Help:Moving a page

Shortcut H:MOVE

Moving (renaming) a page means giving it another name. On Bulbapedia, a page can usually be renamed if the already existing title is incorrect or needs to be changed. A page may also be moved to another namespace without changing the base title — for example, a userspace draft may be moved to mainspace. Autoconfirmed rights are required for page moving, but before moving a page, you should propose the move on the associated talk page and wait for consensus to be established.

Proposing a move

Note that all of these steps must be completed properly before the page is moved.

• To propose a page move, add the {{move}} template to the top of the page (above any Infobox, but below any PrevNext templates) and save. The page will automatically be added to Category:Candidates for moving.
• On the page's talk page, create a new section, and explain why you think the page should be moved.
• Allow time for other users to state their opinion on the talk page. Optionally, you can leave a message for users that could be affected by the move on their talk page, alerting them to the proposal.
• Once a clear consensus agreeing with the move is established, remove the {{move}} template, and follow the instructions below.
• If the consensus is unclear, or you don't receive enough responses within a reasonable time frame, contact a member of staff.

Moving the page

Pages are moved 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).

When the move operation leaves behind a redirect, it should not result in any broken links except the possibility of double redirects – that is, pages redirecting to "A" which becomes a redirect itself. 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 toolbox (at bottom of the sidebar) is useful when doing this.

Undo a move

As with almost all wiki editing, a move operation can be reversed. 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 admin privileges (see Help:Deleting pages).

Moving a page without creating a redirect

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.

Moving subpages

Users with the move-subpages user right can optionally move subpages of a page (up to 100), 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.

See also

• mw:Help:Moving a page
• Category:Candidates for moving

Help