FAQs
From Iowa Independent Factbook
For editors:
1. Using the wiki:
- Login/Request Account: At the top of every page, in the upper right hand corner is a login link. If you do not have an account you can request one here.
- Toolbox: On the bottom of every page, above the footer, is the wiki toolbox. When logged in, the toolbox contains links for many things, including Special Pages and Upload File.
- Special pages show maintenance information, page lists, lists of recent changes and logs, watchlist, among other information.
- Edit/History/Discussion links: On the bottom of every non-Special page, there are links for Edit, History, Discussion and Watch.
- Edit: brings up the wiki/html version of the page. There are some buttons to help you out, but this Cheatsheet will help get you started on formatting wiki text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cheatsheet
- History: Shows the page history and allows you to undo edits or approve pending edits
- Discussion: Each wiki page (e.g., Timothy_James_Pawlenty) has an associated discussion page with it, that exists in the Talk namespace (Talk: Timothy_James_Pawlenty).
- Watch - allows you to add a page to your Watchlist
2. Basic questions
- How do I create a new page? There are two ways to create a new page. After logging in, you can:
- RECOMMENDED: Type a new page name into the search bar and select "Go to Page". If the page name does not exist, you will see a link that says Create the page "[your page name]" on this wiki! Click on this link and get to editing!
- Duplicate an existing page: In the Toolbox, select "Duplicate this page". This will duplicate all information in the page, including content, history and styling. You can also choose to duplicate the discussion page.
- How do I edit a page?
At the bottom of every editable page, there is a link, "edit". Clicking this link will allow you to edit the page, using basic text and wiki markup. There are some buttons to help you out, but this Cheatsheet will help get you started on formatting wiki text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cheatsheet
- Why can't I edit every page, or every part of a page?
Part of the wiki is designed to have non-editable information. Please contact us if you have suggestions or comments on these pages.
- Advanced (for those very familiar with html/css): How do I give the page style or add sideboxes, like on the homepage?
Risking the readability of your information, you can view our basic styling guide here. It will give you information on some of the styling options we've set up to use with the pages, including the sideboxes and a simple two-column layout.
