Help:Redirecting articles
A redirect is a wiki command that automatically redirects requests for one article title to a different article.
Example and command
For example, an article exists titled Reflective Object System. However, searches might look for (and links in article texts might link to) any of the following:
You could make each of those automatically redirect to Reflective Object System by creating each article with only the following text:
#REDIRECT [[Reflective Object System]]
Another reason for redirects is to preserve the original article title when the page is moved (renamed), so that people who may have bookmarked the old article can still get where they need to go.
To see a list of existing redirects, either:
- Click the Special pages link in the left navagation bar and find the "List redirects" link.
- Go directly to the special "article" titled Special:Listredirects.
Double redirects
If you were to set ROS as a redirect to reflective object system, and reflective object system as a redirect to Reflective Object System, then ROS is now a double redirect because it has to redirect and then redirect again. This can confuse the software (not to mention users); it's better to fix ROS so that it also points directly at Reflective Object System.
To see a list of double redirects, either:
- Click the Special pages link in the left navagation bar and find the double redirects link.
- Go directly to Special:DoubleRedirects.
Editing redirects
After a redirect exists, when you go to, for example, ROS, it automatically moves you to the "Reflective Object System" article. So how do you go back and edit the content of ROS?
- Go to ROS.
- Note that it displays the "Reflective Object System" article, but just below the title is the text "redirected from ROS", and "ROS" is a link.
- Click that link. This takes you to the "ROS" article, which is currently a redirect, which you can now edit.