Help:Items

Snap! Data is the free knowledge base that anyone can edit. Just like Snap! Wiki, Snap! Data is built on the MediaWiki wiki software, which means that content on pages (just like this one!) can be added, modified, or deleted in collaboration with others. Unlike Snap! Wiki, Snap! Data also uses Wikibase extension to MediaWiki, which allows for collaborative editing of structured data.

Understanding items

<translate> Items and their data are interconnected</translate>

In Snap! Data, items are used to represent all the things in human knowledge, including topics, concepts, and objects.

There are a few important characteristics about items that contribute to the success of Snap! Data:

Creating a new item

<translate> Add a sitelink</translate>

<translate>< Before you create a page for an item, it is a good idea to make sure that Snap! Data does not already have a page for that item. The best way to see if Snap! Data already has a page on the item you wish to add is to use the item by title search.

When Snap! Data already has a page on that item, the search will take you to that page.

If an item is missing, you can create it yourself. You can do this either by clicking on the link provided at the bottom of the item by title search page when a search is unsuccessful or by clicking "<tvar name="item">Create a new Item</tvar>" on the menu to the left. From either link, you will be taken to a page that asks you to give the new item a label and a description. If you used the item by title search, the interface will also include the two fields you filled in during the search. If you used the <tvar name="1">Create a new Item</tvar> link, don't worry about not having those—you can fill them out at a later stage. When you're done, click "<tvar name="submit">Create</tvar>".

Adding to an existing item page

In addition to a label and description, the two other elements of an item page that should be filled out are the aliases and the sitelinks. These four elements of an item page are multilingual, meaning they are shown and entered in by contributors for a specific language. This also means that they (usually) will have different values for each language. It is also possible to add and see these elements in multiple languages (which you might want to do if you are fluent in more than one language); for information on setting up your language preferences on Snap! Data, see Help:Multilingual.

A label is the most common name that an item would be known by. Labels are added to the text fields at the top of an item page to the "<tvar name="label">Label</tvar>" column. Click "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>", type in the label, and click "<tvar name="save">publish</tvar>". A description is a short phrase designed to disambiguate the page in question from other pages with the same or similar labels. Descriptions are added in the same way as labels, to the "<tvar name="desc">Description</tvar>" column. See Help:Label and Help:Description for more on using labels and descriptions.

You can add aliases by clicking the "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>" button at the top of an item page to the "<tvar name="aliases">Also known as</tvar>" column. You will be able to insert the first alias into the field, at which point a second field will appear. Keep filling in aliases until you have no more alternate names to add, then click "<tvar name="save">publish</tvar>". See Help:Aliases for more on using information.

To add a sitelink to Snap! Data, go to the section(s) below the appropriate heading(s), for example "<tvar name="wp">Wikipedia</tvar>" or "<tvar name="wq">⧼Wikibase-sitelinks-wikiquote⧽</tvar>" and click the "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>" next to the heading. At the bottom of the sitelink group you will then be given two blank fields: a left field which says "<tvar name="site-edit">wiki</tvar>" and (shown after correct filling a first field) a right field which says "<tvar name="page-edit">page</tvar>". The left field is where you put the language of the Wikimedia site page that the item corresponds to. The right field is where you put the title of the page as it appears on the Wikimedia site. Both of these fields contain drop downs that will help you fill in the information once you begin typing. When you have filled out both fields, click "<tvar name="save">publish</tvar>". See Help:Sitelinks for more information.

Please note: When clicking on any "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>" or "+ add" before the page has fully loaded you might be taken to a separate page with a special interface. This will also let you make the intended changes but it is more difficult to use. If the page does not appear as depicted on the images to the right after clicking "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>" or "+ add" you might want go back, wait for the browser to finish loading the page (usually there is an indication on top of the browser's tab) and then click "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>" or "+ add" again.

Examples of four fields filled out for the item <tvar name="item"></tvar></translate>

Language	Item	Label	Description	Aliases	<translate> Link to Snap! Wiki Page</translate>
English (en)	Q8			Maria Salomea Skłodowska; Marie Skłodowska-Curie	Marie Curie
French (fr)	Q8			Maria Salomea Skłodowska herb Dołęga; Maria Skłodowska-Curie; Marie Sklodowska-Curie; Maria Skłodowska	Marie Curie
Polish (pl)	Q8			Maria Curie-Skłodowska; Marie Curie; Maria Skłodowska	Maria Skłodowska-Curie

<translate>

Editing an item page

</translate>

<translate> How an item page is build up</translate>

<translate> All four fields, the label, description, aliases, and sitelinks, are editable. To edit an existing element, click on the "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>" button and then enter the new or updated information. Then click "<tvar name="save">publish</tvar>". If an alias or sitelink is incorrect, you can remove it. To do this, first click on the "<tvar name="edit">edit</tvar>" button and then either delete the alias you wish to remove, or click the bin icon for the sitelink you wish to remove. Then click "<tvar name="save">publish</tvar>". The element will immediately disappear and be removed from the database.

Deleting an item page

Only administrators can delete items. Deletions are done via leaving a message on one of their talk pages or the talk page of the main page. Please make sure to give a short reason.

</translate>

See also

For related help pages, see:

• Help:Label, which explains what labels are and what rules they follow
• Help:Description, which explains what descriptions are and what rules they follow
• Help:Aliases, which explains what aliases are and what rules they follow
• Help:Statements, which explains what statements are and what rules they follow
• Help:Sitelinks, which explains what sitelinks are and what rules they follow