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{{Shortcut|WP:SIGHELP|WP:FIXSIG}}
Changes made in November 2005 on the version of the [[MediaWiki]] software running Wikipedia altered the way [[WP:SIG|signatures]] work. If your signature is not working now (but was working previously), you will need to make some changes to your "[[Special:Preferences|my preferences]]" page.
==You are not using "raw signatures"==
MediaWiki makes the creation of simple, straightforward signatures relatively easy. For example, if User:Example wants a signature that displays as [[User:Example|Example]], he would simply have to enter <code>Example</code> in the Signature field in [[Special:Preferences|my preferences]]. The software automatically places <code><nowiki>[[User:Example|</nowiki></code> in front of and <code>]]</code> behind the entry, to form <code><nowiki>[[User:Example|Example]]</nowiki></code>; this escapes as [[User:Example|Example]]. [[WP:HEP#Wiki_markup|Wiki markup]] and [[HTML element|HTML markup]] ''do not'' function in the Signature field, ''unless'' the <code>Treat the above as wiki markup.</code> option is checked in [[Special:Preferences|preferences]].
For example, placing the following in the default Signature field
:<code><nowiki>Example]] | [[User talk:Example|talk]]</nowiki></code>
will result in a signature that looks like
:[[User:Example|Example]] | [[User_talk:Example|Talk]]
instead of
:[[User:Example|Example]] | [[User talk:Example|Talk]]
This is because Wiki markup (and HTML markup) are now escaped as HTML entities when placed in the default Signature field, e.g. <code>&#91;</code> instead of <code><nowiki>[</nowiki></code>. If you would like a signature that requires markup within the Signature field, please check the <code>Sign my name exactly as shown</code> option and enter the ''full'' signature string into the field. For instance, to produce the signature
:[[User:Example|Example]] | [[User talk:Example|Talk]]
place
:<code><nowiki>[[User:Example|Example]] | [[User talk:Example|Talk]]</nowiki></code>
within the Nickname field and check <code>Sign my name exactly as shown</code>.
==You are using "raw signatures"==
If you have been using "raw signatures" all along but find that your signature is now not working, you may find the following message displayed in your [[Special:Preferences|preferences]]:
:<span style="color:red;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:larger;">Invalid raw signature; check HTML tags.</span>
This means you are using invalid markup on your signature. Some possible causes with their corresponding solutions:
;Unclosed tags :If you are opening a tag without the corresponding closing tag (for instance:<br /> <code><nowiki>[[User:Example|<span style="color:white">Example]]</nowiki></code>), you should close the tag (for instance: <code><nowiki>[[User:Example|<span style="color:white">Example</span>]]</nowiki></code>). It's also a good idea to put the tags outside the link if possible (for instance: <code><nowiki><span style="font-family: serif">[[User:Example|Example]]</span></nowiki></code>).
;Mismatched or incorrectly nested tags :If the tags are mismatched (for instance: <code><nowiki><s><u>hi</s></u></nowiki></code>), fix them (for instance: <code><nowiki><s><u>hi</u></s></nowiki></code>).
;Unquoted attributes :It's also recommended to use quotes on all attributes (for instance, use <code><nowiki><span style="color:white"></span></nowiki></code> instead of<br /> <code><nowiki><span style=color:white></span></nowiki></code>).
;Unclosed entities :If you have a [[HTML entity]] which is lacking the final <code>;</code>, you need to add it; if you have a bare <code>&</code>, it must be replaced by <code>&amp;</code> (a bare <code>&</code> is always a mistake in either HTML or wikicode).
;Unescaped special characters :If you are using one of <code>&</code>, <code><</code>, or <code>></code>, and want it shown as text, it must be escaped as <code>&amp;</code>, <code>&lt;</code>, or <code>&gt;</code>, respectively.
* Do not use a table. A table causes the signature to display on more than one line. Use span instead.
==Wikilink behavior==
Remember that ''all'' wikilinks show up as [[Wp:How to fix your signature|bold black text]] on the page they link to, so if you are testing your signature on your userpage/talk page and the user/talk part of it doesn't show up as a link, that may be why.
==A note on long signatures==
The markup for your signature is visible in the edit window; if it is too long, it makes editing the page harder. Try to keep the markup length below about one line of text. Also, the signature length is, since [[2007-06-13]], restricted to 255 [[byte]]s ([[bugzilla:8458|bug #8458]], [[rev:22960|r22960]]), later changed to 255 [[codepoint|character]]s ([[bugzilla:10338|bug #10338]], [[rev:23389|r23389]]).
[[Category:Wikipedia how-to|Signature]]
[[es:Ayuda:Cómo arreglar mi firma]]
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