TechWiki - User contributions [en]

TechWiki talk:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T20:19:58Z

Gpaigem: /* E-mail preferences */

== Merging editing tutorial with guidelines ==
I realize some of the content here overlaps with the instruction in [[LDSTech:Guidelines]]. Eventually I'd like to merge these two pages. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 22:23, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

: I don't necessarily agree that merging these is the right direction. I think there is some content on the [[LDSTech:Guidelines]] page that belongs here, but I see three mostly distinct topics:
:* Rules to follow (capitalization, introductions, headings, etc.)
:* A wikitext tutorial
:* Special templates and other helps unique to LDSTech
: Currently the Guidelines page covers the first and third points. This new editing tutorial covers a bit of the first point, but mostly covers the second. Our position in the past has been to point people to the MediaWiki help pages for wikitext help (such as in [[Help:Contents]]. I guess we can try to duplicate that, but I don't see what's wrong with a link.
: I'm curious where this came from. The capitalized headings makes me think it was lifted from some other source, but the errors make me wonder....
: -- 22:56, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
::I forgot about the capitalized headings. I'll fix that. I wrote this content a couple of years ago on the [http://tech.lds.org/ldshelp/index.php5/Integrated_Catalog:_Editing_this_Wiki ldshelp wiki]. That wiki has been more or less discontinued except for the Integrated Catalog content, which is still being used by the Church Library people.
::I know we can copy in help files from Mediawiki that are in the public domain. I wouldn't mind doing that, if you want. We can also just point people to links on other sites, but those articles tend to be comprehensive and perhaps intimidating. I added this page to accompany the simple mediawiki presentation I'm giving on Friday at the LDSTech Conference. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 23:00, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
:Just demonstrating.--[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 16:20, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

== E-mail preferences ==
In the 'Setting your e-mail preferences' section, you give an example of your user page to teach about emailing another user, but the option to email you isn't in the footer. This might cause some confusion. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:00, 2 April 2012

: The whole point of that section is that people need to set their e-mail preferences so that the option to e-mail them will appear in the Toolbox. It does appear in [[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson's user page]], so I don't think that was particularly confusing. But I did add another clause to make it clear that if users don't set their preferences properly, the option for "E-mail this user" won't even appear in the Toolbox, and that is why you won't be able to send them e-mail. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

: I don't see an 'Email this user' option in the footer of [[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson's user page]]. The wiki states "scroll to the Toolbox section of the footer and click E-mail this user." I don't see 'Email this user' whether or not I'm logged in. I see an email address in the contact information manually added on the user page, but not in the footer. Maybe I'm not the only one? --[[User:gpaigem]] 14:09, 3 April 2012

: Figured out the miscommunication. A user will only see the 'Email this user' option on someone else's user page if they have also added their email to My Preferences. That wasn't really clear; the wiki sounds like a user would be able to email others depending on if ''others'' have email addresses added, but it matters that ''the user'' has one added as well. If that makes sense. --[[User:gpaigem]] 14:18, 3 April 2012

== Creating pages ==
I can imagine the 'Creating pages' exercise to get confusing in that they aren't supposed to really create a page. Also the 'Deleting pages' exercise. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

: Some confusion is possible, but we don't want people creating a bunch of pointless pages that they are powerless to remove. That would just create a lot of work for administrators to clean up. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

== Special pages ==
I don't really understand Special Pages. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

: Special Pages do all sorts of, well, '''special''' things. They do such a wide variety of things that it's difficult to give a simple definition. But you can find a pretty good explanation, and a brief description of the special pages on Meta at [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Special_page Help:Special page]. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

TechWiki talk:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T20:18:53Z

Gpaigem: more explanation

== Merging editing tutorial with guidelines ==
I realize some of the content here overlaps with the instruction in [[LDSTech:Guidelines]]. Eventually I'd like to merge these two pages. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 22:23, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

: I don't necessarily agree that merging these is the right direction. I think there is some content on the [[LDSTech:Guidelines]] page that belongs here, but I see three mostly distinct topics:
:* Rules to follow (capitalization, introductions, headings, etc.)
:* A wikitext tutorial
:* Special templates and other helps unique to LDSTech
: Currently the Guidelines page covers the first and third points. This new editing tutorial covers a bit of the first point, but mostly covers the second. Our position in the past has been to point people to the MediaWiki help pages for wikitext help (such as in [[Help:Contents]]. I guess we can try to duplicate that, but I don't see what's wrong with a link.
: I'm curious where this came from. The capitalized headings makes me think it was lifted from some other source, but the errors make me wonder....
: -- 22:56, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
::I forgot about the capitalized headings. I'll fix that. I wrote this content a couple of years ago on the [http://tech.lds.org/ldshelp/index.php5/Integrated_Catalog:_Editing_this_Wiki ldshelp wiki]. That wiki has been more or less discontinued except for the Integrated Catalog content, which is still being used by the Church Library people.
::I know we can copy in help files from Mediawiki that are in the public domain. I wouldn't mind doing that, if you want. We can also just point people to links on other sites, but those articles tend to be comprehensive and perhaps intimidating. I added this page to accompany the simple mediawiki presentation I'm giving on Friday at the LDSTech Conference. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 23:00, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
:Just demonstrating.--[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 16:20, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

== E-mail preferences ==
In the 'Setting your e-mail preferences' section, you give an example of your user page to teach about emailing another user, but the option to email you isn't in the footer. This might cause some confusion. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:00, 2 April 2012

: The whole point of that section is that people need to set their e-mail preferences so that the option to e-mail them will appear in the Toolbox. It does appear in [[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson's user page]], so I don't think that was particularly confusing. But I did add another clause to make it clear that if users don't set their preferences properly, the option for "E-mail this user" won't even appear in the Toolbox, and that is why you won't be able to send them e-mail. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

: I don't see an 'Email this user' option in the footer of [[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson's user page]]. The wiki states "scroll to the Toolbox section of the footer and click E-mail this user." I don't see 'Email this user' whether or not I'm logged in. I see an email address in the contact information manually added on the user page, but not in the footer. Maybe I'm not the only one? --[[User:gpaigem]] 14:09, 3 April 2012

: Figured out the miscommunication. A user will only see the 'Email this user' option on someone else's user page if they have also added an email to their Preferences. That wasn't really clear; the wiki sounds like a user would be able to email others depending on if ''they'' have an email address added, but it matters that ''the user'' has one added as well. --[[User:gpaigem]] 14:18, 3 April 2012

== Creating pages ==
I can imagine the 'Creating pages' exercise to get confusing in that they aren't supposed to really create a page. Also the 'Deleting pages' exercise. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

: Some confusion is possible, but we don't want people creating a bunch of pointless pages that they are powerless to remove. That would just create a lot of work for administrators to clean up. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

== Special pages ==
I don't really understand Special Pages. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

: Special Pages do all sorts of, well, '''special''' things. They do such a wide variety of things that it's difficult to give a simple definition. But you can find a pretty good explanation, and a brief description of the special pages on Meta at [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Special_page Help:Special page]. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

TechWiki talk:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T20:12:47Z

Gpaigem: more explanation

== Merging editing tutorial with guidelines ==
I realize some of the content here overlaps with the instruction in [[LDSTech:Guidelines]]. Eventually I'd like to merge these two pages. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 22:23, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

: I don't necessarily agree that merging these is the right direction. I think there is some content on the [[LDSTech:Guidelines]] page that belongs here, but I see three mostly distinct topics:
:* Rules to follow (capitalization, introductions, headings, etc.)
:* A wikitext tutorial
:* Special templates and other helps unique to LDSTech
: Currently the Guidelines page covers the first and third points. This new editing tutorial covers a bit of the first point, but mostly covers the second. Our position in the past has been to point people to the MediaWiki help pages for wikitext help (such as in [[Help:Contents]]. I guess we can try to duplicate that, but I don't see what's wrong with a link.
: I'm curious where this came from. The capitalized headings makes me think it was lifted from some other source, but the errors make me wonder....
: -- 22:56, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
::I forgot about the capitalized headings. I'll fix that. I wrote this content a couple of years ago on the [http://tech.lds.org/ldshelp/index.php5/Integrated_Catalog:_Editing_this_Wiki ldshelp wiki]. That wiki has been more or less discontinued except for the Integrated Catalog content, which is still being used by the Church Library people.
::I know we can copy in help files from Mediawiki that are in the public domain. I wouldn't mind doing that, if you want. We can also just point people to links on other sites, but those articles tend to be comprehensive and perhaps intimidating. I added this page to accompany the simple mediawiki presentation I'm giving on Friday at the LDSTech Conference. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 23:00, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
:Just demonstrating.--[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 16:20, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

== E-mail preferences ==
In the 'Setting your e-mail preferences' section, you give an example of your user page to teach about emailing another user, but the option to email you isn't in the footer. This might cause some confusion. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:00, 2 April 2012

: The whole point of that section is that people need to set their e-mail preferences so that the option to e-mail them will appear in the Toolbox. It does appear in [[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson's user page]], so I don't think that was particularly confusing. But I did add another clause to make it clear that if users don't set their preferences properly, the option for "E-mail this user" won't even appear in the Toolbox, and that is why you won't be able to send them e-mail. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

: I don't see an 'Email this user' option in the footer of [[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson's user page]]. The wiki states "scroll to the Toolbox section of the footer and click E-mail this user." I don't see 'Email this user' whether or not I'm logged in. I see an email address in the contact information manually added on the user page, but not in the footer. Maybe I'm not the only one? --[[User:gpaigem]] 14:09, 3 April 2012

== Creating pages ==
I can imagine the 'Creating pages' exercise to get confusing in that they aren't supposed to really create a page. Also the 'Deleting pages' exercise. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

: Some confusion is possible, but we don't want people creating a bunch of pointless pages that they are powerless to remove. That would just create a lot of work for administrators to clean up. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

== Special pages ==
I don't really understand Special Pages. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

: Special Pages do all sorts of, well, '''special''' things. They do such a wide variety of things that it's difficult to give a simple definition. But you can find a pretty good explanation, and a brief description of the special pages on Meta at [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Special_page Help:Special page]. -- [[User:Aebrown|Aebrown]] 00:51, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

TechWiki talk:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T00:23:00Z

Gpaigem:

I realize some of the content here overlaps with the instruction in [[LDSTech:Guidelines]]. Eventually I'd like to merge these two pages. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 22:23, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

: I don't necessarily agree that merging these is the right direction. I think there is some content on the [[LDSTech:Guidelines]] page that belongs here, but I see three mostly distinct topics:
:* Rules to follow (capitalization, introductions, headings, etc.)
:* A wikitext tutorial
:* Special templates and other helps unique to LDSTech
: Currently the Guidelines page covers the first and third points. This new editing tutorial covers a bit of the first point, but mostly covers the second. Our position in the past has been to point people to the MediaWiki help pages for wikitext help (such as in [[Help:Contents]]. I guess we can try to duplicate that, but I don't see what's wrong with a link.
: I'm curious where this came from. The capitalized headings makes me think it was lifted from some other source, but the errors make me wonder....
: -- 22:56, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
::I forgot about the capitalized headings. I'll fix that. I wrote this content a couple of years ago on the [http://tech.lds.org/ldshelp/index.php5/Integrated_Catalog:_Editing_this_Wiki ldshelp wiki]. That wiki has been more or less discontinued except for the Integrated Catalog content, which is still being used by the Church Library people.
::I know we can copy in help files from Mediawiki that are in the public domain. I wouldn't mind doing that, if you want. We can also just point people to links on other sites, but those articles tend to be comprehensive and perhaps intimidating. I added this page to accompany the simple mediawiki presentation I'm giving on Friday at the LDSTech Conference. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 23:00, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
:Just demonstrating.--[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 16:20, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

In the 'Setting your e-mail preferences' section, you give an example of your user page to teach about emailing another user, but the option to email you isn't in the footer. This might cause some confusion. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:00, 2 April 2012

I can imagine the 'Creating pages' exercise to get confusing in that they aren't supposed to really create a page. Also the 'Deleting pages' exercise. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

I don't really understand Special Pages. --[[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

TechWiki:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T00:21:17Z

Gpaigem: /* Adding pages to categories */

The platform for LDSTech is a wiki, powered by [http://www.mediawiki.org MediaWiki]. Anyone can view the wiki, but you need to be signed in with your [[LDS Account]] to make edits. Working with the wiki requires you to be familiar with some basic wiki syntax, but it's easy enough for practically anyone to contribute, regardless of technical skills. This page provides instructions for adding and updating content on the wiki. There are about 20 different wiki skills to master, with a brief practice exercise to demonstrate mastery of each skill.

As you learn the wiki, feel free to experiment on this [[LDSTech:Sandbox page|shared sandbox page]] or on [[Special:Mypage/Sandbox|your own sandbox page]].

==Creating your user page==
Your user page shares information about yourself that you want others to know. For example, here's a sample user page: [[User:Johnsonth]]. By reading the user page, you can find information about the person's role, interests, and contact information. This can help you evaluate the validity of the user's edits.

When you make edits to the wiki, the wiki shows your username next to edits in the version history for the page. To see the version history, click the '''History''' button above the page title. The history shows the edits and timestamps, with the users who made each of the edits. If the usernames appear in red and are underlined, it means the user hasn't yet created a user page. Without a user page, it's hard to know who is making edits to the wiki.

To create a user page:
# Log in to the wiki.
# Click your username that appears near the login section, or just this link: [[Special:MyPage]].
# Add some information about yourself.
# Click '''Create'''.

''PRACTICE: Create your user page.''

== Watching pages ==

To keep updated about edits to a specific wiki page, you can "watch" the page by clicking the '''Watch''' button above the page title. Every time someone updates the page, you will be notified by e-mail according to the e-mail address listed in in your [[Special:Preferences|preferences]].

''PRACTICE: Watch this page.''

==Setting your e-mail preferences==

If your email isn't configured correctly in your preferences, you won't receive e-mail notifications even if you are watching a page. To configure your e-mail preferences:
# Click '''My preferences''' (near the login area).
# On the '''User Profile''' tab, make sure your e-mail address is up to date.
# In the Email section of the User Profile tab, select the check boxes to set your notification preferences. (At the very least, select "E-mail me when a page on my watchlist is changed.")
# Click '''Save'''.

Note that when you have an e-mail address added to your preferences, other users can send you e-mail. When you view a user page (such as this one, [[user:Johnsonth]]), scroll to the Toolbox section of the footer and click ''E-mail this user''. If users don't have an e-mail address added to their preferences, you can't send them an e-mail.

''PRACTICE: Check your e-mail address and preferences to make sure your settings are up to date.''

== Editing articles ==

When you edit the wiki, you can choose to edit the entire page or just a section on the page. If you click the Edit button above the title, you edit the entire page. If you click the Edit button to the right of a section, you just edit that section.

When you make an edit, provide a brief summary of the edit. This allows people to quickly scan the list of edits on the [[Special:RecentChanges|Recent Changes]] to see the reasons for the edits.

To edit a page:
# Click the '''Edit''' button above the page.
# Make the changes.
# In the Summary section, briefly summarize your edits.
# To stay notified about changes to the page, select the '''Watch this page''' check box.
# Click '''Save page'''.

Because multiple people may be working on the same page, it's best to edit just the section you're updating. The chances of multiple people updating the same ''section'' at the same time are far fewer than the chances of multiple people editing the entire ''page'' at the same time. That's why each section has its own Edit section.

If multiple people edit the same content at the same time, and then click Save, the last person to save will be prompted to merge the changes in with the other updates.

''PRACTICE: Go to [[Special:MyPage|your user page]] and edit the page. Make an update and save it.''

==Creating pages==

On the wiki, you create a page by searching for it. When you search for the page, if there isn't a page with the same name, you're asked whether you want to create the page. This is the wiki's own way of prompting users to get involved in creating more wiki content. Note that the capitalization style for page names on this wiki follows the same conventions as Wikipedia: single case. Other than the first word and proper nouns, lowercase words in titles.

To create a page:
# In the search box, type the name of the page you want to create. (Note that capitalization matters. The page ''Dogs'' is different from the page ''dogs''.)
# The page you searched for appears as a red, underlined link. Click the link.
# Add some content, and then click '''Create''' to create the page.

You can also create a page by adding <nowiki>[[Page title]]</nowiki> on a page and saving it, where "Page title" is the name of the page you want to create. When you save the page, the link will appear red and underlined. Click the link to create the page.

''PRACTICE: Search for a hypothetical page name in the Search box. Note how the site prompts you to create the page it cannot find. Now go to your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], edit the page, and add a link to a page you want to create. Click the link to see how to create the page. However, do not actually create the page. This is a live site, so rather than creating unnecessary pages, make edits on your user page.

== Deleting pages==
Deleting pages requires administrative permissions. Instead of deleting a page, you "move" the page to a new location. When you click '''Move''', you can choose a new page title. By ''moving'' rather than ''deleting'' a page, any user who clicks on the link to the old page will be automatically redirected to the new page. This is because the old page will receive a "redirect" to point users to the new page.

''PRACTICE: Go to a [[Special:Random|random page]] and identify the location of the Move button. You can click the Move button above the title, but don't click the additional Move button on the Move page, which will actually move the page.''

== Making text bold or italic==

The wiki uses a special syntax for formatting. When you save a page, this syntax gets converted into HTML for the browser. To create bold or italic formatting, add ticks around a word, like this:
<pre>
'''bold formatting'''
''italic formatting''
</pre>

You can also use the B and I buttons on the editor toolbar.

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], bold and italicize a word.''

==Inserting lists==

To create a bulleted list, add an asterisk (*) at the start of each line, like this:
<pre>
* first item
* second item
* third item
</pre>

To create a numbered list, add a pound sign (#) at the start of each line, like this:
<pre>
# first item
# second item
# third item
</pre>

With numbered lists, make sure you don't have spaces between the lines, or the numbered lists will start over.

To insert a bulleted list within a numbered list, combine the two forms of syntax like this:
<pre>
# first item
#* bulleted list item 1
#* bulleted list item 2
# second item
# third item
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], create a numbered list with a bulleted sublist on one of the list items.''

== Adding notes and tips ==

You can add notes before or after a procedure by adding
<pre>{{Note|Type your note here.}}
</pre>

When you style notes this way, the note calls a template that styles the note with more formatting.

Here's what a note looks like:

{{Note|This is a sample note.}}

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a note.''

==Adding links to wiki pages==

To add a link to another page, enclose the page name in double brackets, like this:
<pre>
[[LDSTech:Manual of Style]]
</pre>

You can also change the text of the link by adding a pipe after the page name. If you want the link to just say "Manual of Style" rather than "LDSTech:Manual of Style" you would write the link like this:
<pre>
[[LDSTech:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]]
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a link to this page.''

==Adding links to external pages==

Creating an external link (to a site such as byu.edu) is similar to creating an internal link but with a couple of minor differences. Rather than two square brackets, you use single brackets. And rather than a pipe separating the link from the link's text, you just use a space. Here's an example:

<pre>
[http://byu.edu BYU's website]
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a link to your blog or other website. If you don't have a website, add a link to your favorite website.''

== Inserting subheadings ==
To create a subheading on a page, surround the subheading with two equals signs, like this:

<pre>
== Subheading title ==
</pre>

This creates an h2 style around the subheading. You can create a third level subheading by using three equals signs. Avoid using just one equals sign, which would result in an h1 subhead style.

MediaWiki automatically generates a table of contents (TOC) when you have at least four subheadings on a page. The general style on the wiki is to show the TOC after an introductory paragraph. You can force the display of the table of contents by adding <nowiki>__TOC__</nowiki> where you want it to appear. To remove the automatic display of the TOC, include <nowiki>__NOTOC__</nowiki> on the page.

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add two levels of headings.''

==Embedding images==
Adding an image requires two separate steps: first you upload the image using the '''Upload file''' link within the Toolbox menu in the sidebar. Then you embed the image by adding the following code, where sample.png is the name of the uploaded image file:

<pre>
[[Image:sample.png]]
</pre>

You can add additional parameters for the image file as well, such as a border, alignment, and caption. To add these parameters, separate each parameter with a pipe, such as this:

<pre>
[[File:sample.png|frame|none|This is my caption.]]
</pre>

Frame will add a border around the image and caption area. None specifies no alignment (type "right" or "left" to specify right or left alignment). The final text constitutes the caption.

To add an image:
# Hold down the '''Ctrl''' key and click ''Upload file'' in the footer. A new tab opens with the file upload box.
# Click '''Choose File'' and select the file you want to upload.
# After uploading the file, embed the image on a page by adding <nowiki>[[Image:sample.jpg]]</nowiki>, where sample.jpg is the name of the image.
# To add parameters to the image, add this information in pipes following the image name: <nowiki>[[Image:sample.jpg|frame|none|This is my caption.]]</nowiki> Frame adds a border around the image with a caption area. ''None'' specifies the alignment. You can also type right or left here. The final text is the caption.
# Click '''Save page.'''

{{Note|In general, keep images to about 500 px in width. Otherwise, the image will not fit with a sidebar.}}

''PRACTICE: Embed the LDSTech logo [[File:Ldstechlogo.png|LDSTech logo]] on your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. You don't need to re-upload the image file, but you can if you want to.''

== Discussing pages ==

Each page has a corresponding Discussion page that allows you to have a discussion about the page's content without actually changing or adding your comments and questions to the official page's content. To view the discussion page, click '''Discussion''' above the page title.

To indent your response to a question on the Discussion page, add a colon before your response. To double indent your response, add two colons. After your response, add four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) to sign your name. Your name links to your profile page.

''PRACTICE: View the Discussion page for this page. Now go to the Discussion page for your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. Ask a question, and then provide an indented response to the question and sign your name.''

== Adding a sidebar ==

Mediawiki allows you to create templates that you can then embed into pages. The sidebar that you see on many pages, for example on the [[Calendar]] documentation, is created with a template. Creating a sidebar template can be helpful if you have a collection of pages that you want to group together. After you create a template, you embed it on a page by adding <nowiki>{{templatename}}</nowiki> on the page, where templatename is the name of your template.

To create a sidebar, it's best to simply copy an existing sidebar (like the calendar sidebar) and make changes.

''PRACTICE: View the template for the calendar by searching for [[Template:Calendar]]. Now go to a [[Calendar]] page and click edit. Look for the <nowiki>{{calendar}}</nowiki> template code. Now embed the calendar sidebar on your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], and then remove it.''

==Adding pages to categories==
You can tag each wiki page with one or more categories. Categories group together a collection of pages that all belong to the same category. For example, the [[:Category:LDSTech Conference]] category shows all pages that are tagged with <nowiki>[[Category:LDSTech Conference]]</nowiki>.

Mediawiki's structure prompts you to nest categories into progressively more general categories until you reach the top, like an inverted tree.

The category a page is in appears near the bottom of the page.

''PRACTICE: Look at the [[LDSTech Conference]] page. Locate the category at the bottom. Trace the category up the hierarchy until you reach the top level. The navigate back down to through the categories back to the LDSTech Conference homepage.''

==Viewing Special Pages==
Mediawiki has a collection of "Special Pages" that provide content management functions for managing the content on the wiki. To view these [[Special:SpecialPages|Special Pages]], click the ''Special Pages'' link in the Toolbox section of the footer.

You can click a variety of links to look at the content. For example, you can view the longest or shortest pages, pages that are orphaned (have no links) or which have the fewest revisions. These special pages can help you locate problem points on the wiki.

''PRACTICE: Go to the Special Pages section and find the oldest page on the wiki.''

==Formatting tables==

Inserting tables on the wiki is a little more complicated than the other wiki syntax. Here's a sample table:
{|
!first column name
!second column name
|-
|first row, first column
|first row, second column
|-
|second row, first column
|second row, second column
|-
|third row, first column
|third row, second column
|-
|}

Here's what that table's wiki syntax looks like:
<pre>
{|
!first column name
!second column name
|-
|first row, first column
|first row, second column
|-
|second row, first column
|second row, second column
|-
|third row, first column
|third row, second column
|-
|}
</pre>

The <nowiki>{|</nowiki> announces the start of the table and the <nowiki>|}</nowiki> ends the table.

The <nowiki>!</nowiki> indicates column name (optional).

The <nowiki>|-</nowiki> indicates the start of a row. The | is a column in that row.

You can also add style tags to create custom styles for tables. If you're creating a new table, it's often easiest to just copy over the code from an existing table.

''PRACTICE: Copy the table that appears on the [[LDSTech Conference live session streams|live session streams]] page and embed it onto your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. Change the column names. Then remove the table.

==View user contributions==
You can view a list of all your contributions by clicking the ''My Contributions'' link near the login area. This shows you all the edits you've made to the wiki.

You can also view contribution links from other users as well. When you view someone's user page (for example, [[user:Aebrown]], click the ''User Contributions'' link in the footer. This shows a list of just that user's contributions.

When you view the page history, you can also see a list of the user's contributions by clicking the ''contribs'' link next to the username. This can give you a quick idea about the user's credibility and authority to make edits to a page.

''PRACTICE: Go to a [[Special:Random|Random]] page on the wiki and look at the history of the page. Look at the list of contributions made by the last user to edit the page. Try and see if you can e-mail the user.''

==Get involved==
Now that you've completed the wiki editing tutorial, it's time to get involved. The [[LDSTech:Community Portal]] lists current needs for the wiki. There's a link to the Community Portal in the site's footer. You can see various efforts to adding or maintaining content.

''PRACTICE: Browse the Community Portal and find a task that interests you.''

[[category:LDSTech Administration]]

TechWiki:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T00:15:58Z

Gpaigem: /* Adding a sidebar */

The platform for LDSTech is a wiki, powered by [http://www.mediawiki.org MediaWiki]. Anyone can view the wiki, but you need to be signed in with your [[LDS Account]] to make edits. Working with the wiki requires you to be familiar with some basic wiki syntax, but it's easy enough for practically anyone to contribute, regardless of technical skills. This page provides instructions for adding and updating content on the wiki. There are about 20 different wiki skills to master, with a brief practice exercise to demonstrate mastery of each skill.

As you learn the wiki, feel free to experiment on this [[LDSTech:Sandbox page|shared sandbox page]] or on [[Special:Mypage/Sandbox|your own sandbox page]].

==Creating your user page==
Your user page shares information about yourself that you want others to know. For example, here's a sample user page: [[User:Johnsonth]]. By reading the user page, you can find information about the person's role, interests, and contact information. This can help you evaluate the validity of the user's edits.

When you make edits to the wiki, the wiki shows your username next to edits in the version history for the page. To see the version history, click the '''History''' button above the page title. The history shows the edits and timestamps, with the users who made each of the edits. If the usernames appear in red and are underlined, it means the user hasn't yet created a user page. Without a user page, it's hard to know who is making edits to the wiki.

To create a user page:
# Log in to the wiki.
# Click your username that appears near the login section, or just this link: [[Special:MyPage]].
# Add some information about yourself.
# Click '''Create'''.

''PRACTICE: Create your user page.''

== Watching pages ==

To keep updated about edits to a specific wiki page, you can "watch" the page by clicking the '''Watch''' button above the page title. Every time someone updates the page, you will be notified by e-mail according to the e-mail address listed in in your [[Special:Preferences|preferences]].

''PRACTICE: Watch this page.''

==Setting your e-mail preferences==

If your email isn't configured correctly in your preferences, you won't receive e-mail notifications even if you are watching a page. To configure your e-mail preferences:
# Click '''My preferences''' (near the login area).
# On the '''User Profile''' tab, make sure your e-mail address is up to date.
# In the Email section of the User Profile tab, select the check boxes to set your notification preferences. (At the very least, select "E-mail me when a page on my watchlist is changed.")
# Click '''Save'''.

Note that when you have an e-mail address added to your preferences, other users can send you e-mail. When you view a user page (such as this one, [[user:Johnsonth]]), scroll to the Toolbox section of the footer and click ''E-mail this user''. If users don't have an e-mail address added to their preferences, you can't send them an e-mail.

''PRACTICE: Check your e-mail address and preferences to make sure your settings are up to date.''

== Editing articles ==

When you edit the wiki, you can choose to edit the entire page or just a section on the page. If you click the Edit button above the title, you edit the entire page. If you click the Edit button to the right of a section, you just edit that section.

When you make an edit, provide a brief summary of the edit. This allows people to quickly scan the list of edits on the [[Special:RecentChanges|Recent Changes]] to see the reasons for the edits.

To edit a page:
# Click the '''Edit''' button above the page.
# Make the changes.
# In the Summary section, briefly summarize your edits.
# To stay notified about changes to the page, select the '''Watch this page''' check box.
# Click '''Save page'''.

Because multiple people may be working on the same page, it's best to edit just the section you're updating. The chances of multiple people updating the same ''section'' at the same time are far fewer than the chances of multiple people editing the entire ''page'' at the same time. That's why each section has its own Edit section.

If multiple people edit the same content at the same time, and then click Save, the last person to save will be prompted to merge the changes in with the other updates.

''PRACTICE: Go to [[Special:MyPage|your user page]] and edit the page. Make an update and save it.''

==Creating pages==

On the wiki, you create a page by searching for it. When you search for the page, if there isn't a page with the same name, you're asked whether you want to create the page. This is the wiki's own way of prompting users to get involved in creating more wiki content. Note that the capitalization style for page names on this wiki follows the same conventions as Wikipedia: single case. Other than the first word and proper nouns, lowercase words in titles.

To create a page:
# In the search box, type the name of the page you want to create. (Note that capitalization matters. The page ''Dogs'' is different from the page ''dogs''.)
# The page you searched for appears as a red, underlined link. Click the link.
# Add some content, and then click '''Create''' to create the page.

You can also create a page by adding <nowiki>[[Page title]]</nowiki> on a page and saving it, where "Page title" is the name of the page you want to create. When you save the page, the link will appear red and underlined. Click the link to create the page.

''PRACTICE: Search for a hypothetical page name in the Search box. Note how the site prompts you to create the page it cannot find. Now go to your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], edit the page, and add a link to a page you want to create. Click the link to see how to create the page. However, do not actually create the page. This is a live site, so rather than creating unnecessary pages, make edits on your user page.

== Deleting pages==
Deleting pages requires administrative permissions. Instead of deleting a page, you "move" the page to a new location. When you click '''Move''', you can choose a new page title. By ''moving'' rather than ''deleting'' a page, any user who clicks on the link to the old page will be automatically redirected to the new page. This is because the old page will receive a "redirect" to point users to the new page.

''PRACTICE: Go to a [[Special:Random|random page]] and identify the location of the Move button. You can click the Move button above the title, but don't click the additional Move button on the Move page, which will actually move the page.''

== Making text bold or italic==

The wiki uses a special syntax for formatting. When you save a page, this syntax gets converted into HTML for the browser. To create bold or italic formatting, add ticks around a word, like this:
<pre>
'''bold formatting'''
''italic formatting''
</pre>

You can also use the B and I buttons on the editor toolbar.

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], bold and italicize a word.''

==Inserting lists==

To create a bulleted list, add an asterisk (*) at the start of each line, like this:
<pre>
* first item
* second item
* third item
</pre>

To create a numbered list, add a pound sign (#) at the start of each line, like this:
<pre>
# first item
# second item
# third item
</pre>

With numbered lists, make sure you don't have spaces between the lines, or the numbered lists will start over.

To insert a bulleted list within a numbered list, combine the two forms of syntax like this:
<pre>
# first item
#* bulleted list item 1
#* bulleted list item 2
# second item
# third item
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], create a numbered list with a bulleted sublist on one of the list items.''

== Adding notes and tips ==

You can add notes before or after a procedure by adding
<pre>{{Note|Type your note here.}}
</pre>

When you style notes this way, the note calls a template that styles the note with more formatting.

Here's what a note looks like:

{{Note|This is a sample note.}}

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a note.''

==Adding links to wiki pages==

To add a link to another page, enclose the page name in double brackets, like this:
<pre>
[[LDSTech:Manual of Style]]
</pre>

You can also change the text of the link by adding a pipe after the page name. If you want the link to just say "Manual of Style" rather than "LDSTech:Manual of Style" you would write the link like this:
<pre>
[[LDSTech:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]]
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a link to this page.''

==Adding links to external pages==

Creating an external link (to a site such as byu.edu) is similar to creating an internal link but with a couple of minor differences. Rather than two square brackets, you use single brackets. And rather than a pipe separating the link from the link's text, you just use a space. Here's an example:

<pre>
[http://byu.edu BYU's website]
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a link to your blog or other website. If you don't have a website, add a link to your favorite website.''

== Inserting subheadings ==
To create a subheading on a page, surround the subheading with two equals signs, like this:

<pre>
== Subheading title ==
</pre>

This creates an h2 style around the subheading. You can create a third level subheading by using three equals signs. Avoid using just one equals sign, which would result in an h1 subhead style.

MediaWiki automatically generates a table of contents (TOC) when you have at least four subheadings on a page. The general style on the wiki is to show the TOC after an introductory paragraph. You can force the display of the table of contents by adding <nowiki>__TOC__</nowiki> where you want it to appear. To remove the automatic display of the TOC, include <nowiki>__NOTOC__</nowiki> on the page.

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add two levels of headings.''

==Embedding images==
Adding an image requires two separate steps: first you upload the image using the '''Upload file''' link within the Toolbox menu in the sidebar. Then you embed the image by adding the following code, where sample.png is the name of the uploaded image file:

<pre>
[[Image:sample.png]]
</pre>

You can add additional parameters for the image file as well, such as a border, alignment, and caption. To add these parameters, separate each parameter with a pipe, such as this:

<pre>
[[File:sample.png|frame|none|This is my caption.]]
</pre>

Frame will add a border around the image and caption area. None specifies no alignment (type "right" or "left" to specify right or left alignment). The final text constitutes the caption.

To add an image:
# Hold down the '''Ctrl''' key and click ''Upload file'' in the footer. A new tab opens with the file upload box.
# Click '''Choose File'' and select the file you want to upload.
# After uploading the file, embed the image on a page by adding <nowiki>[[Image:sample.jpg]]</nowiki>, where sample.jpg is the name of the image.
# To add parameters to the image, add this information in pipes following the image name: <nowiki>[[Image:sample.jpg|frame|none|This is my caption.]]</nowiki> Frame adds a border around the image with a caption area. ''None'' specifies the alignment. You can also type right or left here. The final text is the caption.
# Click '''Save page.'''

{{Note|In general, keep images to about 500 px in width. Otherwise, the image will not fit with a sidebar.}}

''PRACTICE: Embed the LDSTech logo [[File:Ldstechlogo.png|LDSTech logo]] on your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. You don't need to re-upload the image file, but you can if you want to.''

== Discussing pages ==

Each page has a corresponding Discussion page that allows you to have a discussion about the page's content without actually changing or adding your comments and questions to the official page's content. To view the discussion page, click '''Discussion''' above the page title.

To indent your response to a question on the Discussion page, add a colon before your response. To double indent your response, add two colons. After your response, add four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) to sign your name. Your name links to your profile page.

''PRACTICE: View the Discussion page for this page. Now go to the Discussion page for your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. Ask a question, and then provide an indented response to the question and sign your name.''

== Adding a sidebar ==

Mediawiki allows you to create templates that you can then embed into pages. The sidebar that you see on many pages, for example on the [[Calendar]] documentation, is created with a template. Creating a sidebar template can be helpful if you have a collection of pages that you want to group together. After you create a template, you embed it on a page by adding <nowiki>{{templatename}}</nowiki> on the page, where templatename is the name of your template.

To create a sidebar, it's best to simply copy an existing sidebar (like the calendar sidebar) and make changes.

''PRACTICE: View the template for the calendar by searching for [[Template:Calendar]]. Now go to a [[Calendar]] page and click edit. Look for the <nowiki>{{calendar}}</nowiki> template code. Now embed the calendar sidebar on your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], and then remove it.''

==Adding pages to categories==
You can tag each wiki page with one or more categories. Categories group together a collect of pages that all belong to the same category. For example, the [[:Category:LDSTech Conference]] category shows all pages that are tagged with <nowiki>[[Category:LDSTech Conference]]</nowiki>.

Mediawiki's structure prompts you to nest categories into progressively more general categories until you reach the top, like an inverted tree.

The category a page is in appears near the bottom of the page.

''PRACTICE: Look at the [[LDSTech Conference]] page. Locate the category at the bottom. Trace the category up the hierarchy until you reach the top level. The navigate back down to through the categories back to the LDSTech Conference homepage.''

==Viewing Special Pages==
Mediawiki has a collection of "Special Pages" that provide content management functions for managing the content on the wiki. To view these [[Special:SpecialPages|Special Pages]], click the ''Special Pages'' link in the Toolbox section of the footer.

You can click a variety of links to look at the content. For example, you can view the longest or shortest pages, pages that are orphaned (have no links) or which have the fewest revisions. These special pages can help you locate problem points on the wiki.

''PRACTICE: Go to the Special Pages section and find the oldest page on the wiki.''

==Formatting tables==

Inserting tables on the wiki is a little more complicated than the other wiki syntax. Here's a sample table:
{|
!first column name
!second column name
|-
|first row, first column
|first row, second column
|-
|second row, first column
|second row, second column
|-
|third row, first column
|third row, second column
|-
|}

Here's what that table's wiki syntax looks like:
<pre>
{|
!first column name
!second column name
|-
|first row, first column
|first row, second column
|-
|second row, first column
|second row, second column
|-
|third row, first column
|third row, second column
|-
|}
</pre>

The <nowiki>{|</nowiki> announces the start of the table and the <nowiki>|}</nowiki> ends the table.

The <nowiki>!</nowiki> indicates column name (optional).

The <nowiki>|-</nowiki> indicates the start of a row. The | is a column in that row.

You can also add style tags to create custom styles for tables. If you're creating a new table, it's often easiest to just copy over the code from an existing table.

''PRACTICE: Copy the table that appears on the [[LDSTech Conference live session streams|live session streams]] page and embed it onto your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. Change the column names. Then remove the table.

==View user contributions==
You can view a list of all your contributions by clicking the ''My Contributions'' link near the login area. This shows you all the edits you've made to the wiki.

You can also view contribution links from other users as well. When you view someone's user page (for example, [[user:Aebrown]], click the ''User Contributions'' link in the footer. This shows a list of just that user's contributions.

When you view the page history, you can also see a list of the user's contributions by clicking the ''contribs'' link next to the username. This can give you a quick idea about the user's credibility and authority to make edits to a page.

''PRACTICE: Go to a [[Special:Random|Random]] page on the wiki and look at the history of the page. Look at the list of contributions made by the last user to edit the page. Try and see if you can e-mail the user.''

==Get involved==
Now that you've completed the wiki editing tutorial, it's time to get involved. The [[LDSTech:Community Portal]] lists current needs for the wiki. There's a link to the Community Portal in the site's footer. You can see various efforts to adding or maintaining content.

''PRACTICE: Browse the Community Portal and find a task that interests you.''

[[category:LDSTech Administration]]

TechWiki talk:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T00:08:46Z

Gpaigem:

TechWiki talk:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T00:08:28Z

Gpaigem:

I realize some of the content here overlaps with the instruction in [[LDSTech:Guidelines]]. Eventually I'd like to merge these two pages. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 22:23, 26 March 2012 (UTC)

: I don't necessarily agree that merging these is the right direction. I think there is some content on the [[LDSTech:Guidelines]] page that belongs here, but I see three mostly distinct topics:
:* Rules to follow (capitalization, introductions, headings, etc.)
:* A wikitext tutorial
:* Special templates and other helps unique to LDSTech
: Currently the Guidelines page covers the first and third points. This new editing tutorial covers a bit of the first point, but mostly covers the second. Our position in the past has been to point people to the MediaWiki help pages for wikitext help (such as in [[Help:Contents]]. I guess we can try to duplicate that, but I don't see what's wrong with a link.
: I'm curious where this came from. The capitalized headings makes me think it was lifted from some other source, but the errors make me wonder....
: -- 22:56, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
::I forgot about the capitalized headings. I'll fix that. I wrote this content a couple of years ago on the [http://tech.lds.org/ldshelp/index.php5/Integrated_Catalog:_Editing_this_Wiki ldshelp wiki]. That wiki has been more or less discontinued except for the Integrated Catalog content, which is still being used by the Church Library people.
::I know we can copy in help files from Mediawiki that are in the public domain. I wouldn't mind doing that, if you want. We can also just point people to links on other sites, but those articles tend to be comprehensive and perhaps intimidating. I added this page to accompany the simple mediawiki presentation I'm giving on Friday at the LDSTech Conference. --[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 23:00, 26 March 2012 (UTC)
:Just demonstrating.--[[User:Johnsonth|Tom Johnson]] 16:20, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

In the 'Setting your e-mail preferences' section, you give an example of your user page to teach about emailing another user, but the option to email you isn't in the footer. This might cause some confusion. -- [[User:gpaigem]] 18:00, 2 April 2012

I can imagine the 'Creating pages' exercise to get confusing in that they aren't supposed to really create a page. Also the 'Deleting pages' exercise. -- [[User:gpaigem]] 18:10, 2 April 2012

TechWiki talk:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-03T00:03:56Z

Gpaigem:

TechWiki:Wiki editing tutorial

2012-04-02T23:59:30Z

Gpaigem: /* Editing articles */

The platform for LDSTech is a wiki, powered by [http://www.mediawiki.org MediaWiki]. Anyone can view the wiki, but you need to be signed in with your [[LDS Account]] to make edits. Working with the wiki requires you to be familiar with some basic wiki syntax, but it's easy enough for practically anyone to contribute, regardless of technical skills. This page provides instructions for adding and updating content on the wiki. There are about 20 different wiki skills to master, with a brief practice exercise to demonstrate mastery of each skill.

As you learn the wiki, feel free to experiment on this [[LDSTech:Sandbox page|shared sandbox page]] or on [[Special:Mypage/Sandbox|your own sandbox page]].

==Creating your user page==
Your user page shares information about yourself that you want others to know. For example, here's a sample user page: [[User:Johnsonth]]. By reading the user page, you can find information about the person's role, interests, and contact information. This can help you evaluate the validity of the user's edits.

When you make edits to the wiki, the wiki shows your username next to edits in the version history for the page. To see the version history, click the '''History''' button above the page title. The history shows the edits and timestamps, with the users who made each of the edits. If the usernames appear in red and are underlined, it means the user hasn't yet created a user page. Without a user page, it's hard to know who is making edits to the wiki.

To create a user page:
# Log in to the wiki.
# Click your username that appears near the login section, or just this link: [[Special:MyPage]].
# Add some information about yourself.
# Click '''Create'''.

''PRACTICE: Create your user page.''

== Watching pages ==

To keep updated about edits to a specific wiki page, you can "watch" the page by clicking the '''Watch''' button above the page title. Every time someone updates the page, you will be notified by e-mail according to the e-mail address listed in in your [[Special:Preferences|preferences]].

''PRACTICE: Watch this page.''

==Setting your e-mail preferences==

If your email isn't configured correctly in your preferences, you won't receive e-mail notifications even if you are watching a page. To configure your e-mail preferences:
# Click '''My preferences''' (near the login area).
# On the '''User Profile''' tab, make sure your e-mail address is up to date.
# In the Email section of the User Profile tab, select the check boxes to set your notification preferences. (At the very least, select "E-mail me when a page on my watchlist is changed.")
# Click '''Save'''.

Note that when you have an e-mail address added to your preferences, other users can send you e-mail. When you view a user page (such as this one, [[user:Johnsonth]]), scroll to the Toolbox section of the footer and click ''E-mail this user''. If users don't have an e-mail address added to their preferences, you can't send them an e-mail.

''PRACTICE: Check your e-mail address and preferences to make sure your settings are up to date.''

== Editing articles ==

When you edit the wiki, you can choose to edit the entire page or just a section on the page. If you click the Edit button above the title, you edit the entire page. If you click the Edit button to the right of a section, you just edit that section.

When you make an edit, provide a brief summary of the edit. This allows people to quickly scan the list of edits on the [[Special:RecentChanges|Recent Changes]] to see the reasons for the edits.

To edit a page:
# Click the '''Edit''' button above the page.
# Make the changes.
# In the Summary section, briefly summarize your edits.
# To stay notified about changes to the page, select the '''Watch this page''' check box.
# Click '''Save page'''.

Because multiple people may be working on the same page, it's best to edit just the section you're updating. The chances of multiple people updating the same ''section'' at the same time are far fewer than the chances of multiple people editing the entire ''page'' at the same time. That's why each section has its own Edit section.

If multiple people edit the same content at the same time, and then click Save, the last person to save will be prompted to merge the changes in with the other updates.

''PRACTICE: Go to [[Special:MyPage|your user page]] and edit the page. Make an update and save it.''

==Creating pages==

On the wiki, you create a page by searching for it. When you search for the page, if there isn't a page with the same name, you're asked whether you want to create the page. This is the wiki's own way of prompting users to get involved in creating more wiki content. Note that the capitalization style for page names on this wiki follows the same conventions as Wikipedia: single case. Other than the first word and proper nouns, lowercase words in titles.

To create a page:
# In the search box, type the name of the page you want to create. (Note that capitalization matters. The page ''Dogs'' is different from the page ''dogs''.)
# The page you searched for appears as a red, underlined link. Click the link.
# Add some content, and then click '''Create''' to create the page.

You can also create a page by adding <nowiki>[[Page title]]</nowiki> on a page and saving it, where "Page title" is the name of the page you want to create. When you save the page, the link will appear red and underlined. Click the link to create the page.

''PRACTICE: Search for a hypothetical page name in the Search box. Note how the site prompts you to create the page it cannot find. Now go to your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], edit the page, and add a link to a page you want to create. Click the link to see how to create the page. However, do not actually create the page. This is a live site, so rather than creating unnecessary pages, make edits on your user page.

== Deleting pages==
Deleting pages requires administrative permissions. Instead of deleting a page, you "move" the page to a new location. When you click '''Move''', you can choose a new page title. By ''moving'' rather than ''deleting'' a page, any user who clicks on the link to the old page will be automatically redirected to the new page. This is because the old page will receive a "redirect" to point users to the new page.

''PRACTICE: Go to a [[Special:Random|random page]] and identify the location of the Move button. You can click the Move button above the title, but don't click the additional Move button on the Move page, which will actually move the page.''

== Making text bold or italic==

The wiki uses a special syntax for formatting. When you save a page, this syntax gets converted into HTML for the browser. To create bold or italic formatting, add ticks around a word, like this:
<pre>
'''bold formatting'''
''italic formatting''
</pre>

You can also use the B and I buttons on the editor toolbar.

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], bold and italicize a word.''

==Inserting lists==

To create a bulleted list, add an asterisk (*) at the start of each line, like this:
<pre>
* first item
* second item
* third item
</pre>

To create a numbered list, add a pound sign (#) at the start of each line, like this:
<pre>
# first item
# second item
# third item
</pre>

With numbered lists, make sure you don't have spaces between the lines, or the numbered lists will start over.

To insert a bulleted list within a numbered list, combine the two forms of syntax like this:
<pre>
# first item
#* bulleted list item 1
#* bulleted list item 2
# second item
# third item
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], create a numbered list with a bulleted sublist on one of the list items.''

== Adding notes and tips ==

You can add notes before or after a procedure by adding
<pre>{{Note|Type your note here.}}
</pre>

When you style notes this way, the note calls a template that styles the note with more formatting.

Here's what a note looks like:

{{Note|This is a sample note.}}

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a note.''

==Adding links to wiki pages==

To add a link to another page, enclose the page name in double brackets, like this:
<pre>
[[LDSTech:Manual of Style]]
</pre>

You can also change the text of the link by adding a pipe after the page name. If you want the link to just say "Manual of Style" rather than "LDSTech:Manual of Style" you would write the link like this:
<pre>
[[LDSTech:Manual of Style|Manual of Style]]
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a link to this page.''

==Adding links to external pages==

Creating an external link (to a site such as byu.edu) is similar to creating an internal link but with a couple of minor differences. Rather than two square brackets, you use single brackets. And rather than a pipe separating the link from the link's text, you just use a space. Here's an example:

<pre>
[http://byu.edu BYU's website]
</pre>

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add a link to your blog or other website. If you don't have a website, add a link to your favorite website.''

== Inserting subheadings ==
To create a subheading on a page, surround the subheading with two equals signs, like this:

<pre>
== Subheading title ==
</pre>

This creates an h2 style around the subheading. You can create a third level subheading by using three equals signs. Avoid using just one equals sign, which would result in an h1 subhead style.

MediaWiki automatically generates a table of contents (TOC) when you have at least four subheadings on a page. The general style on the wiki is to show the TOC after an introductory paragraph. You can force the display of the table of contents by adding <nowiki>__TOC__</nowiki> where you want it to appear. To remove the automatic display of the TOC, include <nowiki>__NOTOC__</nowiki> on the page.

''PRACTICE: On your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], add two levels of headings.''

==Embedding images==
Adding an image requires two separate steps: first you upload the image using the '''Upload file''' link within the Toolbox menu in the sidebar. Then you embed the image by adding the following code, where sample.png is the name of the uploaded image file:

<pre>
[[Image:sample.png]]
</pre>

You can add additional parameters for the image file as well, such as a border, alignment, and caption. To add these parameters, separate each parameter with a pipe, such as this:

<pre>
[[File:sample.png|frame|none|This is my caption.]]
</pre>

Frame will add a border around the image and caption area. None specifies no alignment (type "right" or "left" to specify right or left alignment). The final text constitutes the caption.

To add an image:
# Hold down the '''Ctrl''' key and click ''Upload file'' in the footer. A new tab opens with the file upload box.
# Click '''Choose File'' and select the file you want to upload.
# After uploading the file, embed the image on a page by adding <nowiki>[[Image:sample.jpg]]</nowiki>, where sample.jpg is the name of the image.
# To add parameters to the image, add this information in pipes following the image name: <nowiki>[[Image:sample.jpg|frame|none|This is my caption.]]</nowiki> Frame adds a border around the image with a caption area. ''None'' specifies the alignment. You can also type right or left here. The final text is the caption.
# Click '''Save page.'''

{{Note|In general, keep images to about 500 px in width. Otherwise, the image will not fit with a sidebar.}}

''PRACTICE: Embed the LDSTech logo [[File:Ldstechlogo.png|LDSTech logo]] on your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. You don't need to re-upload the image file, but you can if you want to.''

== Discussing pages ==

Each page has a corresponding Discussion page that allows you to have a discussion about the page's content without actually changing or adding your comments and questions to the official page's content. To view the discussion page, click '''Discussion''' above the page title.

To indent your response to a question on the Discussion page, add a colon before your response. To double indent your response, add two colons. After your response, add four tildes (<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>) to sign your name. Your name links to your profile page.

''PRACTICE: View the Discussion page for this page. Now go to the Discussion page for your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. Ask a question, and then provide an indented response to the question and sign your name.''

== Adding a sidebar ==

Mediawiki allows you to create templates that you can then embed into pages. The sidebar that you see on many pages, for example, on the [[Calendar]] documentation, is created with a template. Creating a sidebar template can be helpful if you have a collection of pages that you want to group together. After you create a template, you embed it on a page by adding <nowiki>{{templatename}}</nowiki> on the page, where templatename is the name of your template.

To create a sidebar, it's best to simply copy an existing sidebar (like the calendar sidebar) and make changes.

''PRACTICE: View the template for the calendar by searching for [[Template:Calendar]]. Now go to a [[Calendar]] page and click edit. Look for the <nowiki>{{calendar}}</nowiki> template code. Now embed the calendar sidebar on your [[Special:MyPage|user page]], and then remove it.''

==Adding pages to categories==
You can tag each wiki page with one or more categories. Categories group together a collect of pages that all belong to the same category. For example, the [[:Category:LDSTech Conference]] category shows all pages that are tagged with <nowiki>[[Category:LDSTech Conference]]</nowiki>.

Mediawiki's structure prompts you to nest categories into progressively more general categories until you reach the top, like an inverted tree.

The category a page is in appears near the bottom of the page.

''PRACTICE: Look at the [[LDSTech Conference]] page. Locate the category at the bottom. Trace the category up the hierarchy until you reach the top level. The navigate back down to through the categories back to the LDSTech Conference homepage.''

==Viewing Special Pages==
Mediawiki has a collection of "Special Pages" that provide content management functions for managing the content on the wiki. To view these [[Special:SpecialPages|Special Pages]], click the ''Special Pages'' link in the Toolbox section of the footer.

You can click a variety of links to look at the content. For example, you can view the longest or shortest pages, pages that are orphaned (have no links) or which have the fewest revisions. These special pages can help you locate problem points on the wiki.

''PRACTICE: Go to the Special Pages section and find the oldest page on the wiki.''

==Formatting tables==

Inserting tables on the wiki is a little more complicated than the other wiki syntax. Here's a sample table:
{|
!first column name
!second column name
|-
|first row, first column
|first row, second column
|-
|second row, first column
|second row, second column
|-
|third row, first column
|third row, second column
|-
|}

Here's what that table's wiki syntax looks like:
<pre>
{|
!first column name
!second column name
|-
|first row, first column
|first row, second column
|-
|second row, first column
|second row, second column
|-
|third row, first column
|third row, second column
|-
|}
</pre>

The <nowiki>{|</nowiki> announces the start of the table and the <nowiki>|}</nowiki> ends the table.

The <nowiki>!</nowiki> indicates column name (optional).

The <nowiki>|-</nowiki> indicates the start of a row. The | is a column in that row.

You can also add style tags to create custom styles for tables. If you're creating a new table, it's often easiest to just copy over the code from an existing table.

''PRACTICE: Copy the table that appears on the [[LDSTech Conference live session streams|live session streams]] page and embed it onto your [[Special:MyPage|user page]]. Change the column names. Then remove the table.

==View user contributions==
You can view a list of all your contributions by clicking the ''My Contributions'' link near the login area. This shows you all the edits you've made to the wiki.

You can also view contribution links from other users as well. When you view someone's user page (for example, [[user:Aebrown]], click the ''User Contributions'' link in the footer. This shows a list of just that user's contributions.

When you view the page history, you can also see a list of the user's contributions by clicking the ''contribs'' link next to the username. This can give you a quick idea about the user's credibility and authority to make edits to a page.

''PRACTICE: Go to a [[Special:Random|Random]] page on the wiki and look at the history of the page. Look at the list of contributions made by the last user to edit the page. Try and see if you can e-mail the user.''

==Get involved==
Now that you've completed the wiki editing tutorial, it's time to get involved. The [[LDSTech:Community Portal]] lists current needs for the wiki. There's a link to the Community Portal in the site's footer. You can see various efforts to adding or maintaining content.

''PRACTICE: Browse the Community Portal and find a task that interests you.''

[[category:LDSTech Administration]]