Help:Starting pages for people, places, or surnames/Guidance
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[edit] Introduction
The 138,473 pages of this freely accessible wiki have been created in various ways. Articles on ancestors are created in an automated fashion through use of the "Create new article" menu item on the sidebar to the left of all pages.
Pages that usually need manual creation will include:
- "place" pages (see Genealogy:Model place page),
- "surname" pages (simply "[[... surname]]"; see Help:Surname for shortcuts to inserting content),
[edit] Check whether the article exists
If you want to start a page for an individual or a place, please save yourself and other researchers time by ensuring that there is not already a page with that name. Type the name in the "Find" box, click "Search", and see what hits you get. Check out any that may be your person or place. (If it's under four letters long, the Search may not work; if so, try adding " surname" for a bigger search term.)
[edit] Use existing page if there is one
If you find a page that has the right name and you don't know if the dates are right but they could be, we suggest that you use that page as if it were the right one. (It will be much easier to copy your additions to another page later, if a difference is found, than to merge two pages about the same individual.) Note your differences on it or on its talk page.
[edit] Create the page from a link
If your person turns up in the text of another page, start there. If it is not in the form of a link, make it one (with the "Internal link" button above the edit box or by putting double square brackets around the name and the dates, and editing the text if necessary, so that it is in this form: [[Firstname Middlenamesifany Lastname (year-year)]] - with "?" for unknown year; then saving the page). Click on that link and start typing in the edit box of the page the link takes you to.
[edit] Start a really "new" person page
So your individual 's name does not appear as the page name of, or anywhere else on, an existing page? Click the "Create new article" menu item on the sidebar to the left and choose the basic form. The advanced form allows you to enter exhaustive information concerning fine level details such as cause of death, citing primary versus secondary sources and so on.
[edit] Start a really "new" place page
If you want to start a page for a place and that place does not exist either through an existing page or a link on an existing page, then follow the instructions above for a person, but use the Model place page as your model or copy the outline of another nearby place so that some of the categories and other links will be the same. Be sure and use the article name that Wikipedia used for the same place.
[edit] Create links on a convenient page
If you need a place to start, a good place is your User page (because it is so easy for you, if logged in, to reach from anywhere on the site) or a subpage of it (e.g. User:yourusername/New pages), where you just add a link. Wherever you choose, just type the name of your article, surround it with double square brackets, preview, and save. When the revised page appears, you should see a link with the title you just inserted. If the link is in blue, then the article already exists; you can go to the article and add any information you feel it needs. If the link is in red, the article doesn't exist yet; click the link and you will end up on a blank page, where you can insert whatever you want according to whatever format you want.
[edit] What if I want to change the layout of the article?
The most common article on this site is one describing the family history of a given person. Different genealogists have different needs when it comes to writing person articles. Some wish to include only the most basic information. Others need a more complex presentation. Some users have highly specific, and perhaps unique, requirements. The input forms at Form:Person and Form:Person advanced utilize standard templates designed to meet a range of requirements. You may move these templates around on the page or delete them as you wish. Also, if you have specialized requirements, you are welcome to create a template of your own that would incorporate those specialized needs. If you need help with that, place a message on Forum:Help desk, and there will probably be someone reading that who can help you.
If you want to start a new page for someone who does not link from any page here, you may use the Form:Person. Enter the desired name, fill in as many boxes as you like, and the framework for your article will be created for you. Names follow a standard, usually of the form:
Person's full name (birthYear-DeathYear)
For further details on conventions for articles with non latin fonts or in other languages, see Genealogy:Page names.
After creating the article, at any time you may the "edit with form" menu item to change details in the infoboxes in your new article, or you may use the "Edit this page" item to fill out your article with a narrative on the individual. You may use the editor's menu to add pictures, headings and tables to the article without using special codes. Try it- you will be surprised how easy it is to create an attractive and memorable article on your ancestor.
