From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

## **Help with Wikipedia**
This page provides **help with the most common questions about [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia "Wikipedia").**

You can also use the search box below or browse the **[Help menu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Menu "Help:Menu")** or the **[Help directory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Directory "Help:Directory")** to find help pages.

For **interactive assistance** related to using and [editing Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing "Help:Editing"), see the **[help desk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_desk "Wikipedia:Help desk")** and the **[Teahouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:TH/Q "Wikipedia:TH/Q").**

## **Read** or **find** an article
The **[Readers' FAQ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:FAQ/Readers "Wikipedia:FAQ/Readers")** and our **[about page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About "Wikipedia:About")** contain the most commonly sought information about Wikipedia.

For simple searches, there is a search bar at the top of every page. Type what you are looking for in the box. Suggested matches will appear in a dropdown list. Select any page in the list to go to that page. Or, select the "Search" button, or press `↵ Enter`, to go to a full search result. For advanced searches, see **[Help:Searching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Searching "Help:Searching").**

There are other ways to browse and explore Wikipedia articles; many can be found at **[Wikipedia:Contents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents "Wikipedia:Contents").**

For **[mobile access](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Mobile_access "Help:Mobile access"),** press the [**mobile view**](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Help:Contents&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile) link at the very bottom of every [**desktop view**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents) page.

## **Edit** an article
Contributing is easy: see **[how to edit a page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Editing "Help:Editing").** For a quick summary on participating, see **[contributing to Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contributing_to_Wikipedia "Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia")**, and for a friendly tutorial, see **[our introduction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Introduction "Help:Introduction").** The **[Simplified Ruleset](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Simplified_ruleset "Wikipedia:Simplified ruleset")** outlines our key policies and guidelines, while the **[Simplified Manual of Style](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SMOS "Wikipedia:SMOS")** and **[Cheatsheet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Cheatsheet "Help:Cheatsheet")** can remind you of basic **[wiki markup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Wikitext "Help:Wikitext").**

**[Bebold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Be_bold "Wikipedia:Be bold")** in improving articles! When adding facts, please **[provide references](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Introduction_to_referencing/1 "Help:Introduction to referencing/1")** so others may verify them. If you are affiliated with the article subject, please see our **[conflict of interest guide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Plain_and_simple_conflict_of_interest_guide "Wikipedia:Plain and simple conflict of interest guide").**

The **[simple guide to vandalism cleanup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Simple_guide_to_vandalism_cleanup "Help:Simple guide to vandalism cleanup")** can help you undo malicious edits.

If you're looking for places you can help out, the **[Task Center](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Task_Center "Wikipedia:Task Center")** is the place to go, or check out what else is happening at the **[community portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal "Wikipedia:Community portal").** You can practice editing and experiment in a **[sandbox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sandbox "Wikipedia:Sandbox")**.

## **Report a problem** with an article
If there is a problem with an article about yourself, a family member, a friend or a colleague, please read **[Biographies of living persons/Help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons/Help "Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons/Help").**

If you spot a problem with an article, you can fix it directly, by clicking on the "Edit" link at the top of that page. **[See the "edit an article" section of this page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Contents#edit-heading)** for more information.

If you don't feel ready to fix the article yourself, post a message on the article's **[talk page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Talk_page_guidelines "Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines").** This will bring the matter to the attention of others who work on that article. There is a "Talk" link at the beginning of _every_ article page.

You can **[contact us](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us_-_Readers "Wikipedia:Contact us - Readers").** If it's an article about you or your organization, see **[Contact us – Subjects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us_-_Subjects "Contact us – Subjects").**

## **Create a new article** or **upload media**
Check **[Your first article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Your_first_article "Wikipedia:Your first article")** to see if your topic is appropriate, then the **[Article wizard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_wizard "Wikipedia:Article wizard")** will walk you through creating the article.

Once you have created an article, see **[Writing better articles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles "Wikipedia:Writing better articles")** for guidance on how to improve it and what to include (like reference **[citations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources "Wikipedia:Citing sources").**

For contributing images, audio or video files, see the **[Introduction to uploading images](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Introduction_to_uploading_images/1 "Help:Introduction to uploading images/1")**. Then the **[Upload wizard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard "Wikipedia:File Upload Wizard")** will guide you through that process.

## **FAQ** and **interactive help**
Answers to common problems can be found at **[frequently asked questions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:FAQ "Wikipedia:FAQ").**

Or check out **[where to ask questions or make comments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Questions "Wikipedia:Questions").**

New users should seek help at the **[Teahouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Teahouse "Wikipedia:Teahouse")** if they're having problems while editing Wikipedia.

More complex questions can be posed at the **[Help desk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_desk "Wikipedia:Help desk").** Volunteers will respond as soon as they're able.

Or [**ask for help on your talk page**](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:MyTalk&action=edit&section=new&preload=Help:Contents/helpmepreload&preloadtitle=Help+me%21) and a volunteer will visit you there!

You can get live help with editing in the **[help chatroom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IRC_help_disclaimer "Wikipedia:IRC help disclaimer").**

For help with technical issues, ask at the **[Village pump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical) "Wikipedia:Village pump (technical)").**

## **Factual questions**
If **[searching Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search "Special:Search")** has not answered your question ( _for example, questions like "Which country has the world's largest fishing fleet?"_), try the **[Reference Desk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk "Wikipedia:Reference desk").** Volunteers there will attempt to answer your questions on any topic, or point you toward the information you need.

## **Tip** of the day
### Title searches
You can focus your searches by using the _intitle:_ parameter. Here's how:

(1) In the Wikipedia search box, type the word _intitle_ followed by a colon, then the word or phrase you are looking for. When you click on "Search," then, you'll be presented with a list of articles that have your search term in their titles.
(2) You can also search for one word or phrase in the title and for others in the text of the articles. For example:

| Query | Result |
| --- | --- |
| _[intitle:airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&search=intitle%3Aairport&ns0=1&fulltext=Search)_ | All articles with _airport_ in their titles |
| _[intitle:international airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&search=intitle%3Ainternational+airport&ns0=1&fulltext=Search)_ | Articles containing the two words _international_ and _airport_ anywhere in their titles—which will give you a list that includes, for example, the article [World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_busiest_airports_by_international_passenger_traffic "World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic") |
| _[parking intitle:airport](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&search=parking+intitle%3Aairport&ns0=1&fulltext=Search)_ | Articles with _parking_ in the text, and _airport_ in their titles. |
| _[intitle:"international airport"](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&search=intitle%3A%22international+airport%22&ns0=1&fulltext=Search)_ | Articles containing the exact expression _international airport_ in their titles. |

An even more powerful tool for searching titles is [Grep](http://toolserver.org/~jarry/grep/?lang=en&wiki=wikipedia&ns=0). It lets you search titles using [regular expressions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression "Regular expression"), and in the results it lists the titles only.