IUT 2009 MediaWiki Workshop/Activities/Basic Text Formatting/Bold Italics and Headings

Overview
In this subsection we cover both approaches to formatting text. Try experimenting with both approaches. Many Newbies prefer using the "Toolbar" approach because you don't need to remember the wiki markup. However, experimenting with the Wiki Syntax method will help you understand how the wiki works. As you become more familiar with wiki editing you will develop your own preferences and shortcuts for regular tasks.

Using the Editor Toolbar
When you were editing your User page in the previous section's activity, you may have noticed that the editing area has a blue bar at the top that contains a series of graphic buttons like this:



This is the Editing toolbar and can be used to add simple formatting to your content.

Once you have your text selected you can click on:


 * the Bold button [[Image:bold_button.png]] to bold the selection;
 * the Italics button [[Image:italics_button.png]] to italicize the selection;
 * or the Headline button [[Image:heading_button.png]] to create a level 2 headline from your selected text.

Your formatting will not appear while you are in the editing mode. To see your formatting applied you will need to click on the Show preview button or the Save page button.

Using Wiki Syntax
If you have tried using the editing toolbar to apply formatting to some text, you may have noticed that the act of clicking on a button actually wraps your text inside some common grammatical characters. These characters are used by the wiki software to indicate where formatting is to be applied. Once you are familiar with some of the basic formatting syntax, you may find it quicker and easier to just type this syntax into the edit mode text area rather than highlighting, selecting and clicking on the buttons.