Appendix C: Text Formatting Rules

TWiki Editing Shorthand

1st paragraph

2nd paragraph

---++ Sushi

---+++ Maguro

*Bold*

_Italic_

__Bold italic__

=Fixed font=

==Bold fixed==

_This works_,
_this not _

<verbatim>
class CatAnimal {
  void purr() {
    <code here>
  }
}
</verbatim>

class CatAnimal {
  void purr() {
    <code here>
  }
}

-------

   * bullet item

      * nested stuff

   1 Sushi
   1 Dim Sum

   Sushi: Japan
   Dim Sum: S.F.

| *L* | *C* | *R* |
| A2 |  2  |  2 |
| A3 |  3  |  3 |
| multi span |||
| A4 \  | next \  | next |

WebNotify

Know.ReadmeFirst

[[wiki syntax]]

[[Main.TWiki users]]

[[WikiSyntax][syntax]]

[[http://gnu.org][GNU]]

[[WebHome#NotThere]]

[[#MyAnchor][Jump]]

#MyAnchor To here

<nop>SunOS

Using HTML

You can use just about any HTML tag without a problem - however, to keep in mind:

• On collaboration pages, it's preferable NOT to use HTML, and to use TWiki shorthand instead - this keeps the text uncluttered and easy to edit.
  • NOTE: TWiki converts shorthand notation to XHTML 1.0 for display. To copy a fully marked-up page, simply view source in your browser and save the contents.
  • NOTE: The standard installation TWiki is compatible across a wide range of browsers and computer platforms. If this is important to you, remember that using browser-specific tags or any other mark-up that doesn't degrade well will reduce compatibility.

Hyperlinks

Being able to create links without any formatting required is a core TWiki feature, made possible with WikiWords. New TWiki linking rules are a simple extension of the syntax that provide a new set of flexible options.

Internal Links

• GoodStyle is a WikiWord that links to the GoodStyle topic located in the current netfrag.org web.

• NotExistingYet^? is a topic waiting to be written. Create the topic by clicking on the ?. (Try clicking, but then, Cancel - creating the topic would wreck this example!)

External Links

• http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.

• Email addresses like name@domain.com are linked automatically.

• [[Square bracket rules]] let you easily create non-WikiWord links.

TWiki Variables

Variables are names that are enclosed in percent signs % that are expanded on the fly.

• %TOC% : Automatically generates a table of contents based on headings in a topic - see the top of this page for an example.

• %WEB% : The current web, is TWiki.

• %TOPIC% : The current topic name, is TextFormattingRules.

• %ATTACHURL% : The attachment URL of the current topic. Example usage: If you attach a file to a topic you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif to show the URL of the file or the image in your text.

• %INCLUDE{"SomeTopic"}% : Server side include, includes another topic. The current netfrag.org web is the default web. Example: %INCLUDE{"TWiki.TWikiWebsTable"}%

• There are many more variables, see TWikiVariables.

Common Editing Errors

TWiki formatting rules are fairly simple to use and quick to type. However, there are some things to watch out for, taken from the TextFormattingFAQ:

• Q: Text enclosed in angle brackets like <filename> is not displayed. How can I show it as it is?
  • A: The '<' and '>' characters have a special meaning in HTML, they define HTML tags. You need to escape them, so write '<' instead of '<', and '>' instead of '>'.
    Example: Type 'prog <filename>' to get 'prog <filename>'.

• Q: Why is the '&' character sometimes not displayed?
  • A: The '&' character has a special meaning in HTML, it starts a so called character entity, ex: '©' is the © copyright character. You need to escape '&' to see it as it is, so write '&' instead of '&'.
    Example: Type 'This & that' to get 'This & that'.

TWiki Plugins

Plugins provide additional text formatting capabilities and can extend the functionality of netfrag.org into many other areas. For example, one optional Plugin lets you create a basic spreadsheet in a similar way to tables. Available Plugins are located in the Plugins web on TWiki.org. Currently enabled plugins on here:

• DefaultPlugin: This plugin can be used to specify some simple custom rendering rules. It also renders deprecated *_text_* as bold italic text.
• HeadlinesPlugin: Build news portals that show headline news based on RSS news feeds from news sites.
• InterwikiPlugin: Link ExternalSite:Page text to external sites based on aliases defined in the InterWikis topic.
• TablePlugin: Control attributes of tables and sorting of table columns
• VisualConfirmPlugin: Plugin for visual confirmation of new user registration.

Check on current Plugin status and settings for this site in TWikiPreferences.

-- MikeMannix - 02 Oct 2001