Changeset 8862


Ignore:
Timestamp:
09/03/10 08:51:53 (21 months ago)
Author:
CrawfordCurrie
Message:

Item8841: trawled through InstantEnhancements, rewriting or removing those that were aprocryphal or, in some cases, just plain bollocks. Corrected grammar and spelling.

Location:
trunk/core/data/System
Files:
2 edited

Legend:

Unmodified
Added
Removed

  • trunk/core/data/System/InstantEnhancements.txt

    r8854 r8862  
    33---+!! Instant Site Enhancements 
    44 
    5 These quick enhancements are aimed at improving and customising your Foswiki.  New site administrators are especially encouraged to review this document for ideas before deploying a new site. The metaphor of building a house is useful.  The listed enhancements are some of the details possible when moving into a new office or home. These small changes can make a *big* differences for user satisfaction at your site. All modifications can be done through your Web browser, and they don't take more then in a couple of minutes.  No system administration expertise is required. Some of these enhancements are also mentioned in the reference manual and other topics. 
     5These quick enhancements are aimed at improving and customising your Foswiki as quickly as possible. New site administrators are encouraged to review this document for ideas before deploying their site. Small changes planned in advance can make a *big* differences for user satisfaction. 
    66 
    7 Many of these tips are based on setting some special [[WebPreferencesHelp][preferences]]. 
     7All modifications can be done through your Web browser, and they don't take more then in a couple of minutes.  No system administration expertise is required. 
    88 
    9 <blockquote class="foswikiHelp"> %S% We recommend implementing at least *some* of these enhancements *right after installation* to get a taste for what is possible.  Some of these tips and enhancements _should_ be implemented before or during initial roll-out.</blockquote> 
    10  
    11 This may spark your imagination to *really* customize your site so that it's optimal for *your* users.  Slightly more advanced customization tips can be found in Foswiki:Support.SupplementalDocuments. 
     9This may spark your imagination to *really* customize your site so that it's optimal for *your* users. 
    1210 
    1311%TOC% 
    1412 
    15 ---++ Tips using Preference Settings 
     13---++ Change the logo in the top left corner 
     14The default Foswiki logo image is a 46 pixels high GIF image. You can use any similar-sized graphic in its place. 
    1615 
    17 Preference settings can be redefined and are a great resource to customize your site. You need to know the preference name and decide where to put it. 
     16To set the logo site-wide, first attach your logo image to [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]] using the 'Attach' button. Now, edit [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]] and find the line: 
     17<pre> 
     18   *<nop> Set WIKILOGOIMG = %<nop>PUBURL%/%<nop>SYSTEMWEB%/ProjectLogos/foswiki-logo.gif 
     19</pre> 
     20Assuming you have called your logo =mycologo.png=, change this line to: 
     21<pre> 
     22   *<nop> Set WIKILOGOIMG = %<nop>PUBURL%/%<nop>USERSWEB%/SitePreferences/mycologo.png 
     23</pre> 
     24(If the WIKILOGOIMG line is missing from the file, just add it) 
    1825 
    19 ---+++ Change Colors of Page Header/Footer 
     26By changing the WIKILOGOALT and WIKILOGOURL you can change the default alt-text and target of the link behind the image as well. 
    2027 
    21 Incredibly obvious, maybe, but some site admins don't get around to changing the default web colors right off, whether they like them or not. Simply changing the defaults will make a huge difference in the overall look.  
     28%I% [[Pattern Skin Customization]] has a whole lot more on customising how your site looks, while still using the standard skin. 
     29 
     30---++ Change the Web Color Codes 
     31 
     32Web color codes are used to provide a visual reference for each web, so users can quickly tell where they are. Incredibly obvious, maybe, but some site admins don't get around to changing the default web colors right off, whether they like them or not. Simply changing the defaults will make a huge difference in the overall look.  
    2233 
    2334*What we are doing* 
    … …  
    3445It's just as easy to refine later on, so you're not locked in, just looking better. 
    3546 
    36 ---+++ Set Page Background Color  
     47---++ Use Graphic Icons to Highlight Text 
    3748 
    38 Without getting into the [[skin templates]] system yet, you can easily edit the ==view.tmpl== (in the =templates= directory). In the HTML at the top, the body tag has the page background hardcoded to white ==bgcolor="#ffffff"==. You can change that color value to a new setting. First, define a new[[%SYSTEMWEB%.PreferenceSettings][preference setting]] in the site-level [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]], e.g. =* Set =PAGEBGCOLOR = #d0d0d0=, then edit the ==view.tmpl== template file and change ==bgcolor="#ffffff"== to ==bgcolor="%<nop>PAGEBGCOLOR%"==. If you want, you can set the page background color individually per web, simple add a =* Set =PAGEBGCOLOR = #d0d0d0= bullet to the WebPreferences to overload the site-level preferences. (Without font color control, you'll have to stick to light colors.) 
     49Icons can do a lot to enhance scannability of topics. For example, 
    3950 
    40 ---+++ Titles-Only Topic List - !WebTopicList 
     51%X% there's a warning here 
    4152 
    42 WebTopicList is a *good first navigation tool for new users,* a fast-loading linked list (page titles only) of a web's topics is a quick and easy way see what's available. By default, slower, but more powerful WebIndex is used.  
    43  
    44 Without explaining what WEBTOPICLIST is, just try it:  
    45  
    46    1 Go to WebPreferences in each web, and edit the topic. 
    47    2 In the WEBTOPICLIST setting, replace =WebIndex= with =WebTopicList=, and save. 
    48  
    49 ---+++ Simple way to create %RED% colored text %ENDCOLOR% and graphics 
    50  
    51 This should be enabled, see the "Miscellaneous Settings" in the DefaultPreferences. Look for the settings RED, BLUE etc (which define HTML tag FONT). To copy/paste the definitions of the colors you need to see the source text, but =Edit= is disabled. Instead, view the topic in ==raw== format (if your skin has no button for this, type "?raw=on" at the end of the URL). 
    52  
    53 ---+++ EZ Graphic Icons to Highlight Text 
    54  
    55 Icons can do a lot to enhance scannability of topics. For instance, on *HELP* pages, most people tend to jump around looking for answers rather than reading through - icons help point out the most important bits. 
    56  
    57 DocumentGraphics has a whole collection of ready icon images. You can use these images in any topic by referring to their name. For example, !DocumentGraphics has an image attachment called =days.gif=. To show this image in a topic, write =%<nop>ICON{"days"}%= to get %ICON{"days"}%. 
     53DocumentGraphics has a whole collection of ready-to-use icon images. You can use these images in any topic by referring to their name. For example, !DocumentGraphics has an image attachment called =days.gif=. To show this image in a topic, write =%<nop>ICON{"days"}%= to get %ICON{"days"}%. 
    5854 
    5955*Creating image macros* 
    6056 
    61 You may find it easier to write shorthand graphic notation. You can create your own image macros by defining them in a preference topic (most likely [[%USERSWEB%.%WIKIPREFSTOPIC%]].) 
     57You can create your own image macros by defining them in a preference topic (usually [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]]). Image macro names are usually one letter, like =Y=, but may be longer like =HELP= or =WARN=. 
    6258 
    63 A macro name may be one letter, like =Y=, or may be longer like =HELP=, =WARN= etc. You can also add your own images, e.g. a =NEW=, or a =ASK= to ask question. 
    64  
    65 For instance, if we want to write =%<nop>DOWN%= instead of =%<nop>ICON{"arrowbdown"}%=, define the new macro like this: 
    66 <verbatim class="tml"> 
     59For instance, if we want to write =%<nop>DOWN%= to get the %ICON{"arrowbdown"}% image, define the new macro like this: 
     60<verbatim> 
    6761   * Set DOWN = %ICON{"arrowbdown"}% 
    6862</verbatim> 
    69 Or if you have a custom image to use, attach this to [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]] and write: 
    70 <verbatim class="tml"> 
    71    * Set DOWN = <img src="%ATTACHURL%/my_image.gif" border="0" alt="DOWN" width="16" height="16" /> 
     63If you have your own custom image that you want to use, attach it to [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]] and write: 
     64<verbatim> 
     65   * Set DOWN = <img src="%PUBURL%/%USERSWEB%/SitePreferences/my_image.gif" border="0" alt="DOWN" width="16" height="16" /> 
    7266</verbatim> 
     67 
     68%I% There are other approaches for creating more extensive icon libraries. This is a simply and quick way to get started. See DocumentGraphics for more info. 
    7369 
    7470Most images in DocumentGraphics are 16 x 16 pixels. 
    7571 
    76    * *Related:* There are other approaches for creating more extensive icon libraries. This is a simply and quick way to get started. See DocumentGraphics for more info. 
     72---++ Use the [[VarTOC][TOC]] macro to create table of contents 
    7773 
    78 ---+++ Use TOC macro to create table of content 
     74The TOC macro generates a table of contents automagically from headers (defined like this: ==---++== , see WikiSyntax). 
    7975 
    80 TOC is short for Table-Of-Contents, generated automagically from headers (defined like that: ==---++== , see WikiSyntax). 
     76For example, the table of contents at the top of _this_ page was generated 
     77using a TOC macro. 
    8178 
    82 For example, you may want to put all your custom settings in [[%LOCALSITEPREFS%]] right on top of the page, and generate table of contents, like: 
     79---++ Use SEARCH  
    8380 
    84    * Preferences for easy creating nice pages  
    85       * Graphics icons in text  
    86       * Colored text  
    87    * System Preferences  
    88       * Contents of page header and footer  
    89       * User interface defaults  
    90       * Email  
    91       * Plugins  
    92       * Notes  
    93  
    94 Non-admin users wil be interested only in first part, non-system preferences. 
    95  
    96 ---++ Personal Productivity - Tools and Tips for Working Faster 
    97  
    98 Although this area applies to all setups, the initial focus is on site managers working on a Linux/Apache site, from a Windows local PC. The assumption being: if you're working with Linux as your desktop, you're probably a programmer or system admin and have these basics handled! 
    99  
    100 ---+++ Use your favorite text editor for major edits 
    101  
    102 When you have a fair bit of formatting work - for example, compiling new info pages from various cut'n'paste sources, editing multiple topics or contributed material - it's often easier to use a real *[[TextEditor]]* instead of the browser's text edit box.  There are several methods for doing this.  For Windows, there are several well-recommended text editors. 
    103  
    104 *Windows&nbsp;Example:* [[http://textpad.com][TextPad]] is a low-cost, top flight Windows program, with an extended trial period. You can download from a well-stocked library of user-contributed macros, dictionaries, and syntax and clip files. You can also easily create a clip collection that allows you to format text with TML code: select a text string and click for bold, italic, links, bullet lists - just like a regular HTML editor - and also insert blocks of TML code, use simple or regex search and replace, more. 
    105  
    106 *Copy&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Paste:* Using the web window this can work very well.  System differences may present difficulties with this method but it is simple and reliable in most cases. 
    107  
    108 *Browser&nbsp;Integration:* Some web browsers can be configured to automatically use an external editor.  See your browser documentation for details. 
    109  
    110 *Alternate&nbsp;Browser:* While your main browser might not have the features for topic editing, another one might. 
    111    * An example on the Linux platform is the =w3m= pager/browser for Linux.  This is a text based version similar to =lynx= but it includes text editor features and a configurable command set to act like =lynx= if you are more accustomed to it. 
    112  
    113 ---++ Ready to use SEARCH  
     81The [[VarSEARCH][SEARCH]] macro is one of the most powerful and useful macros 
     82in Foswiki. Using SEARCH you can quickly build simple reports. 
    11483 
    11584---+++ Personal directory of topics you're involved in 
    … …  
    150119</verbatim> 
    151120 
    152 ---++ Hidden Edit Lock for Individual Topics 
     121---++ Restricting who can edit 
    153122 
    154 When you're creating main gateway pages, you may want to temporarily (or permanently) restrict editing to yourself or a limited group of people. You can do this with a Preference setting that includes one or more users and groups. Only auhorized users will be able to use ==Edit==. 
     123You may want to temporarily (or permanently) restrict editing to yourself or a limited group of people. You can do this with a Preference setting that includes one or more users and groups. Only authorized users will be able to use ==Edit==. 
    155124 
    156125*Example:* <verbatim class="tml">   * Set ALLOWTOPICCHANGE = %USERSWEB%.UserName, %USERSWEB%.GroupName</verbatim> 
    157126<blockquote class="foswikiHelp"> %T% *To hide the setting:* Use HTML comment tags - put ==&lt;!--== on the line _above the setting, and ==--&gt;== on the line below.</blockquote> 
    158127 
    159 ---++ Change the Default Logo 
     128See [[Access Controls]] for much more on controlling access to webs and topics. 
    160129 
    161 If you want to change the logo per web, simply attach a new logo.gif to the web's <nop>WebPreferences, and change the logo's filename by overriding the name using WEBLOGONAME in <nop>WebPreferences:   
    162 <verbatim class="tml">   * Set WEBLOGONAME = filename.gif</verbatim> 
     130---++ Customize the Left Navigation Bar 
     131If you are using the default skin, you can customize the contents of the !WebLeftBar topic. This topic does not exist by default - read PatternSkinCustomization for details. Each web can have its own !WebLeftBar. 
    163132 
    164 Other cusomtisations are possible using =WEBLOGOIMG=, =WEBLOGOURL=, and =WEBLOGOALT= (they mirror the =WIKILOGO*= macros, but are applied to each web, rather than to the %<nop>WIKITOOLNAME%-based references) 
     133<blockquote class="foswikiHelp">%T% Also check PatternSkinCustomization to learn how to customise the !WebTopBar</blockquote> 
    165134 
    166 If you'd like to have the same customised logo for all the webs, make these changes in %LOCALSITEPREFS% instead of each web's <nop>WebPreferences, e.g., 
    167 <verbatim class="tml">   * Set WEBLOGOIMG = %PUBURLPATH%/%USERSWEB%/WebPreferences/mylogo.gif</verbatim> 
     135---++ Deeper Customisations 
     136Foswiki is very powerful, and can be customised at many 
     137different levels. We've shown above how preferences, macros and topics can 
     138be used to do some simple and quick customisations from the browser, many 
     139of them by normal (non-admin) users. Administrators have even more power 
     140at their fingertips, and if you can log in to the server, even more. Here's 
     141a breakdown of customisation opportunities available to different types of 
     142people: 
    168143 
    169 ---++ Customize Topic Classification Forms 
     144| *Normal Users* || 
     145| [[Preference settings]] | Customise preferences | 
     146| [[Macros]] | Use macros to create and format reports, and customise each page | 
     147| [[Template Topics]] | Use topic and form templates to create new topics | 
     148| *Administrators* || 
     149| %SCRIPTURL{configure}% | Set basic system options | 
     150| [[InstalledPlugins]] | Install new plugins, skins and other extensions from http://foswiki.org/Extensions | 
     151| [[Pattern Skin Customization]] | Customising the standard skin | 
     152| *Developers* || 
     153| [[Plugins]] | Write your own plug-in perl code | 
     154| http://foswiki.org/Development | Where Foswiki development is coordinated and documented | 
    170155 
    171 With a simple one or two-line default topic form available for every topic  - in *Edit* mode, click the ==[Add]== button, and select the form if it isn't already enabled. Then, click the title to get to the actual form, ==[Edit]==, and carefully change values, probably basic page classifications. You'll get some increased value, and hands-on experience with DataForms, without having to read up about them first. %X% *(add the corresponding search per category - copy a default and change)* 
     156*Remember, Foswiki is an open-source project developed and supported entirely by volunteers.* Once you have built up a bit of expertise, you can say "thank you" to all those people by giving a bit of your time back - see http://foswiki.org/Community/HowYouCanHelp 
    172157 
    173 ---++ Customize The Left Navigation Bar 
    174 <blockquote class="foswikiHelp">%H% This advice applies to sites using the default PatternSkin</blockquote> 
    175  
    176 Customize the contents of the WebLeftBar topic, which does not exist by default - read PatternSkinCustomization for details. Each web has its own WebLeftBar that may include important topics for that web, or link to an important topic for the overall site. 
    177  
    178 <blockquote class="foswikiHelp">%T% Also check PatternSkinCustomization to learn how to customise the WebTopBar</blockquote> 
    179  
    180 ---++ Add Your Favorite <nop>JavaScript Features 
    181  
    182 You're no doubt familiar or better with HTML, JS, and "webmastering". To add custom javascript and/or css to the page, the [[VarADDTOZONE][ADDTOZONE]] macro is used. Without getting into the [[skin templates]] system just yet, the easiest place to put [[VarADDTOZONE][ADDTOZONE]] macros is in some topic that is used by your site skin for every page view, such as the WebLeftBar if using the default PatternSkin. 
    183  
    184 To add in-line javascript, read the [[VarADDTOZONE#ExampleAddingJS][javascript example]]. 
    185  
    186 Alternatively, make use of the =LIBJS= template, which simplifies the process of adding .js files to the page: 
    187 <verbatim class="tml"> 
    188 %TMPL:P{"LIBJS" id="MyJQueryPlugin/jquery.myplugin" requires="JQUERYPLUGIN"}% 
    189 </verbatim> 
    190  
    191 This assumes that there is a file named [[%PUBURLPATH%/%SYSTEMWEB%/MyJQueryPlugin/jquery.myplugin%FWSRC%.js]] 
    192  
    193 ---+++ Adding CSS 
    194 See [[VarADDTOZONE][ADDTOZONE]]'s [[VarADDTOZONE#ExampleAddingCSS][CSS example]] 
    195  
    196 <blockquote class="foswikiHelp"> %X% Depending on what you load up, you may change the overall cross-browser compatibility - be careful that your site does not look beat up in various other browsers. The scripts and CSS features you choose will determine compatibility.</blockquote> 
    197  
    198 ---- 
    199158*Related Topics:* AdminDocumentationCategory 
    200159<!-- %JQREQUIRE{"chili"}% --> 

  • trunk/core/data/System/WebHome.txt

    r8854 r8862  
    11%META:TOPICINFO{author="ProjectContributor" date="1268211735" format="1.1" version="$Rev$"}% 
    22---+!! Welcome to the %WEB% Web 
    3 Foswiki is a flexible, powerful, secure, yet simple web-based collaboration platform.  Use Foswiki to run a project development space, a document management system, a knowledge base or any other groupware tool on either an intranet or on the Internet. 
     3This is where Foswiki keeps system documentation, including 
     4documentation that is included with optional extensions. 
     5 
     6For most people, the System web is read-only; even administrators should not 
     7need to modify any of the topics here, though you may want to add your own 
     8topics - for example, to answer frequently asked questions from your users. 
     9 
     10This site is running Foswiki version *%WIKIVERSION%*, Plugin API version *%PLUGINVERSION{}%* 
    411 
    512---++ Presentations and tutorials 
    … …  
    714   * [[MainFeatures][1 minute introduction]] - what is it? 
    815   * [[BeginnersStartHere][15 minute presentation]] - how do I use it? 
    9    * [[TwentyMinuteTutorial][30 minute walkthrough]] - some more details 
     16   * [[TwentyMinuteTutorial][20 minute walkthrough]] - please hold my hand. 
    1017   * [[FrequentlyAskedQuestions][Frequently Asked Questions]] 
    1118 
    1219---++ Guides 
    1320   * [[UsersGuide][User's Guide]] - links to documentation useful for normal users 
    14    * [[ReferenceManual][Reference Manual]] - full, detailed documentation 
     21   * [[Reference Manual]] - full, detailed documentation 
    1522   * [[http://foswiki.org/Support][Getting help]] - if you get stuck 
    1623 
    1724---++ Administrators (mostly) 
     25   * [[%SCRIPTURL{configure}%][configure]], the Foswiki configuration tool 
    1826   * [[Admin Documentation Category]] has links to documentation for administrators 
    1927   * [[AdminToolsCategory][Admin Tools]] - gateway to tools used by administrators 
    2028   * [[ReleaseNotes01x01][Release Notes for 1.1]] - describes what's new in this release 
     29   * [[Instant Enhancements]] - some ideas for simple customisation of new installs 
    2130 
    2231---++ <nop>%WEB% Web Utilities 
    … …  
    2635   * WebRss, WebAtom - RSS and ATOM news feeds of topic changes 
    2736   * WebStatistics - listing popular topics and top contributors 
    28    * WebPreferences - preferences of this web 
     37   * WebPreferences - preferences for this web 
    2938 
    3039<a href="http://foswiki.org"><img src="%PUBURLPATH%/%WEB%/ProjectLogos/foswiki-badge.gif" alt="Foswiki badge" height="31" style="vertical-align:bottom" /></a> Foswiki is developed as Free Software under the [[FAQGnuGeneralPublicLicense][GNU/GPL]]. Get the latest version from [[Foswiki:Download][Foswiki.org downloads]]. 
    3140 
    32 This site is running Foswiki version *%WIKIVERSION%*, Plugin API version *%PLUGINVERSION{}%* 
    3341 
Note: See TracChangeset for help on using the changeset viewer.