Wiki Basics: How to Get Started Contributing to the CTSpedia

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Register and Log In

To begin contributing, register, allow 24 hours to be given access, and then log in with your Wiki Name. This will allow you to add and contribute content with a signature to track your changes.

NOTE: You can look at any of the materials without logging in to the CTSpedia. Log in is only needed to contribute to the site.

To Log in, click on the "Log in" link in the upper left hand corner of the Wiki page. Note that you must type your name in in the WikiWord (uppercase, lowercase, uppercase) format to properly log in.

Add to or Revise a Page

There are two different ways to add to or revise a page.

Using the WYSIWYG Editor
By clicking on the Edit button at the top right corner or bottom left menu bar of any page, you will open a "WYSIWYG" editing window (What You See Is What You Get). This functions much like a simple word processing program. It allows you to change text styles, headings, fonts, and colors as well as insert links, images, and other media. With the WYSIWYG editor, there is no need to use Wiki mark-up language; this editor also allows you to see your revisions as you work, much as they will appear once published.

1) Find the page you want to add to or revise.

2) Click "Edit" in the upper right corner or bottom left of the page.

3) The page will then be displayed in a WYSIWYG editor box which will allow you to manipulate the text and content of the page.

4) After making changes, make sure to hit "Save" to protect and publish your changes.

Using "Raw Edit" & Wiki Mark-up Language
You may also edit using the simple coding language known as Wiki Mark-up Language. To do this, click on the Raw Edit option at the bottom of any page. Unlike the more user-friendly WYSIWYG editor, the raw editor shows no formatting or visual presentation, only plain text and the page's underlying code.

The raw editing window gives you easier access to some of Wiki's more advanced functionality. In fact, if you try to edit a page that already includes some advanced functionality, you may be forced to use the Raw editing window. For that reason, it is a good idea for all Wiki users to have some familiarity with the basics of Wiki's editing shorthand and other raw edit formatting rules.

Watch out for copying & pasting

In either editing environment, do not pull (paste) text directly from a word processing document such as MS Word. The text may contain hidden characters that will likely disrupt the appearance of the article. It is best to first strip away any formatting in the source content by copying and pasting it into a simple text editor such as Notepad. Then copy/paste from Notepad into the Wiki editing window. From there you can add any formatting you need. It may seem like an extra step but it is a sure way of having clean text.

Always remember to Save!

Create a New Page/Topic Article Within an Open Page

1. First, decide where you want to create the link for the new page.

2. Click "Edit" on the page you want to create the link.

3. In the body of the page where you want the link to be located, type in the name of the link for the brand new page in the WikiWord format. A wiki word is at least a three letter combination with an 'Uppercase,Lowercase,Uppercase' format. This allows the Wiki page to recognize this as wiki word for a new topic page.

4. Click 'Save'

5. Once saved, the WikiWord will appear with a '?' mark next to it. Click on the '?' mark to generate the link and create the new page. The new page will appear with the editing window for you to create new content. Once you have added content, click 'Save' and the link will be created.

Create Headings and Other Formatting

To format headings within an article, highlight the text you would like to format and use the drop down menu in the upper left hand corner of the wysiwyg editor that says "Paragraph" to change the format.

Paragraph: Serves as the paragraph or unformatted text.

Heading 1: Serves as the title heading.

Heading 2: Serves as the sub-title heading.

Each successive Heading will serve as a lower level title to help you organize your content.

Create a Table of Contents

To create a table of contents, type %TOC% at the top of the page and the Wiki will generate a table of contents using the Headings in the article as content. If you want to exclude a heading from the Table of Contents, edit the page using the "Raw Edit" window. Put a double set of exclamation marks (!!) after the formatting marks for that level (---+), which precedes the heading text, e.g. ---+!! Heading 1.

Deleting Topics

To delete a topic, click on the "more topic actions" link on the page you are trying to delete ( note: you have to be on the page you want to delete, not just the parent or higher level topic). In the "More Topic Actions" menu, click on "Delete" topic and follow the directions to move the topic into the "Trash" web.

To turn a phrase or word within the text of an article into a link

1. Go to WYSIWYG editor by clicking on "Edit"

2. Select (highlight) the text and click on the link icon (looks like a chain link)

3. Enter the Wiki name or the URL of the page.

4. Click "Insert" to insert the link.

5. Admire new link.

You can also create a link using Wiki text shorthand just by typing in the Wiki word name of the page (i.e. OldOldWebHome)

Just type in a new Wiki word in to the text of an existing page; Wiki recognizes this as a link to a page yet to be created and puts a blue question mark at the end. Click on that question mark to create the page. Or, if you want the link to appear as a word or phrase that looks more like standard English (not a Wiki word), write it this way:TextFormattingRules to get the proper syntax.

To create a link, just type in a new WikiWord and hit "Save." After saving, you'll notice a "?" mark after the WikiWord in the article's published view. Click on the "?" mark to generate the link to the new page.

Also, if you didn't want to create a link with a WikiWord, you can disable the WikiWord by typing "!" directly before the word.

Rename URL link on page: To see the renamed link on the page open with double brackets, add URL, do a single close, do a single open, put in new name, and close with double brackets: CTSpedia Web Home - is written like this 
[[[https://www.ctspedia.org/CTSpedia/WebHome][CTSpedia Web Home]]
.

Get Used to the Process

If you would like to try out the process and create your own articles without actually publishing it, you can use the Sandbox web. The Sanbox web is an isolated environment of the Wiki where a new user can edit pages, create links, destroy webs and not impact the overall site.

Add advanced functions

Comment boxes and other materials can be added through the use of plug-in modules. See the list of available plug-ins for this wiki.

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