Introduction

A ''wiki'' is a linked set of pages which anyone can edit and expand. This freedom allows for unique expression and helps foster interesting and new ideas in an organic and very dynamic way.

If you see something you think is inaccurate or incorrect, you have the power to change it. If you see that something is incomplete, you can add more information. You can also create completely new content and tie it into the rest of the site. Likewise, others have the power to veto your changes. It is a delicate balance but one which ultimately leaves the users with the content they most want.

Never be afraid to change something or try something new!

IMPORTANT: In order to edit pages, you must first create an account. This is a very painless process and the only hurdle to contributing content.

Making an account is as easy as clicking a button and choosing an appropriate name (like BobSmith). If you would like to be able to retrieve a forgotten password, you should also enter a valid email address. That's it. After making an account you should check out the TWikiUsers page and make a homepage for yourself.

Editing

Editing a page is as simple as clicking on the "Edit" button at the top of the screen. There are, however, many possible options for markup (i.e. making the page look pretty.) For your convenience, we have made a formatting toolbar, which works very much like a toolbar in a word processor. By highlighting text and clicking one of the buttons, such as Bold, the text will be surrounded by the appropriate markup to make it appear '''bold'''. More information on editing can be found over at TWikiShorthand^?. In general, just looking at how existing pages do things (by clicking on Edit and looking at the "raw" content) should let you figure out the markup -- which is very simple! (Always make sure you "Preview" before you "Save Changes", otherwise you might end up editing a page several times)

Some pages are protected from editing by using Access control Groups.

Linking

The most important concept, though, is linking. The idea is to have all pages linked together in a logical and intuitive way. To make a link to a page, type the exact name of the page you wish to link to, surrounded by double brackets. This means to link to the page WebHome I type WebHome. It's that simple. To make a link to a page that displays differently, such as a link to WebHome that displays ''as'' Hello World! you just write Hello World!.

Also, try to be descriptive in your linking. Don't use the "click here!" phrase: "For more info check Sandbox.here^?" is bad! "Check out Sandbox.here for more info" is good! (http://www.w3.org W3.org has some tips on good link style)

To link to a page ''outside'' the wiki, you write you link like this which displays as this. Of course, you can also just write http://www.city.davis.ca.us/ or http://www.city.davis.ca.us/ if you don't want any alternative text.

New pages

To create a page, first think about where you want this page to be linked from. Say you want to create a page about your favorite food recipe. Ideally, there should be a link to this recipe in NepaliRecipes or perhaps other pages as well. You would go edit NepaliRecipes to add a link to your page -- '_even though your page hasn't been made yet_. Once you save your changes and click on the new link, you'll be given the opportunity to create the page!

TIP: If you can't think of a page to create, look over the WantedPages. It is a list of pages which have been linked but have not been created. Perfect candidates for a write-up!

If this is unclear, just view the source (by clicking on the "Raw View" link at the bottom of the page -- or if you're lazy, just by clicking "Edit") of some pages! It will become perfectly clear after a few minutes.

To create a page without making a link to it first, simply type the name of the desired page into the search box. Then you will be prompted with the option of creating the page. But remember: because you made the page without ''first'' making a link to it, it might get lost in the sea of pages. Linking is very important for this reason -- '''If you don't link your new page from existing pages, then no one will be able to find it.''' Spend some time thinking about good places where you should make a link to your new page. Using the search box is very useful for finding phrases and material where you might want to provide a link.

You should head over to Sandbox and edit it and play around!

Info Tab / Revision History

The wiki tracks all the changes made to all the pages, and this information is available at the bottom of the screen. Every edit of a page accounts for a new version, and clicking "History" at the bottom of the page allows you to see previeous versions of the page. "More topic actions" gives you different options you have for the page. Differences between selected versions can be seen by clicking the "View Difference" button in that page.

Now what?

After you've made an account, viewed the source of some pages, and played around with editing over in SandBox^?, you should go ahead and make a home page for yourself. To make a homepage, simply click on your login name at the top left of the screen. This means if your name is EkNepali (it's not), you simply make the page with the title EkNepali and fill it with whatever you want (and easy way to do this: click on your user name in the upper right hand corner).

Then, you should check out TWikiShorthand.

Tips

• Link link link! After you've made a page you should search the wiki looking for places to add links to your new page. After all, if you make a page, shouldn't you make sure everyone else can see it? Occurrences of the page name are immediately candidates for links. Beyond this, you can get creative and link relevant text accordingly.
• '''Preview!''' Always click "Preview" before you click "Save Changes" in order to make sure everything looks right, etc! Even the best of us forget this all too often.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I attach images to a page?

Click on the Attach button to the top bar for that topic. This will give you some instructions on uploading an image and putting it inside of the page. Clicking the checkbox for linking images automatically inserts the image at the bottom of that topic. You can use normal tags to include an image or use the ImagePlugin syntax.

What are the conventions for linking and naming?

Check out TWikiShorthand.

Is there a way to see a list of all the pages in the wiki?

Check out WebTopicList or click on the Index link on the left bar..

Can I see which pages link to a particular page?

Where can I find out geeky things about this site?

My image looks horrible with a border, is there a way to remove it?

How do I force a one-lined return?

How do I rename a page?

Go into "More topic Actions" and click "Rename". Links to the old name will automatically redirect to the new page.

Do you have a question?

Did you read through here, look over at GetStarted, and play with the Sandbox.Webhome ? Do you have a question? Then ask it! Go to the FAQ^? and press Edit. Just scroll to the bottom, ignore anything that's written (but leave it there), and ask your question (don't worry about anything -- just type!) Then hold tight and you'll get your question answered and help us improve!

See also. .

• TWikiShorthand- A more structured guide on how to edit.
• TWikiTutorial - A central hub for discussion about anything relating to the wiki itself

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CategoryThisWiki