Help:Formatting/Paragraphs

Overview

Paragraphs are treated as a basic unit in the Wiki parser. A carriage return (the Enter key) creates a newline and a new paragraph. Also, certain Wiki Markup and HTML codes and tags create a paragraph unit and apply a particular format to the whole of that paragraph.

This means that a carriage return within paragraph coding tags might break that coding, in such cases, either reapply the paragraph code to the new paragraph or use the <br /> (break) tag to create a new line that doesn't create a new paragraph. See the information on the break tag below.

Break <br />

This HTML tag creates a line break without starting a new paragraph. It is useful in special cases, such as creating a second line in table cells or caption boxes and it is generally avoided in regular text.

Example...

{| class=wikitable

|-

! First Header !! Second Header

|-

| First line in this cell <br /> second line in this cell. || Short description

|}

Result...

First Header	Second Header
First line in this cell second line in this cell.	Short description

Alignment

The {{Center}}, {{Left}}, and {{Right}} Templates can be used to align items on the page or table

Format...

{{Center|SampleText}}

{{Left|SampleText}}

{{Right|SampleText}}

Result...

SampleText

SampleText

SampleText

And the same can be done with the {{Align}} Template by adding a parameter: {{Align|center, left, or right|SampleText}}

Format...

{{Align|Center|SampleText}}

{{Align|Left|SampleText}}

{{Align|Right|SampleText}}

Result...

SampleText

SampleText

SampleText

Indentation and lists

Indenting words, sentences, or whole paragraphs generally works the same way as setting up bulleted lists or numbered lists.

Indentations

Indents happen by using the Wiki Markup Language of a colon at left margin. One colon indents the paragraph one stop, two colons two stops and so on.

Format...

SampleText with no colons
:Sample Text with one colon.
::SampleText with two colons.
::SampleText with two colons.
:::SampleText with three colons.
::SampleText with two colons.

Result...

SampleText with no colons.

Sample Text with one colon.

SampleText with two colons.

SampleText with two colons.

SampleText with three colons.

SampleText with two colons

Numbered lists

Numbered lists happen by using the Wiki Markup Language of a number sign (also called 'pound sign' or 'hash mark') at left margin. One number sign indents the paragraph one stop, two number signs two stops and so on. Number system picks up automatically when going back up a level. A number sign with colon indents without breaking the numbering system. Two carriage returns breaks the numbering system and you'll start back at number one.

Format...

SampleText with no number signs.
#Sample Text with one number sign.
#:Sample Text with number sign and colon - an indented line that doesn't break numbering.
##SampleText with two number signs..
##:Sample Text with two number signs and colon - an indented line that doesn't break numbering.
##SampleText with two number signs.
###SampleText with three number signs.
###SampleText with three number signs.
##SampleText with two number signs.
#Sample Text with one number sign.

#Sample Text with one number sign after a double carriage return.

Result...

SampleText with no number signs.

1. Sample Text with one number sign.

   Sample Text with number sign and colon - an indented line that doesn't break numbering.

   1. SampleText with two number signs.

      Sample Text with two number signs and colon - an indented line that doesn't break numbering.

   2. SampleText with two number signs.
      1. SampleText with three number signs.
      2. SampleText with three number signs.
2. SampleText with one number signs.

1. Sample Text with one number sign after a double carriage return.

Bulleted lists

Bulleted lists happen by using the Wiki Markup Language of an asterisk at left margin. One asterisk indents the paragraph one stop, two asterisks two stops and so on. Each line or paragraph gets a bullet.

Format...

SampleText with no asterisks
*Sample Text with one asterisk.
**SampleText with two asterisks.
**SampleText with two asterisks.
***SampleText with three asterisks.
**SampleText with two asterisks.

Result...

SampleText with no asterisks.

• Sample Text with one asterisk.
  • SampleText with two asterisks.
  • SampleText with two asterisks.
    • SampleText with three asterisks.
  • SampleText with two asterisks

Indenting both margins (blockquote)

To indent both margins, use the HTML blockquote tags. They can be nested for increased indenting.

Format...

<blockquote>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</blockquote>

<blockquote><blockquote>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</blockquote></blockquote>

Result...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Space and <pre>

Both a space at the beginning of a paragraph (Wiki Markup Language) and <pre> tags (HTML) create a boxed, fixed-width font, non-wrapping paragraph. The difference between the two is that the <pre> tags turn off all Wiki Markup and HTML codes which means those codes are seen as they were written rather than be interpreted by the parser.

Examples:

  This starts with a space...dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, <s>ut</s> {{UL|labore}} sed do<br /> eiusmod tempor incididunt et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

<pre>This starts and ends with the '''pre''' tags...dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, <s>ut</s> {{UL|labore}} sed do<br /> eiusmod tempor incididuntet dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.</pre>

Result...

This starts with a space...dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, ut labore sed do
 eiusmod tempor incididunt et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

This starts and ends with the '''pre''' tags...dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, <s>ut</s> {{UL|labore}}sed do<br /> eiusmod tempor incididunt  et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

The main purpose of these codes is to create simple fixed width lists and tables. This makes the output match the fixed-width formatting of the editing box. Here's an example using leading spaces:

Bread:     $1.99
Butter:    $2.44
Turkey:   $13.55

For other ways to turn off Markup and Wiki parsing, see: <nowiki>

No break (Nobr)

The Nobr template prevents the text within it from wrapping to more than one line. It is used for specialized cases since it will often break most web page formatting.

Format: {{Nobr|SampleParagraph}}

Example: {{Nobr|Lorem ipsum amber sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.}}

Result...

Lorem ipsum amber sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Division box (Divbox)

The Divbox template will display a centered box with a centered title and content in it. This template may be used to create a notice box for various purposes. It takes three unnamed arguments: color, title, and text.

Format: {{Divbox|ColorName|SampleTitle|SampleText}}

Example: {{Divbox|amber|Here is the Sample Title|Sample text follows...Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.}}

Result...

Divbox colors

Available colors at this time are: amber, black, bloodred, blue, brown, forest, gray, green, navy, none, orange, purple, red, white, and yellow.