## <a name="_TOPIC_"> %TOPIC% </a>

The %TOPIC% links <code>**ExternalSite:Page**</code> text to external sites based on aliases defined in the %TWIKIWEB%.InterWikis topic. This plugin is inspired by UseMod Wiki's inter-wiki links, <http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?InterWiki> .

## <a name="Syntax_Rules"> Syntax Rules </a>

* Write <code>**ExternalSite:Page**</code> to create automatically a link that points to the <code>**Page**</code> on the <code>**ExternalSite**</code> server.
* All <code>**ExternalSite**</code> aliases are defined in the %TWIKIWEB%.InterWikis topic.
* To add new aliases just follows the instructions in %TWIKIWEB%.InterWikis.

## <a name="_TOPIC_Settings"> %TOPIC% Settings </a>

Plugin settings are stored as preferences variables. To reference a plugin setting write <code>**%&lt;plugin&gt;\_&lt;setting&gt;%**</code>, i.e. <code>**%INTERWIKIPLUGIN\_SHORTDESCRIPTION%**</code>

* One line description, is shown in the %TWIKIWEB%.TextFormattingRules topic:
  * Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = Link <code>**ExternalSite:Page**</code> text to external sites based on aliases defined in the [[InterWikis]] topic.

* Link rules topic name: (default is %TWIKIWEB%.InterWikis)
  * Set RULESTOPIC =

* Suppress tooltip help for links: (<code>****</code> or <code>**1**</code>, default is <code>****</code>)
  * Set SUPPRESSTOOLTIP = 0

* Debug plugin: (See output in `data/debug.txt`)
  * Set DEBUG = 0

### <a name="Plugin_Installation_Instructions"> Plugin Installation Instructions </a>

**_Note:_** This plugin is pre-installed in the TWiki distribution package. You do not need to install it unless you want to upgrade to a newer version.

* Download the ZIP file from the Plugin web (see below)
* Unzip <code>**%TOPIC%.zip**</code> in your twiki installation directory. Content: <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <th bgcolor="#99CCCC"><strong>File:</strong></th>
    <th bgcolor="#99CCCC"><strong>Description:</strong></th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><code><b>data/TWiki/%TOPIC%.txt</b></code></td>
    <td> Plugin topic </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><code><b>data/TWiki/InterWikis.txt</b></code></td>
    <td> Link rules topic for inter-site links </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><code><b>lib/TWiki/Plugins/%TOPIC%.pm</b></code></td>
    <td> Plugin Perl module </td>
  </tr>
</table>
* Test if the plugin is correctly installed: Wiki:InterWiki should point to Wiki's <http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?InterWiki> topic.

### <a name="Plugin_Info"> Plugin Info </a>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> Plugin Author: </td>
    <td> %TWIKIWEB%.AndreaSterbini, %TWIKIWEB%.PeterThoeny </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> Plugin Version: </td>
    <td> 1.0.2 </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> Change History: </td>
    <td> 27 Jul 2001 Allow numbers in site name <br /> 26 Jul 2001 Fixed alternating missed link bug due to greedy $postfixPattern (fix by Richard Donkin) <br /> 14 Jul 2001 Changed to plug &amp;amp; play <br /> 16 Jun 2001: Made tool tips optional; prevent <code><b>Module::Sub</b></code> type of link <br /> 12 Jun 2001: Added optional tool tips (IE only); added the link rules topic name variable; added flexible link patterns; optional <code><b>$page</b></code> in URL <br /> 10 Jun 2001: Changed rules topic to table based syntax <br /> 20 Feb 2001: Initial version </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> CPAN Dependencies: </td>
    <td> none </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> Other Dependencies: </td>
    <td> none </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> Perl Version: </td>
    <td> 5.0 </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> Plugin Home: </td>
    <td><a href="http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/%TOPIC%" target="_top">http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/%TOPIC%</a> (TWiki:Plugins/%TOPIC%) </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td align="right"> Feedback: </td>
    <td><a href="http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/%TOPIC%Dev" target="_top">http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/%TOPIC%Dev</a> (TWiki:Plugins/%TOPIC%Dev) </td>
  </tr>
</table>

**_Related Topics:_** %TWIKIWEB%.InterWikis, %TWIKIWEB%.TWikiPreferences, %TWIKIWEB%.TWikiPlugins

-- %TWIKIWEB%.AndreaSterbini - 20 Oct 2000 <br /> -- %TWIKIWEB%.PeterThoeny - 27 Jul 2001 <br />