Adding Documentation to the Wiki

NOTICE

This page is deprecated because of the addition of VisualEditor. If you're a heathen like User:Bsanders and use Source Editor, this page will help you with that.

Getting the Documentation Ready

Before you start transferring your documentation over, you'll want to make sure it's written first. Ideally, to keep things clean here, your documentation should be split into sections with formal topic names. For instance, if you were documenting how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you would want to have something like:

Introduction

[a brief summary of what will be covered in the article]

Preparing the Ingredients

[description of what you need to do to prepare the ingredients]

Acquiring Proper Utensils

[again, just a description of what the proper utensils are (and maybe even where to get them)]

Making the Sandwich

[you get the idea]

Optional Sides

[...]

Enjoying the Meal

[...]

Transferring it to the Wiki (the fun part)

Assuming you've written out your documentation, it's quite easy to transfer over to the wiki. First and foremost, you want to be logged in. In the top right corner (if you're not already logged in) there will be blue text that says "Log in". Click it, and if you need your credentials just come up to me (Tyler) and ask. After that, find your way to the search bar in the same cozy top right corner as before and search for what you want your article to be titled.

Hopefully, it will say at the top of the search results "Create the page [title of your page] on this wiki!". If it doesn't, it will say there is already another page with the same title. Moving on, click the red text that says the title of your page and then paste in your documentation!

Formatting the Page

Everyone contributing should aim for consistent and high quality pages. We want this because not only would it make 24PinTech look good, but we can also eventually be established as a credible source for tech related guides/information outside of the city. With that out of the way, here's the good stuff:

(baited, there's just a little bit more you need to know before continuing)

What not to do when formatting/proofreading:

• paste an unformatted document and publish it
• *use numbered lists for the entire document
• include broken links
• leave major grammar errors in your writing
• forget to proofread

* = To elaborate: despite numbered lists being straightforward, they look pretty lazy (which we don't want). There are certain exceptions (like when you need to include how to get somewhere, use a certain command/program, et cetera), but just try to avoid using them overall.

What to do when formatting:

• the contrary of everything above

Actual Text Formatting

Here's a really summarized version for what you'll need by me:

• Escape wiki markup:

  <nowiki>''no formatting!'' '''''owo'''''</nowiki>

• New section:

  == Section Title ==

• New subsection:

  (inside of a section) == Subsection Title ==

• Bold text:

  '''bold!'''

• Italic text:

  ''italics!''

• Bold and italic text:

  '''''bold and italic!'''''

• Bulleted list:

  * Start each line with an asterisk, to go deeper start the nextline with 1 more than the previous

• Horizontal line:

  ----

• External link:

  [https://google.com Google]

  (shows up as Google)
• Internal link:

  [[Title of Wiki Article]]

  (shows up as Title of Wiki Article)

Tables

A brief documentation of creating tables would be impossible due to how broad and detailed you can make them. MediaWiki provides excellent documentation on it which can be found here.

Images

For images, I moved this to a subsection so it can properly be displayed on how to use them. First and foremost, any and all questions you have on embedding images into your wiki posts can be found here, but below is a brief rundown.

To begin, start by going to the file upload page (Special:Upload). Be sure to give it [the file] a name you can remember. For instance, if I were embedding an image of dogs, I would want to go to the upload page (Special:Upload) and upload the file and name it something like:

dogs.jpg

Next, on your page, write [[File:YourFileName.extension]]. In this example, it would be:

[[File:Dogs.jpg]]

Which shows up as:

Full Documentation

For MediaWiki's full documentation of how to format, click here.

Example of a Formatted Article

If you're still confused on what was covered earlier, an example using the aforementioned analogy with PB&J's is below.

== Introduction ==
If you're unaware, a PB&J (peanut butter and jelly [sandwich]) is a two pieces of bread with peanut butter spread on one side of a slice of bread, and jelly on another piece. It offers protein (varies depending on how much peanut butter you put on it) and also gives 20% of the recommended daily Vitamin E intake.

For more information on the nutritional benefits of a sandwich, [http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/benefits-peanut-butter-jelly-sandwiches-5553.html click here].

== Preparing the Ingredients ==
Preparing the ingredients to make a PB&J is quite simple. All you need is 2 slices of bread and a sufficient amount of peanut butter and jelly (or jam) for the bread. If you don't have these ingredients you can either go to a [https://www.google.com/search?q=grocery+stores+near+me nearby grocery store] or shop online from a place like [https://amazon.com/ Amazon].

== Acquiring Proper Utensils ==
The utensils you will need are as follows:
* 1 Plate
* 1 Butter Knife (or any other knives of your choice)
** NOTE: A sharp knife is not necessary. In fact, anything that can spread the peanut butter and jelly onto the bread will work just fine.

You can also get those [https://amazon.com/ online] or from a [https://www.google.com/search?q=grocery+stores+near+me local grocery store].

== Making the Sandwich ==
=== First Step ===
Put the two slices of bread flat on your plate and open both the peanut butter and jelly jars. Take your knife (or other obscure utensil you have decided on using), put it in the peanut butter jar, and get some peanut butter on the utensil. Next, spread it ''evenly'' on one slice of bread, only on one side.

=== Second Step ===
Get the remaining peanut butter off of the utensil either by wiping it onto the other slice of bread or onto a napkin. Once the utensil is clean again, dip it into the jelly/jam jar and repeat the same process onto the other slice of bread.

== Optional Sides ==
Depending on who you are, you will like different side dishes with your completed PB&J sandwich (if any at all). Some people like chips, others like fruits, and some eat it with spaghetti or other miscellaneous pastas. It entirely depends on who you are, and this is up to you. Looking around your kitchen/house for various foods or edible objects can help inspire you with ideas.

A link to this example can be found [http://10.21.25.11/wiki/index.php/Making_a_Peanut_Butter_%26_Jelly_Sandwich here].

== Enjoying the Meal ==
You're finally completed with the extraneous process of making a PB&J! All you have to do now is eat and enjoy it.

You can find this example here: Making a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich