Working with Wikis
From Harambee Wiki
Contents |
Wiki Editing Basics
Logging In
On the first page of a wiki you may be asked to log in with a password. This is done sometimes to limit the people who are allowed to edit the text, as well as limiting the amount of people who can read the text. But sometimes a wiki is completely open (public) to everyone, both to edit and read.
To login, click on the top right hand link 'log in'. If you don't recall your password, use the 'E-mail password' feature and it will be sent to you.
Start Editing
To start editing a page, click on the 'edit' link at the top of the page to have the whole page as editable text or the 'edit' link in one of the sections to just have the respective section as editable text. This will bring you to the edit page: a page with a text box containing the wikitext: the editable source code from which the server produces the webpage.
Preview before Saving
When you have finished editing, press preview to see how your changes will look -- before you make them permanent. Repeat the edit/preview process until you are satisfied, then click "Save" and your changes will be immediately applied to the page.
Remember to save your edits regularly. If you lose your internet connection you can lose all your unsaved work!
Starting New Pages
To start a new page, simply create an internal link to the page. For example, typing [[New Page]] results in New Page. The link will appear in red, meaning it's a new page which doesn't yet exist. Clicking on the red link will open the page for adding of content.
Wiki Editing Tips Table
Wikis are quick to edit, but they do require a simple syntax for formatting. Use the formatting buttons (found at the top of the editing window) while editing the document for basic formatting. See below for more advanced formatting options.
| Description | What You Type | What it Looks Like |
| bold | '''Bold text''' | Bold text |
| italic | ''Italic text'' | Italic text |
| single newlines | single newlines have no effect | single newlines have no effect |
| double newlines | double newlines have effect | double newlines have effect |
| Sections (large) | ==Section Header Level 2== | [edit] Section Header Level 2 |
| Sections (medium) | ===Section Header Level 3=== | [edit] Section Header Level 3 |
| Sections (small) | ====Section Header Level 4==== | [edit] Section Header Level 4 |
| Bulleted lists | * the goat is green * the elephant is pink * the monkey is orange |
|
| Numbered lists | # Turn right after the park. # Walk for 5 blocks. # Find the school on the left. |
|
| Links to internal pages | [[Wiki Workshop]] | Wiki Workshop |
| Links to external pages | [http://www.harambeeafrica.net Harambee] http://www.harambeeafrica.net | Harambee http://www.harambeeafrica.net |
For a full list of editing syntax, visit the official help page for this wiki platform: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Editor
Tracking the Wiki Page's History
All pages in a wiki have an associated page history, which lists all changes made to the page in reverse-chronological order. This may also be referred to as the revision history or edit history.
The page history consists of the old versions of the wikitext, as well as a record of the date and time of every edit, the username or IP address of the user who wrote it, and their edit summary. Access the page history by clicking the "history" tab at the top of the page.
Tips
- To view a specific version, click a date.
- To compare an old version with the current version, click cur.
- To compare a version with its predecessor, click last.
- To compare to specific versions, tick the right-column radio button of the newer version and the left-column radio button of the older version, and then click the "Compare selected versions" button.
Note: If the new pages edits aren't to your liking, you can 'revert' the page to any previous version.
Uploading Files
To upload a file or image:
- Click the Upload file link under the toolbox in the left-column. You will see a dialogue box.
- Click on the "Browse..." button, and select the location of the file you want to upload. Choosing a file will fill the name of that file into the text field next to the button.
- When you have selected the file, press the "Upload" button to finish the upload.
Exercise: Creating the Harambee Cookbook
Purpose: To increase your proficiency in using wikis.
Task: Contribute to the creation of a joint wiki of participants’ favourite recipes by adding your recipe to the Harambee Cookbook. Yum!!
How to add your recipe:
- Click on the Harambee Cookbook link above.
- Create a page for your recipe by typing in a simple, short name for your dish, highlighting it, then clicking on the underlined Ab button found among the list of buttons at the top of the editing box. That makes the name of your dish into a link which in turn will create a new wiki page.
- Click on the "Save page" button below the editing box.
- After the page refreshes, you will notice that the name of your recipe is a link (blue in colour). Clicking on the link will take you to an editing box where you can paste in or type up your recipe.
For some fun, please tell a little bit about the recipe like where it comes from and why you like it.
References
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:How_to_edit_a_page
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Page_history
- http://www.km4dev.org/wiki/index.php/Wiki_Tip_Page
Output
A joint wiki in the form of the Harambee Cookbook
