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20-Minute TWiki Tutorial |
| Open two browser windows, so that you can follow these steps in one window, while trying things out in the other.
2. Take a quick tour... |
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< < | A TWikiSite is divided into webs; each one usually represents one area of collaboration. You can navigate the webs from the upper right corner of each web page. |
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A TWikiSite is divided into webs; each one usually represents one workspace for collaboration. You can navigate the webs from the Home menu of each web page. |
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- Each web has hyperlinked topics, displayed as pages in your browser.
- The home page in each web is the WebHome topic.
- To browse a TWiki web, just click on any highlighted link. These links are called WikiWords and comprise two or more words with initial capitals, run together.
- Follow the WikiWord link and learn what it is.
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- If you know the name of a topic, you can jump directly to it by typing its name into the Go field on the top of the page. Type
WebSearch to jump to the search page. Hint: Do not confuse the Go field with search.
- You can search each TWiki web. Enter a search string in the WebHome topic or the WebSearch topic accessible from the
Search link on each topic. TWiki searches for an exact match; optionally, you can also use RegularExpressions.
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- If you know the name of a topic, you can jump directly to it by typing its name into the JumpBox on the top of the page. Type
WebNotify to jump to the WebNotify topic. Hint: Do not confuse the Jump box with search.
- You can search each TWiki web. Enter a search string in the WebHome topic or the WebSearch topic accessible from the
Search link in the Web menu. TWiki searches for an exact match; optionally, you can also use RegularExpressions.
3. Create an account... |
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< < | 3. Open a private account...
To edit topics, you need to have a TWiki account. |
> > | To edit topics or participate in restricted webs, you need to have a TWiki account. |
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- Go to the TWikiRegistration page to create your TWiki account. Fill in a couple of lines and you're set!
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< < | 4. Check out TWiki users, groups. |
> > | 4. Check out TWiki users & groups... |
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- Go to the TWikiUsers topic; it has a list of all users of TWiki. Your WikiName will be in this list after you register.
- Go to the TWikiGroups topic in the Main web; it has a list of groups which can be used to define fine grained TWikiAccessControl in TWiki.
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< < | 5. Test the page controls...
The color-coded control strips at the top and/or bottom of the page has a collection of action links. Different skins show different links, but most will have some or all of:: |
> > | 5. Learn the page controls...
The buttons at the top and the color-coded control strip at the bottom of the page have a collection of action links. Different skins show different links, but most will have some or all of: |
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Edit - add to or edit the topic (discussed later)
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Raw Edit - edit the topic using WikiSyntax (discussed later)
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Raw View - show the source text without editing the topic
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Attach - attach files to a topic (discussed later)
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Backlinks - find out what other topics link to this topic (reverse link)
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Printable - goes to a stripped down version of the page, good for printing
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Print version - goes to a stripped down version of the page, good for printing
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History - topics are under revision control - History shows you the complete change history of the topic, for example, who changed what and when
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r3 > r2 > r1 - view a previous version of the topic or the difference between two versions
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More - additional controls, such as rename/move, version control and setting the topic's parent.
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More topic actions - additional controls, such as rename/move, version control and setting the topic's parent.
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< < | 6. Change a page, and create a new one...
Go to the Sandbox. This is the sandbox web, where you can make changes and try it all out at will.
- Click the
Edit link. You are now in edit mode and you can see the source of the page. (Go to a different topic like TWikiGuestSandbox if you see a "Topic is being edited by an other user" warning.)
- Look at the text in edit mode and compare it with the rendered page (move back and forth in your browser.)
- Tip: When you only want to see the source code of a topic click the
Raw View link.
- Notice how WikiWords are linked automatically; there is no link if you look at the text in edit mode.
- Now, create a new topic - your own test page:
- In edit mode, enter a new text with a WikiWord, for example:
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> > | 6. Create a topic, modify a topic, and link to a topic...
Go to the Sandbox. This is the sandbox web, where you can create topics and add content to try it all out at will.
- To create your own test topic, click on
Create TestTopic### , or invent a WikiWord and click on Create by Name . You are now in edit mode where you can add content to the new topic. Save the topic and voilà, you just created your first TWiki page!
- Click on
Edit to modify your own test topic again (or any other topic for that matter).
- Now, let's create a new topic starting from your own test topic:
- In edit mode, enter a new text with a WikiWord, for example:
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- Preview and save the topic. The name appears, highlighted, with a linked question mark at the end. This means that the topic doesn't exist yet.
- Click on the question mark. Now you're in edit mode of the new topic.
- Type some text, basically, like you write an e-mail.
- A signature with your name is already entered by default. NOTE: The
Main. in front of your name means that you have a link from the current web to your personal topic located in the Main web.
- Preview and save the topic...
- Learn about text formatting. You can enter text in TWikiShorthand, a very simple markup language. Follow the TWikiShorthand link to see how, then:
- Go back to your sandbox topic end edit it.
- Enter some text in TWikiShorthand: bold text, italic text, bold italic text, a bullet list, tables, paragraphs, etc. Hint: If you need help, click on the TextFormattingRules link located below the text box in edit mode.
- Preview and save the topic.
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- Save the topic. The name appears highlighted with a red-link. This means that the topic doesn't exist yet.
- Click on the red-link. Now you're in edit mode of the new topic.
- Type some text. You can add headings, bullets, tables and more, use the controls of the WYSIWYG editor.
- A signature with your name is already entered by default. Keep it at the bottom.
Note: The Main. in front of your name is a web prefix. It means that you have a link from the current web to your personal topic located in the Main web.
- Save the topic...
- Link to another topic:
- In edit mode, enter the WikiWord of a topic that already exists in the Sandbox web, for example:
This links to WebSearch.
- Save the topic. WebSearch is now a link you can click.
Note: WikiWords are linked automatically; there is no link if you look at the text in edit mode.
- You can also create a nice looking link without a BumpyWord. Enter for example:
[[WebSearch][This is a link to search]].
- Learn about
Raw Edit (for advanced/technical users)
- Topics can be modified in WYSIWYG mode (default) and in
Raw Edit mode. The raw mode shows text in TWikiShorthand, a very simple markup language. Follow the TWikiShorthand link to see how, then:
- Go back to your own sandbox topic and
Raw Edit it.
- Enter some text in TWikiShorthand: bold text, italic text, bold italic text, a bullet list, tables, paragraphs, etc.
Hint: If you need help, click on the Edit help link located above the text edit box.
- Save the topic.
- Tip: When you only want to see the source code of a topic click the
Raw View link.
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7. Use your browser to upload files as page attachments... |
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- Attaching files is just like including a file with an e-mail.
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- Go back to your sandbox topic and click on the
[Attach] link at the bottom.
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[Browse] to find a file on your PC that you'd like to attach; enter an optional comment; leave everything else unchecked.
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- Go back to your sandbox topic and click on
Attach .
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[Browse] to find a file on your machine that you'd like to attach; enter an optional comment; leave everything else unchecked.
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- Click
[Upload file] , then scroll to the end of the page to see the new attachment listing.
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- Do this again - this time, upload a GIF, JPG or PNG image file.
- Check the
[Link:] box to Create a link to the attached file at the end of the topic. The image will show up at the bottom of the topic.
- To move the image, edit the topic and place the last line (containing
%ATTACHURL% ) anywhere on the page.
- If you have a GIF, JPG or PNG image of yourself, your cat, your sprawling family estate...why not upload it now to personalize your account page TWikiGuest?
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- Do this again - this time, upload a
.gif , .png or .jpg image file.
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Link box to create a link to the attached file at the end of the topic. The image will show up at the bottom of the topic.
- Edit the topic to move/resize the image.
- If you have an image of yourself, your cat, your sprawling family estate...why not upload it now to personalize your TWiki homepage TWikiGuest?
8. Get alerted whenever topics are changed... |
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< < | 8. Get e-mail alerts whenever pages are changed... |
| WebNotify is a subscription service that automatically notifies you by e-mail when topics change in a TWiki web. This is a convenience service - for many people, checking e-mail is easier than checking the Web.
- If you're using TWiki to collaborate on a project, it's important to know when anyone on your team posts an update. If you're following a specific discussion, it's convenient to know when there's new input.
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- Alerts are e-mailed as links to individual topics that've been changed in a set period: each day, every hour, whatever is configured for your system.
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- Alerts are e-mailed as links to individual topics that have been changed in a set period: Each day, every hour, whatever is configured for your system.
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- It's strongly recommended that you try out the service by subscribing to each TWiki web that's relevant to you. You can subscribe and unsubscribe instantly, on a per web basis using WebNotify.
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- If you prefer, you can subscrive to RSS and ATOM feeds. Every web has a WebRss feed and a WebAtom feed, respectively.
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That's it! You're now equipped with all the TWiki essentials. You are ready to roll. |
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< < | NOTE: When first using TWiki, it will probably seem strange to be able to change other people's postings - we're used to separating individual messages, with e-mail, message boards, non-Wiki collaboration platforms. Don't worry about it. You can't accidentally delete important stuff - you can always check previous versions, and copy-and-paste from them if you want to undo any changes. After a short while, TWiki-style free-form communication becomes second-nature. You'll expect it everywhere! |
> > | Note: When first using TWiki, it will probably seem strange to be able to change other people's postings - we're used to separating individual messages, with e-mail, message boards, non-wiki collaboration platforms. Don't worry about it. You can't accidentally delete important stuff - you can always check previous versions, and copy-and-paste from them if you want to undo any changes. After a short while, TWiki-style free-form communication becomes second-nature. You'll expect it everywhere! |
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< < | Related Topics: UserDocumentationCategory |
> > | Related Topics: UserDocumentationCategory, WelcomeGuest, ATasteOfTWiki, TWikiVariables, WikiSyntax, TWikiDocGraphics |
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> > | -- Contributors: TWiki:Main/ArthurClemens, TWiki:Main/AurelioAHeckert, TWiki:Main/ChrisGarrod, TWiki:Main/MikeMannix, TWiki:Main/SebastianKlus, TWiki:Main/PeterThoeny |