Contents

Wikipedia:Edit summary legend

This is a list of commonly used edit summary abbreviations. Find a more concise list at quick reference. Select from the box above for more abbreviations and terms.

Note: This page does not state any official guidelines regarding edit summary content. For more information about that, see Help:Edit summary, which strongly encourages editors to provide accurate and detailed summaries.

cat

Meaning: A category to the page.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [[Category:Name of category]] (which puts a useful link directly into the edit summary)

Examples:

• +cat [[Category:Mammals]] (added this category)
• -cat [[Category:Zoology]] (deleted this category)

cm, cmt, com, re

Meaning: I added a comment to this page.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the topic of the comment]

Examples:

• cm noteworthiness
• cmt: questioning noteworthiness
• +com ft "I find this non-noteworthy."
• re use of columns: necessary? (see Talk)

navtemp

Meaning: I made a change involving a navigational template to this page.

Secondary text: none required

Example:

• +navtemp (I added a navigational template)

ft

Meaning: I have added or rephrased the following brief bit of full text.

Secondary text (required):

• [in quotation marks, the exact text in question]

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [in quotation marks, the exact text that is being replaced]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Such specificity is extremely helpful to those viewing only the edit summary, since it may obviate the need to open the article's History page to obtain these details.

Note: only brief text should be so specified. For longer text, make use of the article's Talk page and note this in the edit summary. See below for Edit that is explained on the article's Talk page.

Examples:

• ft "because of this event"
• Added ft "Under these circumstances" to specify causation
• Substituted ft "Under these circumstances" for "So"
• Substituted ft "Due to these two events" for "So" to clarify the causative factors
• See ft in Talk for change to "So"

+, add, addition, expand

Meaning: I have added or rephrased a longer bit of text in the article, and what follows is a summary.

Secondary text (required):

• [a summary of the text in question]

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• +Future expeditions
• add:Future expeditions (b/c important new plans have been made public)

May also be used to indicate that the user has added their support/opposition on consensus building; it is then usually preceded by the section name

Examples:

• → Support: +
• → Oppose: +me

alpha, abc, sort

Meaning: I have put this list in alphabetical order.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the portion of the text alphabetized (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• abc second list in this section
• alpha last column for consistency

cap, caps, capital, cpt, uc, ucase, lc, lcase

Meaning: I have fixed capitalization.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Specifically:

• cap, capital,orcpt when there is a general fixing of capitalization.
• caps when EVERY letter of a word is capitalized (e.g., ALL CAPS).
• ucorucase when uppercasing the first letter of a word.
• lcorlcase when lowercasing the first letter of a word.

Common occurences:

Wikipedia's article titles are case-sensitive, except for the first letter of the article, which always appears as a capital letter. Also, according to Wikipedia:Manual of Style, except for compound proper nouns (such as "New York City Police Department") only the first letter of the first word in section headings should be capitalized.

Examples:

• cap throughout this section for consistency
• caps "NATO"
• uc toys in the list that have proper (not generic) names
• lc rest of title, per MOS

cl, cleanup, cu

Meaning: I have made some general 'tidying-up' edits.

Secondary text: none required

Useful when making many different kinds of small changes in a single edit.

Commonly includes:

• small formatting fixes
• spelling and grammar fixes
• markup fixes
• other such minor edits

copyedit, cpyed, ced, c/e, ce, mce

Meaning: I have done miscellaneous copy editing.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

It is encouraged that you specify the changes.

Examples:

• copyedit: major reorganization, left original text
• cpyed: from 'Tell Joe and I to ...' to 'Tell Joe and me to ...'
• 'It took 4 years to build...' → 'It took four years to build...' (per MOS)

cr

Meaning: I have made one or more copy editing corrections.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Often used when correcting one's own edits or correcting obvious mistakes.

Examples

• cr my punctuation on previous edit
• cr two instances of "were" → "where"
• cr after session failed

creation, new

Meaning: I have created a new article.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [remarks or requests]

If there are remarks you wish to make, add them after two single dashes (-).

Examples:

• creation
• new
• creation – NPOV check please
• new – NPOV check please

See Removal of ambiguity (on this page)

see Talk, see talk

Meaning: I have discussed or explained this edit on the article's Talk page.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]
• a wikilink to the talk page section

Examples:

• see Talk for rephrased second paragraph
• see talk re: columns (necessary?)
• see Wikipedia_talk:Edit_summary_legend#Correction

fm, fmt, frmt, formatting, MoS, mos, MOS, wf, wfy

Meaning: I have applied or adjusted formatting to this article.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• fm per MOS
• fmt for consistency
• frmt contents of column 2 for clarity

gm, gr, grmr

Meaning: I have fixed the grammar of one or more sentences.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• gm last sentence
• gr throughout
• grmr in photo caption for clarity

head, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6

Meaning: I have fixed the header markup or changed the header wording.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• head cap
• h2 repl ft "North America" with "United States"
• h3 added "above sea level" to parallel h2 "below sea level"

Common occurrence:

This is often seen when an article has been incorrectly laid out with "level 3" headers at the top level (i.e., === text ===) instead of "level 2" headers (i.e., == text ==).

LGV, lgv

Meaning: The last good version of the article.

Secondary text: none required.

Most often used with revert.

EL, xl, ext lk, ext lks, ext lnk, ext lnks, ext link, ext links, el, URL, http

Meaning: I have added or removed an external link.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [URL/ URL name] (which puts the link directly into the edit summary)
• [a description of the links in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• EL National Tractor Association
• +xls: national union websites
• added ext lnk The Shepherd (magazine) (for its numerous resources)
• rm ext 2 most recent links (too broad for this article)

lk, lks, link, links, lnk, ln, wikilink, wl, dl

Meaning: I have created or removed a link from this Wikipedia article to another one.

Secondary text (required):

• [[Wikipedia article name]] (which puts the link directly into the edit summary) or
• 'Wikipedia article name'

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [a description of the links in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

It is preferred that the actual link(s) be included in the edit summary. This can be achieved by copying it from the edit box so that it appears in double brackets [[ ]]. Otherwise, name the link(s) between single apostrophes (').

This is especially useful when the link is to a new article, since Wikipedians watchlisting the current page are likely to be interested in the new page.

Examples:

• lk: 'Train'
• lks: 'snow', 'hail'
• +wl in list: 'Train'
• lnks for all State names
• +lnk in list: 'Train' (after disambig)
• wikilink [[train]] (new article)

iwk, iw

Meaning: I added one or more interwiki links to this page.

Secondary text (required):

• {{Interwiki link name}} (which puts the link directly into the edit summary) or
• 'Interwiki link name'

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [a description of the links in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

It is preferred that the actual link(s) be included in the edit summary. This can be achieved by copying it from the edit box so that it appears in curly brackets {{ }}. Otherwise, name the link(s) between single apostrophes (').

This is especially useful when the link is to a new material, since Wikipedians watchlisting the current page are likely to be interested in viewing it.

Examples:

• iw: {{Wikiquote:Rabbits}}
• +iwks: {{Wikiquote:Politics}} and {{Wikiquote:Feminism}}
• rem iw for pictures (too broad)
• added wikilink {{Wikipedia books|Soap}} (new material)

MOS

Meaning: I have made edits to conform to the Wikipedia Manual of Style.

Secondary text: none required

Used with other edit summary elements.

mrg, mrgd, merged in

Meaning: I have merged one or more other articles into this article.

Secondary text (required):

• [[Wikipedia article name]] (which puts the link directly into the edit summary) or
• 'Wikipedia article name'
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

It is preferred that the actual link(s) be included in the edit summary. This can be achieved by copying it from the edit box so that it appears in double brackets [[ ]]. Otherwise, name the link(s) between single apostrophes (').

Examples:

• mrg: 'USA' & 'United States of America'
• mrgd: [[USA]] and [[United States of America]]
• merged in [[sheepherding]] and [[droving]] (after consenus, see Talk)

See Tweaks (on this page)

mv

Meaning: I have moved one or more portions of the article to another location within the same article.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the new and old locations]
• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• mv for clarity
• mv last sentence of first paragraph to start of second paragraph
• mv ft "in the last decade" to start (per consensus, see Talk)

May also mean "I have added some material that comes from another article" but in that case merge is preferred.

Examples:

• mv to 'United States' (mrgd)
• mv from 'America'

nn

Meaning: Non-noteworthy text.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Example:

• rmv nn cat video sentence

null, nx, ø

Meaning: I have made a null or dummy edit.

Secondary text: none required

Although no change was made, the edit window was opened and the page re-saved.

This is occasionally necessitated by non-automated changes, such as those to templates included in the page.

org, reorg, order

Meaning: I have changed the order of sections or otherwise altered the organization (as opposed to the text) of the page.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [a description of the organization in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Example:

• org History section by decade
• order paragraphs: sequential

OR, NOR

Meaning: I believe something to be in conflict with the Wikipedia no original research policy.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Example:

• del OR "subatomic particles" per policy
• NOR: revert "Causation" section to lgv

POV, NPOV

Meaning: I believe something to be in conflict with the Wikipedia neutral point of view policy.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Example:

• del POV: ft "I hate cat videos"
• NPOV: revert "Theories of causation" section to lgv

punc, punct, pct

Meaning: I have made edits to rectify punctuation.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Example:

• punc ft "three cat video's worth" → "three cat videos' worth"
• pct: del excessive commas (for flow)

re-cat, recat

Meaning: I have made changes to one or more pre-existing category links.

Secondary text (required):

• [[Category:Category name]] (which puts the link directly into the edit summary) or
• 'Category name'

Secondary text (encourage):

• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

It is preferred that the actual link(s) be included in the edit summary. This can be achieved by copying it from the edit box so that it appears in double brackets [[ ]]. Otherwise, name the link(s) between single apostrophes (').

This is especially useful when the link is to a new article, since Wikipedians watchlisting the current page are likely to be interested in the new page.

Examples:

• re-cat 'America' to 'North America'
• recat [[Category:America]] to [[Category:North American]] per consensus (see Talk)

REDIRECT, rd, redir

Meaning: I have made this article redirect to another article.

Secondary text (required):

• [[Wikipedia article name]] (which puts the link directly into the edit summary) or
• 'Wikipedia article name'

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

It is preferred that the actual link(s) be included in the edit summary. This can be achieved by copying it from the edit box so that it appears in double brackets [[ ]]. Otherwise, name the link(s) between single apostrophes (').

This is especially useful when the link is to a new article, since Wikipedians watchlisting the current page are likely to be interested in the new page.

Examples:

• REDIRECT 'Cats'
• rd [[Cats]]
• redir [[Droving]]to [[Sheepherding]] (new article)

ref, refs

Meaning: I added or fixed one or more source citations.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [a description of which reference]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• ref distance to the Moon
• +ref: cost of a gallon of milk (received consensus on source, see Talk)
• fixd ref Rothlisber: date of publication

disambiguation, disambig, disamb, disam, dab, byp disambig

Meaning: I changed a wikilink to point to the appropriate disambiguation page.

Secondary text (required):

• [[Wikipedia disambiguation page name]] (which puts the link directly into the edit summary) or
• 'Wikipedia disambiguation page name'

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

It is preferred that the actual link(s) be included in the edit summary. This can be achieved by copying it from the edit box so that it appears in double brackets [[ ]]. Otherwise, name the link(s) between single apostrophes (').

This is especially useful when the link is to a new article, since Wikipedians watchlisting the current page are likely to be interested in the new page.

Examples:

• disambig [[Arm]]
• disamb 'Shadow' (new page)
• dab [[Shadow]] (new page)

-, rm, rmv, remove, del

Meaning: I have removed some text from the article.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• -cat video sentence
• remove ft "Cat videos are artistic"
• del paragraph 3: too broad for this article

reply, rep, re, r   (Note: r is also used as Revert, so re is preferred here.)

Meaning: I have replied to another editor's comment.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• reply agreement
• r ft "I wholeheartedly agree."
• rep limiting the scope of this discussion (see Talk)

revert, rev, rv, r   (Note: r is also used as Reply, so rv is preferred here.)

Meaning: I reverted this article to a previous edit.

Secondary text (required):

• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]

Examples:

• revert accident
• rv blanking (vandalism?)
• rv: changes by User:Second user to last version by User:First user; see talk
• rvsorrv/s (spam)
• rvtorrvte (test edit)
• rv unexpl del (unexplained deletion)
• rvvorrv/v (vandalism) (Note: rvv in some fonts looks very similar to rw)

sandbox, Sandbox

Meaning: I made an edit to the Sandbox.

Secondary text: none required

This is especially useful information for Wikipedians checking the Recent changes, who may wish to ignore such changes.

snap dbl rdr, fix redir

Meaning: I turned a double redirect into a single redirect.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

sp, spl, spelling

Meaning: I corrected one or more spelling errors.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• sp throughout
• spl "desparate" → "desperate"
• spelling "colour" → "color" (per MOS:ENGVAR)

tweaks, tweak, twk, tw, misc, technicals, techs

Meaning: I made one or more minor copyediting changes.

Includes:

• Making an article conform to the Wikipedia Manual of Style and to consensus
• Removing stub messages
• Adjusting categories
• Fixing typos
• Adding or fixing links
• Adjusting the article's layout

More specific and useful edit summaries are preferred, but if that is not practical tweaks may suffice.

typo, typos, tpyo, tpyos, ty, tyop, tyops

Meaning: I fixed one or more typos.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• typo "errror" → "error"
• typos in last sentence
• tyop (my own error)

(ec), e/c, or (e/c)

Meaning: An edit conflict was experienced.

Secondary text: non required; when adding a comment, users can prefix their comment with the {{ec}} template to indicate this.

ws

Meaning: I made changes to whitespace.

Secondary text (encouraged):

• [the full text or a description of the portion of the text in question (if not obvious)]
• [the reason or context for the change(s)]

Examples:

• ws in column 3 for alignment
• ws: caption to image 7 (per consensus, see Talk)

• Wikipedia:Glossary – general index of Wikipedia-internal jargon
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia abbreviations – supplement on abbreviations and acronyms used in Wikipedia jargon