How to Use the TCL

Editing existing pages

Creating new pages

Once logged in, a user can change pages for which they have editing privileges just by clicking on the 'Edit' button at the top or bottom of the page, typing the text they want into the Edit box, and then pressing 'Save Page'.

Special combinations of characters can be used to add further features to pages. For detailed instructions, see the Syntax page.

One good way to learn how to use a feature is to click on 'Edit' on any page where you see that feature in use. You can then see what the other person typed to get that effect. Then you can cancel that edit, and try that technique out on your own page.

Many users find it convenient to open the Syntax page in a separate window (or tab) in their web browser. That way, they can easily refer to the Syntax page without having to save and close the page they're editing.

To create paragraphs, simply include a blank line in your input.

When you write here, it is a convention to use the second or third person unless you are describing your own experience.

When you do write in the first person, it is conventional to sign your work. To sign a section of a page, add either~~~ or [[~your name]]

It is conventional not to change a paragraph that someone else has signed, except to correct obvious mistakes. So if you'd prefer that something you write not be changed, sign it.

Unsigned work is considered open for change. So if you want to, go ahead and change it.

Probably the most important feature is linking to other pages on the TCL server. The easiest way to create a link to another TCL page (known as an 'internal link') is from the toolbar when you are in 'edit mode' (after you've clicked on the 'Edit this page' button). Just click on the 'Internal Link' button – looks like a link from a chain, found just to the right of the 'H5' button. Then just type the name of the page to which you want to link in between the [[ and ]].

You can create 'external links' – links to web sites outside of the TCL – by clicking on the 'External Link' button – looks like a link of chain with a green globe behind it, right next to the 'Internal Link' button – then type in the URL for the page to which you want to link.

Once you've become familiar with the syntax of links, you may find yourself just typing the code for the link directly on your page.

You can do this by enclosing the name of the page you wish to link to (see the right hand side of the title bar of that page) inside double square brackets.

• For example a link to the 'Nobles Help' page would be [[nobles_help]] or nobles_help. By default, the name of a page appears in that link.
• If you wish to create a link to a page in another 'namespace' (think 'folder'), be sure to include the name of the 'namespace' and a colon inside the square brackets before the name of the page
  • The 'Syntax' page lives in the 'wiki' folder or 'namespace'. A link to it would be [[wiki:syntax]], syntax

• If you want other text to appear in the link instead, follow the actual name of the page inside the square brackets with a 'pipe' character | (vertical bar). So [[nobles_help|Link to the Nobles Help page]] would appear as Link to the Nobles Help page.

To link to an external site just enter the full url surrounded by spaces. For example http://www.google.com/ becomes http://www.google.com/ automatically.

Users whose privileges allow them to upload files can upload images, audio or video files. For details on uploading and displaying images, see the Images and other files section of the Syntax page; for details on uploading and using non-image files (i.e. audio or video clips) see the Non-image files section.

There is a very useful web page (http://diberri.dyndns.org/html2wiki.html) which allows you either to enter the URL of an existing web page or to paste in large sections of html and then returns text formatted for DokuWiki (the wiki engine which powers this site). You can then copy that 'wiki-ready' text and paste it into a wiki page editing window here.

(Just be sure that 'DokuWiki' is chosen in the 'Wiki Dialect' pull-down. It is not the default.)

There is a tool for converting Word documents to MediaWiki markup. It's a template, and it is in French.

[this section needs to be finished]

(from David Strasburger)

These tables were made in Word, then saved as HTML. Then I copied out the portion of the generated code between the table tags:

 
<table....blah blah> 
lots of unintelligible stuff
and more....
...
</table> 

this gets pasted into the wiki between html tags like this:

 
<html> 
pasted junk here
</html>

</html>

See the Syntax page or read the DokuWiki Manual to unleash the full power of DokuWiki.

'It's all about permissions!'

Despite the fact that they have different names, have different appearances and that many users think of them as being completely separate types of applications, wikis, blogs and forums are actually more alike than they are different.

In fact, the only real differences among them are the result of the permissions given to users — what various groups of users are allowed to do.

Users with privileges which allow them to create pages can choose from three types (or 'styles') for their new page:

• 'Normal' Wiki pages traditionally allow any user with editing privileges to change anything anywhere on that page.
  • New pages on this TCL site are created as 'normal' wiki style pages by default.
  • If you would like to limit what other users can change on one of your pages, please contact Mr. Smick.

• 'Forum' or 'Discussion' style pages combine a 'block' of text at the top which can only be changed by someone with 'Edit' privileges with a 'Comments' section at the bottom of the page. The ability of users to add comments can be controlled separately from the main block.
  • To add the 'Forum' or 'Discussion' function to any of your pages, all you have to do is to include the tag ~~DISCUSSION~~ anywhere in the body of the page.
    • Notice that those are tildes before and after DISCUSSION, not dashes
    • The word 'discussion' needs to be all caps: DISCUSSION
  • To turn the Discussion feature off again, use ~~DISCUSSION:off~~.
  • If you want to show the existing discussion but don't want to allow new comments / replies, use ~~DISCUSSION:closed~~.

• Blog pages often contain a series of entries posted at various times - usually all by the 'owner' of the page.

• There is a Blog section on this site, where users are able to create a 'landing' or 'launching' page for themselves, then add separate blog entries to that page. (You'll find instructions for creating your own landing page on the Blogs page.

• So, what about 'blog-style' pages where only the owner can post new entries, but users can add their own comments to the owner's posts?
  • By default, new blog pages contain the code ~~DISCUSSION~~ which allows guests to add comments. If you do NOT want a discussion/comment area on this page, just delete the ~~DISCUSSION~~.

[topic title] * the outline node tag must start on new line and can be preceeded by any amount of space. * you can append ^ (shift-6) at the end of opening tag, to specify that such node will be initially expanded: * --> [topic title] ^ * to end the collapsable section * <-- (optional text) * any text after the closing tag is ignored; this makes a useful tool for marking each closing tag to pair it with starting tag easily when reading the raw text. * Outline 'nodes' (sections) can be nested * This code creates the outline segment below (click on the triangle to expand or collapse the outline): --> Outline level 1 ^ This text is part of level 1 --> Level 2 ^ This text is part of level 2 --> Level 4 ^ This text is part of level 4 <-- closing level 4 This text is part of level 2 <-- closing level 2 This text is an additional part of level 1 --> Level 3 ^ This text is part of level 3 <-- closing level 3 This text is the final part of level 1 <--close level 1 --> Outline level 1 ^ This text is part of level 1 --> Level 2 ^ This text is part of level 2 --> Level 4 ^ This text is part of level 4 <-- closing level 4 This text is part of level 2 <-- closing level 2 This text is an additional part of level 1 --> Level 3 ^ This text is part of level 3 <-- closing level 3 This text is the final part of level 1 <--close level 1 -->

If you are creating a topic or section which is likely to have more than one or two pages in it, it is probably a good idea to think about creating a new 'namespace' (think 'folders' or 'directories') to hold those pages. (If you have any questions about this, consult your ATA.)

• If you do create a new 'namespace' (folder) to hold your pages, please use the same name for the 'landing page' (the one which would be called 'index.html' on a web site) as you used for your new namespace.
  • (e.g. if you're creating a folder for a course called 'Thermodynamics', please name the 'landing page' 'Thermodynamics' also.
  • Using the name of the namespace for the first page in a 'folder' (the 'Landing Page') makes navigation within the site by use of the 'breadcrumb trail' at the top of each page much easier.
    • (imagine trying to go back to a particular page if all of the landing pages were named 'index' as they are in web sites.)

In this TCL Tool, as in most wikis, you create the link first, then the page.

If you have 'create' or 'edit' priviliges, go to the page from which you want the new page to be linked. Then simply add a link to the page you want to create by putting the link between [[ and ]], then save the page. When the page re-opens, click the new orange link and then click on the Create Page button.

This engine is good about letting you create new directories - even several levels deep - at one time if you separate each level with a colon (e.g. [[courses:science:thermodynamics:thermodynamics]]). The last item in the square brackets becomes the name of the new page.

Another technique from the creator of the engine behind this TCL tool: enter the name of new page directly in the search window, and click the “Search” button and the wiki will ask if you want to create that page. For example, to create a new course page, enter “courses:page-name” in the search page. His technique even lets you create new directories if you separate each level with a colon (e.g. by typing 'courses:science:thermodynamics:thermodynamics' into the Search window).

(Alternatively, administrators can copy .txt files directly to the destination directory (namespace) on the server.)