Difference between revisions of "Help:QuickStart"

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Welcome to the CHGWiki Quick Start Guide. Here you will find out how to start your user page, edit other pages, insert templates, keep tabs on important pages, and collaborate in page-specific discussions and "to do" lists - among other things! This page is largely cobbled together from other various help articles, which will be referenced at the end of each section.
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Welcome to the CHG wiki! This QuickStart guide will help you get familiar with the wiki and how it works. This guide is largely cobbled together from the various [[Help:Contents|help articles found on this site]] Here you will find out how to sign up for an account, start your user page, navigate the site, basic page editing, and other resources to help you.
  
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= Getting Started =
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==Getting Started==
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Since our wiki does not allow anonymous editing, the first thing you need to do is [[Special:UserLogin|create an account]]. You can do this by clicking on the "Log in / create account" link in the upper right corner of the wiki and clicking “Create an account.”
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In order to do any editing on the wiki, first you must [[Special:UserLogin|create an account]]. You can do this by clicking on the "Log in / create account" link in the upper right corner of the wiki. From there, click "Create an account" and fill out the relevant information. Please use your first name (or first name and last initial if your name is no longer available) as your username. Despite what the account creation form may indicate, entering and email and your real name are **NOT** optional. This is important because it allows your edits and work to be attributed to you, and allows you to be able to contact the correct people to discuss information you see on the site.
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===Account Creation===
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To create an account, give the requested information on the account creation screen in the fields provided. Please note:
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= Navigation =
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*Please use your real first name for your username. If that name is already taken, please use your real first name and the first letter of your last name.
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**Wherever you make edits, they will be noted with your username and link back to your user page (see below).
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= Creating Your User Page =
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*Please make sure to provide your email address. While it is technically optional, there will be nothing anyone can do to help you if you lost your password.
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**To reset a lost password, go to [[Special:PasswordReset]], enter your username and press enter or click the “E-mail new password” button. Then follow the instructions in the email you receive to reset your password.
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Now that you have an account, you can create your user page. You should see your username linked up in the top right. Click on it to start editing your page! When you make edits there or elsewhere, anyone who clicks your name (which will be listed with your edits) will be directed back to your userpage. This includes the “{{int:Recentchanges}}” and “{{lcfirst:{{int:history}}}}” displays (See [[Help:Tracking changes]]). You can also link to your user page within text of a wiki page, which is mainly useful on [[Help:Talk pages|talk pages]] when you sign your name.
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***'''This is why providing an active email address is so important. If you do not provide an email address, your ability to get a new password could be extremely delayed or your account could become permanently inaccessible.'''
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*Please provide your real name so your colleagues can know who you are.
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== What to put on your user page ==
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===Start Your User Page===
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Use your userpage for any purpose you like. Generally it is a good place to list who you are and what you do, your current projects, your past projects, important references, etc.
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To create your user page, first click on your user name in the upper right hand corner of the wiki. That will bring you to an empty page with the URL of /wiki/User:[your username]. From there, you can start adding content to your page (see [[Help:Formatting]] for further details).
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====User To Do Page====
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=== Editing someone else's page ===
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User To Do pages are for the user to jot down projects they are working on, goals they have made, wiki articles they want to write, or just about anything they think needs to get done. Additionally, other users can suggest tasks via another user’s To Do page.  Anyone who “[[Help:Watchlist|watches]]” the page receives updates via their “[[Special:Watchlist|watch page]]”.
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It's generally considered bad etiquette to rewrite or reword another person's user page, except when:
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====Other People’s User Pages====
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It is generally frowned upon to edit [[Help:User_page#Editing_someone_else.27s_page | another user’s user page]], except in the following circumstances:
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* Fixing internal links, when a page has been [[Help:Moving a page|moved]] or [[Help:Deleting a page|deleted]]
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*Fixing internal links, when a page has been [[Help:Moving a page|moved]] or [[Help:Deleting a page|deleted]]
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* Fixing broken external links
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*Fixing broken external links
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* Categorizing or fixing categories of user pages.
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*Categorizing or fixing categories of user pages.
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==Navigation==
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=== User talk pages ===
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You can find most of what you want to know about navigation by visiting [[Help:Navigation]], but a few basic points are listed below.
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Every user page has an associated talk page; a "{{lcfirst:{{ns:3}}}} page". This is a special kind of talk page, for leaving messages directed at a particular user. See [[Help:Talk pages|User talk pages]].
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*''' [[Help:Navigation#Sidebar|Sidebar]]: ''' The [[Help:Navigation#Sidebar|sidebar]] (located on the left) gives you access to important pages in the wiki such as [[Help:Recent changes|Recent changes]] or [[Help:Managing files|Upload file]].
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*''' [[Help:Searching|Search]]: ''' Use the search box to find articles or create new ones by searching for the desired term and clicking on your search time in the text “Create the page "[search term]" on this wiki!”.
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=== User To Do pages ===
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*''' [[Help:Navigation#Toolbox|Toolbox]]: ''' The toolbox, also located on the left under the search box, contains a selection of links which change depending on what type of page you are viewing.
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The "to do" tab/link is a place for you to keep track of the projects you've got going on and their progress. It is also a place for others to suggest things for you to do or request help.
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*''' [[Help:Navigation#Page_Tabs|Page Tabs]]: ''' Default tabs for all users are “namespace” (page, help, special page, template, user page etc.), “discussion”, “edit” (or  “view source” if you are not logged in or if the page is protected), and “history”. Logged in users also will have “move” and “watch”.
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*''' [[Help:Navigation#User_Links|User links]]: ''' As a logged in user you have a collection of personal links, including ones to your user page and [[Help:Preferences|preferences]].
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= Creating/Editing pages =
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==Editing Pages==
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To create a page, simply search for a term. If there is no exact page match for that term, you will see "Create the page [your search term in quotes] on this wiki!" If you click on your search term (which will be in red)it will bring you to a new page named after your search term.  
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To edit an existing page, click the edit tab and make the desired changes in the page edit field.
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*You can preview your post before saving (to double check formatting, etc) by clicking “[[Help:Editing_pages#Preview|Show Preview]]” towards the bottom of the edit page. Your changes will not be saved but you will be able to view your page and make any necessary changes below in the edit box. This also avoids logging a bunch of tiny little changes (see [[Help:Tracking_changes]]).
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To start a new page, see [[Help:Starting_a_new_page]].
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===Saving Changes===
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{{Languages}}
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When you have finished making your edits, you have several options.
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*Note changes in the [[Help:Editing_pages#Edit_Summary|summary]] field (highly recommended).
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[[Category:Help|{{PAGENAME}}]]
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*Keep tabs on important pages
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**Check "Watch this page" underneath the “Summary” section to put the page in your [[Help:Watchlist|watchlist]]. Your watchlist is a place where you can keep track of changes in specific pages you wish to monitor.
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**Check the “history” tab at the top of the page or go to [[Special:RecentChanges]] (also see [[Help:Tracking_changes)]).
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*Check “[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Minor_edit|minor edit]” for superficial edits (please note the blue arrow icon indicates an external link).
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*DON’T FORGET TO CLICK “SAVE PAGE”!
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===Collaboration===
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Use the [[Help:Talk_pages|discussion page]] to leave questions or suggestions for the author or other colleagues regarding the content or proposed content. Use the To Do page to note tasks that need doing for the project or subject itself rather than the content of the wiki. Don't forget to sign your name at the end of your entry (see [[Help:Signatures]])!
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==Hardware==
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*For in office CHG’ers, take a moment to create a page (if one is not already created) to enter some information about your main CHG computer (see [[Category:Hosts]] for template and examples), such as any hardware details, physical location of your host, name of your host, IP address, OS, software packages, etc.
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**The To Do list would be a great place to record software or hardware you would like to get, upgrade, or replace.
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*For servers, feel free to note important file locations or directories. Programs that are crucial or handy to you on the server are also worth noting on the relevant server page (as well as the software version number).
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**As with your personal host, the server To Do list is a great place to record software or hardware you would like to get, upgrade, or replace.
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==Languages==
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If anyone would like to translate a given page into another language, please see [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Template:Languages Template:Languages].
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==Additional Links==
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*You will find a list of all Help articles at [[Help:Contents]].
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*You can adjust your [[Help:Preferences|preferences]] for [[Help:Skins|skins]] and other settings by clicking on “my preferences” in the top right corner of the page.

Latest revision as of 15:15, 24 September 2013

Welcome to the CHG wiki! This QuickStart guide will help you get familiar with the wiki and how it works. This guide is largely cobbled together from the various help articles found on this site Here you will find out how to sign up for an account, start your user page, navigate the site, basic page editing, and other resources to help you.

Getting Started

Since our wiki does not allow anonymous editing, the first thing you need to do is create an account. You can do this by clicking on the "Log in / create account" link in the upper right corner of the wiki and clicking “Create an account.”

Account Creation

To create an account, give the requested information on the account creation screen in the fields provided. Please note:

  • Please use your real first name for your username. If that name is already taken, please use your real first name and the first letter of your last name.
    • Wherever you make edits, they will be noted with your username and link back to your user page (see below).
  • Please make sure to provide your email address. While it is technically optional, there will be nothing anyone can do to help you if you lost your password.
    • To reset a lost password, go to Special:PasswordReset, enter your username and press enter or click the “E-mail new password” button. Then follow the instructions in the email you receive to reset your password.
      • This is why providing an active email address is so important. If you do not provide an email address, your ability to get a new password could be extremely delayed or your account could become permanently inaccessible.
  • Please provide your real name so your colleagues can know who you are.

Start Your User Page

To create your user page, first click on your user name in the upper right hand corner of the wiki. That will bring you to an empty page with the URL of /wiki/User:[your username]. From there, you can start adding content to your page (see Help:Formatting for further details).

User To Do Page

User To Do pages are for the user to jot down projects they are working on, goals they have made, wiki articles they want to write, or just about anything they think needs to get done. Additionally, other users can suggest tasks via another user’s To Do page. Anyone who “watches” the page receives updates via their “watch page”.

Other People’s User Pages

It is generally frowned upon to edit another user’s user page, except in the following circumstances:

  • Fixing internal links, when a page has been moved or deleted
  • Fixing broken external links
  • Categorizing or fixing categories of user pages.

Navigation

You can find most of what you want to know about navigation by visiting Help:Navigation, but a few basic points are listed below.

  • Sidebar: The sidebar (located on the left) gives you access to important pages in the wiki such as Recent changes or Upload file.
  • Search: Use the search box to find articles or create new ones by searching for the desired term and clicking on your search time in the text “Create the page "[search term]" on this wiki!”.
  • Toolbox: The toolbox, also located on the left under the search box, contains a selection of links which change depending on what type of page you are viewing.
  • Page Tabs: Default tabs for all users are “namespace” (page, help, special page, template, user page etc.), “discussion”, “edit” (or “view source” if you are not logged in or if the page is protected), and “history”. Logged in users also will have “move” and “watch”.
  • User links: As a logged in user you have a collection of personal links, including ones to your user page and preferences.

Editing Pages

To edit an existing page, click the edit tab and make the desired changes in the page edit field.

  • You can preview your post before saving (to double check formatting, etc) by clicking “Show Preview” towards the bottom of the edit page. Your changes will not be saved but you will be able to view your page and make any necessary changes below in the edit box. This also avoids logging a bunch of tiny little changes (see Help:Tracking_changes).

To start a new page, see Help:Starting_a_new_page.

Saving Changes

When you have finished making your edits, you have several options.

  • Note changes in the summary field (highly recommended).
  • Keep tabs on important pages
    • Check "Watch this page" underneath the “Summary” section to put the page in your watchlist. Your watchlist is a place where you can keep track of changes in specific pages you wish to monitor.
    • Check the “history” tab at the top of the page or go to Special:RecentChanges (also see [[Help:Tracking_changes)]).
  • Check “edit” for superficial edits (please note the blue arrow icon indicates an external link).
  • DON’T FORGET TO CLICK “SAVE PAGE”!

Collaboration

Use the discussion page to leave questions or suggestions for the author or other colleagues regarding the content or proposed content. Use the To Do page to note tasks that need doing for the project or subject itself rather than the content of the wiki. Don't forget to sign your name at the end of your entry (see Help:Signatures)!

Hardware

  • For in office CHG’ers, take a moment to create a page (if one is not already created) to enter some information about your main CHG computer (see for template and examples), such as any hardware details, physical location of your host, name of your host, IP address, OS, software packages, etc.
    • The To Do list would be a great place to record software or hardware you would like to get, upgrade, or replace.
  • For servers, feel free to note important file locations or directories. Programs that are crucial or handy to you on the server are also worth noting on the relevant server page (as well as the software version number).
    • As with your personal host, the server To Do list is a great place to record software or hardware you would like to get, upgrade, or replace.

Languages

If anyone would like to translate a given page into another language, please see Template:Languages.

Additional Links

  • You will find a list of all Help articles at Help:Contents.
  • You can adjust your preferences for skins and other settings by clicking on “my preferences” in the top right corner of the page.
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