PDB Tutorial
See Help:Contents for information!
Contents
Before Getting Started
For new users wanting to begin creating pages in PRIMUS Database, please be sure to review our guidelines and policies.
PDB IP Policy | Vandalism
Of particular importance to those who wish to post articles of original characters that have been/are currently used in other games: PDb’s main purpose is to showcase original works created by the Champions Online community. We would prefer that any text or images with direct reference to Intellectual Properties other than CO are avoided within database articles. Links to outlying websites such as the VirtueVerse wiki are recommended and encouraged if you would like to provide a reference to your (character’s) exploits in other MMORPGs.
Article Creation
Naming your Article
In order to create an article, it’s best to first determine if your character’s name has already been used. Type the name you wish to search for in the search text box and left-click on either the Go or Search buttons.
- If the search does not come up with a page with your chosen name, it will prompt you to create one by providing a red text link. Click on it to go to the page creation screen.
- If there is a page with the name already being used, do not overwrite the contents of that page with your own material! Instead, consider attaching a global name reference or the character’s real name in parentheses to your search.
Wiki Markup
In order to create articles, you’ll need to know a little about how “wiki markup” works. Wiki markup is a combination of HTML-like tags and simple markings that alter a page's formatting.
Below is a quick reference table of often-used wiki markup. For more information, please see Wikipedia's help article on wiki markup or cheatsheet as they have a more extensive list of functions that can also be used here.
| ''text'' '''text''' '''''text''''' |
Inserting a number of apostrophes before and after a section of text will italicize (two), bold (three), or do both (five) to the text. |
| <br> | Forces a single line break where placed. You cannot press the Enter key once manually to get this effect, but pressing it twice will give you a paragraph break like seen above. |
| <center>text</center> | |
| =text= =text= ==text== ===text=== |
Equals signs surrounding text will form section headers. Using more at once will create sub-sections. Generally, you do not need more than two or three levels of headers. After four sections are created, a table of contents will appear just above the first section header. |
| [[text]] [[text|alt text]] [[text#alt text]] |
Double brackets cause the surrounded text to become a link to another article within the PRIMUS Database. Links "piped" with | (shift-backslash) will link to a page titled with text, but display as the following alternate text. Use # if you want to create a page linking to a specific section or sub-section of an article. Section links can also be piped. |
| [URL] [URL text] |
Single brackets make links that lead offsite. The first example is an unnamed link. The second example is similar to piping an internal link, except you only need a space between your web address and the alternate text you want to use. Offsite links are marked with a symbol. |
| *text *text **text ***text |
Asterisks that begin a line will create a bulleted list, with more of them creating sub-bullets. Replacing the * with # will create a numbered list. |
Images
You can upload image files of to the PRIMUS Database for use in your articles by clicking the Upload file link within the Toolbox section of the sidebar menu. It is recommended that you use the Search function to determine that there is not another file by the same name as the one you wish to upload, otherwise you may accidentally overwrite files.
- Image file extensions that are accepted for upload are JPG, JPEG, PNG, and GIF.
- Avoid uploading images that have a particularly high storage capacity: anything that is over 150KB should be cropped or scaled down if possible.
- In terms of non-screenshot related uploads such as artwork, be mindful of the subject of content you are uploading. Keep your visuals to a PG-13 standard: inappropriate images will be moderated and subject to warnings, or in extreme cases, suspension.
- For commissioned artwork, it is highly recommended that you give due credit to the artist who created the piece.
Below are some examples of wiki markup for inserting images into your articles. For more information, please see Wikipidia's article on image syntax.
| [[File:filename.ext]] | Displays the uploaded image at its normal size, and provides a link to its File page. |
| [[File:filename.ext|300px]] | Displays the image, scaled up (not recommended for view quality) or down to the width shown after the pipe (in this case, 300 pixels wide). |
| [[File:filename.ext|thumb|text]] | Displays image as a boxed thumbnail at the side of the page, with text as a caption. |
| <gallery> File:filename.ext </gallery> |
Creates a gallery of boxed thumbnails that link to their respective File pages. |
Templates
Templates are a special kind of article intended to be used as elements within other pages, and can serve a variety of purposes in enhancing your articles. To use a template, you need to use a tag similar to how you would link to an article. Common uses of templates within PRIMUS Database include:
| "HeroBox" and variants | Provides at-a-glance information on your character. Each HeroBox comes with its own cheatsheet code, found on the template's article page, that you can copy and paste into your edit screen. There are minimal unique differences between the majority of HeroBox templates. Deciding which one to use is a matter of personal taste. |
| Navigation boxes | A menu of links found near the bottom of an article, providing quick access to other pages. These are generally used to connect articles by the same user or of characters in a Super Group. |
| {{WIP}} | Inserts a centered box of text with a "work in progress" notification. |
| {{spoiler}} {{player-spoiler}} {{end-spoiler}} |
The first two tags insert spoiler warnings, with the {{player-spoiler}} tag carrying additional warnings for roleplay reference purposes. The third tag ends the spoiler warning. |
If you decide to create your own template or modify a current one to your own specifications, be sure to save it as a new Template article rather than overwriting an old one. For more information, see Wikipedia's article on template creation.
Categories
In order to make your page easier to find among the hundreds of articles that exist on PRIMUS Database, you can add category tags in a manner (again) similar to page links by typing it in the format [[Category:name]]. Including a tag automatically adds the page to the respective category's index if it exists: if a category link has red text, it can be created by clicking on it.
An article may have as many categories associated with it as necessary. Keep in mind that while you may insert category tags anywhere within your edits, they will only appear within a grey box on the bottom of the page.
It is recommended that you place your category tags in the following order:
- By type of page (Character, Item, Location, Stories, etc.)
- By gender
- By species (Alien, Human, Mutant, etc.)
- By character alignment (Hero, Villain/Nemesis, etc.)
- By character ethnicity or nationality
- By character powerset (Game Mechanics and/or Concept)
- By character occupation
- By other categories
- By combat role (Melee DPS, Tank, Healer, Ranged DPS, Support)
- By supergroup (if applicable)
Example: [[Category:Character]][[Category:Male]][[Category:Mutant]][[Category:Hero]][[Category:American]][[Category:Might]][[Category:Teacher]][[Category:Tank]][[Category:New Champions]]
The entire list of categories recognized by the PRIMUS Database can be found here.
Other Details
| Tables | Insert tables to organize information in an easy to read manner or to give the appearance of special page formatting. You may find more information on Wikipedia's help article on table creation. |
| HTML tags | You may use a variety of HTML tags for page formatting that can't be done by wiki markup. For more information, see Wikipidia's help article on using HTML in wikitext. |
| ~~~~ | Four tildes in a row creates a signature with a link to your userpage, related talk page, and date/time of posting. Signatures should be used when commenting on any talk pages as well as when placing votes for Page of the Month. |
Finalizing your Edits
When you've finished creating or editing a page or section, you can Preview your work before posting it to make sure that it looks correctly. If you wish, enter a brief comment about what you edited. If you've only made a minor change (such as fixing a typo or a markup error), there is a checkbox you can select.
All edits to PRIMUS Database are recorded in the Recent changes page, and you can keep track of your own contributions by clicking the link near the top right corner of the page (near your username).
Tips for Creating a Good Article
- You should be mindful your content: is it comprehensible, relatively easy to follow, and compliant with the guidelines the site has in place? Even with this said, there is no absolute way to create your page: on PDb, you are free to tailor your articles to best represent you and your characters.
- Look at existing pages and templates for inspiration in laying out the format of your page. Don't be intimidated by articles which look "better": sometimes, less is more when it comes to a good PDb page, but it helps to see what you may be able to achieve in the future with practice.
- Get a friend or database moderator to look over your page and proof it for you, and provide you with suggestions to fix errors.
