ATLAS e-News
23 February 2011
TWiki Tips Part Three
21 April 2008
How many times have you asked someone in ATLAS something like "How do you do xyz?" and been told "It's in the TWiki". The problem is there are currently 5,300 ATLAS TWiki topics (pages), growing at a rate of about 150 per month. How do you find that information about 'xyz' and how do you know if it's reliable?
Q: How do I create a new TWiki page?
A: First of all you are encouraged to register as a TWiki member. This enables you to be identified by your WikiName (corresponds to people using Main.YourName) - please choose a sensible names, such as "FirstnameSurname". Registration also gives you access to your own private area (Sandbox - see below).
Create a new page by introducing a new WikiWord in a suitable parent page. To add contents, click on the "?" associated with the WikiWord. This is important to ensure the "breadcrumb trail" (the "You are here" list at the top) is correct. If you create a page by entering a new name on the address line, there will be no parent assigned; so it will default to "Atlas Web".
Use meaningful WikiWords which will reflect the structure at some level and be distinctive, e.g. "WorkBookXXX". Avoid trivial words like "ToDo", very long words and superfluous use of "ATLAS".
For more information see https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/Atlas/DocumentationManagementTWikiRules.
Q: What are WikiWords?
A: WikiWords have the following form:
Uppercase letter(s), followed by
Lowercase letter(s) or number(s), followed by
Uppercase letter(s)
Additional lowercase or uppercase letter(s) or number(s) are optional and may follow in any order.
Underscore "_" and Dash "-" are not valid in the name
Q: What information should be included on the page?
A: Each page should have a suitable parent as seen in the 'breadcrumb trail'. This would normally be the page you created the original link on. If the parent is unsuitable, it can be modified by going into "More topic actions" and using "Set new topic parent". At the bottom of each page there should be:
Responsible person (or Maintainer) for page - if someone makes significant changes to a page, he/she can discuss with the original Maintainer about replacing the name. The default is the creator of the page.
For significant updates, Signature of Editor and Date - at end of page.
To ensure the quality of pages, it helps if they are reviewed. Therefore, to enable a reader to assess the quality of a page, you should include:
Name of Reviewer
Date of last Review At some stage in the future, this info may form part of a "quality measure" of the page.
Q: What is the Sandbox?
A: The Sandbox (nothing to do with Grid sandboxes) is an area you can use for testing or for personal information or for information shared with a small number of people rather than using the ATLAS TWiki. See https://twiki.cern.ch/twiki/bin/view/Sandbox/WebHome. You can always move the page to the ATLAS TWiki later.
