Contribute
From ThemesWiki
ThemesWiki.org works in the same way as other Wikis in that it allows you to add your own content. We welcome all contributions from people who would like to share their knowledge by adding instructions on how to install software. All contributions are governed by the Online Content Author Agreement
Contents |
[edit] Creating a New Page
Create a new page at ThemesWiki.org by entering an appropriate URL in your browser with a name in the form of http://www.themeswiki.org/TutorialName. For example if you want to add a tutorial for how to install MediaWiki, then you would enter the following URL into your browser: http://www.themeswiki.org/MediaWiki. Now click on the "edit this page" link to enter your Wiki page in edit mode.
Notes:
- Be careful about the use correct lower/upper case when creating your URL. For example, WordPress should not be written as Wordpress (note the lower case p). Always use the name as it's written on the official product page.
- Save the URL somewhere for future reference, as you'll have no links to it until a bit later.
- When the name is formed of more words, use underscore to separate them, such as in Google_Web_Toolkit.
[edit] Writing the Article Copy
After opening a new article page, you should click the Edit link to open the page in edit mode. Write the page copy in the edit box, and click Save page at the end. Don't worry about article images or other details; at this point you just need to get the copy done.
You can use all the default MediaWiki formatting features.
| Formatting feature | Syntax |
|---|---|
| Heading 1 | ==Heading Name== |
| Heading 2 | ===Heading Name=== |
| Heading 3 | ====Heading Name==== |
| Italics | ''Italicized keywords'' |
| Bold | '''Bolded keywords''' |
| Code in text | <code>code in text here</code> |
| Preformatted code blocks | <pre>code in text here</pre> |
| To lose the special wiki meaning | <nowiki>html code here (for example)</nowiki> |
| Note/Tip | <blockquote>'''Note.''' Note copy here.</blockquote> |
| Note/Tip (alt) | <blockquote>'''Title(Heading)'''</blockquote> <blockquote>Note paragraph here.</blockquote> <blockquote>Note paragraph here.</blockquote> |
[edit] Loading the Article Images
Click the Upload file link from the toolbox section of the page (in order to upload files you need to create an themesWiki.org account if you don't have one). Use the form to upload the files for the article, one by one.
Then open your wiki page in edit mode, and add references to the uploaded images in the appropriate places, using the [[Image:File.png|thumb|center]] syntax as in this example:
[[Image:199x_02_15.PNG|thumb|center]]
If the figure has a caption, you add it like this:
[[Image:2387_02_001.PNG|thumb|center|User Accounts in WinXP]]
Notes:
- Please use .PNG files wherever possible, to ensure optimum image quality.
- It's useful, although not necessary, to write a description for each image file. You do this by populating the Summary field in the file upload form.
- If the article refers to the figures by their numbers (such as in Figure 1), the figure number should be included in the figure caption:
[[Image:2387_02_001.PNG|thumb|center|Figure 1. User Accounts in WinXP]]
- Once you're finished, be sure to compare the article with the source article, to ensure all the pictures have been inserted in the appropriate places.
[edit] Loading the Project Data
To create the project info box that appears in the upper-right part of an article page, enter the page in edit mode and use the ProjectInfo template at the beginning of the page. You need to include the correct (official) project name, URL, documentation page, and downloads page. Here is an example:
{{
ProjectInfo |
name = GWT (Google Web Toolkit) |
url = http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/ |
docs = http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/documentation/ |
download = http://code.google.com/webtoolkit/download.html
}}
[edit] Loading the Source Book Data
If the source of the article is a chapter from a book, the book's details should be included using the SourceBook template. First you should upload the book's cover picture using the file upload form, just as you added the article images earlier. The cover image description can be something like:
Cover image of '''Building Websites with TYPO3''' ([http://www.packtpub.com/ Packt Publishing], 2007)
Then, just like you added the project information box, you add a book information box to the page by adding the template at the beginning of the page:
{{
SourceBook |
name = Building Websites with TYPO3 |
image = 1847191118.jpg |
isbn = 978-1-847191-11-3 |
publisher = Packt Publishing |
url = http://www.packtpub.com/beginning-typo3/book |
author = Michael Peacock
}}
[edit] Establishing Categories
Each tutorial must be added to appropriate categories. This is important, because many people search for articles by browsing the categories.
The complete list of available categories should exist on the home page, although that is updated manually so at times it may not be complete. You can obtain the complete list of categories through the special page http://www.themeswiki.org/Special:Categories. You can create a new category by simply using its name in a category link, just as when creating regular pages.
To assign a page to one or more categories, enter the page in edit mode and add entries for each category the tutorial belongs to, such as in the example below. By convention, category entries are added at the end of the page.
[[Category:Open Source]] [[Category:Content Management Systems]]
When adding a page to a new new category, you should:
- Add a reference to the new category on the home page.
- Open the category page (the simplest way is to click its link at the bottom of the article page), and type a description for the category. (This is a recommended, but not necessary step.)
Note. After saving the page, the page will show up automatically in the categories pages. Since the categories are mentioned on the main page of themeswiki.org, the new page should be easily accessible.
[edit] Creating Links
Links to external or internal resources are helpful for the reader. An external link can be included like this:
Both the options have the same code base and features, and are 100% open source. For both options, you can use [http://wiki.alfresco.com/wiki/ Alfresco documentation (wiki)], [http://forums.alfresco.com/ community support (forums)], and [http://dev.alfresco.com/community/ community contributed add-on products].
The output is:
Both the options have the same code base and features, and are 100% open source. For both options, you can use Alfresco documentation (wiki), community support (forums), and community contributed add-on products.
Internal links are helpful as well. The introduction of a tutorial should mention related wiki articles. For example, assuming the wiki contains a PHP tutorial, then the introduction for Joomla!, which is a CMS written in PHP, should mention the PHP page, like this:
Joomla! is an open source CMS written in [http://www.php.net/ PHP]. See our [[ PHP | PHP Tutorial ]] for instructions.
This generates this output:
Joomla! is an open source CMS written in PHP. See our PHP Tutorial for instructions.
[edit] Checking the Results
After a page is written, it should be read carefully to ensure there are no "bugs." For example, if headings aren't nested correctly, MediaWiki might have problems generating the table of contents. If the article contains HTML tags that can be interpreted by MediaWiki, they should be written between <nowiki> and </nowiki>. The same technique can be used when the article includes URLs that shouldn't be transformed to hyperlinks.
[edit] Renaming or Moving Pages
If you mispelled the name of the page, or wish to change it for any reason, you can do so by cliking the Move link at the upper side of the page. Please mention a reason for moving the page. Note that you must be logged in to be able to perform this operation.
[edit] Questions?
ThemesWiki.org is maintained by Packt Publishing. If you have any questions, please contact [contact@themeswiki.org].
