Wikipedia:Help desk/Archives/2009 July 23

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July 23

How to create a PDF file for free?

Resolved

 –  – ukexpat (talk) 14:55, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I need to scan in and send some papers in PDF format (ASAP), but I don't want to buy the quite expensive software since I never needed it before and I'm sure I won't need it again in the near future. I wrongly thought [wishful thinking] Adope Photoshop (which I have) would work to convert my files. Is there a simple way out of this? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, --The Magnificent Clean-keeper (talk) 23:12, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. Please consider asking this question at the Computing reference desk. They specialize in answering computer questions and will try to answer any question in the universe (except how to use Wikipedia, since that is what this Help Desk is for). Just follow the link and ask away. You could always try searching Wikipedia for an article related to the topic you want to know more about. I hope this helps.PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 23:16, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Although the above advice is of course valid, perhaps this article will help: List of PDF software PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 23:19, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks Steve. The latter I checked already but seems not to be what I'm looking for. I'll place my question at the board you suggested. I wasn't aware of such specific board although it is the first time I posted here so you could consider me a "newbie" in that matter. Thanks again, --The Magnificent Clean-keeper (talk) 23:53, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

I've broken the tables

I found New South Wales Blues records in WP:BACKLOG, saying it had broken citations and thought the problem would be easy to fix. I removed all the dead citations, changed the tags and added an empty "References" section. I also managed to destroy the tables. I have no table-fu whatsoever. Could someone please fix my mess? Please?

-- EA Swyer ^Talk _{Contributions} 01:17, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

When you deleted the sources, you also deleted the break that puts the table close markup |} on a line by itself, so none of the tables are closed. Those source links are working for me, so deleting them is not the best option. See Wikipedia:Dead external links for the proper way to handle this. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 01:25, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Template functionality help

Resolved

 –  – ukexpat (talk) 14:54, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Can someone explain to me the coding in {{Prod}} or its subtemplates that allows it to time the seven day period and then trigger the message: "The article may be deleted without further notice since this message has remained in place for seven days." Being able to do this would be extremely helpful for another template.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 01:26, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

{{subst:prod}} is substed to a {{dated prod}} with a timestamp. Is that what you are asking? —teb728 t c 02:15, 23 July 2009 (UTC) And the latter contains the code:

{{#ifexpr: {{#time:U}} > {{#time:U|{{{day}}} {{{month}}} {{{year}}} {{{time}}} +7 days}}

—teb728 t c 02:18, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The code for this is in Template:Dated prod (3 paragraph in the code). Using Parser Functions, it compares if the current time is greater than 7 days since the template was put there. The first {{#time:U}} (using with the U shows the number of seconds since January 1 1970 00:00:00 GMT btw) is for the current time, and {{#time:U|{{{day}}} {{{month}}} {{{year}}} {{{time}}} +7 days}} will show the time when it was substituted plus 7 days. Once the current time is greater than this the message will be displayed. Hope that is clear. ≈ Chamal ^talk 02:25, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks to both of you. Between the two explanations I'm going to see if I can put together something for CSD A1/A3 deletion templates (using 1 hour rather than seven days as the baseline). For a very long time there has been complaints over articles deleted as empty that have been tagged within moments of creation (which is what I created {{hasty}} for, but I want to attack the root issue rather than have a side template that's used once in a while. There are quite a number of stumbling blocks, such as that the db templates feed off of db-meta, and it may need to be entirely separated from it for this to work. I also assume (correct me if I'm wrong) that in order to use the time coding in similar form requires substitution, which is incompatible with the current db template scheme. Anyway, I'm going to mull over exactly how to do this, and certainly not tonight. Thanks.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:05, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

real estate

i want to know about marketing in the real estate sector? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.196.179.89 (talk) 02:13, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Hello. This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. General knowledge questions belong at an appropriate section of the reference desk, and for the subject matter you've asked about, probably the miscellaneous section is best. However, even if you do ask there your question is incredibly broad. I really think you need to be far more more specific and explain the purpose of asking if you expect any sort of trenchant response. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:10, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Signpost

Why didn't it work? I tried to subscribe at Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Tools/Spamlist. Kayau Jane Eyre PRIDE AND PREJUDICE les miserables 03:37, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I fixed your subscription entry. Your first post was correct but then you changed it to "#[[User:Kayau{{subst:#if||/|Kayau" which won't do anything. Anyway, if you're thinking signing up = immediate delivery, I don't think it works like that. Now that you're signed up, when the next issue comes out one of three bots will drop by your page and deliver it. Nothing will happen until then. Cheers.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 03:48, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I changed it because the first one didn't work - why else? Kayau Jane Eyre PRIDE AND PREJUDICE les miserables 11:38, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

The template isn't working for signing up, it generates the kind of code you showed. I've had a quick look at the code for Template:Signpost sign-up, and I can see that it's missing the closing ]] - but I'm not very good at #if statements... could someone look at it? PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 09:03, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Looks like it should be working. Hersfold non-admin^(t/a/c) 19:31, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

It works now. Thanks, Jarry1250, who fixed it :D PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 19:47, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

relationship

iam 21years male what age of a lady can be my wife? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.49.79.251 (talk) 07:46, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Hello. This page is for questions about using Wikipedia. General knowledge questions belong at an appropriate section of the reference desk. Considering your question however it would depend on where you live and the laws in your area. TraskUK (talk) 08:08, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

As TraskUK says, this is for questions about using Wikipedia. However, this might help answer your question: Marriageable age. (I was going to leave this on the user's talk page, but as it's an IP, it seems pointless.) PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 09:19, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Assuming that you posted from where you are living (which the IP Range shows to be Amsterdam, Netherlands), the answer is 18, 16 with parental consent PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 09:25, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

At the other end of the age range, you could hook up with a cougar. (You did not specify whether you are asking about minimum age or maximum age.) --Teratornis (talk) 17:12, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

translating articles into french

hello, i heard that whole articles can be translated into other languages such as french and i was wondering how to do this. thanks :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.176.44.207 (talk) 07:51, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

If a translated version of the page is available, this will be shown on the left hand side under the title Languages - all the languages the page is available in are listed, you just click on the language you desire (in your case French). If the language you require is not listed (or there are no languages listed at all), then if you can translate the page, read Wikipedia's Guide to Translation. For an example of a page with translations, look at that page - see on the left hand side, there is a "Languages" box. For an example of a page without, see World Aircraft Information Files which is only available in English - see that there is no Languages box. Hope this helps. PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 09:16, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

First of all, check whether the French Wikipedia already has an article about this subject. In case it doesn't, the French Projet:Traduction page should explain how to do it. Every Wikipedia, despite the common name and layout, has different rules for certain things, so there is no master explanation in English. Wikipedia:Translation explains how to translate things into English. Also on that page, you can use the "languages" box in the lower left corner to find the corresponding page for another language. Regards SoWhy 09:13, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps you are asking about a translation tool like Google translate. It makes a mechanical (and not totally accurate) translation. But it has the advantage that you don't have to wait for someone to do the translation. And if you have enough knowledge of the source and target languages, you can make up for most of the gaps. For example, your question translates to, "bonjour, j'ai entendu dire que l'ensemble des articles peuvent être traduits dans d'autres langues comme le français et je me demandais comment faire. merci" —teb728 t c 09:23, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

non-free images on Commons, which really should only be at en:Wiki

What if we find non-free images on Commons, which really should only be at en:Wiki, because of fair use concerns? Is there a bot or a template that will move them out of Commons but retain the image elsewhere? Chris (クリス • フィッチュ) (talk) 09:09, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I don't know of a bot for that. I think that what you would have to do is download the image from Commons, upload it to Wikipedia with a non-free tag and use rationale, and then nominate it for deletion on Commons. —teb728 t c 09:40, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

hey

How do i make a page about an athlete —Preceding unsigned comment added by Windsorsports100 (talk • contribs) 09:28, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Before creating an article, please search Wikipedia first to make sure that an article does not already exist on the subject. Please also review a few of our relevant policies and guidelines which all articles should comport with. As Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, articles must not contain original research, must be written from a neutral point of view, should cite to reliable sources which verify their content and must not contain unsourced, negative content about living people.

Articles must also demonstrate the notability of the subject. Please see our subject specific guidelines for people, bands and musicians, companies and organizations and web content and note that if you are closely associated with the subject, our conflict of interest guideline strongly recommends against you creating the article.

If you still think an article is appropriate, see Help:Starting a new page. You might also look at Wikipedia:Your first article and Wikipedia:How to write a great article for guidance, and please consider taking a tour through the Wikipedia:Tutorial so that you know how to properly format the article before creation. PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 09:31, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Adding an image

Hi all,

I'm a complete novice at this but I'm am trying to add an image to my page. I have uploaded a file on my account but no matter which help pages I look at I'm completely stuck as to what to do next! Step by step guide or any simple info on how to do this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance, AP. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rich325 (talk • contribs) 09:41, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I assume you are talking about Ukpower-logo.gif? To add it to the page, you just use [[File:Ukpower-logo.gif]] PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 09:48, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

See what I did to your article with this edit. The details are at Help:Images and other uploaded files. —teb728 t c 09:51, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Oval shape

An oval shape is solid or plain. Need examples. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.163.43.213 (talk) 10:54, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Please do your own homework. Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here to not do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems.
Please attempt to solve the problem yourself first. You can search Wikipedia or search the Web.
If you need help with a specific part of your homework, the Reference desk can help you grasp the concept. Do not ask knowledge questions here, just those about using Wikipedia. PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 11:17, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

what about this site for completing homeworks live search:D An oval is plain. --Notedgrant (talk) 18:56, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

You know, it's amazing what you can find if you type Oval into the search box, and then click Go.... PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 19:04, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

D Phantom you are funny ;;.122.163.43.213 check this outOval--Notedgrant (talk) 19:30, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

How can I see what my overall contribution has been to a particular article? Does such a facility exist?

How can I see what my overall contribution has been to a particular article? Does such a facility exist?Jprw (talk) 11:15, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

You can use a tool like this or this. ≈ Chamal ^talk 11:19, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

How do I make an undisputed article draft in my user page to an actual article?

Well, I think the subject line says it all. I'm unclear on how to take an article draft that I have started - a stub actually - that I feel is ready to become an actual article? Do I copy and paste it somewhere?? Please advise. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tanyavansoest (talk • contribs) 14:06, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

It would have to be moved to the mainspace, but the text in your userpage is nowhere close to being an article - please read WP:YFA, WP:BIO and WP:RS. – ukexpat (talk) 14:48, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

What to make of recent edit activity

Could someone take a look at the recent edit history of Diana Taurasi and see if you agree with this summary of edits by 70.176.123.39 today:

1. Added an unsourced trivia section
2. Added a potentially useful section on Spartek, though unsourced
3. Decided to elevate the DUI subsection to a full section
4. Tried a number of combinations of nicknames and pictures, some of which are probably subject to copyright, then left it without a picture

This isn't a pure vandal, as 2 is probably useful (although it creates work for someone to cite), 1 may be a good faith attempt to improve the article, although I think it needs to be undone, but 4 (removing valid picture) wasn't justified.

Thoughts on how best to proceed? Should I just add back the valid picture, remove the trivia, and check everything else thoroughly?--SPhilbrickT 14:27, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

1: Trivia sections are a no-no. If it can't be somehow added to the main article, it shouldn't be included at all. 2 could be useful as you said, but it needs sources or it can't stay. The DUI section really needs sources or it could become a BLP issue - it might be best to remove it until sources can be found. And finally, you should re-add the picture. Xenon54 (talk) 14:53, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice--SPhilbrickT 15:18, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

router mechanism

i want a detailed infomation of router mechanism from its base level to its highest level its inside view and how it routes packet with very detailed explanation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Me pran (talk • contribs) 14:40, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Have you tried the Computing section of Wikipedia's Reference Desk? They specialize in answering knowledge questions there; this help desk is only for questions about using Wikipedia. For your convenience, here is the link to post a question there: click here. I hope this helps. And don't forget to say please. – ukexpat (talk) 14:50, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Please do your own homework. Welcome to the Wikipedia Help desk. Your question appears to be a homework question. I apologize if this is a misevaluation, but it is our policy here to not do people's homework for them, but to merely aid them in doing it themselves. Letting someone else do your homework does not help you learn how to solve such problems.
Please attempt to solve the problem yourself first. You can search Wikipedia or search the Web.
If you need help with a specific part of your homework, the Reference desk can help you grasp the concept. Do not ask knowledge questions here, just those about using Wikipedia. PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 18:24, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Help

Template:Episcopal Succession

Hello. Are you able to help me ? I have tried to had a 21 section to that template but it don't works. I have had but it don't works on the Bishops Page.

Thank you.

English nol (talk) 15:00, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I would suggest that you contact the creator of the template, User:JamesReyes - he is still active on Wikipedia. – ukexpat (talk) 15:20, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Editing Entry for "Eleison Group"

I've been trying to edit the page for "The Eleison Group". It has been flagged as being written like an advertisement and I was trying to modify the content. Every time I click save, however, my edits do not show up and the page reverts to its previous condition. Mostly I've been trying to edit the "Recent News" section to have links to articles about the Eleison Group rather than a description of various articles that currently exists. Thank you.

EleisonGroup (talk) 17:03, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I don't see any of these attempts in your contributions or the history of the page. If you click "show preview" do the changes show correctly? Also, please be aware that your username will probably be flagged as having a conflict of interest with the subject of the page you are trying to edit. Wperdue (talk) 17:07, 23 July 2009 (UTC)wperdue

Your account is not autoconfirmed so if you try to add a url then the edit will not be saved the first time you press "Save page". See Wikipedia:New contributors' help page#Inserting citations. Does that help? PrimeHunter (talk) 17:30, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

As your edit of the article Eleison Group is not showing on your list of contributions, the most probable explanation is that you might have only done a Preview instead of saving the article. See the picture below:

PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 18:22, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Barnstars

If you are thinking of giving someone a barnstar, is it okay if someone gave the person the intended barnstar before? Dogposter (talk) 19:48, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Yes, just make sure you say who it's from! It might help to use slightly different text in the message as well! PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 19:49, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

How do I add custom links to the sidebar.

I am wondering how to edit the sidebar on the Monobook skin for my own use. Arlen22 (talk) 21:08, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

You can do it with personalized javascript, using the function addPortletLink defined and documented in wikibits.js. For example, I use the following code to add a link to Special:NewPages to the 'interaction' section of the sidebar immediately before the Help link:

addOnloadHook(function(){
    addPortletLink ('p-interaction', '/wiki/Special:NewPages', 'New Pages', 'n-newpages', 'The list of recently created pages', '', document.getElementById('n-help'));
});

Algebraist 21:51, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

May I ask if I can steal it? Better than going through RC to get to it... ZooFari 21:53, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Copyright Infringement Issue

Help Desk, I was attempting to add a new article to wikipedia. My article was flagged as a copyright infringement for using material from the following website: www.achurchworthfinding.com/academy. However, the material that I included from the website is material that I personally wrote for that website. As principal of Haven Christian Academy, I am both the author of the website that I used and the author or the wikipedia article entitled "Haven Christian Academy". As it stands right now you are saying that I infringed upon my own copyright. Could you please advise on this? Jclintonfox (talk) 21:41, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

WP:IOWN explains how to deal with the copyright issue. However, the article will probably in any case be deleted as it is written like advertising rather than an encyclopedia article. You should also be aware that it is in general not appropriate to write articles about organizations you are personally involved with. Algebraist 21:46, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Since this involves WP:ORIGINAL, you should request for it to be created so it can be copyedited with neutral point of view. ZooFari 21:48, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

May I suggest that you read "Copyright owners who submitted their own work to Wikipedia" which explains how to prove you are the copyright owner, and how to enable it to be used on Wikipedia. PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 21:50, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Also read Algebraist and ZooFari's advice! PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 21:51, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Just a quick comment, I can easily imagine it can seem astounding - "how on earth can you argue that I'm infringing on my own copyright!!?". What many people fail to properly appreciate, is that once the material is in Wikipedia, it can be used by anyone else (with proper citation to WP), but there is no need to cite you. If you decide you don't like how the material is being used, you no longer have the right to remove it. So the policy, while seemingly absurd, is actually for your protection. If you are willing to give up your right to copyright, there are ways to accomplish this, but we want you to do that affirmatively, not find out that quoting your own material removes your copyright. As others have noticed, there are other issues regarding the site, but the copyright issue is protecting your rights.--SPhilbrickT 23:04, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Link to old revision

Hola, a simple question here: is there a way to link to a specific, older revision of an article? Thanks.Poisonborz (talk) 23:20, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

See Help:Page history. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:24, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I don't know if there's a simpler way, but here's how I do it:

1. go to the history, and find the version you want to link to. Click on the time/date of the version you want (e.g. for this example, I'll use the version at 22:50, 23 July 2009)
2. at the top of the page, it will say something like This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Phantomsteve (talk | contribs) at 22:50, 23 July 2009. It may differ significantly from the current revision.. If you copy the page address from your address bar (in this case http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&oldid=303819828, you'll have the page URL
3. Link to this as you would any URL: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Help_desk&oldid=303819828 Old Version]

This would give you Old Version

Hope that helps! PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 23:29, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

I already read the linked Wikipages about this, but like you, only found ways to directly link (eg. copy the absolute path) to the article. I found this method pretty basic and inflexible... There should be a script that would require only the oldid...Poisonborz (talk) 23:33, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Such as the template {{oldid}}. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 23:39, 23 July 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for that, Gadget... I didn't know about that. So in my example, it would be {{oldid|Wikipedia:Help_desk|303819828|Old Version}} giving Old Version. PhantomSteve (Contact Me, My Contribs) 23:50, 23 July 2009 (UTC)