Editing Tips
Editing a page in a wiki is quite easy - just click on the "edit" tab at the top. For the CCMDB wiki, you need to be logged on to edit.
Be Bold!
The main idea of a wiki is that any of us can add, update and improve it. If you see a typo, a run-on sentence or something that is not stated clearly, edit it by clicking the edit tab a the top. Make the changes, don't be too concerned that you may have misunderstood or step on someone's toes. The wiki keeps track of all changes, and if something goes really wrong, you can revert any entry to an earlier version using the "history" tab.
When you write anything for this wiki, keep it short and concise - this is for information, not entertainment. When you find an entry getting much longer than what fits onto one screen, consider if it can be split into sub-entries. There is no hard rule there, just think of usability as a reference. Often point form (i.e. starting lines with a *) is is more suitable than full sentences.
Wiki Mark-up
Wikis use what is called a "mark-up" to show that something is a heading or a list. If you are not sure how to do something in wiki mark-up, click on the "edit" tab of an entry that is set up the way you are trying to do. For a quick start, you can look at Wikipedia's Cheatsheet
Making a new Entry
To make an entirely new article there are several ways.
You can write the name for the new entry at the end of the URL for the wiki. For our wiki that would look something like
Alternatively, you can add a link to the entry you are going to write to an existing entry and save it. The link will show up red in the entry. Either of these will bring you to a page stating that the entry does not exist. If you click on the edit link, it will take you to the wiki edit window.
Linking an Entry
An entry can be made much more useful if it is integrated into the knowledge network of the wiki by linking it to and from other entries. For example, instead of adding into this entry how to log [in (at the top), I added a link to a different entry on that topic. The advantages are:
- it keeps any entry on only the topic it treats
- it saves the reader time in case they are not interested in the related topic, or already know it
- it avoids duplication
- it allows making any necessary changes in only one place
Ideally, every entry in a wiki is linked to and links to other entries, allowing the reader to move through the information in the way most useful at the time.
To link to a another wiki entry, put it's name into double square brackets. To use a different word for the link itself, put a "pipe" character between the entry name and what you want to show in the text. For the login example above, this would be
- [[Logging on to the wiki|logged]]
Categorizing an Entry
In addition to links, wikis entries can be organized into categories. For example, there is a category called IT Instructions. The wiki automatically keeps track of all categories on the [1] page. To put an entry into a category, add the following to the bottom of the entry:
- [[Category:Name of the category]]
e.g.
- [[Category:IT Instructions]]
If the category you use does not exist yet, the wiki will create it and group all further entries with the same category on that category's page. Check the [2] page before you create a new category to make sure a similar one does not exist already.
Stubs
One special category of entries is a stub. If you know enough information to start an entry, but know more is needed to make it useful, add it to the stub category.