Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2017 November 15

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November 15

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Search for hidden text

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How do you search for a string of text hidden by "<!-->"? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) (talkcontribs)

Use CTRL F in edit mode. Dr. K. 05:41, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Ctrl+F is a search feature in most browsers regardless of the website. Your editing window may also have a Wikipedia search feature depending on the editor you use. Click "Advanced" above the edit box and then a search icon at the far right. PrimeHunter (talk) 11:18, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That will only help me if I already have found a page containing hidden text, it will help me find where on the page it is. I need to use the master search function to find articles containing the same hidden text string. Lets say there is <!--Please help find this person's middle name--> in multiple articles. --RAN (talk) 14:35, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
insource: will search the wikitext, e.g. insource:"Please help find". If you only want occurrences in comments then it's more complicated but should be possible with some regex like insource:"Please help find" insource:/\<!--.*Please help find.*--\>/i. PrimeHunter (talk) 18:46, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_assassination_conspiracy_theories

could somebody please look at this page, when I open it I get a strange banner from wikileaks? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.21.34.157 (talk) 08:30, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for letting us know - this has now been resolved by purging the page. It was the result of a "template hijack" -- There'sNoTime (to explain) 08:31, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much for the fast response! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.21.34.157 (talk) 08:33, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

please help - ref number 27 which is a book. I added in the IBSN number and it was VERY long. I was SURE that I got it right. I am sorry. Please help. Also, I have failed when adding a commons file of an old church - "All Hallows, Stailing" Please help. 101.189.107.58 (talk) 10:12, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

No worries. You actually added two ISBN nmbers, ISBN 10 and ISBN 13. I removed the 10 and works OK. CambridgeBayWeather, Uqaqtuq (talk), Sunasuttuq 10:21, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry - bad timing . I also failed with a commons file. It should have worked. The file should say "All Hallows, Stailing, England". Please help 101.189.107.58 (talk) 10:25, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Did you successfully upload the said image to Commons? If so, could you provide the URL? -- ChamithN (talk) 10:30, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
This URL is from Commons and is currently on the "All Hallows, Staining" page itself. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/PAHSt1010012.JPG — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.189.107.58 (talk) 10:36, 15 November 2017‎ (UTC)[reply]
I'm getting a 404 Not Found error. Once you have uploaded an image to commons, it should look something like this. Did you, by any chance, cancel the upload wizard halfway through? -- ChamithN (talk) 10:46, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I never uploaded the image. The black and white old print (file) is already on the All Hallows, Staining Wikipedia page and I thought that I could transfer it over to the Stephen Bachiler page. Please help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.189.107.58 (talk) 10:50, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Do you mean this image? -- ChamithN (talk) 10:52, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict)  Fixed I have added the image; using the file name contained in the wikimedia URL above. Eagleash (talk) 10:56, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
If that's the case, don't worry, Eagleash has already taken care of it. -- ChamithN (talk) 10:54, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The spelling is incorrect (probably my fault). It should say underneath the file "All Hallows, Staining, England" (not Stailing) Sorry again. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 101.189.107.58 (talk) 10:55, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
That's OK, I've fixed it. Feel free to ask if you need further help. -- ChamithN (talk) 10:58, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Problem adding reference to the update I posted to an article

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Hello. This is my first time editing anything. My reference doesn't appear correctly in the sources. It isn't highlighted in blue and I'm not sure how to do that. I don't intend to do a lot of editing, so I would appreciate it if someone would look at that. It's reference 32 in the article on Boise Airport, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise_Airport Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Matthewroy1961 (talkcontribs) 13:52, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

To begin with, you haven't included a url in the reference. In general, only links appear in blue. Take a look at Help:Referencing for beginners without using templates for a simple how-to guide. RivertorchFIREWATER 14:00, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Matthewroy1961: Yes, there's no url so it will not display in blue. I have tweaked it a bit so it displays a bit better. As River says, please study WP:REFB and if you have a URL, use Template:Cite web to correctly add the ref. Any problems please ask. Cheers. Eagleash (talk) 14:04, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Mr. Rossi Looks for Happiness

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Hi. I want create Wikipedia article of Mr. Rossi Looks for Happiness, but there is a page and said:

The article that you're looking for doesn't exist.

  • You can create it, but... Before you create an article, you should read Your first Wikipedia article.
  • New to Wikipedia? See the contributing to Wikipedia page for everything you need to know to get started.
  • Need interactive help? You can ask questions at the Teahouse, help desk or through live chat.

There are different ways to edit Wikipedia: ...

What can I do? Please help me.

ML8 (talk) 16:15, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, ML8. I don't want to be unfriendly, but did you try picking the links in that message? To the essays Your first article and Contributing to Wikipedia? Please come back here if you have further questions, but those pages explain things in general. --ColinFine (talk) 17:10, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Help:Cite errors/Cite error ref no input

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I am the grandson of A.A. MacLeod and added the family history of his first marriage to Annie Jean Hicks who bore two children Jean MacLeod & Annabelle MacGregor MacLeod before she tragically was burned to death in her mid 20's when a wood stove blew up - my mother Annabelle MacGregor MacLeod was only a year old - AA MacLeod subsequently met & married Virginia MacLean & they had two children Joan MacLeod & David Macleod _ I trust you will allow tis information to be updated — Preceding unsigned comment added by Doug fulford (talkcontribs) 19:14, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This has been already fixed. Ruslik_Zero 20:25, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I have removed the stray ref tags and the names of non-notable children from the i/bx. The marriages need tidying also but the dates are not clear. Also left welcome message and some hopefully helpful info. at Doug's TP. Eagleash (talk) 21:01, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 Big 12 Conference football season

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Can you move the big 12 football season article from the Talk page to the Draft page please. 68.102.39.189 (talk) 20:18, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

a person was born in my hometime but isn't credited on the hometown's page

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...how do you move the person to the "famous" people section of the hometown...Eugene Von Bruenchenhein is the artist, Marinette, WI is the town — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.248.51.165 (talk) 20:54, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, in this instance you can add [[Eugene Von Bruenchenhein]] to the notable section at Marinette, Wisconsin, with brief biographical details. He should also be added to the appropriate section at List of people from Milwaukee. Eagleash (talk) 21:07, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I clarified some muddy information on the '4k resolution' page... And it still needs more work. But a certain J.M. quickly rolled back the modifications. Not sure why I should contribute when rollback rights have been granted to certain individuals (not groups) with little/no oversight. J.M. may be an engineer and familiar with the various video formats, resolutions, and compression schemes, but his writing skills leave something to be desired. Moreover, on a subject (4k) where accuracy and clarity is key, the page is now back to its former, vague self. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gstanley123 (talkcontribs) 22:41, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The editor who reverted your edits claimed that " the new definition does not match the cited source (4K does not refer to the monitor display)". Reverting like this does not require any special rights. Any editor can do this. I have no opinion about who is correct, but a content dispute like this should be discussed on the talk page of the article to reach consensus. Dbfirs 23:02, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
@Gstanley123: From the edit summary, the revert at 4K was partially due to your edits not supported by the cited source. It is not unusual for edits to be reverted, it is part of the normal process even if it can be frustrating. See WP:BRD. Next step if you want to persue it is to discuss the edits on the article's talk page, and cite a source that supports the changes you are trying to make. RudolfRed (talk) 23:03, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
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  Resolved

Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 19:07, 27 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm trying to make a navbox template that can easily be filled in with a region's stratigraphic units (manually) sorted by age. The problem I'm facing is that there are a huge number of time units on the geologic timescale that spreads the content over a wide area of the template. Is there any way to make it so that only the units that have content inputted for their respective variables show up in the template? Abyssal (talk) 23:04, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Collapsing barnstars

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On my user page I tried to collapse my barnstars using {collapse top} and {collapse bottom} thingys, but most of the stars remain outside. I know there is a solution, as per this archived talk, but I am struggling to see the light. Can anyone supply me with a non-technical answer, or if I am really lucky, do it for me ? Actually, thinking about it a bit more, the same principle applies to 'Stars and stripes' (mainly barnstars), plus 'Articles created' and 'Did you know(s)'.

Sorry, but "I'm a Great Big Silly Old Hector." Many thanks,

Derek R Bullamore (talk) 23:25, 15 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

  Done - Derek, rather like the archived query you linked, there was a stray unmatched |} (close table code). The collapse has left some whitespace so you may want to tweak the layout some more: Noyster (talk), 00:04, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you - Derek R Bullamore (talk) 00:06, 16 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]