Forum:How do you convert an existing page to use a template/layout?

After some experimentation with a page format on a couple of articles on my wiki, I decided on a layout format. I had put it off because I figured I could convert any manually formatted pages to use the official layout later.

However: 1. I can't find any function to switch an existing page to an official layout. (Am I just missing it?) 2. I thought I'd get clever and rename the original page to something else and then create a new page in its place with the layout template, but it gives an error that a page with that name already exists but is in a deleted state, but no option to overwrite it. (Oddly, when I re-renamed the original one, I got a similar error, but it *did* have an option to overwrite, thankfully.)

Help?

Mussels 15:30, September 1, 2011 (UTC)


 * Can you link the wiki you tried this on?


 * Sure, here's the specific page:
 * http://dicesoccer.wikia.com/wiki/Ray_Beeze




 * Too many bugs for me to do anything helpful.
 * I went to the page, hit edit, hit preview - nothing happens.
 * I change text, hit preview - nothing happens.
 * The only way to get the preview is to change the image to something else but since the preview that comes up is in a pop up window that is almost useless.
 * While looking at the page, the top link goes to Players; while looking at the preview, the top link goes to Category:Players.
 * The problems you describe are probably related to this crap - the page that is shown is not the same page the operation is done on or something like that.


 * As far as I've seen, no one has ever used the feature you are using (the layouts thing); as far as I've seen, everyone says to stay away from them.
 * If no one replies to this with help, don't take it personally, it's just that no one has experience with that pile of rubbish called the layout thingy. If that is the case then your only option is to create pages the correct way and then delete the spawn of the devil layout thing.
 * Good luck either way.
 * 19:10, September 2, 2011 (UTC)