It's easy to edit this wiki. These editing tips will help make your work faster. This tutorial will cover:

  • General techniques
  • Creating a new page
  • Basic formatting standards for the RI Community Wiki
  • Creating links within the wiki
  • Creating links to other websites
  • Creating email links (mailto:)
  • Basic compositional guidelines
  • Maps

General Techniques

  • Have multiple tabs and/or window open for quick and easy reference (exact spellings and capitalization, etc., or copy-and-paste)
  • Some experienced wikians use one window with multiple tabs of the wiki and a second tab for external reference (Wikipedia, Google search, etc.)
  • SAVE YOUR WORK!!!
    • LocalWiki is a highly stable platform, so platform-driven browser crashes are highly uncommon, crashes from other causes could destroy your work
    • If you are working on a long or complicated article, save it every 10 to 20 minutes, just in case...

Creating a New Page

  • Click the "Add a new page" button in the upper right hand corner of the page
  • In the text box that opens, enter the title of the page you want to create
    • The LocalWiki platform will search existing pages and suggest pages that might be similar
    • If a suggested page already exists or is very similar to the page you want to create, please add your information there
    • If a page does not already exist, press the Enter (Return) key
  • Select from the suggested templates or create a plain page

Basic Formatting Standards

Formatting standards are very simple:

  • Make the title of the page the first words of the article, if possible
    • If it is not possible, be sure to put them in the first part of the first sentence
    • If you cannot do this, you may have chosen a the wrong page name
  • Make the first use of the page title in the first sentence bold
  • Use the Formatting Styles drop down menu to create subheads (Heading 2) and subsubheads (Heading 3)
    • Use title case in all headings
  • Use the numbered or bulleted list format for lists (lists make it easier for readers, so use them liberally)
    • Use the margin buttons to create nested lists (numbered lists use only Arabic numerals, even when nesting, so bullets might be a better choice)
  • Insert an image if you have one by clicking the Image button and following the instructions (PLEASE DO NOT POST COPYRIGHTED IMAGES UNLESS YOU HOLD THE RIGHTS)

Creating Links Within the Wiki

Links between pages of any website are the key to a positive user experience. Please try to create links to related pages and especially to the parent page of the page you are creating. It's easy.

  • Select the text that will be your link (in general, the text you select should be the title of the target page you are linking to)
  • Click the Link button
    • The LocalWiki platform will open a dialog box with your selected text as the target page
  • If the selected text is identical to page title (INCLUDING CAPITALIZATION), click OK
  • If necessary, edit the text to match the exact spelling and capitalization of the target page and click OK

Creating Links to Other Websites

  • In a separate tab or window, open the target website to the exact page you want to link to (homepage is generally best)
  • Select and copy the web address (URL) 
  • Follow the instructions for intra-wiki links, except...
  • Paste the copied URL into the dialog box (be sure it includes the http:// prefix)
  • Click OK

Creating Email Links

  • Be sure that the link text you select includes the word "email" or is an email address
  • Follow the instructions for intra-wiki links, except...
  • Type "mailto:[email protected]" in the dialog box
  • No spaces!
  • Click OK

Basic Compositional Guidelines

  • In general, try to make your article expository in nature
    • That is, it should be straightforward and matter-of-fact as opposed to enthusiastic or publicity-oriented
  • Try to make your first sentence start with "Page title is a..." 
  • If you copy-and-paste from other websites, try to customize the material to this wiki
    • In general, obvious copy-and-paste material, press releases, "About Us" pages, etc., will be edited to fit this wiki
    • So better to copy-and-paste than not

Maps

The LocalWiki platform encourages the creation of maps to make it easier for users to understand where things are. Not all pages need a map, but many do. Create a map if the article is about:

  • A city, town, neighborhood or other geographical feature
    • Use the shape tool to create an outline
  • A business, organization or other institution with a physical location
    • Place a "pin" in the exact location
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