WikiFAQ

Revision as of 22:04, 9 August 2009 by WikiSysop (talk | contribs)

Who can ... ?

Who can read these pages?

Everyone can read the pages in this Wiki. There is currently no possibility to create private pages as this feature was not used at all in the past and it makes the life of the Wiki admin very difficult.

Who can edit these pages?

Members of the CBG, more precisely anyone who has an account to the CBGWiki.

Who can create new pages?

Members of the CBG, more precisely anyone who has an account to the CBGWiki.

How can I ...?

How can I create a new page?

Type in the name of the page into the search box on the left, to see whether it already exists. If not, then click on "create this link" towards the top of the page.

How can I edit an existing page?

Navigate to the page you want to edit and then click on the "edit" tab on the top.

Can I undo the changes I did?

Yes, you can, all earlier versions of the pages are stored in the Wiki database. Click on the "history" tab of the page, and then on "undo" at the version you would like to go back to.

How do I write WikiText?

Writing Wiki pages is quite simple, see the help page of Wikipedia. Most of the things described here should work in the CBGWiki, too.

What are minor and major edits?

A major edit is when you do substantial changes to a page, e.g. add a new paragraph to it, or change the time or place of the group meeting in the Group Meeting page. A minor edit is something small, e.g. correcting a typo, changing a word from boldface to italics.

When you edit a page, you can classify your contribution as minor or major. Please consider using this option because people who "watch" a page (see next question below), may expect to be notified about substantial changes, but not about minor ones.

Can I get email notifications about page changes?

Yes, you can, it is easy. First, you have to click on the "watch" tab on the top of the page, this adds it to your "watchlist". Second, you click on "my preferences" on the very top of any wiki page, scroll down to the "E-mail" section and turn on the appropriate checkbox. You can set up whether you want get notifications about the minor edits (see previous question).

How do I write formulas?

You can use <math>\LaTeX</math> markup between <math> ... </math>. E.g. <math>\sqrt{a^2+b^2}</math> will be displayed as <math>\sqrt{a^2+b^2}</math>.

We currently (and temporarily) use the web service of John Forkosh Associates, Inc. to render the formulas, so many thanks to them.

Is there a way to cite PubMed papers easily?

The Biblio extension is installed in this Wiki. you can create references to papers by simply giving their PubMed ID. For example

The Iterative Signature Algorithm <cite>ISA</cite>...
<biblio>
# ISA pmid=12689096
</biblio>

will be shown as:

The Iterative Signature Algorithm ISA... <biblio>

  1. ISA pmid=12689096

</biblio>

See the Biblio homepage for more help.

How do I upload files?

Click on the "Upload file" link on the left.

How can I find a page that I have already created?

Type in its name into the search box on the left. Alternatively (if you cannot remember the name exactly), list all pages in the Wiki.

How can I undelete a page?

You can't, but the admin can. Write a mail to the admin.

How do I request a new feature?

Add it to the Feature Requests page, the admin will get emails about changes to this page automatically.

Where can I play around?

In the Sandbox, of course. This is a page that was created specifically for trying out things. Feel free to edit it any way you like.

Can I check how many visitors my page got?

Sure, we use Google Analytics for that. All you need is a Google account, write a mail to the admin including your Google user name and then go to Google Analytics. Alternatively, you can log in to Analytics with the common user name, cbg.unil@gmail.com, to view the reports.

Can I change the menu on the left?

Unfortunately you can't. But you can ask the admin to do that for you.

Other issues

Is this secure?

No, not really. Since all transport goes over http without encryption, anyone on the same local network can steal your password. E.g. if you use your laptop to log int to the Wiki and you are connected through an open wireless network, then anyone within the range of the wireless signal can potentially steal your password. Please use a different password for the Wiki than the one(s) you normally use for other accounts.

Could we make this secure?

No, not really. UNIL cannot (does not want to?) serve our Wiki through https. If you are outside the university, then you can use the UNIL VPN to make it somewhat more secure. Then the passwords travel unencrypted only between the UNIL VPN gateway and the UNIL web server. See more info here.