Board Thread:Support Requests - Getting Technical/@comment-4191275-20180403190404/@comment-9605025-20180403230716

LawdyMissMaudy wrote: So you just edit directly to the source code? Both VisualEditor and Classic have visual options, it would be nice if others could use those to easily insert infoboxes. Do I need to create templates for each of these editors for that to work? And if I do, are they in portable format? And wouldn't they interfere with the template I've created? ... No, you just need one infobox template. However, the type of editor you are using does impact what you can do when editing the template, how the template is edited, how the template is placed/filled out, and how long you have to wait after creating the template in order to use it. Using source mode, you should be able to add the template even before your create it (obviously, though, it will give an error when the page renders). As for VisualEditor, you have to wait for the VisualEditor's template list to update.

In general, there are 4 (with a 5th in development) main types of editors currently in use by Wikia: VisualEditor, Infobox Builder, MiniEditor, and the classic editor. More on Editors MiniEditor can be thought of as a smaller and simpler version of the classic editor. Both have a visual (a.k.a. rich-text editor (RTE)) and a source mode. Under your editing preferences, you can choose which one is used by default. If you choose the RTE, both the classic editor and the MiniEditor will default to the RTE when it is available (source mode when not) and provide a button to switch to source mode. If you choose the source mode editor, both will default to the source mode without an option to switch to the RTE. The MiniEditor is used for things such as article comments, blog comments, and Forums (such as this one). The classic editor is used for everything else. To use the classic editor, append  to the URL query string.

VisualEditor is a graphical interface editor used in-place of the classic editor. If you set this as your default editor, it will be used where available. If it isn't available, the classic editor will be used (RTE if RTE is available; otherwise source mode). It provides a source mode but not an RTE mode. Because of the complexities, it is perhaps the most unstable of the editors. Things such as lists of templates take a bit of time to update (both new and deleted). It is also very susceptible to bad JavaScript so make sure any personal JS is correct both syntactically and with regards to function. To use, append  to the URL query string.

The Infobox Builder is not something you can choose in your editing preferences. It is chosen automatically by Wikia when editing a portable infobox. You may not get Infobox Builder if the template is not recognized as portable, the template is "too complex", or the editor is not supported in your given situation (ex. you are using an incompatible browser). The Infobox Builder does have its own source mode. The URL is a bit different when using Infobox Builder. Instead of appending something to the URL query string, you go to the page ; where   is replaced by the name of the template you want to edit.