WIKI.MARKUP BASICS
Back to current versionRestore this version

Writing text#

You don't need to know anything about the Wiki text formatting rules to use Wiki. Just write normal text, and then use an empty line to mark a paragraph. It's just like writing an email.

Adding pictures#

You can embed any image in the wiki code by putting the image available somewhere on the web in one of the allowed formats, and then just linking to it. For example, this is an inlined PNG image: http://www.ecyrd.com/~jalkanen/test.png.

If you specify a link text ([this one here|http://example.com/example.png]) it becomes the ALT text for those who either can't or don't want to view images.

You can also attach an image, and refer to it as if it were any other page. See WikiAttachments for more information.

If you need more layout control (or things like captions), check out the Image -plugin. It can do oodles more than just simple embedding.

The list of accepted image types depends on the Wiki. See the SystemInfo page for a list of the different image types.

Headings#

JSPWiki gives you three kinds of headings: A small one (denoted by starting a line with a single exclamation mark '!'), a medium-sized one (two exclamation marks), or a large one (three marks).

All headings also generate a "named anchor", so that you can refer from other wikipages to this wikipage. See Named Headings for more information.

Bulleted lists#

Use an asterisk (*) in the first column to make bulleted lists. Use more asterisks for deeper indentation. For example:
* One
* Two
* Three
** Three.One

creates

Numbered lists#

Just like with bulleted lists, but use a hash (#) instead of the asterisk. Like this:
# One
# Two
# Three
## Three.One

creates

  1. One
  2. Two
  3. Three
    1. Three.One

If you want to write the list item on multiple lines, just add one or more spaces on the next line and the line will be automatically added to the previous item. If this sounds complicated, edit this page for an example, below.

Definition lists and comments#

A simple way to make definition lists is to use the ';:' -construct:

Construct
Something you use to do something with

Another nice use for the ';:' is that you can use it to comment shortly on other people's text, by having an empty 'term' in the definition, like this:

;:''Comment here.''
Which would be seen as
Comment here.

Text effects#

You may use bold text or italic text, by using two underscores (_) and two single quotes ('), respectively. If you're on a Windows computer, make sure that you are using the correct quote sign, as there is one that looks the same, but really isn't.

Preformatted text#

If you want to add preformatted text (like code) just use three consecutive braces ({) to open a block, and three consecutive braces (}) to close a block. Edit this page for an example.

Linking around#

Links are an integral part of Wikis.

Linking to a WikiPage#

Just type the name of the page within brackets: [Like this]. This will create automatically a link to a page.

Note also that this Wiki can be configured to support standard CamelCase linking (if it's supported, the word CamelCase should be a link). It's off by default, but if your friendly administrator has turned it on, then well, CamelCase all you want =).

Linking to external sites#

The link can also be a direct URL starting with http:, ftp:, mailto:, https:, or news:, in which case the link points to an external entity. For example, to point at the java.sun.com home page, use [http://java.sun.com], which becomes http://java.sun.com/ or [Java home page|http://java.sun.com], which becomes Java home page.

Footnotes#

These are a special kind of hyperlink. By using nothing but a number inside a hyperlink you create a reference to a footnote, like this [1], which creates a footnote[1]. To make the actual footnote, you just put a [#1] where you want that footnote to point at. Look below to find the footnote.

You can also make a named footnote, just as if you were doing a normal hyperlink. For example, this refers to the same footnote[Footnote number 1] as the footnote above, but this refers to another footnote[2].

Tables#

You can do simple tables by using using pipe signs ('|'). Use double pipe signs to start the heading of a table, and single pipe signs to then write the rows of the table. End with a line that is not a table.

For example:

|| Heading 1 || Heading 2
| ''Gobble'' | Bar
| [Main]     | [SandBox]

gives you the following table. Note how you can use links also inside tables.

Heading 1 Heading 2
Gobble Bar
Main SandBox

Styles#

Hi there!
It's actually quite possible to do things like put comment boxes like this directly on your WikiPage. This sample comment box uses the "commentbox" style, as defined in the included "jspwiki.css" style sheet. To make a box like this, just use %%commentbox <text> %%.
In addition to the simple styles represented by the WikiMarkup, we also allow you to put in your own styles. For example:
%%small
This is small text
%%
uses the defined CSS style called "small", as defined in the jspwiki.css file. These may vary from site to site, and it is up to the site administrator to define a style.

You can also define almost any CSS style command:

%%( font-size: 150%; color: red; )
Hello, world!
%%
would render as:
Hello, world!

NOTE You have to mark the end of thestyled text using %% or /% or %%~<space> ! (the ~<space> acts as a non-rendering space.

For more predefined styles, see JSPWiki Styles

Conflicts#

If someone happens to edit the same page as you at the same time, JSPWiki will prevent you from doing changes and show a conflict page instead. Sorry to say, but the first one to make changes wins...

A word of warning: If you use the Back button of your browser to go into the Edit page, you will almost certainly get a conflict. This is because the browser thinks its still editing an earlier copy of the page.

Deleting pages#

Every page has a "More Info..." link on the bottom. If you click on it, you arrive on a page which allows you to, among other things, restore old versions and delete pages. Note that your administrator may have prevented deleting pages arbitrarily.

Adding new pages#

Create a link that points to a new (not existing) page using its WikiName. Click that new link, which should now have a question mark (?) suffix and you will get an editor for the new page.

Attaching files#

If the administrator of the wiki has configured it, there is a "Attach file..." link at the bottom of every page. Clicking it allows you to attach files into pages. For more information, please see WikiAttachments.

Variables, plugins, forms and other special functions#

Inserting variables#

There are many possible variables you can insert on a page. The basic form is:

[{$variablename}],

where variablename is the name of the variable you want to insert. Note that variable names are case-insensitive - that is, "pagename" is the same as "paGeNamE" and "PageName".

You can see the list of available of variables at WikiVariables.


[#1] Here's the footnote I mentioned.

[The other footnote] The other footnote. Note how it's name is different?


See also: FormattingQuickReference