App/Personal wikis/Default Main Page

From XOWA: the free, open-source, offline wiki application

Welcome to your personal wiki!

Personal wikis are new and will be in continual development! If you encounter issues, please report them through the Feedback page.

Quick start

Editing this page

  • Switch to edit mode by pressing Edit near the top-right of the page
  • Edit the text by typing directly in the text box. For this example, enter Hello, world! at the top of the text box.
  • Save the page by pressing the Save page button at the bottom of the text box

Congratulations! You should see Hello, world! at the top of the page

Creating a new page

  • Navigate to a page by entering a page title in the url bar. For this example, enter Test.
  • A blank page will open in edit mode. Enter in some text in the text box. For this example, enter Some text for the page
  • Save the page.

Congratulations! You have just created a new page called Test

Linking to a page

  • Switch to edit mode.
  • Enter a link by entering text into the text box. For this example, use [[Test]].
  • Save the page. The word Test will show and be highlighted in blue.
  • Click on the Test link. The Test page will open.

Congratulations! You have just linked to a page called Test

Basic editing

The best place to start is Wikipedia's guide for editing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Getting_started

The table below is provided for reference. Note the following columns:

  • function: the name of the function
  • example: an example of the function as shown in HTML
  • wikitext: the actual wikitext used to render the function
  • html: an alternative way of rendering the same wikitext, but only with html.

HTML tags

Most HTML tags are available.

  • HTML tags can be used as an alternative to wikitext.: For example, italicized text can also be shown with <i>italicized text</i>
  • HTML tags are needed for other functions.: For example, the following have no wikitext equivalent <u>underline</u>, <s>strikethru</s>, etc..

However, there are some notable exceptions:

  • anchor tags are not allowed: Any <a> will be rendered literally. Instead, use an internal / external link. For example, [[Test]]
  • image tags are not allowed: Any <img> will be rendered literally. Instead, use an internal link in the file namespace. For example, [[File:Image.png]]
  • javascript / events are not allowed: All javascript and "onevent" blocks are removed.
function example wikitext html
italics italicized text ''italicized text'' <i>italicized text</<i>
bold bold text '''bold text''' <b>bold text</<b>
bold and italics bold and italicized text '''''bold and italicized text''''' <b><i>bold and italicized text</i></b>
underline underlined text N/A <u>underlined text</u>
strike-thru strike-thru text N/A <s>strike-thru text</s>
color colored text N/A <span style='color:green'>colored text</span>
external url: url only http://xowa.org http://xowa.org N/A
external url: url with name xowa web site [http://xowa.org xowa web site] N/A
external url: numbered [1] [http://xowa.org] N/A
internal url: page only Test [[Test]] N/A
internal url: page with name My test page [[Test|My test page]] N/A
paragraph

para 1

para 2

para 1

para 2

[basics 1]

<p>para 1</p>
<p>para 2</p>
preformatted blocks
line 1
line 2 
 line 1
 line 2 

[basics 2]

<pre>
line 1
para 2
</pre>
list: bulleted
  • a
    • aa
      • aaa
  • b
  • c
    • cc
* a
** aa
*** aaa
* b
* c
** cc
<ul>
  <li>a
   <ul>
     <li>aa
       <ul>
         <li>aaa</li>
       </ul>
     </li>
   </ul>
  </li>
  <li>b</li>
  <li>c
   <ul>
     <li>cc
     </li>
   </ul>
  </li>
</ul>
list: numbered
  1. a
    1. aa
      1. aaa
  2. b
  3. c
    1. cc
# a
## aa
### aaa
# b
# c
## cc
<ol>
  <li>a
   <ol>
     <li>aa
       <ol>
         <li>aaa</li>
       </ol>
     </li>
   </ol>
  </li>
  <li>b</li>
  <li>c
   <ol>
     <li>cc
     </li>
   </ol>
  </li>
</ol>
header

Basic editing: Test Level a3

Basic editing: Test Level a4

Basic editing: Test Level a5

Basic editing: Test Level b3

Basic editing: Test Level c3

Basic editing: Test Level c4

=== Basic editing: Test Level a3 ===
==== Basic editing: Test Level a4 ====
===== Basic editing: Test Level a5 =====
=== Basic editing: Test Level b3 ===
=== Basic editing: Test Level c3 ===
==== Basic editing: Test Level c4 ====
<h3> Basic editing: Test Level a3 </h3>
<h4> Basic editing: Test Level a4 </h4>
<h5> Basic editing: Test Level a5 </h5>
<h3> Basic editing: Test Level b3 </h3>
<h3> Basic editing: Test Level c3 </h3>
<h4> Basic editing: Test Level c4 </h4>
table
caption
header a header b
cell 1a cell 1b
cell 2a cell 2b
{|class=wikitable
|+ caption
|-
! header a
! header b
|-
| cell 1a
| cell 1b
|-
| cell 2a
| cell 2b
|}
<table class="wikitable">
  <caption>caption</caption>
  <tr>
    <th>header a</th>
    <th>header b</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>cell 1a</td>
    <td>cell 1b</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>cell 2a</td>
    <td>cell 2b</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Notes for Basics editing

  1. ^ enter a completely blank line between paragraphs
  2. ^ start a line with a space

Advanced editing

Category

Categories are supported. As a basic example, try the following:

  • Edit this page
  • Add the following text: [[Category:Test]]
  • Scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will see a Categories section and Test listed
  • Navigate to Category:Test. You will see the Main page listed

For more info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category

Images

Images are supported, but the process is slightly complicated due to the set-up of third-party software.

Here is a broad overview:

  • Set up imagemagick and inkscape on your machine. For more instructions, see http://xowa.org/home/wiki/App/Wiki_types/Wikia.com#Part_3c:_Setup_Imagemagick_and_Inkscape
  • Place your images in your wiki directory. Assuming your wiki is set up in C:\your_wiki, then you need to copy an image to C:\your_wiki\file\orig. As an example, do the following:
    • Download the image from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg
    • Move the image to C:\your_wiki\file\orig\The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg
    • Edit the page, and add the following text: [[File:The_Earth_seen_from_Apollo_17.jpg]]
  • Preview the page. You should see the image.

For more info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Picture_tutorial

Table of contents

Table of contents (TOC) are automatically generated by XOWA if you have 4 headers (a header being something like == header ==)

If you have less than 4 headers, you can force a TOC by adding __TOC__

Math

LaTEX formatting is available. For example, the following is the formula for the Pythagorean theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2

References

Wikipedia-style references are supported. For example, this is a simple reference: [1].

Note that you can hover over the reference number to get a tooltip preview

Sortable tables

Wikipedia-style sortable tables are supported.

String Int Date - months
c 3 Mar 1 2012
b 22 Feb 2 2011
a 111 Jan 3 2010

Collapsible tables

Wikipedia-style collapsible tables are supported.

Data
A
B
C

More

Other features are supported, including Tabviews, Timelines, Graphs, Hieroglyphics and Musical scores. For examples, see xowa.home:Diagnostics

Expert editing

Magic words

Most magic words are supported, such as {{CURRENTTIME}} and {{lc:string}}. For more info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Magic_words

Parser functions

Most parser functions are supported, such as {{#expr:2 + 2}}. For more info, see https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Extension:ParserFunctions

Templates

Templates are supported, such as {{my_template|arg_1|arg_2|etc...}}. For more info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:A_quick_guide_to_templates

Here's a brief example:

  • Create a page called Template:Test with the text Hello, from Template:Test -- {{{1|empty}}}
  • Edit any other page (like the Main_Page) and enter {{Test|argument 1}} in the text box.
  • Preview or Save the page. You will see Hello, from Template:Test -- argument 1

Modules

Modules are supported, such as {{#invoke:my_module|my_function|arg_1|arg_2|etc...}}. For more info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Lua

Here's a brief example:

  • Create a page called Module:Test with the following text
local p = {}

function p.test( frame )  
  return "Hello from Module:Test -- " .. frame.args[1];
end

return p
  • Edit any other page (like the Main_Page) and enter {{#invoke:Test|test|argument 1}} in the text box.
  • Preview or Save the page. You will see Hello from Module:Test -- argument 1

Developer editing

CSS

XOWA stores the CSS for each wiki in /xowa/user/anonymous/wiki/your_wiki_name/html. For example, if you're on Windows and your wiki is named test, then the CSS would be at C:\xowa\user\anonymous\wiki\test\html\xowa_common.css

Note that the upper-lefthand icon is also stored there as logo.png

You can change these files and XOWA will not overwrite them. However, as with any file, please make sure you always keep backups.

Page template

XOWA stores the page template in /xowa/bin/any/xowa/cfg/app/xowa.gfs. The actual template is marked in a section called page_read.

Please note the following about changing the page:

  • The file is replaced on every application update. If you make updates to the file, they will be lost.
    • If you find that you need to edit this file, please contact me, and I will add a feature to make it configurable in a future release. Really, these instructions are only provided for users who want to experiment.
  • The file uses a custom language specific to XOWA called gfs. Always backup the file when making changes. If you make an invalid change, XOWA will not start
  • The file is only loaded at application start. Any changes will require a restart of the app

Scripting

XOWA allows custom hooks through Javascript or Lua. For detailed instructions see xowa.home:App/Xtn/Scripting

Keyboard shortcuts

For a full list, see xowa.home:Special:XowaCfg?grp=xowa.gui.shortcuts

Alt + Shift + E Edit the page. Switches to edit mode
Ctrl + S Quick save the page. Stays in edit mode
Alt + Shift + P Preview the page. Stays in edit mode
Alt + Shift + S Save the page. Switches to read mode
Ctrl + F Find text in the page

Ctrl + L or
Alt + D

Focus the URL bar
Ctrl + T New tab
Ctrl + Tab Switch to next tab
Ctrl + Shift + Tab Switch to previous tab
Ctrl + W Close tab

Useful links

Notes

  1. ^ Test footnote

Namespaces

XOWA

Getting started

Android

Help

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