Users who would like to change the name of a page on a wiki, can use MediaWiki's "Move" feature.
This feature is located on the drop-down menu under "More" in the right navigation pane above the article content.
Location[]
The location of the tabbed list may vary depending on the design of the wiki.
The tab is not visible if you are not logged in. If you are, simply click the “Move” option, enter the new name and click "Move page". Normally you would want to leave the "Move associated talk page" option ticked.
Instructions[]
Once you click the move item from the list, you will be taken to a page where you can change some of the parameters of that page.
Starting from the move page panel:
- The first item is what namespace and title you want to move the page to.
- The second item is the move page summary, shown in the page history and move log.
- The third item will set whether a page will be created at the old page's name redirecting to the new page.
- The fourth item will set whether add the old and new pages to your watchlist.
Important information regarding editing history[]
If you move page "A" to a new title "B", this operation will do the following:
- Renames the title of page "A" to "B"
- Moves all the editing history of page "A" to page "B"
- Creates a new page "A", whose content is a redirect to page "B" (unless this option is deselected, see § Moving a page without creating a redirect)
The second point is important. By using the "Move" feature, you also move the editing history, which is desirable in most situations. The editing history allows people to see how the content of the page was built up, and who contributed what.
However, if you decide to copy and paste content to a new page, where the intent is to move the page, it would be a general mess for admins and the community to keep track of changes for that particular page.
- Some examples of problems when copy pasting instead of moving:
- Users editing a page that shouldn't exist
- Users looking for pages that don't exist or are seriously outdated.
- Admins having to moderate and/or remove a page that isn't a part of the main wiki content.
So please remember that if you intend to move the contents of a page to another page in its entirety. Only use the move function as instructed above.
For more information on how users are able to edit/see the history of a page, see Tracking changes.
Moving a page without creating a redirect[]
Users with the suppressredirect user right can optionally move a page without creating a redirect. This right is automatically given to all autoconfirmed users.
When users with this user right move a page, there will be an additional option to deselect the "leave a redirect behind" option. This is useful when the old title wouldn't be a likely search term.
When moving a page without leaving a redirect, it's important to fix broken links to the previous title. The "What links here" feature, which can be used through the link in the Tools (at bottom of the sidebar on the left) is useful when doing this.
Proposing a move[]
Deciding on a page title can be a difficult aspect of wiki organization, and one which can often provoke debates. If the move you have in mind is one which might cause upset or could be considered controversial, you should propose the move first. Do this by leaving a note giving your reasons on the talk page. Your wiki may also have a move template you can mark the subject page with to help draw more attention to the proposal.
Undo a move[]
As with all wiki editing, a move operation can be reversed (by any user). To reverse a move operation, simply move the page back, e.g. move page "B" back to "A".
When undoing obvious page move vandalism, the option to leave a redirect should be deselected — otherwise the page title "B" will still be left behind as a redirect from "B" to "A". If you do see a redirect that was left as a result of page move vandalism, tag it for deletion, although only a sysop/admin can actually delete it.