Help:Getting Started

From ControlWiki

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Revision as of 21:19, 7 September 2009

Wiki Basics

Wikis provide a way to share information, through articles written by users (that's you), and added to and edited by users (that's also you) over time. This page provides the basics as to how to use a wiki.

Finding Stuff

The typical way to find information in a wiki is to use the search box in the left column. If you're looking for, say, PID information, type PID in the search box and click on Search.

If a page with exactly that name is present, you'll go right to that page. If one or more pages with that term mentioned on the page exist, you'll see a list of relevant pages.

However, if no such page exists, you will see an invitation to create the page yourself. In fact, if you want to create a new page from scratch, searching for it is the way to start.

Adding Stuff

Anyone can create new pages, or edit existing pages on the wiki. HOWEVER, to do so, you must be logged in, for which you need an account (this is free). To set up your account, just click on the link in the upper right corner of the page labeled log in / create account. Fill in a username, password, your real name and email, and off you go.

Once you have an account and are logged in, you'll notice that every page (with the possible exception of certain pages which are "locked" by the administrator) will have a tab along the top labeled edit. If you click on that tab, you'll be able to edit the page and save your edits. Pretty simple.

As mentioned above, you'll also be able to create new pages. If you search for a page that doesn't exist, you'll see a link that will let you create a page on the topic you searched for. You can enter everything you know about it, and maybe try to get others to add their knowledge, too. That's how a wiki grows in usefulness over time.

Talking about Stuff

Finally, you'll notice another tab along the top of each page labeled discussion. This is a link to a special page, sometimes called the Talk page, that exists for each article page on the site, where people can talk about the content of the article page. The idea is that if you think the page needs to be changed, or feel that something is unclear, etc., you can post a message on the Talk (discussion) page, and maybe you'll get a response or maybe someone will edit the article to make it better.

The concept here is that there is an article page, and then there is a page to talk about the article, with the goal of making it better.

So, dive in, experiment, and we'll see what evolves. If you have any questions about how to use the wiki, feel free to ask us by using the Contact Form on the Control.com forum.