Help:Contents
From AbiWiki
The AbiWiki is really easy to use.
Contents |
Finding Content
The easiest way to use this wiki is just to click on what you want. All of the blue text can be clicked and will bring up an article about the subject you just clicked. The red text is a placeholder for a page that is not yet written. see Editing Content
The main page is often your starting point. The left hand portion is divided into Panels as described below:
Navigation Panel
This panel on the left is designed to orient you to specific starting points.
Main Page
This is usually the place to start. Typical items of interest are listed there.
Wiki portal
This is a different way to find topics of interest
Recent Changes
The latest changes to pages are listed here.
Random Page
Take a chance and read something new.
Searching
Entering a page and tapping Go will try and find the page you entered. If it is not present you will be offered a chance to create it. Note that pages are case sensitive except for the first character. The page may exist in a different case or with different spacing. The entry will also be shown as if you searched for it so look in the search results to be sure the page does not exist.
Clicking search after entering text will search all of the pages for the data. It is not case sensitive. A space between words in a search argument have an implied 'or' between the words. To force a space use quotes around the phrase.
To specify types of pages to search tap the search button before entering any text. A new page will allow a more customized search. (This data is also at the bottom of all searches if you need to customize or refine the search after the original search.)
Note that the display may not show all of the hits on a page. To search a page, bring up the page and then use CTRL-F to bring up a page search form. Fill in the word you want to search for. This is especially important for pages that have lists of sites.
A second way to search for text on a page is to simply start typing while viewing a page. The page will be searched dynamically as you type, highlighting the found letter sequence or word. To reach the next instance of the word use the F3 key on a PC.
Toolbox
The toolbox panel offers a different way to traverse the wiki by providing other pages that are related in some way to the page you are viewing.
If you see the words RSS or ATOM you can click on the link to set up a RSS feed for the site on that topic. If you have an RSS reader attached to your web browser this may be enough to see the page. If not then you may need to capture the link and paste it into your RSS reader. After establishing a subscription you can easily revisit these pages to see what has changed. Note that the page displayed will be a wiki page and may look strange in your viewer if it does not support wiki syntax but you can also tap the link to view the page directly.
For portable devices or printing of a page you will likely want to use the printable version option on the toolbox. It removes the left column from the page and then displays it.
Categories
Categories are available for some topics. If you see a category then you can click on it (even if it is red) to bring up all the topics in that category. Click a topic to go to the page. In some cases a Category may also be listed in some other category. These sub-categories will be listed separately but can be clicked like any other topic.
All of the categories have been set up in the Wiki Portal to provide an alternate way to view topics of interest. Tap the category title to view all of them. Clicking the word category on any page that includes it will also bring up a list of all the category items.
Images
All of the images are clickable. This will bring up and image page that may include a larger version of the image and may include information about the image itself. In some cases the image is even bigger than the image page will display. You can continue to click to bring up an even larger image if you wish.
Tables
Some tables are sortable. If you see a symbol that looks like two arrow heads facing each other in a box you can click on it to sort the table by that entry.
Editing Content
Basic wiki markup is so easy that you have no excuse not to use it. It's pretty similar to what you use in text-only email.
There is an edit button at the top of the page that can be used to edit it. Many pages also have an edit button on the right hand side of a section. Clicking this will permit editing that section. There is a Tool bar at the top of the edit window to help with some of the commands. Use the Cheat sheet for a quick overview of formatting markup. If you need help after starting the edit there is an "editing help" button at the bottom of the screen that will open in a different tab or window.
Abisource suggests that you create a login when you want to add content. This will make it easier to keep track of the changes and contact you if there is a question.
Making a new page
Any one of the following methods can be used to create a new page:
- Browse to a non-existent page, e.g. http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/My_New_Page . The wiki will let you create a new page As If By Magic (TM).
- Edit an existing page to add a link [[My New Page]]. Save the edited page and click on the new link.
- Search for a Page by entering the page and tapping go. You will be offered a chance to create the page.
Some characters should not be used within titles. These include +, &, and /. / is reserved for multi-language features. The others simply do not work. They are used internally to support some features of the wiki.
Paragraph formatting
- Single newlines are ignored.
- Blank lines start a new paragraph.
- Lines that start with one or more spaces are displayed
like this
Basic links
- Use brackets to link to other wiki pages [[Some Random Page]]
- External URLs are linked automatically: http://www.google.com
- Use | to provide a different link name and display name [[Link name|Display name]]
Redirect
It is a good idea to redirect alternate spellings and abbreviations that people are likely to use. Build a page with the alternate name to point to the original name containing the data. It should contain one line on it like this:
- #REDIRECT [[Original name]]
Lists
- Lines beginning with one or more * characters are unnumbered lists
- Use # characters for numbered lists.
- Go deeper with more #'s or *'s
Sections
- Text like ==A Section== is a section heading. They automatically appear in the Contents box.
- Use more = characters for subsections.
Category
Collecting pages into categories makes it easier to find related items.
- [[category:Help]]
Multiple lines may be used. Place at the bottom of the file.
Lousy Memory?
- If this is too hard to remember, just use the pretty buttons at the top of the editing box.
- The "Editing help" link at the bottom of the editing page tells of more options.
Discussion Pages
The top tabs include a discussion tab that can be used to start a discussion. Discussion pages are used to talk about the page. The + can add to a discussion without having to edit it. Always start or end your entry with ~~~~ which will substitute your user name (or click on the signature box above the edit window).
More Help
Editing help - more help on editing content
