The VDS Wiki User Guide

Introduction

This is just a brief documentation about the most used functions on this collaboration platform. A really detailled documentation can be found in the TWiki web (TWiki).

After you've read all the information and understood it, you can visit the Sandbox Web (Sandbox), to get used to the syntax. Once you're used to it, you can start working in the section your team is in.

I (KaiSkolik) receive a lot of emails with questions of how to use this wiki. Please read those few documentation/information topics before you ask me. Thank you and have fun!

Edit a topic

You need to have a registered account on the wiki to be able to edit a topic. If you do not have on yet, register otherwise just log in.

Editing a topic as basically as editing a word document. Every topic has an edit button on the top right corner and in the bottom menu. Click on that button to go to the edit screen. This screen has a small formatting help at the top. Read it carefully to get to know the basic syntax of the wiki.

That's it. Now you know the basics and you can start editing topics. If you want to create topics with more advance (they look nicer in the end, and that's recommended), click on More formatting help and hints on good style in the edit screen.

Advanced editing:
Once you're used to the basic editing rules you can start "finalize" your documents. They just look nicer if they have some pictures, nicely organized headings, tables etc.

• TWikiDocGraphics -- A list and description of all available icons to use. TWiki syntax: Just write %ICON{iconname}% in the edit screen to place the deserved icon at the position you write the code. Replace iconname with the icon you want to display.

Links

Links to topics in the same web

Every topics name should be a WikiWord. If you want to set a link to a topic simply write the WikiWord and the link will be created automatically.

Links to topics in another web

The complete address of a topic is Webname.TopicName. If you want to set a link to a topic which is in a different web than you're right now, you have to add Webname. infront of the WikiWord.

Note: Every group in the Technics web is a subweb. So links in between the technical groups would look like this: Technics.Webname.TopicName.
Example: You're in the HMI web and want to set a link to a topic called YourTopic in the Propulsion web. You have to type Technics.Propulsion.YourTopic.

Click here to list all webs in this wikiHide web list

Link appearence

Sometimes it just looks nicer if you name your link instead of showing the WikiWord or whatever the destination of the link is. This can easily be done by writing the following code: [[LinkTarget][Click here!]]. LinkTarget is the topic the link leads to, Click here! is the text the user sees while reading the topic.

Other suggestions:

You type	You get
[[mailto:yourname@yourcompany.com][email me]]	email me
[[http://twiki.vehicledesignsummit.org][The VDS Wiki]]	The VDS Wiki
[[Main.TWikiGuest][%ICON{person}% My personal site]]	My personal site

Attach a file

Attaching a file to a topic is as simple as including a file with an e-mail. You can attach every file type you like. (Note that there are file size limitations. If you experience an error regarding this limit get in touch with the administrator)

• Click on the [Attach] button at the top or bottom of the topic you want to attach the file to.
• Click [Browse] to find the file on your computer that you'd like to attach.
• Optional: Enter a comment
• Optional: Change the properties of the file
  • Check Create a link to the attached file. This create a link to the file in the topic (at the end (containing %ATTACHURL%), edit the topic to place it where ever you like). Images/pictures will be displayed.
  • Check Do not show attachment in table. The attached file will not be displayed in the table below the topic. This option might be useful if you just want to place pictures in your topic.
• Click on the Upload button.

Definition for images/pictures: Just GIF, JPG or PNG files will be interpreted as images.

Your personal topic

This topic is your TWiki business card. It is automatically created during your registration process and is based on a template. You can get to your personal topic by clicking on TWikiGuest in the left bar. You can edit your personal topic like every other topic on the wiki. Please keep your personal information always up to date. In the case that for example your university was not available at your registration, you can enter it now. And notify the administrator about the missing item in the registration.

You can also attach a picture of yourself to your personal topic.

The links on your personal topic are based on the template. You do not need them. Just keep the one entry with your email address (| E-mail | %USERINFO{"%TOPIC%" format="$emails"}% |). Don't worry, your email address is kept secret. This field is just visible for you and the administrators.

If you want to control the access to your personal topic, you can change the permissions. You'll find predefined permissions when you edit your topic. Simply remove the '#' to activate them. How to set permissions is described below.

Calendar

The calendar is divided into two parts. One public and one "private" part. The public part is meant for all events where non VDS people are invited as well. The private part is meant for internal information only. Events, that are not of public interest.

The public calendar has a link on the WebHome of the Main web, the internal calendar is only accessible through the left bar in the internal webs (Organizational, SAT, Technics).

To add an event you need to decide wether it is for public interest or not. After that decision you can click on "Add event..." and follow the instructions.

The general syntax is   * DD MMM YYYY - Event

It's recommended to use a WikiWord as event name. Then only the WikiWord will be displayed in the calendar with a hyperlink to the events topic.

Further information about adding events is provided in the "Add event" topic.

Contacts

This wiki also has the capability to build up a contact database. It's located in its own web, the Contacts web. Accessible through the left bar.

To add new contacts to an existing database, click on its link. A topic containing a table should open now. At the bottom of the table is a small edit button (not the same one to edit a topic). Click on Add row, which will create a new row where you can enter the new contact.

If you want to modify existing contacts, follow the same procedure without clicking on Add row. You can just go and edit the contacts in the table by clicking on the specific field.

Once you're done, click on save.

If you want to create a new database, you have to create a new topic in the Contacts web. Give it a good name and link it on the WebHome site in the Contacts web.

Edit the new topic and paste the following code: %EDITTABLE{header="| column1 | column2 | column3 |" format="| text, 15 | text, 15 | text, 15 |"}% This will create a editable table with three columns named column1, column2 and column3. Each column has a textfield to input information.

You can change the appearance of the table by adding or removing columns within the header=" " part. The code in the format=" " part is responsible for the way you can enter the contact information later on.

Here is the entire code for the EDITTABLE Plugin:

Show codeHide code

Tasks

You can assign and also get assigned to tasks. To see if you have a task that needs to be completed, you can click on My Tasks in the left bar. This will open a topic with a list of all the tasks that are assigned to you.

If you're done working on a task and think it's completed, you can close it by clicking on the edit link at the specific task and set the state to closed. The task will not be displayed anymore in this topic and the notification service stops.

To see all the tasks you've completed in the past, click on the link in the My Task topic.

You'll receive a notification email every day at 1:00pm (EST) about open tasks that are assigned to you. "Late" items will send out a notification every hour.

To create a new task, you just need to paste the following code anywhere in the entire wiki:

%ACTION{}%

This will automatically create a new task which is assign to you by default. Click on the edit link at that task to set the parameters (assigned to, due date, the task itself and who will get a notification email).

Note: Do not assign tasks to a group, assign them to a single person. Syntax: To reach the right person, you have to type Main.UserName in the assign/notify field of the task. Replace the string UserName with the WikiName of the person (e.g. TWikiGuest). In your case it's Main.TWikiGuest. Keep the Main. part!

Talk: The VDS Discussion Board

You might want to give feedback and talk about the wiki, webex, our website or whatever. All the things and tools you use every time you work for VDS. Sometimes it is difficult to create something that everybody likes.

That's why there's a discussion board. It's a topic in a blog style. Simply add a post.

If you want to add another Talk, you can absolutely do this!

Notification

WebNotify is a subscription service that automatically notifies you by e-mail when topics change in a TWiki web. This is a convenience service - for many people, checking e-mail is easier than checking the Web.

• It's important to know when anyone on your team posts an update. If you're following a specific discussion, it's convenient to know when there's new input.
• Alerts are e-mailed as links to individual topics that've been changed in a set period.
• It's strongly recommended that you try out the service by subscribing to each TWiki web that's relevant to you. You can subscribe and unsubscribe instantly, on a per web basis using WebNotify.

The notification service is configured for hourly alerts. Those alerts/notifications will only be send out, if the topic/web you're subscribed to has changed since your last notification.

If nothing changes, you will not receive an email.

Every web has it's own notification service. To get there, you can easily use the Jump box on the right side of the header. Simply type in "WebNotify" and hit enter and you'll be forwarded to the notification service topic of the web you're currently in.

The notification service is basically just a bullet list of email addresses and or wikinames. You also have the option to enter certain parameters to your entry which configure your notification emails.

Permissions

Relevant for the user/editor are only the permissions for each topic. To set a permission, you have to add a line of code to your topic. The code looks like this:

   * Set ALLOWTOPICVIEW = Main.%WIKINAME% 

It starts with three spaces, one asterisk, one space, the word Set, one space, The permission variable, one space, =, one space, A list of groups/persons

The following permissions can be set:

• Set DENYTOPICVIEW = < comma-delimited list of Users and Groups >
• Set ALLOWTOPICVIEW = < comma-delimited list of Users and Groups >
• Set DENYTOPICCHANGE = < comma-delimited list of Users and Groups >
• Set ALLOWTOPICCHANGE = < comma-delimited list of Users and Groups >
• Set DENYTOPICRENAME = < comma-delimited list of Users and Groups >
• Set ALLOWTOPICRENAME = < comma-delimited list of Users and Groups >

Be careful with empty values for any of these.

• Set ALLOWTOPICVIEW =
  This means the same as not setting it at all. (This was documented wrong in versions 4.0.X, 4.1.0 and 4.1.1)

• Set DENYTOPICVIEW =
  Since TWiki 4.0 this means do not deny anyone the right to view this topic. If DENYTOPICVIEW is set to an empty value anyone has access even if ALLOWTOPICVIEW or ALLOWWEBVIEW is defined. This allows to have very restrictive default access rights to an entire web and still allow individual topics to have more open access.

The same rules apply to ALLOWTOPICCHANGE/DENYTOPICCHANGE and APPLYTOPICRENAME/DENYTOPICRENAME. Setting ALLOWTOPICCHANGE or ALLOWTOPICRENAME to en empty value means the same as not defining it. Setting DENYTOPICCHANGE or DENYTOPICRENAME to an empty value means that anyone can edit or rename the topic.

Publishing content

For security reasons the webs Organizational, SAT, Technics (and all subwebs), Contacts are restricted to the VdsGroup and the TWikiAdminGroup. Only members of this group can read (and edit) the topics.

If you want to publish a certain topic you have to change the permissions of the specific topic. It's easier than it sounds like. Set the DENYTOPICVIEW permission to an empty value. Now everyone is able to read the topic.

If that's not enough you may want to provide write permissions to everyone else. Set the DENYTOPICCHANGE permission to an empty value. Now everyone is able to edit the topic.

The next step you have to take is to set a link to the topic you want to publish in the Main web. Go there and type Technics.Propulsion.YourTopic if the topic is named YourTopic and is stored in the Propulsion subweb in the Technics web.

You may set up a clear structure in the Main web. That's our public interface.

One last word from the administrator

This place is designed for interactive documentation and collaboration. That means, that everybody can edit everything. That's great! But please take care of the work you do. Just typing in the text is not what this platform is designed for. You have the option to use so many layout things. Please read the formatting rules and use them when you type in your information.

In the end you'll be very thankful if everybody does that. It just looks nicer and the navigation is much easier!

It might look a little bit difficult in the beginning, but it's really easy! If you like the layout on a certain page on this wiki and you want to know, how the author did it, simply click on the "Raw view" in the bottom bar and the source code of the topic will show up. Copy and paste?!

When you create a new topic your signature is automatically pasted in the edit box. Please type in your content above the signature.

That's it. Now you can enjoy working with the VDS wiki!
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or start a discussion in the discussion board!

-- KaiSkolik - 22 Aug 2007