Cheat Sheet for Wiki Editors
This page provides instructions to help you prepare and edit wiki pages while following standard conventions on our wiki. Do do that, you need to understand how wiki text coding works. However, you can easily make changes to existing pages using the visual editor which provides a more restricted range of formatting options.
Biography page
Create a new page "Person:familyname, firstnames, (alternate names)", for example Person:Appleyard, John. If such a page already exists, add a single description title like this: Person:Appleyard, John (academic) or a birth date Person:Appleyard, John (1933).
If the person is still living, start the page name with "Profile:" instead of "Person:".
Here is a sample of the wiki text you need to start a biography page. Copy and paste this text to the new page and substitute the appropriate names and details.
__NOTOC__
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleyard, John}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:John Appleyard}}
'''APPLEYARD, John A,''' BSc MSc CEng MIMechE (1933-2023)
[[File:WABIO_Appleyard_J.jpg | thumb | 200px | left| <small>''Source: Stephen Appleyard''</small>]]John was born on May 14, 1933, at Babbington, Nottinghamshire, the son of Leonard Appleyard and his wife Gladys Mary Appleyard (nee Shawcroft).
This text will appear like this:
APPLEYARD, John A, BSc MSc CEng MIMechE (1933-2023)John was born on May 14, 1933, at Babbington, Nottinghamshire, the son of Leonard Appleyard and his wife Gladys Mary Appleyard (nee Shawcroft).
Notice that the DEFAULT SORT and DISPLAY TITLE text does not show here. The display title text will appear in large bold font at the top of the page, no matter where you place it in the wiki text. The default sort influences the order in which pages appear in category lists. The __NOTOC__ text suppresses a table of contents with hyperlinks. This is only useful for longer pages (like this one).
The name is preceded and followed by three single quotes to make the text bold font.
The post-nominals (e.g. MSc CEng MIMechE) come after the name, without commas between them, and the birth year and death year follow in brackets. If preparing a profile page, include just the year of birth if known in brackets - e.g. (1975- ). Please follow this convention strictly!
Place Page
The name for a page about a place begins with "Place:". Keep the reset of the name as simple as possible.
The page layout is similar in principle to the biography page, with some important differences. Here is a typical start for the page.
__NOTOC__
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Dumas House}}
''Summary text (single sentence)''
Dumas House is an imposing fourteen storey structure described by David Brand (then Premier) at its opening as ‘a big building, and I think, a handsome one’. It was constructed.....
At the end of the page, or after 20 - 30 lines of text if the page is longer, provide a map reference to show where the place is located. You can find the latitude and longitude using Google Maps.
{{#display_map:location=-31.9528074189054, 115.84362193616985 | domain=com | width=100% | zoom=14 }}
This wikitext will cause a map window to be created on the page. Here is a sample.
It is also helpful to include a link to provide Google Maps directions to reach the place. Include a link like this. Use Google Maps (share location) to find the appropriate link for your place.
For directions on how to reach the museum, click on the green arrow symbol. This will take you to Google Maps on your viewing device. Select which mode of transport suits you. [[File:WA00_directions-arrow.png|70px|right|link=https://maps.app.goo.gl/XgzwbM9wZ2c2ExN68]]
Organisation Page
The name for an organisation page starts with "Organisation:". Keep the name as simple as possible: do not include acronyms and abbreviations such as "Pty Ltd".
The layout is similar to a place page, with the name of the organisation.
For each organisation, after the organisation name, include the life span of the organisation in brackets (yyyy-yyyy), similarly to a biographical page. If the organisation is still in existence, just type (yyyy- ) instead.
In cases where the organisation has an informative Wikipedia article, provide a link to the relevant page (or pages if there are several providing different aspects of the organisation).
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Rio Tinto (1994- )}}
See this [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Tinto_(corporation) Wikipedia article] for the history of Rio Tinto Corporation.
Illustrations
Illustrations should be prepared as 'jpg' photographic images, or 'png' files for drawings or graphics, prefereably less that 750 kB in size. Use software such as FastStone to resize images and adjust the quality to suit this limit.
Here is the wiki code for the thumbnail image shown above:
[[File:WABIO_Appleyard_J.jpg | thumb | 200px | left| <small>''Source: Stephen Appleyard''</small>]]
The "[[File:" instruction specifies that a local image file is to be displayed: the file name follows. Following the subsequent vertical bars we see "thumb" which specifies a smaller version of the image in a frame, "200px" which specifies the width of the image in pixels, "left" which specifies that the image should be on the left side of the text with the text flowing around it, and lastly the image caption. The image caption text is preceded by "<small>" specifying a small font size, and a corresponding "</small>" restores the normal font size after the end of the caption text. Finally, the wiki code finishes with "]]". You can experiment with different image codes: you can learn more at the Wikipedia help page: WikiText Help.
Prepare each image link using the prototype code above, starting with "[[File:WABIO_". The name should be preceded by the state and a category code, e.g. WABIO for a West Australian biography. The next part of the name should be the family, place or organisation name. If the image has already been uploaded, you should use the correct filename that you can find by inspecting and searching the file list here. However this can be tedious. It is better to specify the image name in a copy of the prototype code, and then upload the image later.
Once you have created the page, with image references, save the edits and view the page. Each image will either appear (if previously uploaded) or there will be a place-marker with the image file name displayed in red because it is a broken link at this stage. Click on the image filename and you will be presented with a file upload dialog box. Select the image file on your computer: it need not be the same name as specified on the wiki page. Include a description such as "Used in Person:Applyard, John" and click the "Upload" button. The next time you view the page, the image will appear instead of the place-marker.
For more, read the EHA Website Guideline and Operating Manual with Appendices and Work Instructions by Mike Taylor, 11th May 2024.
Links
Links to other pages are essential to encourage readers to explore and seek additional information. There are two kinds of links. First links to other pages within the wiki site and second, links to external web pages.
A link to another page in the wiki site is done like this:
[[Person:Wager, John | John Wager]]
The first part is the page name, and the second part after the "|" is the text displayed to the reader. If the bar and visible text is omitted the page name will be displayed instead. Open a second window and browse the site, using the search bar if you need to locate a page. The Sitemap page may be helpful too.
A link to an external URL is done slightly differently:
[https://www.uwa.edu.au/ The University of Western Australia]
The first part is the full URL of the web page, or a direct link to a file. The second part, after a space character (but no vertical bar) is the text displayed to the reader. We only need a single square bracket before and after the link.
A link to a media file on the site (e.g. a PDF file) is done like an internal page link, but with the keyword "Media:" instead of "File:".
[[Media:WAPL_Constructing-Narrows_Bridge.pdf | Document providing details on how the bridge was constructed]]
As with image files, create the wiki code to specify the PDF file name first. When you next view the completed page, the file link will show in red text. Click on the text, and then select the PDF file to upload from your computer: the original file name need not correspond with the name of the file on the wiki database. Remember to include brief descriptive text, such as the name of the page that references the media file.
Rows and Columns
The <div...> </div> HTML tags can be used to create blocks (demarcated by rows) and columns within the blocks. For example, the following wiki text creates a three column layout:
<div class="row"> <div class="col"> First Column </div> <div class="col"> Second Column </div> <div class="col> Third Column </div> </div>
Which looks like this:
First Column
Second Column
Third Column
The column class can be modified such that the column widths can be controlled. THe full width of the page is considered to be 12 units. Therefore, setting the columns to be "md" (medium) and various widths using the format <div class="column-md-x" where x is, say, 2 for a narrow column, 6 for a wide column. The column widths should add to 12. For example:
<div class="row"> <div class="col-md-4"> First Column (4 units) </div> <div class="col-md-2"> Second Column (2 units) </div> <div class="col-md-6> Third Column (6 units) </div> </div>
First Column (4 units) one third size column
Second Column (2 units) a rather narrow column
Third Column (6 units) a really wide column
If you are viewing this page with a computer, try varying the window width. Notice how the upper sample with three nominally equal columns which do not have width specifiers displays as three columns, even when seen on a mobile phone. This would normally not display very well. The second example with specified column widths displays as three columns stacked on top of each other with a narrow display screen (or viewing window). Therefore, it is preferable to specify column widths. This page has more information.
Broken link
A broken link shows in red text, like this Sample Broken Link. To fix a broken link, open another window to the site and search for the page that should be referenced. Alternatively, look through the Sitemap. If the broken link references a file, open the FileList page and display the first 500 images. That can take a while to load: it can be tedious. If this becomes a major issue, we will create a page that just lists and links to every media file and image on the site as text, which may be easier to search.
The footer section lists references and categories. Categories provide a way to find pages later with the same category. We have chosen a range of categories that should be sufficient. The full list of categories appears at the end of this page. Copy and paste the wiki text for the categories you think are appropriate. One category has a single letter, corresponding to the first letter of the person, place or organisation name or family name.
Before the reference list, insert the name of the person (or persons) who compiled the biography and which Engineers Australia division they are associated with. At some time in the future, new information about the person may surface, requiring that the biography be changed. By inserting this information, we can consult with the original author(s) before making the changes.
The footer also lists references that provide detailed information or further reading. Each reference is followed by
<br>
to force a line break.
Biography compiled by Mariana Lim Soy Ng, June 2024, South Australia Division ---- <small><u>References:</u><br> Margaret A Sacks (editor), ''The WAY 79 Who is Who'', Crawley Publishers, Nedlands, 1980<br> James Trevelyan, personal communication 2023.<br> </small> [[Category:A]] [[Category:Biographies]] [[Category:1951 - 1980: Australia Develops]] [[Category:1981 - 2000: Technology Changes]] [[Category:Western Australia]] [[Category:Education and Research]] [[Category:Public Sector]] [[Category:Mechanical]]
Special Formatting
If you need to use any special formatting for the page, refer to this Wikipedia help page: WikiText Help. You may need to experiment with different ways to achieve the formatting you desire. Not everything works on our wiki exactly the same way as Wikipedia pages because some of the special templates have not been included with our subscription package.
Maps and other special features
Still to come - in preparation.
Categories List
Simply copy the category codes you need. Remember to add a category with just the first letter of a biographical or organisation page.
[[Category:Pre 1788: Aboriginal Technology]] [[Category:1788 - 1850: Colonial Settlement]] [[Category:1851 - 1900: Gold Rushes]] [[Category:1901 - 1930: Federation]] [[Category:1931 - 1950: Depression and War]] [[Category:1951 - 1980: Australia Develops]] [[Category:1981 - 2000: Technology Changes]] [[Category:2001 - : Global Engineering]] [[Category:Western Australia]] [[Category:New South Wales]] [[Category:Northern Territory]] [[Category:South Australia]] [[Category:Queensland]] [[Category:Northern Territory]] [[Category:Tasmania]] [[Category:Australian Capital Territory]] [[Category:Victoria]] [[Category:Biographies]] [[Category:Organisations]] [[Category:People]] [[Category:Places]] [[Category:Knowledge]] [[Category:Heritage]] [[Category:Australia's Engineering Heritage]] [[Category:Heritage Recognition]] [[Category:WA Engineering Heritage]] [[Category:Engineering Heritage International Marker (EHIM)]] [[Category:Engineering Heritage Item of Interest]] [[Category:Engineering Heritage Marker]] [[Category:Engineering Heritage Marker (EHM)]] [[Category:Engineering Heritage National Marker (EHNM)]] [[Category:State Government]] [[Category:Local Government]] [[Category:Federal Government]] [[Category:Manufacturing]] [[Category:Primary Industry]] [[Category:Private Industry]] [[Category:Public Sector]] [[Category:Refineries]] [[Category:Research and Development]] [[Category:Engineering and Technology]] [[Category:Institutions and Associations]] [[Category:Education and Research]] [[Category:Manufacturer]] [[Category:Consultant]] [[Category:Commercial]] [[Category:Contractor]] [[Category:Secondary Industry]] [[Category:Farms and Stations]] [[Category:Eras]] [[Category:Regions]] [[Category:Discipline]] [[Category:Engineering Themes]] [[Category:Air]] [[Category:Air Force]] [[Category:Applications]] [[Category:Aquaculture]] [[Category:Army]] [[Category:Artificial Intelligence]] [[Category:Biomedical]] [[Category:Broadcast]] [[Category:Chemical]] [[Category:Civics]] [[Category:Civics and Buildings]] [[Category:Civil]] [[Category:Coal]] [[Category:Computing and Control Systems]] [[Category:Conveyance]] [[Category:Defence]] [[Category:Electrical]] [[Category:Electricity]] [[Category:Energy]] [[Category:Environmental]] [[Category:Flood Protection]] [[Category:Generation]] [[Category:Heavy Industry]] [[Category:Industrial]] [[Category:Information, Telecommunications and Electronics (ITE)]] [[Category:Information Technology and Electronics]] [[Category:Irrigation]] [[Category:Leadership and Management]] [[Category:Machinery]] [[Category:Materials]] [[Category:Mechanical]] [[Category:Mechatronics]] [[Category:Mineral Resources]] [[Category:Mining]] [[Category:Navy]] [[Category:Nuclear]] [[Category:Oil and Gas]] [[Category:Pages using DynamicPageList parser tag]] [[Category:Pages with broken file links]] [[Category:Rail]] [[Category:Renewables]] [[Category:Residential]] [[Category:River]] [[Category:Road]] [[Category:Robotics]] [[Category:Sea]] [[Category:Space]] [[Category:Structural]] [[Category:Sydney's Transport Revolution]] [[Category:Telegraph and Telephone]] [[Category:Transmission]] [[Category:Transport - River, Rail and Road]] [[Category:Transport - Sea, Air and Space]] [[Category:Treatment]] [[Category:Water Supply]] [[Category:Wastewater]] [[Category:Water]] [[Category:Water Supply]] [[Category:Weapons]] [[Category:Wireless and Digital]]
