%TOC% %STARTINCLUDE%

## <a name="20_Minute_TWiki"> 20 Minute TWiki </a>

This step-by-step, hands-on tutorial gets you up to speed with all the %WIKITOOLNAME% basics in mere minutes...

### <a name="1_Get_set_"> 1. Get set: </a>

* Open two browser windows; arrange them so that you can follow these steps in one window, while trying things out in the other.

### <a name="2_Take_a_tour_around_"> 2. Take a tour around: </a>

* %WIKITOOLNAME% is divided up into webs; each one represents one area of collaboration. The webs are accessible at the upper right corner of each web page.
* Each web has hyper-linked topics. A topic is one web page in your browser.
* The home page in each web is the %HOMETOPIC% topic.
* To browse a %WIKITOOLNAME% web, just click on any highlighted link. These links are called [[WikiWords]] and comprise two or more words with initial capitals, run together.
* Follow the [[WikiWord]] link and learn what it is.
* If you know the name of a topic, you can jump directly to it by typing its name into the **Go** field on the top of the page. Type `WebSearch` to jump to the search page. **_Hint:_** Do not confuse the **Go** field with search.
* You can search each %WIKITOOLNAME% web. Enter a search string in the %HOMETOPIC% topic or the [[WebSearch]] topic accessible from the `Search` link on each topic. %WIKITOOLNAME% searches for an exact match; optionally, you can also use [[RegularExpressions]].

### <a name="3_Open_a_private_account_page_"> 3. Open a private account page: </a>

* To edit topics, you need to have a %WIKITOOLNAME% account.
* Go to the [[TWikiRegistration]] page to create your %WIKITOOLNAME% account.

### <a name="4_Check_out_WIKITOOLNAME_Users_o"> 4. Check out %WIKITOOLNAME% Users, offices and groups: </a>

* Go to the %MAINWEB%.%WIKIUSERSTOPIC% topic in the %WIKITOOLNAME%.%MAINWEB% web; it has a list of all users of %WIKITOOLNAME%. Your [[WikiName]] will be in this list after you register.
* Go to the %MAINWEB%.OfficeLocations topic in the %WIKITOOLNAME%.%MAINWEB% web; it has a list of corporate offices already entered into %WIKITOOLNAME%.
* Go to the %MAINWEB%.TWikiGroups topic in the %WIKITOOLNAME%.%MAINWEB% web; it has a list of groups which can be used to define fine grained [[TWikiAccessControl]] in %WIKITOOLNAME%.

### <a name="5_Test_the_Topic_controls_"> 5. Test the Topic controls: </a>

* Go to the %HOMETOPIC% topic to learn what we can do with a topic.
* The bottom of the page has some links:
* `Edit` : Allows you to edit the topic (discussed later)
* `Ref-By` : Find out what other topics link to this topic (reverse link)
* `Attach` : Attach files to a topic (discussed later)
* `Diffs` : Topics are under revision control. Diffs shows you the complete change history of the topic, e.g. who changed what and when.
* `r1.3 | > | r1.2 | > | r1.1` : Allows you to see a previous topic revision or the difference between revisions.
* `More` : More actions on the topic, like rename/move, version control and setting the topic parent.

### <a name="6_Change_a_page_and_create_a_new"> 6. Change a page and create a new one: </a>

* Go to the Test.%HOMETOPIC% topic of the %WIKITOOLNAME%.Test web. This web is the sandbox where you can make changes at will.
* Press the `Edit` link. You are now in edit mode and you can see the source of the page. (Go to a different topic like [[Test/TestTopic3]] in case you see a "Topic is locked by an other user" warning.)
* Look at the text in edit mode and compare it with the rendered page (move back and forth in your browser.)
* Notice how [[WikiWords]] are linked automatically; there is no link if you look at the text in edit mode.
* Now let's create a new topic, your own sandbox topic:
  * In edit mode, enter a new text with a [[WikiWord]], i.e. <br />
  * <code>This is PaulsSandBox topic.</code>
  * Preview and save the topic.
  * You can see a linked question mark after the topic name. This means that the topic does not exist yet.
  * Click on the question mark. Now you are in edit mode of the new topic.
  * Type some text, basically like you write an email.
  * A signature with your name is already entered by default. **_Note:_** Please note the `%MAINWEB%.` in front of your name. This means that you have a link from the current web to your personal topic located in the %MAINWEB% web.
  * Preview and save the topic.
* Learn about text formatting:
  * You write text in [[WikiSyntax]], a very simple markup language. Follow the [[WikiSyntax]] link and learn how to write text.
  * Go back to your sandbox topic end edit it.
  * Enter some text in [[WikiSyntax]]: **bold** text, _italic_ text, **_bold italic_** text, a bullet list, tables, paragraphs, etc. **_Hint:_** If you need to look up the [[WikiSyntax]], click on the [[TextFormattingRules]] link located below the edit field.
  * Preview and save the topic.

### <a name="7_Upload_files_as_page_Attachmen"> 7. Upload files as page Attachments: </a>

* You can attach any file to a topic, not unlike attachments to an email.
* Go back to your sandbox topic and click on the `Attach` link at the bottom.
* Browse for any file you would like to attach; enter an optional comment.
* Upload and attach the file.
* Do this again with a JPG or GIF image file.
* Checkmark the box "Create a link to the attached file at the end of the topic."
* Upload and attach the image file.
* The image will show up at the bottom of the topic. To move the image, you can edit the topic and move the last line (bullet containing <code>%ATTACHURL%</code>) to anywhere you like.
* If you have a GIF or JPG image of yourself, why not upload it now to your personal topic?

### <a name="8_Get_email_alerts_when_topics_c"> 8. Get email alerts when topics change: </a>

* It is very important that team members are kept in sync of changes.
* %NOTIFYTOPIC% (one per %WIKITOOLNAME% web) is a subscription service to be automatically notified by email when topics change in a %WIKITOOLNAME% web. This is a convenient service, so you do not have to come back and check all the time to see if something has changed.
* It is strongly recommended that you subscribe to the %WIKITOOLNAME% web(s) relevant to your work.

That's it! You're now equipped with all the TWiki essentials. You are ready to roll.

**_A side note:_** Initially, it can be daunting to modify text someone else wrote. Please do not worry, nothing gets lost, because previous versions are always accessible (and also recoverable by the %WIKITOOLNAME% administrator if needed.)

-- [[Main/PeterThoeny]] - 13 Sep 2001 <br /> -- [[MikeMannix]] - 29 Aug 2001