Wikipedia:Complete diff and link guide

How to put diffs and links into your text

1. The best way is using {{Diff2}}. For instance, {{Diff2|512088043|example edit}} gives example edit.
2. Diffs and links will work if they're simply pasted into your text like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deep_End_Live!&diff=prev&oldid=512088043.

   Or you can make them neater by putting single (not double) square brackets round them. Typing this: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deep_End_Live!&diff=prev&oldid=512088043] will give a note like this:[1].

   Or you can make them elegant by wrapping them into a word in your text. Typing this: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deep_End_Live!&diff=prev&oldid=512088043 example edit] will give example edit link. Notice the space between the link and the wrapper word.

3. Or you can use {{Diff}}: {{Diff|Deep End Live!|prev|512088043|example edit}}, which gives example edit. The template's documentation gives examples of the various formats available.

When using URLs (and not the two templates) the http:// must be used. However, the page name after the "title=" part only serves to make the URL more readable - it can be left out (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=191637801), or even manipulated without affecting the target of the link. (For example, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Good&oldid=191637801 actually points to a version of the article Evil.) This is the reason why {{Diff2}} works, and has occasionally been abused to deceive casual readers.

The {{fullurl:PAGE_TITLE|other=URL parts&go=here}} syntax expands to a http:// link and can be used in almost all cases that a http:// link can be used, but is shorter and will not inadvertently bounce users between the two servers.

Also, be aware that diff links can also be created between non-consecutive versions (see Help:Page history). Thus, a diff link might show the changes from several users at once, but only one of them will displayed on the right hand side. It is even possible to create diff links which compare versions of different pages. Example: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phillips,_Nebraska&diff=179085783&oldid=179088483 compares a version of Phillips, Nebraska with a version of Hordville, Nebraska. This can be used to highlight copy and paste actions. Another possible use is to create a "diff" for a page creation by comparing to a blank version of another page. Example: The creation //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barack_Obama&oldid=2814496 can be compared to the blank //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:How_to_edit_a_page&oldid=44 by inserting =44&diff after oldid in the creation url: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barack_Obama&oldid=44&diff=2814496.

How to display only the diff

To the URL of the diff, append &diffonly=1

• a regular diff, showing the change and the resulting version of the page

• only the diff, without showing the page

See also

• Help:Page history
• Help:URL
• User:Snottywong/diffconverter
• Article Blamer, a tool that allows to find a diff (an edit) that introduced a specific text into a page.
• Meta:Help:Diff#Diff link (can be used to add a diff link in the edit summary)
• {{diff}}, the Diff link template