors. Use the drop down menu below to select a standard edit summary.
 * 3) Minor edit tickbox: can check this to indicate that you have made only a small change to a page.
 * 4) Previews: shows a preview of what the page will look like for readers using mobile/desktop.
 * 5) Show changes: shows the differences made to the page in your edit (image).

Basics in Source mode
This portion of the guide will cover how to perform the same functions mentioned in RuneScape:Editing/VisualEditor basics using Source mode. The same policies and guidelines for usage apply when using Source mode.

Bold and italics
Bold  is added by placing triple apostrophes around the text and italics are added by putting double apostrophes around the text.

This can be done manually, using the apostrophe key of your keyboard, or by using the bold or italic buttons of the Source mode editor (image). Click the icons to add bold/italics while the text you want to add the effect to is selected.

Lists
Numbered lists are added by putting # before each item on the list. Each point should begin on a new line. E.g:


 * 1) First point
 * 2) Second point

Gives:


 * 1) First point
 * 2) Second point

Bullet pointed lists are added with *:

* First point
 * Second point

Makes:


 * First point
 * Second point

You can also make sublists within lists:


 * 1) First point
 * 2) One more thing
 * 3) Another thing
 * 4) Second point

Gives:


 * 1) First point
 * 2) One more thing
 * 3) Another thing
 * 4) Second point


 * First point
 * One more thing
 * Another thing
 * Second point

Makes:


 * First point
 * One more thing
 * Another thing
 * Second point

Links

 * To add a link simply place  around the name of the page you wish to link to. This can either be done by adding these manually or with the Internal link button (image). E.g. Lobster creates Lobster.
 * Once you have added [[ and started to type the name of a piece of content, a list of pages with names matching what you have already written will be displayed. This can be helpful if you are not sure of the exact name of the page you want to link (image).
 * If the text between  does not match an existing page or redirect  then a redlink will be added. Redlinks do not link to existing pages and instead direct a reader to make a new page with that name. Use the preview to check that any links you have added are working correctly.

Links should fit in with the rest of the sentence. You can achieve this by manipulating links like so:


 * Adding extra letters next to your link without a space includes these letters in the link text; this can be used to add correct plurals e.g. Lobsters = Lobsters; strange switche s = strange switches.
 * You can change the text displayed with a link without affecting where the link goes; this can be used when the name of the page you want to link to does not fit in with what you are writing, e.g. Pvp combat = Pvp combat.
 * Though all page names start with a capital letter, you do not have to capitalise the first letter of a linked page for the link to work. This can be useful for ensuring that correct capitalisation is used; as only proper nouns should be capitalised e.g. capitalising Abyssal wand is not necessary when written in text, changing to abyssal wand still links correctly.
 * If there are more capitalised words, excluding proper nouns and the first word of the page name, in the name of the page you wish to link then you will not be able to change the the words' capitalisation in this way. Instead you should change the text displayed with the link to use correct capitalisation e.g. to link to Runecrafter's Catalyst fragment you would make a link like this: runecrafter's catalyst fragment.
 * Sometimes content does not have a dedicated article and is instead included as a section of a larger page: you may wish to link directly to the relevant section. You can do this by adding # and the name of the relevant section's heading after the page name in a link. This text after # must match up to a section heading in order for the link to work correctly. For example if you wanted to link make a link about pickpocketing you would need to link to the section about pickpocketing in the Thieving guide, like this Thieving . This is usually combined with changing the link text e.g. pickpocketing.

Images

 * Link to your desired file like this: [[File:The file's name.png]] . You must use the correct file extension at the end of the image's name: most files on the wiki are in the .png format, however other some are in other format such as .jpgs. E.g:

adds this image:



add this image:




 * You must use the exact file name (using the same spelling, capitalisation and spacing) for the link to work correctly.
 * Most images on the wiki use standardised names depending on what kind of they are: this can be helpful for identify which image you want to use. See here for information about standard image names.
 * As with regular linking, starting to type with [[File: will display files matching what you have written (image) to help you chose the correct image.


 * Often you will wish to specify the size and positioning of images.
 * Adding |left |right or |centre before the end of your link, after the image's name will put it in that position on a page, e.g. Lobster detail.png will add the add the image on the left side of text.
 * You can adjust the size of the image by adding ###px in the same place in the link: this limits the width of the image. E.g. Lobster detail.png or Lobster detail.png adds an image which is centred and has a width of 50 pixels:




 * Alternatively you can use the add image button in the Source mode (image).
 * First you can search for and select the image you want to add (image).
 * One the second screen you can use the slider to adjust the image size and/or align it left or right.