• WikiFormatting

Wiki Formatting

This is a guide for cohesive formatting on the Polycount Wiki.

More info:

• HelpOnMoinWikiSyntax has examples of the most common wiki syntax.

• HelpOnEditing lists the Help pages about wiki formatting.

• WikiSandBox can be used to experiment with syntax.

Starting a New Page

1. Go to an existing page and add a link to your new page:

[[YourPageNameHere]]

• Make sure to use WikiName format, which is first-letter uppercase and no spaces. This way page names are standardized, and a WikiName in another page automatically becomes a hyperlink to your page. If you want to prevent a WikiName from becoming a link, add an exclamation mark before it, so the editor code looks like this: !WikiName

• Try not to use plural words in the page name, to avoid duplicate page names. However if your title sounds odd without a plural, then go ahead, for example TextureCoordinates.

2. After you've Saved the page, click on the question mark in front of your new link, and choose BestPageTemplate to create the new page.

3. Start editing your new page.

More info: BestPageTemplate, WikiName

Table of Contents

To add a Table of Contents to a page, add the code  <<TableOfContents>>  below the first heading and after the introduction text (see DigitalSculpting for example). The Table of Contents won't appear unless there are headings on your page.

More info: Headings and Table Of Contents

Always Credit the Author

Always add a credit line when you post a link to someone's tutorial, or an image someone made, or anything someone has created. The credit line is the name of the author or artist or company, with a link to their website.

• Try to find out the author's first name and last name.
• If there's a nickname, put it in single quotes between the First name and the Last name. If you can't find their real name, then use just the nickname alone.
• The name should be a link to their homepage. If you can't find their homepage, link to their forum profile.

Use this format:

Tutorial by [[http://www.author-homepage.com|Firstname 'nickname' Lastname]]

or if you can't find their real name,

Tutorial by [[http://www.author-homepage.com|'nickname']]

For examples, see EnvironmentSculpting.

Images

When you post a picture to the Polycount Wiki, always add an artist credit.

Do not steal bandwidth from other sites by hot-linking directly to their images. Instead please download the image to your hard drive, give it a logical filename, then upload it to the wiki page where you want to attach it.

It is OK however to point to a forum post that has their images in it. However we still recommend uploading the images directly to the Wiki, since images often disappear from websites when they are upgraded or move to different hosts.

If someone complains about their image being used here, we will remove it promptly. Please contact EricChadwick.

Result:

What you type:

||{{attachment:JoeWilson_AObake_DiffuseAndAO.jpg}}||
||Ambient occlusion on a diffuse map.<<BR>>~-Image by [[http://www.linkedin.com/in/earthquake|Joe 'EarthQuake' Wilson]]-~||

1.  ||  Two pipe characters start and end each row of the Table, making a frame around the image and the caption. Make sure there are no spaces after the pipes or it won't work.

2.  {{attachment:filename.ext}}  makes a link so you can upload the image.

   • After you save the page, you'll see a paperclip icon. Click that to upload your image.

   • You can use Preview to get the attachment link, but make sure to open the link in a new window/tab or your edits will disappear. If you forget, there's an automatic backup.

   • When uploading, don't change the name in the Rename to field or else your picture won't appear. It has to match the name in your attachment code.

3.  <<BR>>  adds a line break between the caption and the credit. You can omit this if there's just the credit but no caption.

4.  ~-  and  -~  surround the credit to make it smaller than the caption text.

5. Make the author's name into a link to their website. Include their forum nickname, if different from their real name.

More info: HelpOnImages, HelpOnTables

Thumbnails

To make an image into a thumbnail, make the attachment as a link, and give it a width value.

Always credit the artist!

Result:

What you type:

||[[attachment:JoeWilson_AObake_DiffuseAndAO.jpg|{{attachment:JoeWilson_AObake_DiffuseAndAO.jpg||width=200}}]]||
||Ambient occlusion on a diffuse map.<<BR>>~-Image by [[http://www.linkedin.com/in/earthquake|Joe 'EarthQuake' Wilson]]-~||

More info: HelpOnImages, HelpOnTables

Table Lists

When using a table for a list, use a black background color for the most important column (usually the first one).

Result:

What you type:

||<#000000> [[CategoryAnimation]] || has articles about animation. ||
||<#000000> [[CategoryEnvironment]] || has environment creation topics. ||

More info: HelpOnTables

Table Yes/No Lists

When using a table to show booleans (yes/no, supported/unsupported, etc.), use green and red CSS classes for the background colors. For a maybe or a ?, leave the background color empty. For an example see Vertex Normal#Exporting_Edited_Normals.

Result:

What you type:

|| '''File Format''' || '''Supports Edited Normals?''' || '''Notes''' ||
||<class="red"> 3DS || no || ||
||<class="green"> ASE || yes || enable "Mesh Normals" ||
|| CGF (!CryEngine) || ? || ||

More info: HelpOnTables, Wiki CSS Classes

Categories

Categories are used to add structure to the wiki and to provide navigation links at the bottom of each page.

1. Before you make a new category, check Polycount Wiki Categories for pre-existing or planned categories.

2. Create a new category only for a subject that is going to have multiple pages. For example HistoryOfPolycount is self-contained so it doesn't need multiple pages, but CategoryGameIndustry is going to have a salary data page, a portfolio advice page, etc.

3. On the category page, add a FullSearch macro to create an automated list of all the pages in that category, see CategoryColorMap for example. A sub-page will only appear in a category's FullSearch list if the category is included at the bottom of that page.

   • <<FullSearch(category:CategoryNameHere)>>

4. Add relevant categories to the bottom of each sub-page underneath a horizontal rule. See VertexColor for example.

   • ----
     CategoryNameHere CategoryAnotherOne

Redirects

If you consolidate multiple pages into one, or if you rename a page, then add a Redirect to each of the old pages so they point to the new pages. This allows old links to automatically point to your new page. Anchors are also automatically supported, as long as the new page has the same headings as the old.

What you type:

#REDIRECT TargetPageName

A Redirect page will appear in OrphanedPages, if no internal pages link to it. The page RedirectedPages is an attempt to circumvent this, so OrphanedPages will only show true orphans.

How To Rename A Page

1. Choose the "More Actions" dropdown at the top of the page, and click on Rename Page.

2. Create the new name (WikiName format is best), provide a reason, and click the Rename Page button.

3. Create a Redirect, which will automatically point old links to the new page:
4. 3a) Manually type the address for the old page name and go there.

5. 3b) This should prompt Create new empty page. Click that link.

6. 3c) Use the following code on the new page:

#REDIRECT NewPageName

• 3d) Replace NewPageName with the new name (what you renamed the page to, where the old page should be redirected to).

• 3e) Add a comment, and click Save Changes.

You should now have a functioning redirect, pushing users from the old page to the new one.

CategoryWikiInformation