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Overview Diagram

First Steps

  • A Wiki is different sort of web site. Some call it the two-way web. You can read pages and you can edit or create pages quickly and automatically using only your web browser. You can add links to other pages in the wiki or to other places on the web. It can be an organic process. But it is still a good idea to give some thought to how you want to organize your wiki info and pages to reflect the kind of project or program you are managing or participating in. Start with a simple outline and then let it grow from there. Here are some example outlines.
  • Bread crumbs: Please note the "bread crumbs" at the top of the page. They will help you back out of spaces, and Dashboard will always take you to the entry page for the entire wiki.
  • What you see is what you have permissions to see. If you do not see spaces or pages that you think you should, then you need to contact group, project, or activity leader.
  • There are too many choices. As said above, you see what you have permission to see. If you don't want to view the whole list, here's a tip: Click on the Star next to the spaces you want to see. This will add those spaces to your favorites list. Then click on the MY tab on the Dashboard page. You'll only see your favorites listed.
  • Explore the wiki Confluence is rather forgiving. If you make a mistake editing a page you can always revert to a recently saved version of a page.
  • Search is your friend The Confluence search tool is very powerful and can help you find information quickly and easily. Once you enter a search string and click on search, you will be presented a number of results to pick from as well as ways to narrow down / focus the results.
  • How to change your password
    • To change your password, sign in to the wiki using your current password.
    • Click on your name in the upper right hand corner of the page.
    • Click on the "Edit Profile" tab.
    • Cick on Password in the left hand column.
    • Fill out the form with your current password and then enter the new password twice (to make sure it's correct)

Second Steps

  • You can edit pages in two ways If you have permission to edit a page, you will see an Edit tab near the top of the page. Once selected you will see three tabs: Rich Text, Wiki Markup, and Preview. The Rich Text Editor which is a basic What You See Is What You Get (WYSISYG) editor. There are icons across the top of the edit window that select formatting, build tables, links and other functions like you would in MS Word. Position your cursor over them and you'll get a pop up that says what it will do. Otherwise you can use the Wiki Markup edtior which exposes wiki markup tags. This will be personal preference. One note here, if you decide to use Confluence macros for adding in things like calendar, or voting, or task list you will need to use the Wiki Markup editor.
  • Confluence editors remember If you leave a page you are editing and then come back later. OR if your system crashes and you come back later to a page without saving the editing. Confluence will most likely have a saved version of the page you were editing. This can be helpful, but be aware if some one else has edited the page since you may want to reconsider which changes to make. Go to your User Profile page and select the tab Drafts to locate any pages you edited that were not properly saved.
  • There are various communication tools here The Confluence Wiki is a hybrid. It has wiki pages, it has web log or Blog pages, and it has threaded discussion.
    • A page is like a wiki where people with permission can edit and modify.
    • News is like a web log or blog. A News item is a journal entry that is time stamped and associatedd with the date it was generated.
    • Comments are like threaded discussions. A person leaves a comment about a page. Then another person can respond to the first comment and it appears indented. And so on.
  • Share what you know Please submit your tips, experiences, and questions with us at the Wiki Exchange

Things to Remember

  • Wikis are forgiving Revisions of pages are kept, so accidental deletions most likely be recovered.
  • Wiki Markup shortcuts An abbreviated list is to the right of the editing box with a link to full notation guide (PDF 300K) at the bottom of the box. However, the full power of the markup with the macros in curly braces { } is really only possible using the Wiki Markup editor.

Further Resources