<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/">
   * New example topic: 
     <input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" />
     <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" />
     <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on" />
     <input type="submit" value="Create" />
     (date format is <nop>YYYYxMMxDD)
</form>

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, there are a few usability and technical considerations to keep in mind.

HTML and TWiki Usability

• 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 is designed to work with a wide range of browsers and computer platforms, holding to HTML 3.2 compatibility in the standard installation - adding raw HTML, particularly browser-specific tags (or any other mark-up that doesn't degrade well) will reduce compatibility.

TWiki HTML Rendering

• 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.
  • If you need to save HTML frequently, you may want to check out TWiki:Plugins/GenHTMLAddon - it will "generate a directory containing rendered versions of a set of TWiki pages together with any attached files."
• NOTE: The opening and closing angle brackets - <...> - of an HTML tag must be on the same line, or the tag will be broken.
  • This feature allows you to enter an unclosed angle bracket - as a greater than or less than symbol - and have it automatically rendered as if you had entered its HTML character, <, ex: a > b
  • If you're pasting in preformatted HTML text and notice problems, check the file in a text processor with no text wrap. Also, save without hard line breaks on text wrap, in your HTML editing program.

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.

TWikiPlugin Formatting Extensions

Plugins provide additional text formatting capabilities and can extend the functionality of netfrag.org into many other areas. For example, the optional SpreadSheetPlugin lets you create a spreadsheet with the same basic notation used in TWiki tables.

Available Plugins are located in the Plugins web on TWiki.org. Currently enabled plugins on this TWiki installation, as listed by %PLUGINDESCRIPTIONS%:

• 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 Dec 2001 Line: 39 to 36 Changed: <
<

TWiki Formatted Search Results

Inline search feature allows flexible formatting of search result

Overview

By default, the format for displaying a search result is fixed, e.g. a table with rows of topic name and topic summary. Use the format="..." parameter to specify a customized format of the search result. The string of the format parameter is typically a bullet list or table row containing variables (i.e. %SEARCH{ "food" format="| $topic | $summary |" }%).

Syntax

Two paramters can be used to specify a customized search result:

1. header="..." parameter

Use the header paramter to specify the header of a search result. It should correspond to the format of the format parameter. This parameter is optional. I.e.
header="| *Topic:* | *Summary:* |"

2. format="..." parameter

Use the format paramter to specify the format of one search hit. I.e.
format="| $topic | $summary |"

Variables that can be used in the format string:

Note: For $pattern(reg-exp), specify a RegularExpression that scans from start to end and contains the text you want to keep in parenthesis, i.e. $pattern(.*?(from here.*?to here).*). You need to make sure that the integrity of a web page is not compromised, i.e. if you include a table make sure to include everything including the table end tag.

Examples

Bullet list showing topic name and summary

Write this:

%SEARCH{ "FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="   * *Topic: Summary:*" format="   * [[$topic]]: $summary" }%

To get this:

• Topic: Summary:
• TWikiFAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About TWiki This is a real FAQ, and also a demo of one easily implemented knowledge base solution. See how it's done, click Edit . SEARCH ...
• TWikiFaqTemplate: FAQ: Answer: Back to: NOP TWikiFAQ WIKIUSERNAME DATE
• TextFormattingFAQ: Text Formatting FAQ The most frequently asked questions about text formatting are answered. Also, TextFormattingRules contains the complete TWiki shorthand system ...

Table showing form field values of topics with a form

Write this in the Know web:

| *Topic:* | *OperatingSystem:* | *OsVersion:* |
%SEARCH{ "[T]opicClassification.*?value=\"[P]ublicFAQ\"" scope="text" regex="on" nosearch="on" nototal="on" format="| [[$topic]] | $formfield(OperatingSystem) | $formfield(OsVersion) |" }%

To get this:

Extract some text from a topic using regular expression

Write this:

%SEARCH{ "__Back to\:__ TWikiFAQ" scope="text" regex="on" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="TWiki FAQs:" format="   * $pattern(.*?FAQ\:[\n\r]*([^\n\r]+).*) [[$topic][Answer...]]" }%

To get this:

TWiki FAQs:

• How do I delete or rename a topic? Answer...
• Why does the topic revision not increase when I edit a topic? Answer...
• TWiki has a GPL (GNU General Public License). What is GPL? Answer...
• I've problems with the WebSearch. There is no Search Result on any inquiry. By clicking the Index topic it's the same problem. Answer...
• What happens if two of us try to edit the same topic simultaneously? Answer...
• I would like to install TWiki on my server. Can I get the source? Answer...
• So what is this WikiWiki thing exactly? Answer...
• Everybody can edit any page, this is scary. Doesn't that lead to chaos? Answer...

-- PeterThoeny^? - 28 Nov 2001

TWiki Plugins

Plug-in enhanced feature add-ons, with a Plugin API for developers

Overview

You can add Plugins to extend TWiki's functionality, without altering the core program code. A plug-in approach lets you:

• add virtually unlimited features while keeping the main TWiki code compact and efficient;
• heavily customize an installation and still do clean updates to new versions of TWiki;
• rapidly develop new TWiki functions in Perl using the Plugin API.

Everything to do with TWiki Plugins - demos, new releases, downloads, development, general discussion - is available at TWiki.org, in the TWiki:Plugins web.

Preinstalled Plugins

TWiki comes with three Plugins as part of the standard installation.

• DefaultPlugin optionally handles some legacy variables from older versions of TWiki. You can control this option from TWikiPreferences. (Perl programmers can also add rules for simple custom processing.)

• EmptyPlugin is a fully functional module, minus active code; it does nothing and serves as a template for new Plugin development.

• InterwikiPlugin is preinstalled but can be disabled or removed. Use it for shorthand linking to remote sites, ex: TWiki:Plugins expands to TWiki:Plugins on TWiki.org. You can edit the predefined set of of Wiki-related sites, and add your own.

Installing Plugins

Each TWikiPlugin comes with full documentation: step-by-step installation instructions, a detailed description of any special requirements, version details, and a working example for testing.

Most Plugins can be installed in three easy steps, with no programming skills required:

1. Download the zip file containing the Plugin, documentation, and any other required files, from TWiki:Plugins.
2. Distribute the files to their proper locations - unzip the zip archive in your TWiki installation directory - if have a standard TWiki installation, this will distribute automatically. Otherwise, place the files according to the directory paths listed on the Plugin top in TWiki:Plugins.
3. Check the demo example on the Plugin topic: if it's working, the installation was fine!

Special Requests: Some Plugins need certain Perl modules to be preinstalled on the host system. Plugins may also use other resources, like graphics, other modules, applications, templates. In these cases, detailed instructions are in the Plugin documentation.

Each Plugin has a standard release page, located in the TWiki:Plugins web at TWiki.org. In addition to the documentation topic (SomePlugin), there's a separate development page.

• Doc page: Read all available info about the Plugin; download the attached distribution files.
• Dev page: Post feature requests, bug reports and general dev comments; topic title ends in Dev (SomePluginDev).
• User support: Post installation, how to use type questions (and answers, if you have them) in the TWiki:Support web.

On-Site Pretesting

To test new Plugins on your installation before making them public, you may want to use one of these two approaches:

• Method 1: Safely test on-the-fly by creating separate Production and Test branches in your live TWiki installation.
  • Duplicate the twiki/bin and twiki/lib directories for the Test version, adjusting the paths in the new lib/TWiki.cfg, the twiki/data; the twiki/templates and twiki/pub directories are shared.
  • Test Plugins and other new features in the Test installation until you're satisfied.
    • If you modify topics using the new features, live users will likely see unfamiliar new META tags showing up on their pages - to avoid this, create and edit test-only topics to try out new features.
  • Copy the modified files to the Production installation. You can update a TWiki installation live and users won't even notice.

• Method 2: List the Plugin under Test in the DISABLEDPLUGINS variable in TWikiPreferences. Redefine the DISABLEDPLUGINS variable in the Test web and do the testing there.

Managing Plugins

When you finish installing a Plugin, you should be able to read the user instructions and go. In fact, some Plugins require additional settings or offer extra options that you have to select. Also, you may want to make a Plugin available only in certain webs, or temporarily disable it. And may want to list all available Plugins in certain topics. You can handle all of these management tasks with simple procedures.

Setting Preferences

Installed Plugins can be toggled on or off, site-wide or by web, through TWikiPreferences and individual WebPreferences:

• All Plugin modules present in the lib/TWiki/Plugins directory are activated automatically unless disabled by the DISABLEDPLUGINS Preferences variable in TWikiPreferences. You can optionally list the installed Plugins in the INSTALLEDPLUGINS Preferences variable. This is useful to define the sequence of Plugin execution, or to specify other webs than the netfrag.org web for the Plugin topics. Settings in TWikiPreferences are:
  • Set INSTALLEDPLUGINS = DefaultPlugin, ...
  • Set DISABLEDPLUGINS = EmptyPlugin, ...

Plugin execution order in TWiki is determined by searching Plugin topics in a specific sequence: First, full web.topicname name, if specified in INSTALLEDPLUGINS; next, the TWiki web is searched; and finally, the current web.

Plugin-specific settings are done in individual Plugin topics. Two settings are standard for each Plugin:

1. One line description, used to form the bullets describing the Plugins in the TextFormattingRules topic:
   • Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = Blah blah woof woof.
2. Debug Plugin, output can be seen in data/debug.txt. Set to 0=off or 1=on:
   • Set DEBUG = 0

• The settings can be retrieved as Preferences variables like %<pluginname>_<var>%, ex: %DEFAULTPLUGIN_SHORTDESCRIPTION% shows the description of the DefaultPlugin.

Listing Active Plugins

Plugin status variables let you list all active Plugins wherever needed. There are two list formats:

• The %ACTIVATEDPLUGINS% variable lists activated Plugins by name. (This variable is displayed in TWikiPreferences for debugging use.)
• The %PLUGINDESCRIPTIONS% variable displays a bullet list with a one-line description of each active Plugins. This variable is based on the %<plugin>_SHORTDESCRIPTION% Preferences variables of individual topics and is shown in TextFormattingRules.

DEMO: Automatically List Active Plugins Using Variables

Using %ACTIVATEDPLUGINS%:
On this TWiki site, the active Plugins are: DefaultPlugin, HeadlinesPlugin, InterwikiPlugin, TablePlugin, VisualConfirmPlugin.

Using %PLUGINDESCRIPTIONS%:
You can use any of these active TWiki Plugins:

• 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.

The TWiki Plugin API

The Application Programming Interface (API) for TWikiPlugins provides the specifications for hooking into the core TWiki code from your external Perl Plugin module. The Plugin API is new to the Production version of TWiki with the 01-Sep-2001 release.

Available Core Functions

The lib/TWiki/Func.pm implements ALL official Plugin functions. Plugins should ONLY use functions published in this module.

If you use functions not in Func.pm, you run the risk of creating security holes. Also, your Plugin will likely break and require updating when you upgrade to a new version of TWiki.

• For best performance, enable only the functions you really need. NOTE: outsidePREHandler and insidePREHandler are particularly expensive.

Predefined Hooks

In addition to TWiki core functions, Plugins can use predefined hooks, or call backs, listed in the lib/TWiki/Plugins/EmptyPlugin.pm module.

• All but the initPlugin are disabled. To enable a call back, remove DISABLE_ from the function name.

Plugin Version Detection

To eliminate the incompatibility problems bound to arise from active open Plugin development, a Plugin versioning system and an API GetVersion detection routine are provided for automatic compatibility checking.

• All modules require a $VERSION='0.000' variable, beginning at 1.000.

• The initPlugin handler should check all dependencies and return TRUE if the initialization is OK or FALSE if something went wrong.
  • The Plugin initialization code does not register a Plugin that returns FALSE (or that has no initPlugin handler).

• $VERSION='1.000' is the current setting in TWiki::Plugins.pm and in the preinstalled system Plugins (DefaultPlugin, EmptyPlugin, InterwikiPlugin).

Creating Plugins

With a reasonable knowledge of the Perl scripting language, you can create new Plugins or modify and extend existing ones. Basic plug-in architecture uses an Application Programming Interface (API), a set of software instructions that allow external code to interact with the main program. The TWiki Plugin API Plugins by providing a programming interface for TWiki.

The DefaultPlugin Alternative

• DefaultPlugin can handle some outdated TWiki variables, found, for example, in sites recently updated from an old version. Settings are in DefaultPlugin topic. You can also add your own simple custom processing rules here, though in all but very simple cases, writing a new Plugin is preferable.

Anatomy of a Plugin

A basic TWiki Plugin consists of two elements:

• a Perl module, ex: MyFirstPlugin.pm
• a documentation topic, ex: MyFirstPlugin.txt

The Perl module can be a block of code that connects with TWiki alone, or it can include other elements, like other Perl modules (including other Plugins), graphics, TWiki templates, external applications (ex: a Java applet), or just about anything else it can call. In particular, files that should be web-accessible (graphics, Java applets ...) are best placed as attachments of the MyFirstPlugin topic. Other needed Perl code is best placed in a lib/TWiki/Plugins/MyFirstPlugin/ directory.

The Plugin API handles the details of connecting your Perl module with main TWiki code. When you're familiar with the Plugin API, you're ready to develop Plugins.

Creating the Perl Module

Copy file lib/TWiki/Plugins/EmptyPlugin.pm to <name>Plugin.pm. EmptyPlugin.pm contains no executable code, so it does nothing, but it's ready to be used. Customize it. Refer to the Plugin API specs for more information.

Writing the Documentation Topic

The Plugin documentation topic contains usage instructions and version details. It serves the Plugin files as FileAttachments for downloading. (The doc topic is also included in the distribution package.) To create a documentation topic:

1. Copy the Plugin topic template from EmptyPlugin. To copy the text, go to the page and:
   • click Edit
   • select all in the Edit box & copy
   • Cancel the edit
   • paste & save as a text file or new topic on your site
2. Customize the template for your Plugin; you'll probably want to post a working version on your local TWiki site.
3. Save your topic as a text file, for use in packaging and publishing your Plugin.

OUTLINE: Doc Topic Contents
Check EmptyPlugin on TWiki.org for the latest Plugin doc topic template. Here's a quick overview of what's covered:

Syntax Rules: <Describe any special text formatting that will be rendered.>"

MyFirstPlugin Settings: <Description and settings for custom Plugin %VARIABLES%, and those required by TWiki.>"

• Plugins Preferences <If user settings are needed, explain... Entering valuse works exactly like TWikiPreferences and WebPreferences: six (6) spaces and then:>"
  • Set <EXAMPLE = value added>

How-to Instructions: <Step-by-step set-up guide, user help, whatever it takes to install and run, goes here.>"

Test Example: <Include an example of the Plugin in action: if it works, the installation was a success!>"

Plugin Info: <Version, credits, history, requirements - entered in a form, displayed as a table. Both are automatically generated when you create or edit a page in the TWiki:Plugins web.>"

Packaging for Distribution

A minimum Plugin release consists of a Perl module with a WikiName that ends in Plugin, ex: MyFirstPlugin.pm, and a documentation page with the same name(MyFirstPlugin.txt).

1. Distribute the Plugin files in a directory structure that mirrors TWiki. If your Plugin uses additional files, include them ALL:
   • lib/TWiki/Plugins/MyFirstPlugin.pm
   • data/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin.txt
   • pub/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin/uparrow.gif [a required graphic]
2. Create a zip archive with the Plugin name (MyFirstPlugin.zip) and add the entire directory structure from Step 1. The archive should look like this:
   • lib/TWiki/Plugins/MyFirstPlugin.pm
   • data/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin.txt
   • pub/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin/uparrow.gif

Publishing for Public Use

You can release your tested, packaged Plugin to the TWiki community through the TWiki:Plugins web. All Plugins submitted to TWiki.org are available for download and further development in TWiki:Plugins. Publish your Plugin in three steps:

1. Post the Plugin documentation topic in the TWiki:Plugins web:
   • create a new topic using the Plugin name, ex: MyFirstPlugin.txt
   • paste in the topic text from Creating Plugin Documentation and save
2. Attach the distribution zip file to the topic, ex: MyFirstPlugin.zip
3. Link from the doc page to a new, blank page named after the Plugin, and ending in Dev, ex: MyFirstPluginDev. This is the discussion page for future development. (User support for Plugins is handled in TWiki:Support.)

-- AndreaSterbini - 29 May 2001
-- PeterThoeny - 14 Sep 2001
-- MikeMannix - 03 Dec 2001 >
>

File Attachments

Each topic can have files attached to it, similar to an email attachment. Use your browser to upload or download a file. Attachments are stored under revision control, so uploads can never be lost, and files changes can be made with a rollback option that lets you retrieve all previous versions.

What Are Attachments Good For?

File Attachments can be used to create powerful groupware solutions - file sharing, document management - and for speedy Web authoring.

Document Management System

• You can use Attachments to store and retrieve documents (in any format, with associated graphics, and other media files); attach documents to specific TWiki topics; collaborate on documents with full revision control; distribute documents on a need-to-know basis using; create a central reference library that's easy to access and manage by an entire user group.

File Sharing

• For file sharing, FileAttachments on a series of topics can be used to quickly create a well-documented, categorized digital download center for all types of files: documents; graphics and other media; drivers and patches; applications; anything you can safely upload!

Web Authoring

• Through your Web browser, you can easily upload graphics (or sound files, or anything else you want to embed on a page) and place them anywhere in on a single page, or for use across a web, or site-wide.
  • NOTE: You can also add graphics - any files - directly, typically by FTP upload. This requires server access, and may be more convenient if a large number of files, or a particular directory location, is required. These files can't be managed using browser-based Attachment controls.

Uploading Files

• To upload: Click on the Attach link at the bottom of each page. A form is shown where you can browse for a file and upload it. The uploaded file will show up in the File Attachment table.
  • Files of any type can be uploaded. Some files that might impose a security risk are renamed, ex: *.php files are renamed to *.php.txt.
  • Currently there is no file size limit besides the disk space on the server.
  • The previous upload path is retained for convenience. In case you make some changes to the local file and want to upload it, again you can copy the previous upload path into the Local file field.

Downloading Files

• To download: Click on the file in the File Attachment table.

• NOTE: There is no access control on individual attachments. If you need this type of control, create separate topics and define access restrictions per topic.

Moving Attachment Files

An attachement can be moved between topics. To do this click Action on the attachment to be moved. On the control page, select the new web and topic, the click Move. The attachment and its version history are moved. The original location is stored as topic Meta Data.

Deleting Attachments

It is not possible to delete attached files with the current TWiki implementation. However, they can be moved to another topic. You may care to have a topic Trash.TrashAttachments - move attachments that are no longer wanted here.

Linking to Attached Files

• Once a file is attached it can be referenced in the topic. Example:
  1. Attach file: Sample.txt
  2. Edit topic and write text: %ATTACHURL%/Sample.txt
  3. Preview - %ATTACHURL text appears as: https://netfrag.org/twiki/pub/TWiki/FileAttachment/Sample.txt, a link.

• To reference an attachment located in another topic, write text:
  • %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/Sample.txt (for the same web)
  • %PUBURL%/Otherweb/OtherTopic/Sample.txt (for adifferent web)

• Attached HTML files and text files can be inlined in a topic. Example:
  1. Attach file: Sample.txt
  2. Edit topic and write text: %INCLUDE{"%ATTACHURL%/Sample.txt"}%
     • Content of attached file is shown inlined.
     • Read more in IncludeTopicsAndWebPages.

• GIF, JPG and PNG images can be attached and shown embedded in a topic. Example:
  1. Attach file: Smile.gif
  2. Edit topic and write text: %ATTACHURL%/Smile.gif
  3. Preview - text appears as , an image.

File Attachment Contents Table

Files attached to a topic are displayed in a directory table, displayed at the bottom of the page, or optionally, hidden and accessed when you click Attach.

Attachment: Action: Size: Date: Who: Comment: Sample.txt action 30 22 Jul 2000 - 19:37 PeterThoeny Just a sample Smile.gif action 94 22 Jul 2000 - 19:38 PeterThoeny Smiley face

File Attachment Controls

Clicking on an Action link takes you to a new page that looks like this:

Attachment: Action: Size: Date: Who: Comment: Attribute: Sample.txt action 30 22 Jul 2000 - 19:37 PeterThoeny Just a sample   Smile.gif action 94 22 Jul 2000 - 19:38 PeterThoeny Smiley face   Update attachment Sample.txt Version: Action: Date: Who: Comment: 1.1 view 2001.08.30.09.28.56 PeterThoeny   Previous upload: C:\DATA\Sample.txt (PeterThoeny) Local file: Comment: Link: Create a link to the attached file at the end of the topic. Hide file: Hide attachment in normal topic view. Help text ... Topic FileAttachment . { | | Move attachment | Cancel }

• The first table is a list of all attachments, including their attributes. An h means the attachment is hidden, it isn't listed when viewing a topic.

• The second table is all the versions of the attachment. Click on View to see that version. If it's the most recent version, you'll be taken to an URL that always displays the latest version, which is usually what you want.
  • To change the comment on an attachment, enter a new comment and then click Change properties. Note that the comment listed against the specific version will not change, however the comment displayed when viewing the topic does change.
  • To hide/unhide an attachment, enable the Hide file checkbox, then click Change properties.

Known Issues

• Unlike topics, attachments are not locked during editing. As a workaround, you can change the comment to indicate an attachment file is being worked on - the comment on the specific version isn't lost, it's there when you list all versions of the attachment.

TWiki Templates

Definition of the templates used to render all HTML pages displayed in TWiki

Overview

The new modular template system offers flexible, easy control over the layout of all TWiki pages. The master template approach groups parts that are shared by several templates - like headers and footers - in a common file. Special variables allow individual layouts to include parts from a master template - variables are mixed with regular HTML mark-up for template-specific content. Templates are used to define page layout, and also to supplydefault content for new pages.

Major changes from the previous template system

Where the old templates were each complete HTML documents, the new templates are defined using variables to include template parts from a master file. You can now change one instance of a common element to update all occurrences; previously, every affected template had to be updated. This simplifies the conversion of templates into XHTML format, and provides a more versatile solution for templates and for TWikiSkins. The new system:

• separates a set of common template parts into a base template that is included by all of the related templates;
• defines common variables, like a standard separator (ex: "|"), in the base template;
• defines variable text in the individual templates and passes it back to the base template.

Functional Specifications

• Special template directives (or preprocessor commands) are embedded in normal templates.
• Use of template directives is optional, templates work without them.
• All template preprocessing is done in &TWiki::Store::readTemplate() so that the caller simply gets an expanded template file (the same as before).
• Directives are of the form %TMPL:<key>% and %TMPL:<key>{"attr"}%.
• Directives:
  • %TMPL:INCLUDE{"file"}%: Includes a template file. The template directory of the current web is searched first, then the templates root (twiki/templates).
  • %TMPL:DEF{"var"}%: Define a variable. Text between this and the END directive is not returned, but put into a hash for later use.
  • %TMPL:END%: Ends variable definition.
  • %TMPL:P{"var"}%: Prints a previously defined variable.
• Variables are live in a global name space, there is no parameter passing.
• Two-pass processing, so that you can use a variable before declaring it or after.
• Templates and TWikiSkins work transparently and interchangeably. For example, you can create a skin that overloads just the twiki.tmpl, like twiki.print.tmpl, that redefines the header and footer.
• NOTE: The template directives work only for templates, they do not get processed in topic text.

TWiki Master Template

All common parts are defined in a master template, twiki.tmpl, that all other templates use.

Template variable:	Defines:
%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}%	"|" separator
%TMPL:DEF{"htmldoctype"}%	Start of all HTML pages
%TMPL:DEF{"standardheader"}%	Standard header (ex: view, index, seach)
%TMPL:DEF{"simpleheader"}%	Simple header with reduced links (ex: edit, attach, oops)
%TMPL:DEF{"standardfooter"}%	Footer, excluding revision and copyright parts
%TMPL:DEF{"oops"}%	Skeleton of oops dialog

Types of Template

There are two types of templates:

• HTML Page Templates: Defines layout of netfrag.org pages
• Template Topics: Defines default text when you create a new topic

HTML Page Templates

netfrag.org uses HTML template files for all actions like topic view, edit, preview and so on. This allows you to change the look and feel of all pages by editing just some template files.

The template files are in the twiki/templates directory. As an example, twiki/templates/view.tmpl is the template file for the twiki/bin/view script. Templates can be overloaded per web. The following search order applies:

1. twiki/templates/$webName/$scriptName.tmpl
2. twiki/templates/$scriptName.tmpl

Note: $webName is the name of the web (ex: Main), and $scriptName is the script (ex: view).

Note: TWikiSkins can be defined to overload the standard templates.

Special variables are used in templates, especially in view, to display meta data.

Template Topics

Template topics define the default text for new topics. There are three types of template topics:

Topic Name:	What it is:
WebTopicViewTemplate	Help text shown when you view a non existing topic.
WebTopicNonWikiTemplate	Help text shown when you view a non existing topic that has not a WikiName.
WebTopicEditTemplate	Default text shown when you create a new topic.

1. The topic name specified by the templatetopic CGI parameter.
2. WebTopicEditTemplate in the current web.
3. WebTopicEditTemplate in the TWiki web.

Template Topics in Action

Here is an example for creating new topics based on a specific template topic:

Above form asks for a topic name. A hidden input tag of name "templatetopic" specifies the ExampleTopicTemplate as the template topic. Here is the HTML source of the form:

<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH%/edit%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/">
   * New example topic: 
     <input type="text" name="topic" value="ExampleTopic%SERVERTIME{$yearx$mox$day}%" size="23" />
     <input type="hidden" name="templatetopic" value="ExampleTopicTemplate" />
     <input type="hidden" name="onlywikiname" value="on" />
     <input type="submit" value="Create" />
     (date format is <nop>YYYYxMMxDD)
</form>

The "onlywikiname" parameter enforces WikiWords for topic names.

Note: Use can use the %WIKIUSERNAME% and %DATE% variables in your topic templates as the signature; those variables are expanded when a new topic is created. The standard topic signature is:
-- %WIKIUSERNAME% - %DATE%

Templates by Example

Attached is an example of an oops base template oopsbase.tmpl and a example oops dialog oopstest.tmpl which is based on the base template. NOTE: This isn't the release version, just a quick, simple demo.

Base template oopsbase.tmpl

The first line declares the delimiter variable called "sep", used to separate multiple link items. The variable can be called anywhere by writing %TMPL:P{"sep"}%

%TMPL:DEF{"sep"}% | %TMPL:END% <html> <head> <title> %WIKITOOLNAME% . %WEB% . %TOPIC% %.TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</title> <base href="%SCRIPTURL%/view%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/%TOPIC%"> <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td bgcolor="%WEBBGCOLOR%" rowspan="2" valign="top" width="1%"> <a href="%WIKIHOMEURL%"> <img src="%PUBURLPATH%/wikiHome.gif" border="0"></a> </td> <td> <b>%WIKITOOLNAME% . %WEB% . </b><font size="+2"> <B>%TOPIC%</b> %TMPL:P{"titleaction"}%</font> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="%WEBBGCOLOR%"> <td colspan="2"> %TMPL:P{"webaction"}% </td> </tr> </table> --- ++ %TMPL:P{"heading"}% %TMPL:P{"message"}% <table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tr bgcolor="%WEBBGCOLOR%"> <td valign="top"> Topic <b>%TOPIC%</b> . { %TMPL:P{"topicaction"}% } </td> </tr> </table> </body>

Test template oopstest.tmpl

Each oops template basically just defines some variables and includes the base template that does the layout work.

%TMPL:DEF{"titleaction"}% (test =titleaction=) %TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{"webaction"}% test =webaction= %TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{"heading"}% Test heading %TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{"message"}% Test =message=. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah... * Some more blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah... * Param1: %PARAM1% * Param2: %PARAM2% * Param3: %PARAM3% * Param4: %PARAM4% %TMPL:END% %TMPL:DEF{"topicaction"}% Test =topicaction=: [[%WEB%.%TOPIC%][OK]] %TMPL:P{"sep"}% [[%TWIKIWEB%.TWikiRegistration][Register]] %TMPL:END% %TMPL:INCLUDE{"oopsbase"}%

Sample screen shot of oopstest.tmpl

With URL: .../bin/oops/Test/TestTopic2?template=oopstest&param1=WebHome&param2=WebNotify

Known Issues

• A drawback of referring to a master template is that you can only test a template from within TWiki, where the include variables are resolved. In the previous system, each template is a structurally complete HTML document with a .tmpl filename extension - it contains unresolved %VARIABLES%, but can still be previewed directly in a browser.

-- PeterThoeny - 23 Jul 2001
-- MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001
Line: 51 to 51 Changed: <
<

File Attachments

Each topic can have files attached to it, similar to an email attachment. Use your browser to upload or download a file. Attachments are stored under revision control, so uploads can never be lost, and files changes can be made with a rollback option that lets you retrieve all previous versions.

What Are Attachments Good For?

File Attachments can be used to create powerful groupware solutions - file sharing, document management - and for speedy Web authoring.

Document Management System

• You can use Attachments to store and retrieve documents (in any format, with associated graphics, and other media files); attach documents to specific TWiki topics; collaborate on documents with full revision control; distribute documents on a need-to-know basis using; create a central reference library that's easy to access and manage by an entire user group.

File Sharing

• For file sharing, FileAttachments on a series of topics can be used to quickly create a well-documented, categorized digital download center for all types of files: documents; graphics and other media; drivers and patches; applications; anything you can safely upload!

Web Authoring

• Through your Web browser, you can easily upload graphics (or sound files, or anything else you want to embed on a page) and place them anywhere in on a single page, or for use across a web, or site-wide.
  • NOTE: You can also add graphics - any files - directly, typically by FTP upload. This requires server access, and may be more convenient if a large number of files, or a particular directory location, is required. These files can't be managed using browser-based Attachment controls.

Uploading Files

• To upload: Click on the Attach link at the bottom of each page. A form is shown where you can browse for a file and upload it. The uploaded file will show up in the File Attachment table.
  • Files of any type can be uploaded. Some files that might impose a security risk are renamed, ex: *.php files are renamed to *.php.txt.
  • Currently there is no file size limit besides the disk space on the server.
  • The previous upload path is retained for convenience. In case you make some changes to the local file and want to upload it, again you can copy the previous upload path into the Local file field.

Downloading Files

• To download: Click on the file in the File Attachment table.

• NOTE: There is no access control on individual attachments. If you need this type of control, create separate topics and define access restrictions per topic.

Moving Attachment Files

An attachement can be moved between topics. To do this click Action on the attachment to be moved. On the control page, select the new web and topic, the click Move. The attachment and its version history are moved. The original location is stored as topic Meta Data.

Deleting Attachments

It is not possible to delete attached files with the current TWiki implementation. However, they can be moved to another topic. You may care to have a topic Trash.TrashAttachments - move attachments that are no longer wanted here.

Linking to Attached Files

• Once a file is attached it can be referenced in the topic. Example:
  1. Attach file: Sample.txt
  2. Edit topic and write text: %ATTACHURL%/Sample.txt
  3. Preview - %ATTACHURL text appears as: https://netfrag.org/twiki/pub/TWiki/FileAttachment/Sample.txt, a link.

• To reference an attachment located in another topic, write text:
  • %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/Sample.txt (for the same web)
  • %PUBURL%/Otherweb/OtherTopic/Sample.txt (for adifferent web)

• Attached HTML files and text files can be inlined in a topic. Example:
  1. Attach file: Sample.txt
  2. Edit topic and write text: %INCLUDE{"%ATTACHURL%/Sample.txt"}%
     • Content of attached file is shown inlined.
     • Read more in IncludeTopicsAndWebPages.

• GIF, JPG and PNG images can be attached and shown embedded in a topic. Example:
  1. Attach file: Smile.gif
  2. Edit topic and write text: %ATTACHURL%/Smile.gif
  3. Preview - text appears as , an image.

File Attachment Contents Table

Files attached to a topic are displayed in a directory table, displayed at the bottom of the page, or optionally, hidden and accessed when you click Attach.

Attachment: Action: Size: Date: Who: Comment: Sample.txt action 30 22 Jul 2000 - 19:37 PeterThoeny Just a sample Smile.gif action 94 22 Jul 2000 - 19:38 PeterThoeny Smiley face

File Attachment Controls

Clicking on an Action link takes you to a new page that looks like this:

Attachment: Action: Size: Date: Who: Comment: Attribute: Sample.txt action 30 22 Jul 2000 - 19:37 PeterThoeny Just a sample   Smile.gif action 94 22 Jul 2000 - 19:38 PeterThoeny Smiley face   Update attachment Sample.txt Version: Action: Date: Who: Comment: 1.1 view 2001.08.30.09.28.56 PeterThoeny   Previous upload: C:\DATA\Sample.txt (PeterThoeny) Local file: Comment: Link: Create a link to the attached file at the end of the topic. Hide file: Hide attachment in normal topic view. Help text ... Topic FileAttachment . { | | Move attachment | Cancel }

• The first table is a list of all attachments, including their attributes. An h means the attachment is hidden, it isn't listed when viewing a topic.

• The second table is all the versions of the attachment. Click on View to see that version. If it's the most recent version, you'll be taken to an URL that always displays the latest version, which is usually what you want.
  • To change the comment on an attachment, enter a new comment and then click Change properties. Note that the comment listed against the specific version will not change, however the comment displayed when viewing the topic does change.
  • To hide/unhide an attachment, enable the Hide file checkbox, then click Change properties.

Known Issues

• Unlike topics, attachments are not locked during editing. As a workaround, you can change the comment to indicate an attachment file is being worked on - the comment on the specific version isn't lost, it's there when you list all versions of the attachment.

TWiki Skins

Skins overlay regular templates with alternate header/footer layouts; topic text is not affected

Overview

Skins are customized TWikiTemplates files. You can use skins to change the look of a netfrag.org topic, for example, the layout of the header and footer. Rendered text between header and footer does not change. You can also use skins to define an alternate view, like a view optimized for printing.

Defining Skins

Skin files are located in the twiki/templates directory and are named with the syntax: <scriptname>.<skin>.tmpl. For example, the Printable skin for the view template is view.print.tmpl.

Activating Skins

A skin can be activated in two ways:

• Define the SKIN Preference variable in TWikiPreferences, one of the WebPreferences, or in a user - TWikiGuest^? - topic.
  • Set SKIN = print

• Add ?skin=name to the URL, for this example:
  • https://netfrag.org/twiki/bin/view/TWiki/TWikiSkins?skin=print (for the print view skin)
  • https://netfrag.org/twiki/bin/view/TWiki/TWikiSkins?skin=plain (for the plain view skin that has no header and footer)

The ?skin=name URL parameter overrides the SKIN Preference value.

-- PeterThoeny - 14 Jul 2001

TWiki Plugins

Plug-in enhanced feature add-ons, with a Plugin API for developers

Overview

You can add Plugins to extend TWiki's functionality, without altering the core program code. A plug-in approach lets you:

• add virtually unlimited features while keeping the main TWiki code compact and efficient;
• heavily customize an installation and still do clean updates to new versions of TWiki;
• rapidly develop new TWiki functions in Perl using the Plugin API.

Everything to do with TWiki Plugins - demos, new releases, downloads, development, general discussion - is available at TWiki.org, in the TWiki:Plugins web.

Preinstalled Plugins

TWiki comes with three Plugins as part of the standard installation.

• DefaultPlugin optionally handles some legacy variables from older versions of TWiki. You can control this option from TWikiPreferences. (Perl programmers can also add rules for simple custom processing.)

• EmptyPlugin is a fully functional module, minus active code; it does nothing and serves as a template for new Plugin development.

• InterwikiPlugin is preinstalled but can be disabled or removed. Use it for shorthand linking to remote sites, ex: TWiki:Plugins expands to TWiki:Plugins on TWiki.org. You can edit the predefined set of of Wiki-related sites, and add your own.

Installing Plugins

Each TWikiPlugin comes with full documentation: step-by-step installation instructions, a detailed description of any special requirements, version details, and a working example for testing.

Most Plugins can be installed in three easy steps, with no programming skills required:

1. Download the zip file containing the Plugin, documentation, and any other required files, from TWiki:Plugins.
2. Distribute the files to their proper locations - unzip the zip archive in your TWiki installation directory - if have a standard TWiki installation, this will distribute automatically. Otherwise, place the files according to the directory paths listed on the Plugin top in TWiki:Plugins.
3. Check the demo example on the Plugin topic: if it's working, the installation was fine!

Special Requests: Some Plugins need certain Perl modules to be preinstalled on the host system. Plugins may also use other resources, like graphics, other modules, applications, templates. In these cases, detailed instructions are in the Plugin documentation.

Each Plugin has a standard release page, located in the TWiki:Plugins web at TWiki.org. In addition to the documentation topic (SomePlugin), there's a separate development page.

• Doc page: Read all available info about the Plugin; download the attached distribution files.
• Dev page: Post feature requests, bug reports and general dev comments; topic title ends in Dev (SomePluginDev).
• User support: Post installation, how to use type questions (and answers, if you have them) in the TWiki:Support web.

On-Site Pretesting

To test new Plugins on your installation before making them public, you may want to use one of these two approaches:

• Method 1: Safely test on-the-fly by creating separate Production and Test branches in your live TWiki installation.
  • Duplicate the twiki/bin and twiki/lib directories for the Test version, adjusting the paths in the new lib/TWiki.cfg, the twiki/data; the twiki/templates and twiki/pub directories are shared.
  • Test Plugins and other new features in the Test installation until you're satisfied.
    • If you modify topics using the new features, live users will likely see unfamiliar new META tags showing up on their pages - to avoid this, create and edit test-only topics to try out new features.
  • Copy the modified files to the Production installation. You can update a TWiki installation live and users won't even notice.

• Method 2: List the Plugin under Test in the DISABLEDPLUGINS variable in TWikiPreferences. Redefine the DISABLEDPLUGINS variable in the Test web and do the testing there.

Managing Plugins

When you finish installing a Plugin, you should be able to read the user instructions and go. In fact, some Plugins require additional settings or offer extra options that you have to select. Also, you may want to make a Plugin available only in certain webs, or temporarily disable it. And may want to list all available Plugins in certain topics. You can handle all of these management tasks with simple procedures.

Setting Preferences

Installed Plugins can be toggled on or off, site-wide or by web, through TWikiPreferences and individual WebPreferences:

• All Plugin modules present in the lib/TWiki/Plugins directory are activated automatically unless disabled by the DISABLEDPLUGINS Preferences variable in TWikiPreferences. You can optionally list the installed Plugins in the INSTALLEDPLUGINS Preferences variable. This is useful to define the sequence of Plugin execution, or to specify other webs than the netfrag.org web for the Plugin topics. Settings in TWikiPreferences are:
  • Set INSTALLEDPLUGINS = DefaultPlugin, ...
  • Set DISABLEDPLUGINS = EmptyPlugin, ...

Plugin execution order in TWiki is determined by searching Plugin topics in a specific sequence: First, full web.topicname name, if specified in INSTALLEDPLUGINS; next, the TWiki web is searched; and finally, the current web.

Plugin-specific settings are done in individual Plugin topics. Two settings are standard for each Plugin:

1. One line description, used to form the bullets describing the Plugins in the TextFormattingRules topic:
   • Set SHORTDESCRIPTION = Blah blah woof woof.
2. Debug Plugin, output can be seen in data/debug.txt. Set to 0=off or 1=on:
   • Set DEBUG = 0

• The settings can be retrieved as Preferences variables like %<pluginname>_<var>%, ex: %DEFAULTPLUGIN_SHORTDESCRIPTION% shows the description of the DefaultPlugin.

Listing Active Plugins

Plugin status variables let you list all active Plugins wherever needed. There are two list formats:

• The %ACTIVATEDPLUGINS% variable lists activated Plugins by name. (This variable is displayed in TWikiPreferences for debugging use.)
• The %PLUGINDESCRIPTIONS% variable displays a bullet list with a one-line description of each active Plugins. This variable is based on the %<plugin>_SHORTDESCRIPTION% Preferences variables of individual topics and is shown in TextFormattingRules.

DEMO: Automatically List Active Plugins Using Variables

Using %ACTIVATEDPLUGINS%:
On this TWiki site, the active Plugins are: DefaultPlugin, HeadlinesPlugin, InterwikiPlugin, TablePlugin, VisualConfirmPlugin.

Using %PLUGINDESCRIPTIONS%:
You can use any of these active TWiki Plugins:

• 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.

The TWiki Plugin API

The Application Programming Interface (API) for TWikiPlugins provides the specifications for hooking into the core TWiki code from your external Perl Plugin module. The Plugin API is new to the Production version of TWiki with the 01-Sep-2001 release.

Available Core Functions

The lib/TWiki/Func.pm implements ALL official Plugin functions. Plugins should ONLY use functions published in this module.

If you use functions not in Func.pm, you run the risk of creating security holes. Also, your Plugin will likely break and require updating when you upgrade to a new version of TWiki.

• For best performance, enable only the functions you really need. NOTE: outsidePREHandler and insidePREHandler are particularly expensive.

Predefined Hooks

In addition to TWiki core functions, Plugins can use predefined hooks, or call backs, listed in the lib/TWiki/Plugins/EmptyPlugin.pm module.

• All but the initPlugin are disabled. To enable a call back, remove DISABLE_ from the function name.

Plugin Version Detection

To eliminate the incompatibility problems bound to arise from active open Plugin development, a Plugin versioning system and an API GetVersion detection routine are provided for automatic compatibility checking.

• All modules require a $VERSION='0.000' variable, beginning at 1.000.

• The initPlugin handler should check all dependencies and return TRUE if the initialization is OK or FALSE if something went wrong.
  • The Plugin initialization code does not register a Plugin that returns FALSE (or that has no initPlugin handler).

• $VERSION='1.000' is the current setting in TWiki::Plugins.pm and in the preinstalled system Plugins (DefaultPlugin, EmptyPlugin, InterwikiPlugin).

Creating Plugins

With a reasonable knowledge of the Perl scripting language, you can create new Plugins or modify and extend existing ones. Basic plug-in architecture uses an Application Programming Interface (API), a set of software instructions that allow external code to interact with the main program. The TWiki Plugin API Plugins by providing a programming interface for TWiki.

The DefaultPlugin Alternative

• DefaultPlugin can handle some outdated TWiki variables, found, for example, in sites recently updated from an old version. Settings are in DefaultPlugin topic. You can also add your own simple custom processing rules here, though in all but very simple cases, writing a new Plugin is preferable.

Anatomy of a Plugin

A basic TWiki Plugin consists of two elements:

• a Perl module, ex: MyFirstPlugin.pm
• a documentation topic, ex: MyFirstPlugin.txt

The Perl module can be a block of code that connects with TWiki alone, or it can include other elements, like other Perl modules (including other Plugins), graphics, TWiki templates, external applications (ex: a Java applet), or just about anything else it can call. In particular, files that should be web-accessible (graphics, Java applets ...) are best placed as attachments of the MyFirstPlugin topic. Other needed Perl code is best placed in a lib/TWiki/Plugins/MyFirstPlugin/ directory.

The Plugin API handles the details of connecting your Perl module with main TWiki code. When you're familiar with the Plugin API, you're ready to develop Plugins.

Creating the Perl Module

Copy file lib/TWiki/Plugins/EmptyPlugin.pm to <name>Plugin.pm. EmptyPlugin.pm contains no executable code, so it does nothing, but it's ready to be used. Customize it. Refer to the Plugin API specs for more information.

Writing the Documentation Topic

The Plugin documentation topic contains usage instructions and version details. It serves the Plugin files as FileAttachments for downloading. (The doc topic is also included in the distribution package.) To create a documentation topic:

1. Copy the Plugin topic template from EmptyPlugin. To copy the text, go to the page and:
   • click Edit
   • select all in the Edit box & copy
   • Cancel the edit
   • paste & save as a text file or new topic on your site
2. Customize the template for your Plugin; you'll probably want to post a working version on your local TWiki site.
3. Save your topic as a text file, for use in packaging and publishing your Plugin.

OUTLINE: Doc Topic Contents
Check EmptyPlugin on TWiki.org for the latest Plugin doc topic template. Here's a quick overview of what's covered:

Syntax Rules: <Describe any special text formatting that will be rendered.>"

MyFirstPlugin Settings: <Description and settings for custom Plugin %VARIABLES%, and those required by TWiki.>"

• Plugins Preferences <If user settings are needed, explain... Entering valuse works exactly like TWikiPreferences and WebPreferences: six (6) spaces and then:>"
  • Set <EXAMPLE = value added>

How-to Instructions: <Step-by-step set-up guide, user help, whatever it takes to install and run, goes here.>"

Test Example: <Include an example of the Plugin in action: if it works, the installation was a success!>"

Plugin Info: <Version, credits, history, requirements - entered in a form, displayed as a table. Both are automatically generated when you create or edit a page in the TWiki:Plugins web.>"

Packaging for Distribution

A minimum Plugin release consists of a Perl module with a WikiName that ends in Plugin, ex: MyFirstPlugin.pm, and a documentation page with the same name(MyFirstPlugin.txt).

1. Distribute the Plugin files in a directory structure that mirrors TWiki. If your Plugin uses additional files, include them ALL:
   • lib/TWiki/Plugins/MyFirstPlugin.pm
   • data/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin.txt
   • pub/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin/uparrow.gif [a required graphic]
2. Create a zip archive with the Plugin name (MyFirstPlugin.zip) and add the entire directory structure from Step 1. The archive should look like this:
   • lib/TWiki/Plugins/MyFirstPlugin.pm
   • data/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin.txt
   • pub/TWiki/MyFirstPlugin/uparrow.gif

Publishing for Public Use

You can release your tested, packaged Plugin to the TWiki community through the TWiki:Plugins web. All Plugins submitted to TWiki.org are available for download and further development in TWiki:Plugins. Publish your Plugin in three steps:

1. Post the Plugin documentation topic in the TWiki:Plugins web:
   • create a new topic using the Plugin name, ex: MyFirstPlugin.txt
   • paste in the topic text from Creating Plugin Documentation and save
2. Attach the distribution zip file to the topic, ex: MyFirstPlugin.zip
3. Link from the doc page to a new, blank page named after the Plugin, and ending in Dev, ex: MyFirstPluginDev. This is the discussion page for future development. (User support for Plugins is handled in TWiki:Support.)

-- AndreaSterbini - 29 May 2001
-- PeterThoeny - 14 Sep 2001
-- MikeMannix - 03 Dec 2001

TWikiSiteTools

Utilities for searching, navigation, and monitoring site activity

Overview

TWikiSiteTools include utilities for navigating, searching and keeping up with site activity. Preferences can be configured by web or site-wide. You are currently in the TWiki web. In particular, TWiki provides two highly configurable, automated site monitoring tools, WebNotify, to email alerts when topics are edited, and WebStats, to generate detailed activity reports.

WebNotify Recent Changes Alert

Each TWiki web has an automatic email alert service that sends a list of recent changes on a preset schedule, like once a day. Users can subscribe and unsubscribe using WebNotify in each web. The Perl script mailnotify is called by a deamon in regular intervals. The script sends an automated email to subscribed users if topics were changed in a web within last interval.

• You can create a WebNotify using TWikiVariables with %NOTIFYTOPIC%

Configuring Outgoing Mail

netfrag.org will use the Net::SMTP module if it is installed on your system. Set this with the SMTPMAILHOST variable in TWikiPreferences.

You can use an external mail program, like sendmail, if the Net::SMTP module is not installed. Set the program path in $mailProgram in TWiki.cfg.

• Net::SMTP can be easily disabled (ex: if there is an installation error) by setting SMTPMAILHOST in TWikiPreferences to an empty value.

• You can set a separate SMTPSENDERHOST variable to define the mail sender host (some SMTP installations require this).

Setting the Automatic Email Schedule

For Unix platforms: Edit the cron table so that mailnotify is called in an interval of your choice. Please consult man crontab of how to modify the table that schedules program execution at certain intervals. Example:

% crontab -e
15,45 * * * * (cd ~twiki/public_html/bin; ./mailnotify -q)

For ISP installations: Many ISPs don't allow hosted accounts direct cron access, as it's often used for things that can heavily load the server. Workaround scripts are available.

On Windows NT/2000: You can use a scheduled task if you have administrative privileges. Note: AT on an NT machine is pretty limited. Microsoft lists several third-party replacements (as of 2001-11-20, none of them free).

WebStatistics Site Usage Log

You can generate a listing manually, or on an automated schedule, of visits to individual pages, on a per web basis. Compiled as a running total on a monthly basis. Includes totals for Topic Views, Topic Saves, Attachment Uploads, Most Popular Topics with number of views, and Top Contributors showing total of saves and attachment uploads. Previous months are saved.

• You can create a WebStatistics link using TWikiVariables with %STATISTICSTOPIC%

Configuring for Automatic Operation

• You can automatically generate usage statistics for all webs. To enable this:
  • Make sure variable $doLogTopicView, $doLogTopicSave and $doLogTopicUpload in TWiki.cfg are set. This will generate log entries in file twiki/data/log<date>.txt .
  • The WebStatistics topic must be present in all webs where you want to have statistics. You can use the topic in the Main web as a template.
  • Call the twiki/bin/statistics script from a cron job, once a day is recommended. This will update the WebStatistics topics in all webs.
  • Attention: The script must run as the same user as the CGI scripts are running, which is user nobody on most systems. Example crontab entry:
    0 0 * * * (cd /path/to/TWiki/bin; ./statistics >/dev/null 2>&1)
  • There is a workaround in case you can't run the script as user nobody : Run the utility twiki/bin/geturl in your cron job and specify the URL of the twiki/bin/statistics script as a parameter. Example:
    0 0 * * * (cd /path/to/TWiki/bin; ./geturl mydomain.com /urlpath/to/TWiki/bin/statistics >/dev/null 2>&1)

Generating Statistics Manually by URL

• The twiki/bin/statistics script can also be executed as a CGI script, just enter the URL in your browser. Examples:
  • Update current month for all webs:
    http://mydomain.com/twiki/bin/statistics
  • Update current month for Main web only:
    http://mydomain.com/twiki/bin/statistics/Main
  • Update January 2000 for Main web:
    http://mydomain.com/twiki/bin/statistics/Main?logdate=200001

WebSearch

WebSearch is an extremely fast and flexible search facility, part of the core TWiki feature set. Options include:

• topic title or full-text search
• regular expressions
• search within web or site-wide
• index-style A-Z alphabetical listing sorted topic title
• many more

See also: TWikiVariables for including hard-coded searches in text.

WebChanges

To check for the most recently edited topics while on-site, use the WebChanges link, usually located on the upper toolbar. It lists the most recently modified topics, newest first, along with the first couple of lines of the page content.

This is simply a preset SEARCH. The number of topics listed by the limit parameter.:

%SEARCH{".*" web="TWiki" regex="on" nosearch="on" order="modified" 
reverse="on" limit="50"}%

WebIndex

WebIndex lists all web topics in alphabetical order, with the first couple of lines of text. This is simply a preset SEARCH:

%SEARCH{"\.*" scope="topic" regex="on" nosearch="on"}%

-- MikeMannix^? - 01 Dec 2001 Line: 66 to 72 Changed: <
<

TWiki Text Formatting

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, there are a few usability and technical considerations to keep in mind.

HTML and TWiki Usability

• 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 is designed to work with a wide range of browsers and computer platforms, holding to HTML 3.2 compatibility in the standard installation - adding raw HTML, particularly browser-specific tags (or any other mark-up that doesn't degrade well) will reduce compatibility.

TWiki HTML Rendering

• 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.
  • If you need to save HTML frequently, you may want to check out TWiki:Plugins/GenHTMLAddon - it will "generate a directory containing rendered versions of a set of TWiki pages together with any attached files."
• NOTE: The opening and closing angle brackets - <...> - of an HTML tag must be on the same line, or the tag will be broken.
  • This feature allows you to enter an unclosed angle bracket - as a greater than or less than symbol - and have it automatically rendered as if you had entered its HTML character, <, ex: a > b
  • If you're pasting in preformatted HTML text and notice problems, check the file in a text processor with no text wrap. Also, save without hard line breaks on text wrap, in your HTML editing program.

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.

TWikiPlugin Formatting Extensions

Plugins provide additional text formatting capabilities and can extend the functionality of netfrag.org into many other areas. For example, the optional SpreadSheetPlugin lets you create a spreadsheet with the same basic notation used in TWiki tables.

Available Plugins are located in the Plugins web on TWiki.org. Currently enabled plugins on this TWiki installation, as listed by %PLUGINDESCRIPTIONS%:

• 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 Dec 2001 >
>

Appendix B: TWiki Development Timeline

01-Dec-2001 Release (Athens)

• 25 Oct 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Added FormattedSearch to %SEARCH{}% variable for database like reporting.

01-Sep-2001 Release

• 30 Aug 2001 - JohnTalintyre
  • Easier install for Windows, including auto detection in TWiki.cfg
• 30 Aug 2001 - JohnTalintyre
  • Ability to move attachments between topics, see FileAttachments
• 21 Aug 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Convert to XHTML 1.0 function: first step to XHTML-ifying TWiki
• 26 Jun 2001 - JohnTalintyre
  • Category information to forms using the TWikiMetaData format, see TWikiForms
• 07 Jun 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • New topic templates as topics instead of templates. Customize by editing the topic. Retired notedited.tmpl, notext.tmpl and notwiki.tmpl templates. More in TWikiTemplates.
• 07 Jun 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • New %TOPICLIST{"format"}% and %WEBLIST{"format"}% variables to get a formatted topic index and web index, respectively. More in TWikiVariables.
• 01 Jun 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • New %URLPARAM{"name"}% variable to query URL parameters. More in TWikiVariables.
• 01 Jun 2001 - AndreaSterbini
  • API to extend TWiki, see TWikiPluginAPI
• 01 Jun 2001 - KlausWriessnegger, AndreaSterbini
  • Forms to change/reset/install passwords, see ChangePassword & ResetPassword
• 01 May 2001 - AndreaSterbini
  • The TWikiAdminGroup (or other group) can be enabled as a SuperAdminGroup. Members have browser edit access to all locked topics.
• 01 May 2001 - JohnTalintyre
  • Meta information format, see TWikiMetaData
• 01 May 2001 - JohnTalintyre
  • Attachment under revision control See FileAttachment
• 01 May 2001 - JohnTalintyre
  • Ability to rename/move topics, ManagingTopics
• 27 Mar 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • The table syntax has been enhanced to (i) render | *bold* | cells as table headers, (ii) render space padded cells |   center aligned   | and |   right aligned |, (iii) span multiple columns using | empty cells |||. More in TextFormattingRules.
• 25 Mar 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Security fix Questionable files like PHP scripts (executables) and .htaccess files that are attached to a topic get a .txt suffix appended to the file name. See also TWiki:Codev/FileAttachmentFilterSecurityAlert
• 28 Feb 2001 - AndreaSterbini, PeterThoeny
  • New Wiki rule for headings, i.e. ---++ My Title; and new %TOC% variable to build a table of content from headings in a topic. More in TWikiVariables.
• 28 Feb 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • New Wiki rule to specify arbitrary text for external links (i.e. [[http://TWki.org][TWiki]]) and internal links (i.e [[WikiSyntax][syntax]]). More in TWikiVariables.
• 28 Feb 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • New Wiki rule for named anchors, e.g. links within a topic. Define a named anchor with #MyAnchor at the beginning of a line, and link to it with [[#MyAnchor]]. More in TWikiVariables.
• 25 Feb 2001 - NicholasLee, PeterThoeny
  • Use Net::SMTP module instead of sendmail if installed.
• 01 Feb 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Added <verbatim> ... </verbatim> tags to show source code "as is". Unlike the <pre> ... </pre> tags, it also shows <, >, & characters "as is".
• 01 Feb 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed TWiki:Codev/CreateLinkToAttachedFileBug.
• 21 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Added a "Minor change, don't notify" checkbox in preview. More in DontNotify.
• 21 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Added Bold Fixed formatting using double-equal signs, e.g. write ==Bold Fixed== to get Bold Fixed.
• 20 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • Format changed of %GMTIME{"..."}% and %SERVERTIME{"..."}% variables. Format is now "$hour:$min" instead of "hour:min". More in TWikiVariables. Attention: Check your existing topics when you upgrade TWiki!
• 18 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • WebChanges, WebSearch and e-mail notification indicate also the revision number of a topic (i.e. 18 Jan 2001 16:43 r1.5), or NEW for a new topic (i.e. i.e. 18 Jan 2001 16:43 NEW).
• 16 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • New variable %STARTINCLUDE% and %STOPINCLUDE% variables to control what gets included of a topic. More in TWikiVariables.
• 16 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • TWiki skins Define a different page layout with a customized header and footer layout, i.e. a print skin for a printable view of a topic. More in TWikiSkins and TWiki:Codev/TWikiSkins.
• 07 Jan 2001 - StanleyKnutson
  • Better error handling when saving a topic.
• 05 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny
  • View authorization based on groups. Define who is allowed to see a TWiki web. More in TWikiAccessControl and TWiki:Codev/AuthenticationBasedOnGroups.
• 05 Dec 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Improved include handling. Infinite recursion of includes are prevented; new variables %BASEWEB%, %INCLUDINGWEB%, %BASETOPIC% and %INCLUDINGTOPIC% to have more control over include handling. More in TWikiVariables and TWiki:Codev/IncludeHandlingImprovements.
• 03 Dec 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New noheader="on" switch in %SEARCH{...}% to suppress table header. More in TWikiVariables.

01-Dec-2000 Release

• 03 Nov 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Flag $doHidePasswdInRegistration in wikicfg.pm to hide plain text password in registration email.
• 01 Nov 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New variable %VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}% to get web specific preferences. More in TWikiVariables.
• 01 Nov 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Added a "Cancel" link in edit that releases the edit lock.
• 23 Oct 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Authorization based on groups. Define fine graned control who is allowed to change or create topics. More in TWikiAccessControl and TWiki:Codev/AuthenticationBasedOnGroups.
• 05 Oct 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Remember user by IP address so that view "knows" the user once authenticated in edit. More in TWikiUserAuthentication.
• 26 Sep 2000 - AlWilliams, PeterThoeny
  • Fixed TWiki:Codev/UppercaseAttachments bug and added png image support.
• 26 Sep 2000 - HaroldGottschalk, AndreaSterbini, PeterThoeny
  • Allow nesting of variables, i.e. %INCLUDE{"%TWIKIWEB%.TWikiWebsTable"}%. More in TWiki:Codev/BetterTWikiTagTemplateProcessing.
• 20 Sep 2000 - ManpreetSingh
  • New -q switch in mailnotify to suppress all normal output.
• 19 Sep 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed TWiki:Codev/AttachedNotificationLinksBug.
• 18 Sep 2000 - ManpreetSingh, PeterThoeny
  • Added forced internal links. Write [[text formatting FAQ]] to get the link text formatting FAQ that points to topic TextFormattingFAQ.
• 19 Aug 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Ref-By link searches all webs (not just the current web.)
• 16 Aug 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New TWikiPreferences variables %HTTP_EQUIV_ON_VIEW% , %HTTP_EQUIV_ON_EDIT% and %HTTP_EQUIV_ON_PREVIEW% that define the <meta http-equiv="..."> meta tags for the TWiki templates. This can be used for example to set a document expiration time.
• 29 Jul 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New variables %GMTIME{"..."}% and %SERVERTIME{"..."}% . More in TWikiVariables.
• 23 Jul 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Changed include syntax from %INCLUDE{"Web/TopicName.txt"}% to %INCLUDE{"Web.TopicName"}% . Legacy syntax still supported.
• 23 Jul 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • BookView search allows you show a set of topics for easy printing.
• 22 Jul 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • More forgiving syntax for *bold*, italic, __bold italic__ and fixed , where it is not necessary anymore to have a trailing space before .,;:?! characters.
• 22 Jul 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Split the TWiki.Main web into TWiki.Main (users, company data) and TWiki.TWiki (TWiki related documentation, registration)
• 07 Jul 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Added an "Release edit lock" checkbox in preview to let other people edit the topic immediately without the one hour lock.
• 07 Jul 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed problem of losing carriage returns when editing topics with KDE KFM browser or W3M browser.
• 21 Jun 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed problem that a page redirect on some server environments is not working (host name is needed in URL).
• 21 Jun 2000 - CrisBailiff, PeterThoeny
  • Fixed security issue to prevent a server side %INCLUDE% of arbitrary files.
• 29 May 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New %GMTIME% variable that shows the current GM time.
• 28 May 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Lock warning shows remaining lock time in minutes.
• 15 May 2000 - PeterFokkinga
  • Each topic can have its own template file. TWikiTemplatesVer1^? has more.
• 02 May 2000 - KevinKinnell, PeterThoeny
  • Advanced search features like search multiple webs; sort by topic name / modified time / author; limit the number of results returned. More in TWikiVariables.

01-May-2000 Release

• 21 Apr 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New TWikiVariables %HTTP_HOST% , %REMOTE_ADDR% , %REMOTE_PORT% and %REMOTE_USER% .
• 21 Apr 2000 - JohnAltstadt, PeterThoeny
  • TWikiRegistration is done separately for Intranet use (depends on remote_user) or Internet use (depends on .htpasswd file).
• 20 Mar 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Uploading a file (topic file attachment) will optionally create a link to the uploaded file at the end of the topic. The preference variable %ATTACHLINKBOX% controls the default state of the link check box in the attach file page.
• 11 Mar 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Better security with taint checking ( Perl -T option )
• 25 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New preference variables %EDITBOXWIDTH% and %EDITBOXHEIGHT% to specify the edit box size.
• 25 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Edit preferences topics to set TWiki variables. There are three level of preferences Site-level (TWikiPreferences), web-level (WebPreferences in each web) and user-level preferences (for each of the TWikiUsers). With this, discontinue use of server side include of wikiwebs.inc , wikiwebtable.inc , weblist.inc , webcopyright.inc and webcolors.inc files.
• 11 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New variable %SCRIPTSUFFIX% / $scriptSuffix containing an optional file extension of the TWiki Perl script. Templates have been changed to use this variable. This allows you to rename the Perl script files to have a file extension like for example ".cgi".
• 11 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • New variable %SCRIPTURLPATH% / $scriptUrlPath containing the script URL without the domain name. Templates have been changed to use this variable instead of %SCRIPTURL% . This is for performance reasons.
• 07 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Changed the syntax for server side include variable from %INCLUDE:"filename.ext"% to %INCLUDE{"filename.ext"}% . (Previous syntax still supported. Change was done because of inline search syntax)
• 07 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Inline search. New variable %SEARCH{"str" ...}% to show a search result embedded in a topic text. TWikiVariables has more on the syntax. Inline search combined with the category table feature can be used for example to create a simple bug tracking system.
• 04 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Access statistics. Each web has a WebStatistics topic that shows monthy statistics with number of topic views and changes, most popular topics, and top contributors. (It needs to be enabled, TWikiDocumentation has more.)
• 29 Jan 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed bug where TWiki would not initialize correctly under certain circumstances, i.e. when running it under mod_perl. Sub initialize in wiki.pm did not handle $thePathInfo correctly.
• 24 Jan 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed bug where an email address starting with a WikiName was rendered as an internal Wiki link instead of an email address, i.e. SomeWikiName@somewhere.test .
• 10 Jan 2000 - PeterThoeny
  • No more escaping for '%' percent characters. (Number of consecutive '%' entered and displayed is identical.)
• 03 Oct 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Limit the number of revisions shown at the bottom of the topic. Example
    Topic TWikiHistory . { ..... Diffs r1.10 > r1.9 > r1.8 > r1.7 >... }
    Additional revisions can be selected by pressing the >... link.

01-Sep-1999 Release

• 31 Aug 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed Y2K bug. (Date in year 2000 had wrong format.)
• 08 Aug 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • New text formatting rule for creating tables. Text gets rendered as a table if enclosed in " " vertical bars. Example line as it is written and how it shows up
• 03 Aug 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Online registration of new user using web form in TWikiRegistration. Authentication of users.
• 22 Jul 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Flags $doLogTopic* in wikicfg.pm to selectively log topic view, edit, save, rdiff, attach, search and changes to monthly log file.
• 21 Jul 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Flag $doRemovePortNumber in wikicfg.pm to optionally remove the port number from the TWiki URL. Example www.some.domain:1234/twiki gets www.some.domain/twiki .
• 15 Jul 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Search path for include files in %INCLUDE:"file.inc"% variable. Search first in the current web, then in parent data directory. Useful to overload default include text in the data directory by web-specific text, like for example webcopyright.inc text.
• 07 Jul 1999 - ChristopheVermeulen
  • Link a plural topic to a singular topic in case the plural topic does not exist. Example TestVersion / TestVersions , TestPolicy / TestPolicies , TestAddress / TestAddresses , TestBox / TestBoxes .

01-Jul-1999 Release

• 23 Jun 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • New TextFormattingRules to write bold italic text by enclosing words with double underline characters.
• 23 Jun 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Separate wiki.pm into configuration (wikicfg.pm) and TWiki core (wiki.pm) . This is to ease the upgrade of TWiki installations, it also allows customized extensions to TWiki without affecting the TWiki core.
• 21 May 1999 - DavidWarman
  • Externalize copyright text at the bottom of every page into a web-specific webcopyright.inc file. This is to easily customize the copyright text.
• 20 May 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Added meta tag so that robots index only /view/ of topics, not /edit/, /attach/ e.t.c. Tag <META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX">
• 20 May 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • New variables %WIKIHOMEURL% (link when pressing the icon on the upper left corner) and %WIKITOOLNAME% (the name of the wiki tool netfrag.org ).
• 15 Apr 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Topic locking Warn user if a topic has been edited by an other person within one hour. This is to prevent contention, e.g. simultaneous topic updates.
• 26 Mar 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • File attachments Upload and download any file as a topic attachment by using the browser. FileAttachment has more.
• 26 Mar 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • New variables %PUBURL% (Public directory URL) and %ATTACHURL% (URL of topic file attachment).
• 09 Feb 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • New text formatting rule for creating fixed font text . Words get showns in fixed font by enclosing them in "=" equal signs. Example Writing =fixed font= will show up as fixed font .
• 09 Feb 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • No new topic revision is created if the same person saves a topic again within one hour.
• 03 Feb 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Possible to view complete revision history of a topic on one page. Access at the linked date in the Changes page, or the Diffs link at the bottom of each topic, e.g.
    Topic TWikiHistory . { Edit Ref-By Diffs r1.3 > r1.2 > r1.1 }
Revision r1.3 1998/11/10 01:34 by PeterThoeny
• 04 Jan 1999 - PeterThoeny
  • Fixed bug when viewing differences between topic revisions that include HTML table tags like <table>, <tr>, <td>.

1998 Releases

• 08 Dec 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Signature is shown below the text area when editing a topic. Use this to easily copy & paste your signature into the text.
• 07 Dec 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Possible to add a category table to a TWiki topic. This permits storing and searching for more structured information. Editing a topic shows a HTML form with the usual text area and a table with selectors, checkboxes, radio buttons and text fields. TWikiDocumentation has more on setup. The TWiki.Know web uses this category table to set classification, platform and OS version.
• 18 Nov 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Internal log of topic save actions to the file data/logYYYYMM.txt, where YYYYMM the year and month in numeric format is. Intended for auditing only, not accessible from the web.
• 10 Nov 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • The email notification and the Changes topic have now a topic date that is linked. Clicking on the link will show the difference between the two most recent topic revisions.
• 10 Nov 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • View differences between topic revisions. Each topic has a list of revisions (e.g. r1.3) and differences thereof (e.g. >) at the bottom
    Topic TWikiHistory . { Edit Ref-By r1.3 > r1.2 > r1.1 }
Revision r1.3 1998/11/10 01:34 by PeterThoeny
• 26 Oct 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Added preview of topic changes before saving the topic. This was necessary to prevent unneeded revisions.
• 26 Oct 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Added revision control using RCS. Each topic has now a list of revisions at the bottom and a revision info, e.g.
    Topic TWikiHistory . { Edit Ref-By r1.3 r1.2 r1.1 }
Revision r1.3 1998/10/26 01:34:00 by PeterThoeny
• 14 Oct 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Refered-By Find out which topics have a link to the current topic. Each topic has a Ref-By link for that. Note Only references from the current web are shown, not references from other webs.
• 13 Oct 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Alphabetical topic index in WebSearch.
• 24 Sep 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Corrected templates for automatic email notification so that MS Outlook can display attachment as an HTML file.
• 13 Aug 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • WikiNotation allows also numbers after the AaA sequence, e.g. AaA1 is a valid WikiTopic name, but not Aa1.
• 07 Aug 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Automatic email notification when something has changed in a TWiki web. Each web has a topic WebNotify where one can subscribe and unsubscribe.
• 06 Aug 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Added server side include of files. Syntax is %INCLUDE:"filename.ext"%
• 05 Aug 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Signature and date is inserted automatically when creating a new topic.
• 04 Aug 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Separate templates for text of non existing topic and default text of new topic. (template file templates/Web/notedited.tmpl)
• 04 Aug 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Warn user if new topic name is not a valid Wiki name. (template file templates/Web/notwiki.tmpl)
• 31 Jul 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Support for quoted text with a '>' at the beginning of the line.
• 28 Jul 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Added TWiki variables, enclosed in % signs %TOPIC% (Topic name), %WEB% (web name), %SCRIPTURL% (script URL), %DATE% (current date), %WIKIWEBMASTER% (Wiki webmaster address), %WIKIVERSION% (Wiki version), %USERNAME% (user name), %WIKIUSERNAME% (Wiki user name).
• 28 Jul 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Topic WebChanges shows Wiki username instead of Intranet username, e.g. PeterThoeny instead of thoeny in case the Wiki username exists. Implementation Automatic lookup of Wiki username in topic TWikiUsers.
• 28 Jul 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Topic index. (Technically speaking a simple '.*' search on topic names.)
• 28 Jul 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Topic WebSearch allows full text search and and topic search with/without regular expressions.
• 27 Jul 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Added automatic links to topics in other TWiki webs by specifying <web name>.<topic name>, e.g. Know.WebSeach .
• 23 Jul 1998 - PeterThoeny
  • Installed initial version, based on the JOS Wiki. See WikiWikiClones for details.

Dev Flow

The typical TWiki development flow...

• TWiki:Codev/FeatureBrainstorming: open forum for new ideas
• TWiki:Codev/TWikiEnhancementRequests: specific detailed request
• TWiki:Codev/TWikiPlannedFeatures: accepted for future development
• TWiki:Codev/FeatureToDo: prioritized to up-next dev status
• TWiki:Codev/FeatureUnderConstruction: currently in development
• TWiki:Codev/FeatureDone: completed and implemented
• TWiki:Codev/DocRequest: request for documentation
• TWiki:Codev/DocsToDo: feature documentation pending
• TWiki:Codev/FeatureDocumented: documented feature
• TWikiDocumentation: reference manual for the latest TWiki

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, there are a few usability and technical considerations to keep in mind.

HTML and TWiki Usability

• 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 is designed to work with a wide range of browsers and computer platforms, holding to HTML 3.2 compatibility in the standard installation - adding raw HTML, particularly browser-specific tags (or any other mark-up that doesn't degrade well) will reduce compatibility.

TWiki HTML Rendering

• 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.
  • If you need to save HTML frequently, you may want to check out TWiki:Plugins/GenHTMLAddon - it will "generate a directory containing rendered versions of a set of TWiki pages together with any attached files."
• NOTE: The opening and closing angle brackets - <...> - of an HTML tag must be on the same line, or the tag will be broken.
  • This feature allows you to enter an unclosed angle bracket - as a greater than or less than symbol - and have it automatically rendered as if you had entered its HTML character, <, ex: a > b
  • If you're pasting in preformatted HTML text and notice problems, check the file in a text processor with no text wrap. Also, save without hard line breaks on text wrap, in your HTML editing program.

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.

TWikiPlugin Formatting Extensions

Plugins provide additional text formatting capabilities and can extend the functionality of netfrag.org into many other areas. For example, the optional SpreadSheetPlugin lets you create a spreadsheet with the same basic notation used in TWiki tables.

Available Plugins are located in the Plugins web on TWiki.org. Currently enabled plugins on this TWiki installation, as listed by %PLUGINDESCRIPTIONS%:

• 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 Dec 2001