View source for Help:Redirect

{{Help Box}}
A '''redirect''' is a page which automatically sends visitors to another page, usually an article or section of an article. For example, if you type "TOC" in the search box, you will be taken to the article [[Help:Table of contents]] with a note at the top of the page (or on mobile, in a black message bar at the bottom): "<span style="font-size: 84%; line-height: 1.2em; color: rgb(84, 84, 84);">(Redirected from {{No redirect|TOC}})</span>". It is also possible to redirect to a specific [[Help:Section|section]] of the target page, using more advanced syntax.  

See {{W|Wikipedia:Redirect}} on [[Wikipedia]] for a comprehensive explanation of this topic.  [[:Category:Redirects]] for a limited number of pages flagged as redirects.

== Reasons ==
This is highly useful for:<section begin="Dashboard" />
* ensuring different variants of a name (plural, capitalization, etc.) all point to the same location
* Common [[Misspelling|misspellings]]
* alternative terms
* improving the chance that when someone uses the search box, they will find a relevant article

== Creation ==
Redirects can be created, on [[Help:Creating a page|new]] or existing pages, in two ways: 
* using [[Help:Visual editor#Redirect|Visual editor]] 
* in [[enhanced editor]]  
** with the [[Help:Editing toolbar#Advanced Tools|Editing toolbar's Advanced Tools]] 
** manually (see below) 
:<code><nowiki>#Redirect [[page name you want to redirect to]]</nowiki></code>
'''Example''':
* The [[TOC]] page redirects visitors to the [[Help:Table of contents]] page. 
* When a visitor goes to the TOC page, there are instructions at the top of the page to automatically send visitors to the Help:Table of contents page instead.  Those instructions are <code><nowiki>#Redirect [[Help:Table of contents]]</nowiki></code>.  
* When the visitor arrives at the Help:Table of contents page via the TOC redirect, they will see "<small style="color:gray">(Redirected from [[TOC]])</small>" under the page title.<section end="Dashboard" />

== Visual editor ==
Turning an existing page into a redirect is done differently with the release of [[Visual editor]].
# navigate to page that you want to turn into a redirect
# click edit to open Visual Editor
# click on the hamburger to open "Page options"
# select "Page settings"
# click on the empty box in front of "Redirect this page to" to add a checkmark
# type the name of the page in which you want to reader to be redirected
# click the blue "Apply changes" box to close the dialog box
# click on the blue "Save changes" box
# enter an edit summary, such as turned page into a redirect
# click on the blue "Save changes" box
== Spotting redirects ==
You can tell a page has been redirected to an article by looking under the article title.  You will see "(Redirected from <nowiki>[Page name]</nowiki>) there.  The <nowiki>[Page name]</nowiki> will be a link to page redirecting to the article.  The target of the redirect will be the article title.
[[File:How to tell a redirect.png|600px|left]]
{{clearleft}}

==Double redirects==
Double redirects are redirects that link to another redirect rather than to an actual article page.  You can find double redirects in several ways:   
# There is a [[Special:DoubleRedirects|double redirects]] tool available from [[Special:SpecialPages|Special Pages]].
# Saintapedians can also identify double redirects linking to a specific page by using the "what links here" option in the "toolbox" (below the search window).

Double redirects are created in several ways but the most common way is when a page is "Moved".   Anything that was redirecting to the page name before the move becomes a double redirect after the move.  Double redirects are a problem because while the first redirect will automatically forward the reader to the second page, the second redirect will not happen automatically, and the reader will have to click on the redirect link to get to the page with the content they are seeking.

To fix a double redirect, edit the first redirect and redirect it to the current page thus bypassing the middle redirect.  Watching for and fixing double redirects is a common task carried out for those who care about the wiki.  It is part of a broad range of tasks that is commonly referred to as [[gardening]].   Keeping the double redirect queue empty is an important part of ensuring the wiki runs smoothly as the editors continually evolve the information.

==Breaking redirects and disambiguation==
Sometimes it is necessary to alter how a redirect behaves.  Several reasons whey you might do this include:
* Editors want to create a topic page rather than have the term redirect
* Editors learn that the term means more than one thing and wish to covert the page to a "[[Disambiguation]]" page that lists the various meanings of the term.  Example: [[ARP]].  Learn more at [[Disambiguation]]. 

===Breaking the redirect===
The simplest way to break a redirect is to: 
# Search for the term and hit return.  This will redirect you to the specified page.   
# Below the title, look for "Redirected from <nowiki><page name></nowiki>" and click the page name.  That will return you to the actual redirect page.  The URL will look like what you see below. Please note the '''&redirect=no''' at the end of the URL. 
#: <pre>https://saintapedia.org/w/index.php?title=VE&redirect=no</pre> 
# Edit the page and alter it as needed.  Once the #redirect is removed at the beginning of the article, the page will no longer serve as a redirect.

=== Deleting a redirect ===
''This information comes from [[Help:Delete#Reasons for deleting a redirect]] and [[Help:Reasons for deleting a redirect]].''
{{#lsth:Help:Delete|Reasons for deleting a redirect}}

{{#lsth:Help:Reasons for deleting a redirect}}

==Related==
* [[Saintapedia:Naming conventions]]
* [[Help:Renaming]]

[[Category:Help]]
[[Category:Pages with videos]]
[[Category:Featured articles]]

* [[:Category:Redirects|Category:Redirects]]