Learning Your Way Around

First things first:  you need to learn your way around the space.  Let's take a look! 

 

 

 

Above is the top section of my wiki's Home Page.  Above the family picture you will see four categories, here is what they do:

  • page:  This displays the page you are on--it is used when you have selected one of the other categories and wish to return to where you started.
  • discussion:  This is a great place for members to post questions and comments to one another regarding the content on that actual page.  You may ask...does anyone have a picture of Aunt Suzie?  Family members can comment or make suggestions here without actually altering the page.  It is also a great place to provide feedback!
  • history:  This page will show you what additions or changes have been made to the page, including who made them and what time.  This helps the wiki members keep track of changes and fix any potential errors made by guests.
  • notify me:  The wiki creator can request that they are notified whenever changes or additions are made to this particular page. 

At the top left of the page, you will see three additional categories and a "search" box.  Here is what they do!

  • New Page:  This allows you to create an entirely new page, just like it sounds like!  So, if your family has a "new addition" and you would like to create a separate page for your son or daughter, you can create one here.  Be sure to provide a link back to your page!  We'll cover that later!
  • Recent Changes:  This shows you all of the most recent changes to the entire wiki.  It is similar to the page's "history", except that it includes ALL of the content.
  • Manage Space:  Here is where the wiki creators can change the look, format, or privacy settings of the wiki

  • Search Box: This is an incredibly cool feature that "searches" just within your wiki!  See how it works when I type a search for "wedding"

Now, click on the green arrow and look at your results!

 

You can see all 5 places that the word "wedding" is mentioned in the wiki...and click on the links to go directly there!

 

Adding and Editing Text

 

Adding and editing text is really simple.  First, you need to click on the "Edit This Page" .  It is outlined in green, as you can see here!

 

 

You will always need to click on "Edit This Page" before adding text, images, movies, etc. to your pages.  Basically, it is the starting point!  After you click on it, the page will be displayed like Angela's page from the Pickens Wiki Tree.

Although you could start typing immediately, I've circled the toolbar in red so that I can point out some of the following features:

  • B:  B is for BOLD!  Clicking on this will make your text darker!
  • I:  I is for italic, if you click on this, your text will be similar to what I'm typing right now
  • U:  U is for Underlining...I don't have that option here, but you probably already know what it looks like.
  • The Drop Down Box:  The box that says "normal" in the image above is actually a "drop down" box.  You can click on the little down arrow and see a list of options that include:  Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Normal, and Code.  You use headings when you want a phrase to be larger and set apart from the rest.  For example, "Angela Kay (Pickens) Moses is typed as a "Heading 2", while the rest of the text is "normal".
  • The Next 3 Options:  These will help you add bullets or numbered lists to your page.
  • The Next 2 are for removing and inserting links:  I am going to cover these nearer the bottom of this page.
  • In order, the next ones will help you insert an image, insert a "widget" (like for movies), insert a table, insert a special character, or insert code.  Don't worry about these right now--I'll talk about them on other pages.
  • Text Editor and Preview:  I like to ignore these two, also
  • SAVE Button:  I outlined this in red and pointed an arrow to it because you need to click this in order to save your page.  After you save the page, the finished page will be displayed.  If you want to make more changes, you will have to click the "Edit This Page" button again!

Adding Links!

You may want to link to outside web pages, like school web sites, family web pages, or work pages so that your family can access them.  You will DEFINATELY want to add links to the other pages on your wiki, so here is what you do!

  • First, click on "Edit This Page" to get started.
  • If you are adding a link to unwritten space, just go ahead and follow the next step.  If you want to replace text with a link, you can do one of two things.  You can delete the original text and place the cursor in its spot, then follow the directions below; or, you can highlight the text you want to replace with a link using your mouse, then follow the steps below.  This will make more sense in a minute.
  • Next, click on the picture that looks like the outlined below

     

  • Now, let's pretend that you want to add a link to the University of Toledo from Bradley's page.  Here is what you will see after clicking on the "Insert Link" icon

  • In the blank next to "Link Text", you can type in exactly what you want the link to say to the viewer. 

  • Since the University of Toledo is an external link, click that button and then type the URL in the blank box provided.

  • Next, click OK.  What you should see next will look something like this...

  • See inside the red circle?  Now readers can just click right there and be taken directly to the University of Toledo's website.  I've included a link right here so that you can see how it works.  Be sure to click  "Save" when you are finished!
  • Internal Links are really similar.  You start off the same way, but let's say you want to add a link between Grandma Rita and Grandpa Ronald's pages.  After putting the cursor in your intended location and clicking on the "Insert Link" icon, you will be taken to a screen like the one you just saw.  This time, you will enter the information in different areas!

  • Link Text:  I want the link text to read "Ronald Thatcher" so that people know who they are linking to...just like I have underlined on the original page
  • Wiki Link:  Since this is an INTERNAL link, click the little round button next to Wiki Link.
  • Page Name:  Using the drop down arrow next to the space by Page Name, select the page that you want to link to--in this case, the page is named "Grandpa Ronald".  You can also opt to create a link to a whole new page by adding a new page here, too.  But I'm not going to do that.
  • Click OK!  Your page will now look like the one below, and clicking on the "Ronald Thatcher" link will take your readers directly from Grandma Rita's to Grandpa Ronald's page!  Be sure to click  SAVE when you are done editing the page!

 

 

Don't be afraid to edit wiki pages!!  There is nothing you can do that cannot be undone!

 

Now, you can go to Step 3!

Converting Photographs!

 

Or, go back Home for more options!