Wiki 101 for RAOGK

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General Info

This RAOGK wiki collaboration allows the RAOGK community to work together to create a database of volunteers who are willing to do local genealogy research. We have started the RAOGK wiki with these kinds of pages:

• a ????
• b ???
• c ???

RAOGK users can edit the wording on wiki pages -- there's an easy way, and a more advanced way. For now -- just click the Edit button for any section you want to change. It works just like writing in a text file in Word, or like writing an email. Just type!

The complicated way involves using  wiki "code." That is for more advanced formatting. Wikia is set up to help people learn those skills, but they're not required! Leave the fancy stuff to others, and let's get on with what we're all here for -- being each others' eys and ears for genealogical research.

In addition to allowing editing on every page, wiki lets anyone create a new page. For example, you would likely create a new page if you wanted to ???????????  And this is how: ????????

As a last resort, if you don't want to edit/add something yourself, just send an email to RAOGK and indicate what you want added/modified.

Note: Volunteers ... see Update Your Volunteer Information for instructions on:

• Adding a new volunteer's name and description of services
• Adding an email link for an existing volunteer
• Changing an existing volunteer's email
• Changing an existing volunteer's description of services
• Deleting an existing volunteer's information (for when the volunteer no longer wishes to perform research services)
  

GUI Editor (for researchers/volunteers)

This section is for members who want to get fancy with the "look" of their pages. This is a bit more advanced than just typing, but it does not involve codes. You don't need to do this -- but many find it fun! So if your artistic side is yearning to come out, read further.

STEPS TO EDIT A WIKI PAGE

1. Click the Edit link (pencil icon) beside a topic. Learn below about the buttons you see.
2. (Optional) Preview your work, by clicking Preview off to the right. If you like the way it looks, you're ready to save your changes.
3. (Suggested) Explain the nature of your changes. If it is just for typos, indicate "Minor Edit: typos." Imagine the person who wrote the page you're changing is sitting beside you -- how would you explain your changes to them?
4. Publish by clicking the dark blue Publish to the right. This saves your work.

HOW TO USE THE VISUAL EDITOR

After you click the Edit link, you are on the Visual tab [top right of your window]. This is a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) editor. You don't need to know any "codes" ... you simply use the buttons in the toolbar at the top of the page, like you would in an email, instant message, or Word document.

To apply formatting, highlight the text you want to modify, and click the appropriate formatting button. When you're done, remember to click the dark blue Publish button on the far right -- otherwise your changes won't be saved (see above).

The Visual tab has a toolbar with buttons, shown below. They are described below (left to right):

• Bold
• Italic
• Add a link
• Insert/remove bulleted list
• Insert/remove numbered list
• Increase indent
• Decrease indent
• Paragraph format – normal, heading 2, heading 3, heading 4, heading 5
• Align left
• Align center
• Align right
• Undo
• Redo
• + more –
  • Underline
  • Strikethrough
  • Signature
    

See also: Modify your User page Your user page is a great place to play with adding/modifying wiki text.

Advanced Editing (for volunteers and admins)

Click the Source tab to access the Advanced Editor. The Advanced Editor is similar to using Word Perfect and peering into the reveal codes.

The Advanced editor shows the coding applied behind the scenes when someone creates/modifies something with the GUI editor.

For anyone with HTML experience, you can also use most HTML codes.

The Advanced editor has the following buttons to assist in formatting:

• Bold (highlight your text and click this button)
• Italic (highlight your text and click this button)
• Internal link (links to a page w/n the RAOGK wiki)
• External link (links to an internet page)
• Level 2 heading
• Embed a file
• Link to a file
• Mathmetical formula
• Ignore wiki formatting
• Insert your username signature and timestamp (for signing an edit)
• Insert a horizontal rule (use very sparingly)
  
  

Note: Volunteers ... see Update Your Volunteer Information for instructions on:

• Hiding your row of information (to temporarily stop doing research due to vacation, family emergencies, etc.)
• Unhiding your row of information (when you're ready to start accepting research requests again)

User Page

If you created an account on the RAOGK wiki, you can create your own user page by typing: "User:username" in the wiki search field.

• Your user page is linked in the top right. More importantly, others will see links to your user page from various places which assist wiki collaboration -- i.e., “Recent changes” and “page history” displays.
• You can also link to your user page within text of a wiki page, which is mainly useful on talk pages when you sign your name.

A user page is a page about a wiki user. Think of it as a “profile” page, where you can describe info about yourself, if you desire. You can also use your user page as a scratchpad to try your hand with wiki editing. (See Sample User Page)

• User Page(s) Tutorial

Sandbox Page(s)

See the following pages about wiki editing. Wiki editing is NOT hard.

If you've used Word and created documents with Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, Heading 4 ... wiki uses the same thing for the major headings and subheadings.

Wiki editing is similar to using the GUI buttons in Word 2007.

• Help:Contents
• Wiki Tips and Tricks
• Wikipedia Cheatsheet