using mediawiki
logging in   |    editing a page   |    creating a new page   |    links

Logging In

User accounts for the wikis hosted here are typically managed by either the wiki owner, or the CATS group. If you have not been given an account for a particular wiki, you probably cannot log in to it. If you are unsure who to talk to in order to get an account, email CATS
(cats-s@smith.edu).

To log in:
  1. click on the link for your wiki on the Main Sciwiki Page.
  2. in the upper right corner of the Wiki Main Page there is a log in link. Click it.
  3. enter your username and password in the Log In dialogue box.
If you have forgotten your password:
  1. enter your username in the Username box
  2. click the Email new password button.
  3. a new password will be sent to you via email. If you do not receive it within an hour or so, check your spam filter.
  4. if you still have not received your password, contact the Wiki owner or CATS.
Some useful hints:
  • some wikis allow content to be viewed publicly, but some wikis can only be viewed by logged-in users
  • some wikis allow regular users to create & edit pages, some wikis are read-only.
  • if you do not have to access you think you should, speak to the Wiki owner or CATS.
  • after some period of inactivity, the wiki will log you out.

Editing a Page

If you have permissions to edit a page, an edit tab will appear along the top edge of the page after discussion. Clicking that link will open the entire contents of the page for editing.

If a page has sections, you can also choose to edit only a single section, which can make your life a lot easier if it's an especially large or complicated page. Edit links will appear on the right-side end of the line that divides sections.

After you are done editing, you can click the Save Page link. If you have only made very minor changes (fixed a typo or a formatting problem) you can also check the this is a minor edit box.

On the edit screen, there are buttons along the top to assist you with bold, italics, etc, or you can do these things manually using Wiki Markup language.

Basic Wiki Markup:
  • ''two single quotes'' will italicize enclosed text
  • '''three single quotes''' will bold enclosed text
  • == two equal signs == will make a major header of the enclosed text
  • === three equal signs === will make a minor header of the enclosed text
  • an * asterisk will create a bullet point item
  • a # will create a numbered bullet point item
  • [[double brackets]] will create a link to a wiki page with the enclosed text as its name (SEE CREATING A NEW PAGE BELOW)
  • [single brackets | text] will enclose a link to a page page NOT inside the wiki where the first portion is the URL, and the second portion (divided by a pipe | ) is the text you want in the link
  • a space as the very first character of a line will keep that line as typed and enclose it in a box. All lines that start with a space that are contiguous without a break between them will be contained in the same box. This is very handy for replicating code.
  • tables are really complicated and I'll post instructions eventually.

Creating A New Page

Creating a new page is not very intuitive. The easiest way to do it is to create a link to the non-existent page by enclosing your page title inside double brackets on an existing page that you are editing. When you've saved that page, the link will appear red, which means the page doesn't exist yet. If you click on it, it will automatically take you to editing that page. Put some content in, save it, and voila! new page.

Some more helpful hints:
  • there is no easy way to rename pages
  • deleting pages is also challenging
  • so name your pages well :)

Tables

Tables are not well-handled by wiki software. You can take the time to learn the markup (see links below) or, if you have your data already conveniently stored in a spreadsheet (either Google Docs or MS Excel) you can use our online Converter. Use copy and paste to put your spreadsheet contents into the converter, and it will provide you with the wiki markup code you can then paste into your wiki page.

Links