Getting+Started+with+Wikispaces

=ENG Wiki Home= = = =Getting Started With Your Wiki= = =

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Begin Editing
For those of you who like to get your feet wet right away, we start with showing you how to edit a page. Feel free to jump in, play around, and then come back for the rest of this tutorial. The other Getting Started topics will be here waiting for you when new questions arise. To begin, click "Edit This Page."

2. Basic Formatting
Our visual page editor is as easy to use as a word processor. It lets you format your text, insert images and files, and link to other pages using a simple toolbar. To change the format of your text, simply highlight the text you would like to change, and click on the desired formatting button in the toolbar. You can format text in bold, italics, underline, various headings, and numbered and unnumbered bullets. You can also add a horizontal line break.

3. Linking
When you create a new page in your wiki, you'll want to create a link to that page. You can create links by highlighting the text you wish to link and clicking the earth icon in the toolbar. You can link pages within your wiki or to locations outside of your wiki. To remove a link in the visual editor, put the cursor on the link, or highlight the link, and hit the broken link earth icon.

4. Adding Images and Uploading Files
You can include pictures and files in your pages easily. If you add an image to your page, you will have options to align the image, and add a link or caption. To change the alignment or caption of an image already in the document or delete the image, simply return to the "Edit This Page" button and click on the image again.
 * Click the image icon which looks like a tree in a box [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/editor/image.gif width="23" height="22" caption="external image image.gif"]]
 * Use the 'Upload New File' or 'External Image URL' dialog to select the image or file you wish to put on your page
 * Put the cursor at the position on the page where you wish to put the image or file
 * Double click the image or file to put it on the page

5. Widgets and HTML
You can embed widgets like video, audio, calendars, or any other HTML in your page. When editing any Wikispaces page, you'll see a button on the toolbar that looks like a television. Click it, and select the widget you want or paste the HTML from any embeddable web service in the box.

6. Adding Tables
You can create tables by clicking on the table image in the toolbar. After you specify the number of rows and columns for your table, click "Ok." If you would like to add or remove rows or columns after you have created your column, click on a cell in the table. On two edges of that cell, two arrows on either side of a circle will appear. The arrows will add a row or column to the adjacent cells they point to. The circle with an "x" through it will delete the current row or column your cursor is in.

1. User Accounts and Wikis
When you join Wikispaces, the first thing you will do is create a user account. A user account (with a username, password, and e-mail address) is your identity on Wikispaces. You may then choose to create a wiki, or join a wiki. A wiki is a place where you can create and edit pages and invite other people to collaborate with you. You can create, or join, as many wikis as you like on Wikispaces.com. Each wiki can have an unlimited number of pages and files. Think of Wikispaces as a big building. Your user account is your key. The rooms in the building are wikis. Your key will let you into any room that you have created, or into anyone else's room who decides to let you in.

2. User Profile Pages
By clicking on your username at the top of the page, you will be brought to your user profile page. This profile page allows you to see more about your user account, including:
 * Which wikis you belong to
 * Your recent edits to any page on Wikispaces.com
 * Your favorite pages. On every wiki page, there is a star next to the name. By clicking on it, it will be saved on your Profile page under Favorites for your future reference.
 * Your tags (You can find out more about tagging in the "Advanced Features" section of this Getting Started tutorial.)

3. Wiki Permissions
Wikispaces offers three types of permissions for your wiki:
 * **Public:** A public wiki can be viewed by anyone and can also be edited by anyone.
 * **Protected:** A protected wiki can be viewed by anyone but can only be edited by members of the wiki.
 * **Private:** A private wiki can only be viewed or edited by members of the wiki.

4. Different Types of User

 * **A Guest:** A guest is anyone who is visiting Wikispaces.com but who has not signed in to a user account. Guests can view all public and protected wikis. They can also edit pages on public wikis but not create new pages. Guests can read, but not post, to discussion pages.
 * **A User:** Anyone logged in to a user account on Wikispaces.com can view all public and protected wikis on the site. They can edit and create pages in public wikis as well as post to the discussion pages in those wikis.
 * **A Member:** When a user account is added to a wiki, they become a member of that wiki. They can then view and edit the wiki whether it is public, protected, or private. Members of a wiki are also able to upload images and files to that wiki. Any member of a wiki can be promoted, by the organizer, to be a fellow organizer of that wiki.
 * **An Organizer:** The organizer of a wiki has administrative access to that wiki. They can invite people to be members, approve requests to join the wiki, delete pages, upgrade or delete the wiki, determine whether a wiki is public, protected, or private, change the look and feel of the wiki, and manage the subscription of that wiki.

5. Wiki Types
A wiki on Wikispaces can be a Basic, Plus, or Super wiki. We also offer a Private Label service for organizations.
 * Basic: Your free wiki can either be public or protected and will contain Google ads on the right side of the screen.
 * Plus: You will receive an ad-free wiki, that can be private, and for which you can design your own theme. All information sent to and from your wiki will be secured using SSL encryption (https).
 * Super: On top of the advantages of our Plus Plan, you can upload files that are 50 MB in size and host your wiki on your own domain or web address. We also provide you will full Web Folders (WebDAV support) which allows you easier access to your files and pages.
 * Private Label: You get your own hosted wiki environment in which you can create an unlimited number of wikis and user accounts. You will have full administrative control over your site while continuing to receive support for your end-customers. It's a great option for organizations who want full control over their wiki environment. Learn more about Wikispaces Private Label.
 * Private Label: You get your own hosted wiki environment in which you can create an unlimited number of wikis and user accounts. You will have full administrative control over your site while continuing to receive support for your end-customers. It's a great option for organizations who want full control over their wiki environment. Learn more about Wikispaces Private Label.

6. Messaging System
Wikispaces.com has a private messaging system that members can use to communicate with each other. You can use it to send messages to all members of your wiki or to an individual user. By clicking on the envelope at the top of the page, you will be brought to your message Inbox. You can see who has sent you a message as well as compose your own message. As always, your e-mail address will remain private. Individuals can only use this system to send messages to usernames, not to e-mail addresses.

7. Discussion Tab
Each page has its own discussion area. The discussion tab is similar to a forum in that people can post a message or question and other members can respond to it. Each discussion thread, along with its number of replies and views, will be visible on this page. Organizers of a wiki can delete specific threads or comments. For more on who can post to discussion pages on your wiki, see "Different Types of User" in this section of the Getting Started tutorial.

8. History
Each time someone edits a page, we take a visual snapshot of the changes so you can see at a glance how much has changed in each revision. Was it one line or the whole page? Click on 'history' at the top of any page to see all versions of a page. Then click on the specific version you would like to review and you'll see a visual representation of the changes. You can compare versions and revert back to a previous copy if necessary. To revert a page:
 * Click on 'history' on top of the page you want to revert
 * Select the version you would like to go back to, by clicking on the revision in the date column
 * Click 'revert to this version' at the top of the page
 * Enter a comment and click the Revert button

9. Notifications
By clicking on the "notify me" tab for a page, you will be able to be notified of any changes to that page or to the entire wiki. You can receive page change notifications via e-mail, or both page and discussion changes through RSS Feeds. To receive e-mail notifications, make sure you have confirmed your e-mail address. If you would like to receive notifications for the entire wiki, click on the "wiki-wide notification page" link. To turn off your notifications, return to this page.

1. Managing Your Wiki
By clicking on the "Manage Wiki" link in the left sidebar, you will be taken to a page where you can manage all aspects of your wiki. This section will show you some of the different things you can do with your wiki.

2. List Pages
This page will show you all the pages in your wiki. As a member of the wiki, you have the option to print pages. As an organizer, you can also:
 * Lock a page (meaning only organizers can edit the page but all members can still view it).
 * Delete or rename a page.
 * Redirect a page to another one. (For example, if you redirect the page "home" to "Working Group 1," anytime members try to go to the home page, they will be automatically sent to the "Working Group 1" page.)

3. List and Upload Files
Here you can see which files are in your wiki or upload new files to your wiki. As an organizer, you can also rename or delete files.

4. Usage Statistics
We give you Usage Statistics for your wiki. These include:
 * Number of views per day
 * Number of edits per day
 * Number of messages per day
 * Number of editors per day
 * Views per page
 * Edits or discussion posts per wiki member

5. Name, Description, and License
On this page, you can:
 * Change the name of your wiki (the name that appears on the top left corner of your wiki).
 * Change the URL of your wiki (eg. from http://your-wiki-name.wikispaces.com to http://your-wiki.wikispaces.com). You can only change your wiki's URL once every 30 days.
 * Write a description for your wiki (for all public wikis, this description will appear in the Wikispaces Wiki Directory).
 * Change the copyright license for work published on your wiki.

6. Look and Feel
On this page, organizers can:
 * Change the theme, or overall look and feel of your wiki.
 * Change the background and font colors for the menus and in your wiki.
 * Change the appearance of your wiki content, or editable portion of your page.
 * Change the logo for your wiki. The default logo is the Wikispaces bonsai tree that appears at the top left of your wiki.

7. Members and Permissions
Here, organizers can:
 * Set the permissions for your wiki, which determine who will have access to the wiki.
 * Allow non-members to post discussion messages on your wiki or prevent them from doing so. (This only applies for public or protected wikis as non-members cannot access private wikis.)
 * See who is a member or organizer of your wiki and promote members to organizers.
 * Invite new members and check for pending membership requests.

8. Subscription
Here you can manage your Subscription. You can upgrade to any of our plans or make a payment for your current subscription. All our paid subscriptions come with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required. We accept payments by credit/debit card or PayPal. If your trial ends and you do not wish to continue using your wiki, your wiki will revert to the Basic plan. If your wiki is private, it will remain private but you will no longer be able to access the wiki. If it's public, the advertisements will return and your wiki will remain active. Of course, if you want to delete your wiki, you can do so at any time.

9. Delete Your Wiki
Any organizer of a wiki can also choose to delete it. Deleting your wiki will not immediately allow you to create a new wiki with the same name. If you are unsure if you want to delete your wiki, send us an e-mail at help@wikispaces.com

1. Changing User Account Details
By clicking on the "My Account" link at the top of the page, you can set the preferences for your user account. On this page, you can change your username, e-mail address, or password. Usernames can only be changed once every 30 days.

2. E-mail Preferences
You can choose when you will receive e-mails or messages. Your options are: Note: In order to receive any e-mails, make sure you have confirmed your e-mail address by clicking on the confirmation link in the first e-mail we sent you. You can also request a new confirmation email from the My Account page.
 * Allow Private Messages From (Allow or prevent messages from other Wikispaces members through our Messaging System.)
 * E-mail Discussion Responses (Receive an e-mail anytime someone responds to one of your discussion posts.)
 * E-mail Changes to Favorite Pages (Receive an e-mail when changes are made to pages that you have marked as a Favorite.)
 * E-mail When You Receive a Message (Receive an e-mail when you get private messages in your Wikispaces Inbox.)
 * Email Site News (Wikispaces sends out a monthly e-mail letting you know of new features and other news about Wikispaces. If you do not wish to receive this e-mail, you can turn it off here.)

3. Adding a Profile Image
By clicking on the "Change Picture" link, you can change the picture that is associated with your account. Images can be no larger than 1 MB in size. This image will appear on your user profile page as well as anywhere you are referred to on Wikispaces, such as in the history of a page you have edited.

4. Deleting Your User Account
If you wish to delete your Wikispaces user account, you can do so here. If you delete your account in error, send us an e-mail at help@wikispaces.com Note: This will not delete the wikis you have created. To delete your wikis, go to each wiki, then go to "Manage Wiki," and "Delete This Wiki."

1. Invite People
By going to "Manage Wiki" then "Invite People," you be brought to a form that allows you to invite people to your wiki. You can invite people by their Wikispaces username or their e-mail address.

2. Users Requesting Access
Users can request membership to your public or protected wiki by going to your wiki, clicking on "Manage Wiki" and then "Members and Permissions." They will see an option to request membership on that page. If your wiki is private, non-members can request membership to your wiki when they visit your wiki. You will have the opportunity to accept or reject their membership request. As an organizer, you will receive e-mail notifications of these requests as well as notification banners when you visit your wiki.

3. Handling Pending Requests and Invitations
When you log in as an organizer of your wiki, you will see a banner at the top of the page informing you of any new membership requests. If you go to "Manage Wiki" and "Members and Permissions," you can also see pending memberships under "Pending Membership Requests." You will be able to approve any requests and see or withdraw any invitations that you have sent out that other users still need to accept. If you have invited people who do not yet have user accounts on Wikispaces, those invitations will not be listed here.

4. Creating Accounts in Bulk
We offer a service where we can create accounts for you in bulk. If you are a teacher and need to create accounts for every student, but don't want to go through the hassle of creating an account for each student and having them request access to your wiki, we can set up those accounts for you. Send us an e-mail at help@wikispaces.com with your wiki name and the accounts you would like us to create. The list should be formatted as follows: code user1,email1@address.com,password1 user2,email2@address.com,password2 user3,email3@address.com,password3

code For full details, please read the following.

1. Editing Your Navigation Bar
On the left side of each page in your wiki, you'll see a "Navigation" section. The content in this section will display on every page in your wiki. It's a nice way to have a common menu across all of your pages. To link to pages in the Navigation Bar: The space.menu page is just like any other wiki page meaning you can put in links, headings, images, lists - anything that can be on a normal page. The only difference is that bulleted lists will not have bullets displayed in order to preserve space.
 * Click on the "Edit Navigation" link on the left side of your page.
 * You will be editing the special "space.menu" page.
 * Type the names of the pages you want to appear in the Navigation Bar.
 * Highlight each name and link it to the appropriate page by clicking on the button that looks like an Earth [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/editor/hyperlink.gif width="22" height="23" caption="external image hyperlink.gif"]] in the toolbar.
 * Save the page.

2. The Text Editor
Wikispaces has two different editors. If you use a modern version of Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox, your default editor will be our visual editor. You can switch between the text and visual editors while editing a page through a button on the toolbar. Our more complex features, such as adding anchors, will require placing wikitext into your editor. You can insert wikitext using the visual editor or the text editor. If you would like to make the Text Editor your default editor, go to your "My Account" page. For more on formatting your wiki with wikitext, see the following help page.

3. Tags
Tags are like keywords or categories you can apply to a page. To add a tag to the current page: You can see the tags in your wiki by going to "Manage Wiki" then "List Tags." You can filter and sort them based on popularity and recent use. You will also find a tag cloud, or a visual representation of the tags and their popularity, on this page. Searching for a tag? Use the "Search" bar and you can search for tag names.
 * Edit the page by clicking the "Edit this page" button.
 * Type the tag or tags you want in the text field called "Optional: tags for this page" at the bottom of the edit window.
 * Click Save.

Check out our full features page to see what else you can do on Wikispaces.

1. What are Wikis?
Wikis are collaborative, editable web pages. Multiple people can edit your pages, and each change is recorded so you can collaborate with everyone in your organization. Your wiki saves every version of each page so that if a mistake is made, you can just revert back to a previous version. A good video on what wikis are can be found at Common Craft. Also, if you'd like to get some ideas of what you can do with your wiki, check out our examples page.

2. Our Plus Plan for K-12 Educators
Back in January 2006, we decided to offer our Plus Plan to K-12 teachers for free. We didn't set out with a grand strategy, just an interest in helping teachers with our easy to use wiki technology. This offer includes all the features and benefits that normally cost $50/year - for free. No fine print, no usage limits, no advertising, no catches. The offer applies to any wiki that is used exclusively for K-12 educational use. K-12 means kindergarten through secondary school. It is available worldwide to teachers, students, and other educators. This offer is not available to universities and higher education. Our regular pricing is designed so that our service is accessible to higher education and non-profits as well as individuals and companies. If you would like to request a K-12 upgrade, click "Manage Wiki" then "Subscription" and you'll see an option to request your upgrade. You can also create new K-12 Education Wikis at any time.