IMPORTANT - This page is for the old groups.io Wiki and the new DocuWiki is DIFFERENT. This page will be updated to reflect DokuWiki. This is only a place-holder now.

Starting update - Work In Progress

This information is for a Coot that is familiar with a water access point, like a boat launch ramp, and wants to add this to the Coots' Wiki data base. What you are doing is adding a page to the Wiki. As soon as you finish the page, it is available to be read by anyone. And any Coot, signed up for this groups.io group, can make changes. The process of adding and editing a page is available to anyone registered with coots.org. All that registration does is to check that the email is valid.

Create a new page

Reading this page means that you have accessed the wiki. You are free to read any page, and they are listed in the sidebar for PC users and in-line for phone users. If you want to add a new page, describing a different location than is currently show, do a search for the new site. Here, as an example, we will follow through with adding a real access site, the Port of Toledo launch ramp on the Yaquina River. This is step-by-step and too much detail for experienced users, but available if it is useful. The search should be done in a special way, needed because your search phrase will become the file name of a wiki page. So, the search should be several words separated by an underscore. Use no capital letters. Avoid long names as that helps fitting into a file browser display. For our example, we choose toledo_yaquina_ramp. Ramp is not normally needed, but Toledo also has a paddle park, and the word ramp distinguishes the two. After we enter this into a search window and hit Enter, we see the following:

If this tells us that the page exists, we need to either edit that page, or create a new name. More likely, we will be told that the page is not found, and get the option, “If you didn't find what you were looking for, you can create or edit the page,” followed by our page name as a link. To start our new page, just click on the link as shown next:

We should immediately be presented with an edit window. If that is the case, skip the rest of this paragraph. If somehow, you do not get to the edit window, that will be shown below, on any page, go to the top and click on “Sitemap,” as shown below, and and then clicking on toledo_yaquina_ramp. You will see either an empty page, or a page with anything that has been added to our new page. Next, look for a gray pencil in the upper-right edge of the wiki page. Clicking that opens the wiki editor. One last hint is that if you do not see the gray pencil, you probably are not registered.

So, we now are shown the edit window, with the empty Toledo Ramp wiki page written in a mark-up language. That referenced guide is helpful to look at, but many of your editing tasks can be carried out with copy-and-paste from existing material. Straight text is easy; you just type it in. A new paragraph does not require any special character; it only needs two “Enter”'s.

To get started with our new page, I opened a new browser tab with the Coots' water access template. Copying that entire page and pasting it into the new edit window gives a good start. The blank page that comes up will accept your typing as new material. All the usual features, such as copy-and-paste or insert an image are available, many of these through the small icons above the edit window. Here is an example where I have already edited the first few entries:

Before editing the page material, we need to learn how to save the page. Go to the bottom line and there is a pink box for “Edit Summary.” This is a short indicator of changes that goes into a wiki log. At this point, a short phrase, “Initial edit” will tell the story. Next click on the left hand “Save” button. The actual wiki page will appear. If the changes are simple, like a typo correction, it is expedient to just click the “Minor Changes” box and leave no message.

To continue editing, go click the gray pencil in the upper right. The edit box should appear as you left it before the save.

Measuring Boat Ramp Slope

We'll try here to describe an almost non-mathematical way to find ramp slope. TBD soon…

Adding a picture

Adding a picture is two steps, first loading the image file to the wiki media storage and then inserting it into the wiki page. Loading the file is not enough.

1 - Click on the image icon near the top of the page. This opens a new window.

1a - To upload the image, click the “Select Files” button and browse for the desired file (most standard formats are supported). Click “Open”.

1b - Next click the “Upload” button and then the “Done” button. Finally, you have uploaded your image file, so close the extra window.

2 - Place your entry cursor where you want the picture to go and then go to the top bar and click the image icon icon, again. In the separate window, select the image file from step 1. Next, highlight it with a click and then place your edit entry cursor where you want it. Next click on the “Insert” button.

Editing Hints

Moving a picture is simple. With the edit window open, find your image with a format, such as, <pre class=“code”>/“/”</pre> and cut and paste the text where you want it. Changing the picture size is done by the width parameter, 640. To make it smaller, you could use, <pre class=“code”></pre>

Saving a page

Save your work often. This greatly reduces the bad feelings when something gets lost!

Go to the bottom of the edit window and click on“Save Edit.”

Be aware that saving your wiki page results in the wiki edit being closed. After you save a page you will see the page as it is presented in the wiki.

A hint is, before saving a page, to make a habit of clicking somewhere in text to create a text cursor and, importantly, to remove any highlighting. This helps greatly with accidental loss of material.