Wiki workshop

From The Peopling of New York City

Welcome to your wiki!

Here is what we will do in the workshop. Feel free to follow along, or to explore on your own if you are familiar with the wiki interface. Be sure to view the help page for guides and links to guide you through the process of developing your pages. There you will find links to formatting and other elements of editing.

Here is what we'll do together:

1. Create your account, and explore the "my preferences" module.

  • The default skin is called "Monobook." If you change the skin in your preferences, only you will see that skin, since the default skin is the public skin that visitors will see.
  • The "Monobook" skin is what is generally used in Wikipedia.

2. Add text to your personal talk page

3. The editing toolbar (when in editing mode) gives you several choices for editing. Others are available, but the ones you will see are:

  • Bold Text
  • Italic Text
  • Add Internal Link (into this wiki)
  • Add External Link (to another website)
  • Add a Headline (the button is for a "level 2" headline, you can manually format others)
  • Insert a Picture
  • Insert Media
  • Add a Mathematical Formula
  • Ignore Wiki Formatting in Selected Text
  • Add Signature
  • Insert a Horizontal Line

4. Search for Content/Create a Page

  • The "Go" button is for going directly to a page
  • The "Search" button is for searching for content
  • The easiest way to make a page is to enter the desired page title into the search box, and select "Go". It will tell you that the page you selected does not exist, and then gives you the option to create the new page.
  • If you search for a page you know is there, but it tells you it doesn't exist, you should then use the search function.
  • If desired, link your page on the "Pages Created by Users" page.

5. Upload a Photo, and embed the photo on your page.

  • Be specific/descriptive with your photo title. The wiki is fussy and wont recognize names that are misspelled or misformatted:
    • If you named the file you uploaded as "JohnFamily.jpg" then you must specify the file name as such in the page you created. E.g., it won't recognize "johnfamily.jpg" (no caps).
  • .jpg files are recommended
  • The wiki will warn you if the size of a file is large, you can ignore the warning.
  • Beware of copyright issues on the photo, i.e., don't go to the Foo Fighters' site and "steal a picture" from them, most content is protected. Instead, find public photos from Flickr or the Wikipedia Commons.

6. If desired, embed a YouTube or GoogleMap on your page. The links to the "how to" are in the sidebar.

7. Read other members' pages. You can edit their pages, leave them a note, or add a message on their "talk page."

8. If you want to revert to a previous state of a page, before certain changes were made, you can do so by clicking the "history" link.

9. Finally, if you are searching for other pages, see the Special Pages link (in some skins in the sidebar, in others, at the bottom).


If you have questions, please email me at lklein@gc.cuny.edu

Thank you!

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