The basics of editing this wiki

Note: This page has not been updated for the recent transition to the WikiMedia platform. References to "EasyEdit" and Wetpaint are obsolete. Until we update this page specifically for our wiki (amongst many other transition projects!) you can probably find all of the editing help you need from WikiMedia themselves, on How To Edit A Page

Basic editing & formatting text

The first thing you need to do is learn basic editing and how to format text in the wiki. The goal of this step is to learn how EasyEdit button works and how to use the following controls: (if these look familiar, you may wish to skip this step)

There are three ways to learn this and you can choose one or do all three.

1. Click the EasyEdit button and just play around with the controls in the above picture. If anything bad happens, just press "Cancel." Don't worry, even if you somehow broke something, an editor could fix it with 3 clicks of their mouse. ... This approach is probably best if you have experience with a modern word processor like Microsoft word.
2. Read the following tutorials:[editing] - walks you through pressing the EasyEdit button and saving your changes.[text] - how to format text with bold, italic, underline, colors, bullet points, numbered lists, and several other things.
3. Watch our video on basic editing and formatting text. The video is 7 minutes long and has many examples. This approach is probably best if computers make you nervous and you want to go through it step by step.

Adding links

There are also three ways to learn how to add links:

1. Click the EasyEdit button and play around with the "Link" button on the toolbar that pops up:
   File:Link button.png

   Link button
2. Read the following tutorial: [Link|adding a link]
3. Watch our video on adding links.

Adding a page

Read the following tutorial: [Page|adding a page]

Optional: Adding widgets for videos, polls, chat rooms, etc.

Wetpaint makes it really easy to add things like Youtube videos, polls, chat rooms and other things to wiki pages. We don't yet have a video for this, so you have two options:

1. Click the EasyEdit button and play around with the "Widget" button on the toolbar that pops up:
   File:Widget button.png

   Widget button
2. Read the following tutorial: [widgets]

Important pages in this section of the website

• If you just want to experiment on a random wiki page, the Scratch pad is the place to do it.
• If you want somewhere to put a wiki page when you are building it but it really isn't ready for users to see, you can make is sub page called Sandbox and put it under your account page. All you have to do is type in the url http://tmswiki.org/ppd/User:''Your Username"/Sandbox , and start typing.
• Finally, if you are already a TMS Wiki guru or just want to become one, the Guru's Corner is the place for you.

An important page:

Adding to the main wiki

Some things to bear in mind:

• The TMS Wiki is built on a piece of software called Wetpaint. You'll see that word around a lot.
• The best way to learn how to edit is by experimenting, and a great place to play around and experiment while editing is by playing around with the Scratch pad. It is a special page that isn't used for anything other than as a scratch pad where people can make changes to build up their confidence with editing.
• Don't worry about breaking anything. Because of the way that Wetpaint is designed, any change you make that you don't like can be undone in a couple of clicks by an experienced user.
• Wetpaint.com has a web site designed for people making Wetpaint wikis. It's called Wetpaint Central, and it is a Wetpaint wiki itself. The most helpful part of Wetpaint central is probably the [section], which is full of information about building Wetpaint wikis.
• You can quickly find the parts of the wiki that are most in need of work by looking at the To-Dos tab at the right end of the row of tabs at the top of every page. The [Do Help|Wetpant Central article about Todos] is very helpful.
• It is always good to tell us a little bit about yourself by editing your profile. Feel free to delete all of the text that it starts out with and replace it with whatever you feel represents you the best. If you have a TMSHelp profile, you can just paste in the text that you put there. Uploading a picture can work wonders (even if it isn't of you!), and will probably get you a spot in the top contributors box on the left.
• When you make a new page anywhere but in the "Helping Out" section, make sure to use the "Basic Page" template so that you get a box at the bottom of the page with the standard disclaimer: "DISCLAIMER: This web page and the rest of The TMS Wiki can..."

What are threads?

In Wikipedia, every article has an associated "talk" page, where the various editors can discuss their plans for the article and occasionally take votes. Instead of having talk pages, WetPaint has "Threads" below wiki page. Adding to a thread is just like posting to a forum, and the threads are a great place for questions, ideas, requests, etc., regarding the page. Essentially, they are how the different editors communicate about the page, so it is a good idea to check the forum, below a given page before making any changes in the actual page.

You can also post threads on members profiles. An example of this can be found at the bottom of Tpunk1's profile. They are a great way to start a discussion with another TMS Wiki editor. Threads, by their nature, are publicly viewable. If you would like to send a private message, you can click on the "Send Message" button when you are viewing their profile.

Finally, if you want to see a summary of all recent discussions, you can click on the "Discussion Forum" button near the top of the page, on the left, and explore the options, therein.

DISCLAIMER: The TMS Wiki is for informational and support purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. See Full Disclaimer.