Wiki+Tutorial

This is a tutorial on editing pages in wikispaces. Luckily for me, it's simple to do, which cuts down the amount of work I need to do in explaining it all, and gives me more time to eat bagels and hummus. Let's get started.

toc

=**Creating a New Page**=

The first thing you should notice is that to the left of the page is a link which says 'new page'. For the purposes of this tutorial, right click it and select 'Open in New Window'. That way you'll be able to flip back to this page for easy reference (Note: if you left click the link, you'll lose this page).

The next page that comes up should ask you to **Enter the name of your new page**. I've called this one "Tutorial on Editing Pages", which I admit is not very original, but it will do for now. You can name your page whatever you like. Try using your name for now. You'll notice as you type, it will fill in the URL (the address that goes in the address line at the top of the web browser). That will be the address of your page, should you wish to come directly to that page at some time. The address of this particular page is "http://qualmethods.wikispaces.com/Tutorial+on+Editing+Pages". When you've got a good name for your page, hit **Create**.

The next page will probably look something like this:

= = =Adding Content=



Adding simple text is easy. Just start typing. At the top, like any other word processing program there are buttons for **Bold**, //Italics//, and __Underline__. You can also change the font size by clicking the **Format** drop down menu. You can number points, or bullet them, or draw a horizontal line. You can create and remove links to other pages. Insert Pictures, media, tables or characters outside of those included on a standard keyboard.

Creating a Link
OK, so let's say you want to put a link in your page to lead the reader to another page. Highlight the phrase you would like to associate with the link, and hit the **link** button (circled in red in the below picture) at the top of the page. This will open up a new window, like so:



To link to another page in the wiki, simply click the Page Name dropdown menu (circled in blue) and select the page you would like to link to. I created a link to this page, by selecting "Tutorial on Editing Pages".

If you wish to link to a page outside the wiki, you can choose Eternal Link (circled in green), and enter the URL of the page you would like to link to. For instance by clicking [|here] you can bring up the Rolling Stone album review of Funeral by Arcade Fire.

Hint: An easy way to enter the information into the address box is a technique called 'cut and paste'. Highlight the URL in the address bar at the top of the browser, and press Ctrl + C to copy the information. Then select the address box in the Create Link Window and press Ctrl + V to paste the copied URL. Since the "http://" portion of the address is already added for you, it is not advisable to paste it again as your links will not work.

Inserting a Picture
As you might have noticed while reading this page, there have been several pictures added to help guide you along. Now I'll show you how it's done.



First Click on the **Add Picture** button at the top of the page (circled in red). That will bring up the **Images & Files** window as shown above. Use the **Browse...** button (circled in purple) to locate the pictures in your computer that you wish to use. When you've got the one you want click on **Upload File**. Now you will see a thumbnail image of your picture (circled in green). In the body of your page, place the cursor where you want the picture to go, then double click on the picture. That's all there is to it.

Using the External Image URL is like creating an extrnal link, except instead of linking to a page, you're linking to an image. Google images is one good place to get pictures from. However, due to copyright laws and such, it may not be advisable to post other people's pictures all over your page. Best practice, is to use your own pictures, or if you must use the pictures of others be sure to cite your sources. I've put a picture of Arcade Fire on my page from this URL: http://www.analogartsensemble.net/uploaded_images/sm_Arcade_Fire_k_N5E9300.sized-718962.jpg

Inserting Media
Generally "Media" means videos in Macromedia Flash or other formats. For instance YouTube.com is an excellent source of media. Inserting media into a wiki can be tricky, but not impossible. First thing we need to do is go find some media. For my page I decided I wanted an Arcade Fire video. So I went here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNfWC4Sgkcs



As you can see, it's a really nice looking video of a road and some trees and great music... ah but I digress. OK, what you need to take notice of is the **Embed** box to the right (circled in red). You will need to copy this code in order to insert it into your own page. Remember, Ctrl + C is to copy and Ctrl + V is to paste.



Click on the Insert Media Button (circled in red) at the top of the page. That opens the embed media window. Click in the source box (circled in blue) and press Ctrl + V to paste the source code in there. When that's finished, hit OK. What you end up with in the editing screen looks like this: mediatype="you tube" key="NNfWC4Sgkcs". Don't worry about that. When you save your page and when you view it, the media will display.

A Final Word
The remaining two buttons allow you to insert a table insert a table into your page, and to bring up the character map in case you need to use some unconventional characters not found on a standard keyboard. (ie. ü € ©...).

That should get you on your way to becoming Wiki-experts. This is just a basic tutorial. Of course, the more familiar you become with the software, the more you'll be able to do with it. So play with it, have fun with it, experiment, enjoy. Just rememeber, in wiki, nothing is engraved in stone. All pages are open to being edited by clicking the **Edit This Page** button at the top of the page. Even this tutorial. So if you feel that there are corrections that need to be made, or that you can add some other information that you think would be useful, then go right ahead. That's what Wiki is all about, cooperation, and co-authorship. So if you have something to contribute, then do so, and together with a diverse amount of knowledge and perspectives, we can build this into an amazing website full of tons of great information.

OK, so now you can go build your own pages, and as for me... Time to break out the Hummus and Bagels and listen to a little Arcade Fire!