Help:Moving a page
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Moving (renaming) a page means giving it another name. This is done by using the "move" tab at the top. The tab is not visible if you are not logged in. Then simply enter the new name and click "Move page". Normally you would want to leave the "Move associated talk page" option ticked.
If you move page "A" to a new title "B", this operation will do the following:
- Renames the title of page "A" as "B"
- Renames all the editing history of page "A" as of page "B" as well
- Creates a new page "A", whose content is a redirect to page "B"
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 contents of the page were built up, and who contributed what. If you move contents around by copying and pasting (not using the move feature), you do not achieve this (see also Help:Tracking changes).
Because the move operation leaves behind a redirect (see Help:Redirects), it should not result in any broken links, however you might want to hunt down pages or other redirects which link in to the redirect, and change their text to link directly to the new 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.
Contents
Proposing a move[edit]
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. You might also establish a system for labeling the page itself, with a move proposal template, to make everybody aware of your intentions.
Undo a move[edit]
As with almost 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".
The page title "B" will still be left behind, as a redirect from "B" to "A". Any user can remove the redirect and propose that the page be deleted. However the final deletion will require sysop privileges (see Help:Deleting a page).
Moving a page without creating a redirect[edit]
Users with the suppressredirect user right can optionally move a page without creating a redirect. This is particularly useful when undoing a move.
When the right is enabled, one additional check box will appear when one needs to move a page (see picture at right).
Mass renaming / moving[edit]
MediaWiki does not offer a special page with which to perform a batch operation for page moves. There may be alternatives, depending on your situation:
- Extension:Replace Text
- MoveBatch.php: a maintenance script for renaming a batch of pages.
- Manual:Pywikibot/movepages.py
Moving subpages[edit]
Users with the move-subpages user right can optionally move subpages of a page, preserving its "tree" structure. If you specify the root page you want to move in the title (by visiting Special:MovePage/Some_page), the special page displays the subpages of that root page.
