There is a special area called "the sand box" where you can go to try out try these instructions without fear of doing any damage to the site.
There are two ways to get to a sandbox:
If you just want to play click here to go to the sandbox. This is a public space and you will lose what you put in here quickly, as other people come to practise.
If you are clear you want to contribute you may register with the site. Click on "create an account" on the top right hand corner of this page.
Here is where you sign up. This is free and easy to do. With the account comes your own user name, user page and your own sandbox. In your own sandbox, things you add will be kept for longer, as others are unlikely to edit it. Once signed up you can get to your sandbox by typing in:
Once at your sandbox reduce the page sizes so you can see these instructions alongside the sandbox page.
Just towards the bottom left hand corner of the page is a link which says “edit this page” click this and wait for the edit page to load.
Note the editing space inside the boxed outline and the line of buttons, with pictres and letters, above and the "Save page" buttons below the frame. You sometimes have to scroll down to the latter if you are working on a small screen.
In the box highlight any existing text and delete. You are now ready to start.
To Edit a page
Type a few lines of text, as though they were the beginning of an article, in the box.
Save your work by clicking the “save page” button below the editing box.
Its so simple. You will see that you have now edited the page.
To create a new page
Now, to create a page linked to this bit of text, choose the “edit” tab again. Highlight a significant word in you text – any word will do - and click on the "Ab" button in the row of buttons . This puts two brackets around your word. This makes a new page and a link to it on the page you are editing. To see this click the “save” page button and you will see that the word is underlined. Click on it and it will take you to the edit box on a new page
To make a link to a Wikipedia article
In your sand box
Click on "edit this page" and wait for it to load.
Type out the name of a link, (or cut and paste the link name from the address box at the top of a wikipedia article, or cut and paste from the example below). Remember to include the http:// bit.