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'''&larr; [[Help: Contents]]'''

Longer articles should be divided into '''sections''' using the section header syntax.  

==Creating sections==
Creating sections is done using two or more equal signs (==) on each side of the header text.  (See [[Help:Editing|Editing]].)

'''<tt><nowiki>==Section==</nowiki></tt>'''

'''<tt><nowiki>===Subsection===</nowiki></tt>'''

'''<tt><nowiki>====Sub-Subsection====</nowiki></tt>'''

These headers are equivalent to the HTML tags H2, H3, and H4.  (The H1 tag is the article title itself.)

==Table of contents==
For articles that have three or more headers, a '''table of contents''' is automatically generated by the wiki engine based on the section headings.

The table of contents may be turned off in one of the following ways:
* For a user, the [[Special:preferences|preferences]] may be set to leave the table of contents turned off.
* For a single article, in the edit box the code <tt><nowiki>__NOTOC__</nowiki></tt> may be added anywhere in the article text, and the table of contents will be suppressed.

The table of contents will be placed immediately before the first section header.  You are encouraged to put some (short) introductory article text before the first header.

A user may set the preferences to number the sections automatically.

==Section linking==
You can use '''section linking''' to link to a specific section within the same article.  Use the code <tt><nowiki>[[#section name|displayed text]]</nowiki></tt>.  If there are two (or more) sections with identical names, the second section will be identified with a <tt>_2</tt> marker to distinguish it from the first section.  The third section will have a <tt>_3</tt>, and so forth.

To link to a specific section on a separate page, use the same format, but add the page name first (using <tt><nowiki>[[page_name#section_name|displayed text]]</nowiki></tt>).

==Editing individual sections==
Sections may be edited separately if the '''section editing''' feature is activated in your [[Special:preferences|preferences]].  Each section will have its own ''edit'' link, that will single out only that one section for editing.

This feature is most convenient for long and complicated articles, and for browsers that are restricted to the [[Help:Browser notes|form field size limit]].

Section editing does not work when the page is displayed with a table of differences between two versions (i.e. changes, current, diff, and last).  Only the current revision may be edited by section.

==Horizontal divider==
Note that the '''horizontal divider''', traditionally used to divide a page into sections, does not have that explicit purpose in sections of wiki articles.  Instead, the divider bar is used to separate two or more meanings of a word or term that are listed on the same page.

Horizontal dividers are not recognized by the table of contents generator and do not initiate separate sections.

=="See also" sections==
If an article consists of sections and a "see also" line refers to the entire article, then it should be made into a separate section to avoid that the links be treated as part of the last section of the article.  Treating the "see also" links as a separate section also places them in the table of contents, thus making them more visible and of greater importance.

A "see also" that belongs to just one section should not receive its own header, but should be place on a single line with the "see also" placed in '''bold'''.  (Alternatively, a sub-section may be used.)

==See also==
*[[Help: Preferences]]

[[Category:Help]]