Wikipedia:VisualEditor editing of references
The following describes ways to use the wp:VisualEditor (VE) to insert and modify references or citations of wp:RS sources in an article. The VE interface allows insertion of templates, with each parameter added separately, such as for the wp:CS1-style citation templates: {{cite_web}}, {{cite_news}}, {{cite_book}}, {{cite_journal}}, etc.
When using the VisualEditor, the general process to insert a reference is:
- Click on the "Insert reference" icon. A new window appears.
- Select "Create new source"
- Click the "Insert reference" button. This opens another new window.
- Click on the puzzle icon in the new window. This opens a third new window.
- In the text box, type "Cite", but don't press return
- Select the citation template, ignoring anything with /doc on the end
- Click "Add template"
- Fill in the details.
- Select the desired parameter (or type some of it in, then select it)
- Scroll to hidden buttons and click on "Add parameter"
- Enter the data
- Select the template again from the left side to add a second or further parameter and repeat until finished, then select "Apply changes".
- Select "Apply changes"
Because of the tedious nature of the numerous point-and-click steps needed to insert a reference footnote, some users might prefer to use the "Edit-source" mode for editing a page, and then more quickly modify the references within the source markup wikitext, instead.
If you want to re-use a reference, you can cut-and-paste the number in the text. This will create a new anchor for the same footnote.