A Simple Guide To Wikis

A wiki is an editable text-based website. But you don't need to understand any complex HTML, or anything like that to use a wiki. A wiki is really only a little bit more complex than a word-processor, but MUCH more powerful, because instead of only being 1 page, it can be lots of pages, all linked up together.

I'll show you how easy it is to use a wiki later, but first I'd like to tell you why wikis are so useful.

Wikis are useful, because they let you setup any data you want, in any way that you want. Rather than constrain you with a specific way of structuring things, you can link things together in any way that you want. This means you can set things up as simple, or as complex as you like.

Because they are so flexible, there are literally millions of uses for wikis. Some uses include:

  • Keeping a daily journal
  • Brainstorming
  • Managing investment properties
  • Implementing a GTD system (As described by David Allen)
  • Research
  • Running a business.

Some wikis also let multiple users share an edit the same data. An interesting example of this online is the Wiki Encyclopedia where a group of people are collaborating to make a free online encyclopedia.

Perhaps the best way to show how a wiki works is with an example. Let's say you have a page, called "HomePage" that says "Hello, this is my first wiki page."

We want to change it, by making the word "first" in bold.

Start by clicking the edit button. You will see the following: Hello, this is my first wiki page.

Using the keyboard, change the text to look like this: Hello, this is my *first* wiki page.

When you save the changes, you will see that the word first has become bolded. That's because any text surrounded by '*" becomes bold.

Now, we'd like to add a new page with a link. In HTML this can be quite complex, but in a wiki, it's really easy.

Click edit, and change the text to this: Hello, this is my *first* wiki page. And this is a link to my [second page]

When you save, you will see that the words "second page" have become a link. That's because any text surrounded by square brackets becomes a link.

To change "second page", just click on the link. If "second page" already existed, we would now see the contents of that page. But it doesn't exist yet, so the wiki makes a blank page called "second page" for us, and then shows us that page. We can change that page by clicking edit, like before.

Lets change "second page", to say this: And a link to a page about [oranges]

When we save, there will be a link to an "oranges" page. Click on the oranges link, and click edit to say: My favorite fruit.

We have now created three pages:

  • The first page, called "HomePage"
  • The second page, called "second page"
  • The third page, called "oranges".

Lets add a link from the HomePage to the oranges page.

Go back to the HomePage, and click edit. You will see: Hello, this is my *first* wiki page. And this is a link to my [second page]

Now, lets add a third line, so the page becomes: Hello, this is my *first* wiki page. And this is a link to my [second page] And, don't forget the [oranges] page.

When we save, we now have a link to the oranges page from the HomePage. If we click on the "oranges" link, this time it doesn't take us to a blank page. That's because there is already a page called "oranges". It takes us to the existing "oranges" page that says "My favorite fruit."

See how simple it is! In no time at all, we have made 3 pages. It's really that simple, just use square brackets to create links!There is a lot more to wikis, but the fundamental concept is the link creation.

Dan Fletcher is a developer at dogMelon.

They make NoteStudio, an easy-to-use wiki-tool, being used on Palms, PC's, and Macs.

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Selecting Microsoft Great Plains Partner/VAR/Reseller: ERP Implementation & Customization ? Overview

In the case when you represent mid-size or mid-size-to-large business,... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Implementation for Large Corporation ? Overview for VP IT

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was historically designed to serve... Read More

Collaboration Software: Index of Collaboration Software Technologies

Collaboration SoftwareCollaboration Software, also known as group collaboration software or... Read More

Linux for Home Users

Hey Guys! Don't raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains version 8.5: Upgrade, Customization, VBA, Crystal Reports - Highlights

Microsoft Great Plains is one of the Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

ERP for Large Corporation ? New Selling Strategy

Our opinion is based on our Microsoft Business Solutions Great... Read More

Lotus Domino: Reports and Connectors ? Crystal Reports, XML, ODBC/JDBC, OLE

Lotus Notes Domino is very efficient in electronic document workflow... Read More

Manufacturing Solutions for Microsoft Great Plains ? Overview for Consultant

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has full-featured manufacturing set of... Read More

Five Steps to Rapid Development with TierDeveloper 4.0

Follow the steps below to quickly design, generate, and deploy... Read More

The Dreaded Paper Label - Should it be Used?

While paper labeling CDs and DVDs may appear to be... Read More

Who Is Minding Your Sensitive Data?

Stealing company information used to be the specialty of spies... Read More

Putting Screensavers Under Control

No matter how much you enjoy your favorite screensavers, sometimes... Read More

Microsoft CRM for Corporate Business ? Working Offline

If your company has regional and worldwide operations, you might... Read More

Navision Attain C/ODBC Crystal Report ? Customization Example

Microsoft Business Solutions Navision is main ERP application for European,... Read More

The True Meaning of Freeware

The vast majority of us will have, at some point,... Read More

Microsoft CRM and No-Frills Cadillacs

In today's business world it's all but impossible to escape... Read More

Groupware: What Works the Way Businesses Do?

GroupwareThe internet is full of 1.5 million to 7 million... Read More

Keep Your Software Simple! A Review of EditPlus

I like my software simple. If it's too complex or... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Beverage Production & Distribution ? Implementation & Customization Highlight

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has many years of successful... Read More

What You Should Know About Installing Screensavers

Do you remember that frustrating feeling when you find an... Read More

Great Plains Customization Upgrade? Overview For CIO/IT Director

Around the same time Microsoft made its move with .Net... Read More

SyncUp ? A File/Folder Synchronizer For Windows

SyncUp, a file synchronizer is designed to assist the home... Read More

Cisco CCNA Certification: Becoming A Truly Valuable CCNA.

I've been active in the Cisco Certification track for four... Read More

Spyware Definitions List

The adware and spyware definitions list is very long. But... Read More

Microsoft CRM Integration with Microsoft Retail Management System (RMS) ? Overview

Microsoft Client Relation Management system (Microsoft CRM) and Microsoft RMS... Read More

Microsoft CRM Data Conversion FAQ

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM data conversion deserves FAQ type of... Read More

Microsoft Axapta, Navision or Great Plains: ERP Selection for Large Corporation

If you would like to pick something from Microsoft, or... Read More

Instant Messaging is a Sweet Way to Communicate

MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains eCommerce ? Stored Procedures Approach

Since Version 8.0 Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains & Great... Read More

10 Programming Tips

(1) Avoid using the same variable again and again for... Read More

Preventive Maintenance Software Companies

Several software companies design programs for preventive maintenance. Most of... Read More

Theres Gold in Your Websites Server Log

Many Webmasters have never bothered to view their website's server... Read More

Making The Decision To Automate Your Software Testing

Not every software testing project can or should be automated.... Read More