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 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.37 - 01 Feb 2003 - PeterThoeny)
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  • http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.
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  • http://..., https://..., ftp://..., gopher://..., news://..., file://..., telnet://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.36 - 01 Feb 2003 - PeterThoeny)
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TWiki Text Formatting

Working in TWiki is as easy as typing in text - exactly like email. You don't need to know HTML, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics are created automatically when you enter WikiWords. And TWiki shorthand gives you all the power of HTML with a simple coding system that takes no time to learn. It's all layed out below - refer back to this page in a pop-up window from the Edit screen.
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TWiki Text Formatting

Working in TWiki is as easy as typing in text - exactly like email. You don't need to know HTML, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics are created automatically when you enter WikiWords. And TWiki shorthand gives you all the power of HTML with a simple coding system that takes no time to learn. It's all layed out below - refer back to this page in a pop-up window from the Edit screen.

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Paragraphs:

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Paragraphs:

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Headings:

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Headings:

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Bold Text:

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Bold Text:

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Italic Text:

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Italic Text:

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Bold Italic:

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Bold Italic:

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Fixed Font:

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Fixed Font:

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Bold Fixed Font:

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Bold Fixed Font:

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Note: Make sure to "stick" the * _ = == signs to the words, e.g. take away spaces.

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Note: Make sure to "stick" the * _ = == signs to the words, that is, take away spaces.

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Verbatim Mode:
Surround code excerpts and other formatted text with <verbatim> and </verbatim> tags.
Note: Use <pre> and </pre> tags instead if you want that HTML code is interpreted.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.

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Verbatim Mode:
Surround code excerpts and other formatted text with <verbatim> and </verbatim> tags.
Note: Use <pre> and </pre> tags instead if you want that HTML code is interpreted.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.

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Separator:

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Separator:

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List Item:

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List Item:

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Nested List Item:

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Nested List Item:

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Ordered List:

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Ordered List:

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Definition List:
Three spaces, the term, a colon, a space, followed by the definition.

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Definition List:
Three spaces, the term, a colon, a space, followed by the definition.

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Table:
Optional spaces followed by the cells enclosed in vertical bars.
Note: | *bold* | cells are rendered as table headers.
Note: |   spaced   | cells are rendered center aligned.
Note: |     spaced | cells are rendered right aligned.
Note: | 2 colspan || cells are rendered as multi-span columns.
Note: In case you have a long row and you want it to be more readable when you edit the table you can split the row into lines that end with a '\' backslash character.

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Table:
Optional spaces followed by the cells enclosed in vertical bars.
Note: | *bold* | cells are rendered as table headers.
Note: |   spaced   | cells are rendered center aligned.
Note: |     spaced | cells are rendered right aligned.
Note: | 2 colspan || cells are rendered as multi-span columns.
Note: In case you have a long row and you want it to be more readable when you edit the table you can split the row into lines that end with a '\' backslash character.

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| A4 \ | next \

next
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A4 next next
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A4 next next
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A4 next next
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WikiWord Links:
CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether (or WikiWords) will produce a link automatically.
Note: In case you want to link to a topic in a different TWiki web write Webname.TopicName.

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WikiWord Links:
CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether (or WikiWords) will produce a link automatically.
Note: In case you want to link to a topic in a different TWiki web write Webname.TopicName.

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Forced Links:
You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets.
Note: Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces; i.e. [[text formatting FAQ]] links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. You can also refer to a different web and use anchors.

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Forced Links:
You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets.
Note: Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces; for example, [[text formatting FAQ]] links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. You can also refer to a different web and use anchors.

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Specific Links:
Create a link where you can specify the link text and the link reference separately, using nested square brackets like [[reference][text]]. Internal link references (i.e. WikiSyntax) and external link references (i.e. http://TWiki.org/) are supported. The same Forced Links rules apply for internal link references. Anchor names can be added as well, like [[WebHome#MyAnchor][go home]] and [[http://www.yahoo.com/#somewhere][Yahoo!]].

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Specific Links:
Create a link where you can specify the link text and the link reference separately, using nested square brackets like [[reference][text]]. Internal link references (e.g. WikiSyntax) and external link references (e.g. http://TWiki.org/) are supported.
Note: The same Forced Links rules apply for internal link references.
Note: For external link references, you can simply use a space instead of ][ to separate the link URL from the descriptive text.
Note: Anchor names can be added as well, like [[WebHome#MyAnchor][go home]] and [[http://gnu.org/#Action][GNU Action]].

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XML

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XML

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Easier External Links:
An easier syntax for external links is now available: [[externalURL text]] - just hit the spacebar to separate the link URL from the descriptive text, e.g. [[http://gnu.org/ GNU]]. This also supports anchors, e.g. [[http://www.yahoo.com/#somewhere Yahoo!]].

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

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You can disable automatic linking of WikiWords by surrounding text with <noautolink> and </noautolink> tags.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.
Note: This also works for TWiki tables, but only if you add a blank line between the end of the table and the closing </noautolink> tag (known issue of the TablePlugin).

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You can disable automatic linking of WikiWords by surrounding text with <noautolink> and </noautolink> tags.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.
Note: This also works for TWiki tables, but only if you add a blank line between the end of the table and the closing </noautolink> tag (known issue of the TablePlugin).

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Mailto: Links:
To create 'mailto:' links that have more descriptive link text, specify subject lines or message bodies, or omit the email address, you can write [[mailto:user@domain descriptive text]].
[[mailto:a@z.com Mail]]

[[mailto:?subject=Hi Hi]]
Mail

Hi

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    • You can also write [[http://yahoo.com Yahoo home page]] as an easier way of doing external links with descriptive text for the link, such as Yahoo home page.
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    • You can also write [[http://yahoo.com Yahoo home page]] as an easier way of doing external links with descriptive text for the link, such as Yahoo home page.
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  • %SEARCH{"sushi"}% : Inline search showing the search result embedded in a topic. FormattedSearch gives you control over formatting, used to create web-based applications.

  • TWikiPreferences defines site-wide variables. Among others:
    • Line break: Write %BR% to start a new line.
    • Colored text: Write: %RED% Red %ENDCOLOR% and %BLUE% blue %ENDCOLOR% colors to get: Red and blue colors.
    • Documentation Graphics: Write: %H% Help, %T% Tip, %X% Alert to get: HELP Help, TIP Tip, ALERT! Alert. For more info see TWikiDocGraphics.
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  • TWikiPreferences defines site-wide variables like colors. For example, write: %RED% Red %ENDCOLOR% and %BLUE% blue %ENDCOLOR% colors to get: Red and blue colors.
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-- PeterThoeny - 02 May 2002

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-- PeterThoeny - 01 Feb 2003


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.35 - 03 Oct 2002 - PeterThoeny)
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Prevent a Link:

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Prevent a Link:

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Disable Links:
You can disable automatic linking of WikiWords by surrounding text with <noautolink> and </noautolink> tags.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.
Note: This also works for TWiki tables, but only if you add a blank line between the end of the table and the closing </noautolink> tag (known issue of the TablePlugin).
 <noautolink>
 RedHat &
 SuSE
 </noautolink>
RedHat & SuSE

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.34 - 05 Jun 2002 - PeterThoeny)
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At least three dashes at the beginning of a line, followed by plus signs and the heading text. One plus creates a level 1 heading (most important), two pluses a level 2 heading; the maximum is level 6. Note: A Table of Content can be created automatically with the %TOC% variable, see TWikiVariables.

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At least three dashes at the beginning of a line, followed by plus signs and the heading text. One plus creates a level 1 heading (most important), two pluses a level 2 heading; the maximum is level 6. Note: A Table of Content can be created automatically with the %TOC% variable, see TWikiVariables. Any heading text after !! is excluded from the TOC; for example, write ---+!! text if you do not want to list a header in the TOC.

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#SquareBrackets
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 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.33 - 02 May 2002 - PeterThoeny)
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TWiki Variables

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

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

  • %WEB% : The current web, is TWiki.

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

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

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

  • TWikiPreferences defines site-wide variables like colors. For example, write: %RED% Red %ENDCOLOR% and %BLUE% blue %ENDCOLOR% colors to get: Red and blue colors.
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-- MikeMannix - 02 Dec 2001

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Updated to cover TWiki:Codev/EasierExternalLinking (in the alpha release).

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Common Editing Errors

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

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-- RichardDonkin - 26 Mar 2002

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  • Q: Text enclosed in angle brackets like <filename> is not displayed. How can I show it as it is?
    • A: The '<' and '>' characters have a special meaning in HTML, they define HTML tags. You need to escape them, so write '&lt;' instead of '<', and '&gt;' instead of '>'.
      Example: Type 'prog &lt;filename&gt;' to get 'prog <filename>'.
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Latest updates to this topic are in the main TWiki, since that's got the TWikiAlphaRelease code.

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  • Q: Why is the '&' character sometimes not displayed?
    • A: The '&' character has a special meaning in HTML, it starts a so called character entity, i.e. '&copy;' is the © copyright character. You need to escape '&' to see it as it is, so write '&amp;' instead of '&'.
      Example: Type 'This &amp; that' to get 'This & that'.
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-- RichardDonkin - 05 Apr 2002

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-- MikeMannix - 02 Dec 2001
-- PeterThoeny - 02 May 2002


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.32 - 05 Apr 2002 - RichardDonkin)
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Latest updates to this topic are in the main TWiki, since that's got the TWikiAlphaRelease code.

-- RichardDonkin - 05 Apr 2002


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.31 - 26 Mar 2002 - RichardDonkin)
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Easier External Links:
An easier syntax for external links is now available: [[externalURL text]] - just hit the spacebar to separate the link URL from the descriptive text, e.g. [[http://gnu.org/ GNU]]. This also supports anchors, e.g. [[http://www.yahoo.com/#somewhere Yahoo!]].

[[http://gnu.org GNU]]
GNU
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    • You can also write [[http://yahoo.com Yahoo home page]] as an easier way of doing external links with descriptive text for the link, such as Yahoo home page.
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Updated to cover TWiki:Codev/EasierExternalLinking (in the alpha release).

-- RichardDonkin - 26 Mar 2002


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.30 - 03 Dec 2001 - MikeMannix)
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You can use just about any HTML tag without a problem - however, to keep in mind:

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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

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    • NOTE: TWiki converts shorthand notation to XHTML 1.0 for display. To copy a fully marked-up page, simply view source in your browser and save the contents.
    • NOTE: The standard installation TWiki is compatible across a wide range of browsers and computer platforms. If this is important to you, remember that using browser-specific tags or any other mark-up that doesn't degrade well will reduce compatibility.
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  • ALERT! 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.
    • TIP 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."
  • ALERT! 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, &lt;, ex: a > b
    • TIP 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.

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.29 - 02 Dec 2001 - MikeMannix)
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Appendix C: Text Formatting Rules

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TWiki Text Formatting

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#SquareBrackets
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TWiki Variables

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

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

  • %WEB% : The current web, is TWiki.

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

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

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

Common Editing Errors

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

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

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

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TWiki Plugins

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

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

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

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-- MikeMannix - 02 Oct 2001

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-- MikeMannix - 02 Dec 2001


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.28 - 02 Oct 2001 - MikeMannix)
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TWiki Text Formatting

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Appendix C: Text Formatting Rules

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    • A: The '&' character has a special meaning in HTML, it starts a so called character entity, i.e. '&copy;' is the © copyright character. You need to escape '&' to see it as it is, so write '&amp;' instead of '&'.
      Example: Type 'This &amp; that' to get 'This & that'.
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    • A: The '&' character has a special meaning in HTML, it starts a so called character entity, ex: '&copy;' is the © copyright character. You need to escape '&' to see it as it is, so write '&amp;' instead of '&'.
      Example: Type 'This &amp; that' to get 'This & that'.
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-- MikeMannix - 30 Aug 2001

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-- MikeMannix - 02 Oct 2001


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.27 - 18 Sep 2001 - MikeMannix)
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#SquareBrackets
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 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.26 - 07 Sep 2001 - MikeMannix)
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#SquareBrackets
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Most HTML tags will work, but it's almost always preferable not to use HTML, so that the markup remains easy for everyone to edit.

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

  • On collaboration pages, it's preferable NOT to use HTML, and to use TWiki shorthand instead - this keeps the text uncluttered and easy to edit.
    • NOTE: TWiki converts shorthand notation to XHTML 1.0 for display. To copy a fully marked-up page, simply view source in your browser and save the contents.
    • NOTE: The standard installation TWiki is compatible across a wide range of browsers and computer platforms. If this is important to you, remember that using browser-specific tags or any other mark-up that doesn't degrade well will reduce compatibility.
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Being able to create links without any formatting required is a core TWiki feature, made possible using WikiNames. With the latest version of TWiki linking rules, a simple extension of the syntax provides an new set of flexible linking options.

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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.

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  • NotExistingYet? is a topic waiting to be written. You could create that topic by clicking on the question mark. (Do not create that topic; you would wreck this example!)
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  • 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!)
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Variables are names that are enclosed in percent signs; they get expanded on the fly.

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

  • %TOC% : Automatically generates a table of contents based on headings in a topic - see the top of this page for an example.
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  • %TOC% : The table of content, is based on headings in a topic.
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  • %INCLUDE{"SomeTopic"}% : Server side include, includes another topic. The current TWiki web is the default web. Example: %INCLUDE{"TWiki.TWikiWebsTable"}%
  • There are many more variables, see TWikiVariables.
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"Gotchas" when Editing Text

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

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The formatting rules are fairly simple to use and fast to type. However, there are some things to watch out for:

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Common Editing Errors

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

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Plugins provide additional text formatting rules and can extend the functionality of TWiki into many other areas. Available Plugins are located in the Plugins web. Currently enabled plugins on this site are:

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


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.25 - 06 Sep 2001 - MikeMannix)
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It is easy to collaborate: just type in your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically, as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting. This page is also available as quick reference pop-up window from a link in the Edit screen.

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TWiki Text Formatting

Working in TWiki is as easy as typing in text - exactly like email. You don't need to know HTML, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics are created automatically when you enter WikiWords. And TWiki shorthand gives you all the power of HTML with a simple coding system that takes no time to learn. It's all layed out below - refer back to this page in a pop-up window from the Edit screen.
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Editing

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TWiki Editing Shorthand

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 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.24 - 06 Sep 2001 - MikeMannix)
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 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.23 - 06 Sep 2001 - MikeMannix)
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Links

Being able to create links without any formatting required is a core TWiki feature, made possible using WikiNames. With the latest version of TWiki linking rules, a simple extension of the syntax provides an new set of flexible linking options.

Internal Links

  • GoodStyle is a WikiWord that links to the GoodStyle topic located in the current TWiki web.
  • NotExistingYet? is a topic waiting to be written. You could create that topic by clicking on the question mark. (Do not create that topic; you would wreck this example!)

External Links

  • http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.
  • Email addresses like name@domain.com are linked automatically.
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Hyperlinks

Being able to create links without any formatting required is a core TWiki feature, made possible using WikiNames. With the latest version of TWiki linking rules, a simple extension of the syntax provides an new set of flexible linking options.

Internal Links

  • GoodStyle is a WikiWord that links to the GoodStyle topic located in the current TWiki web.
  • NotExistingYet? is a topic waiting to be written. You could create that topic by clicking on the question mark. (Do not create that topic; you would wreck this example!)

External Links

  • http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.
  • Email addresses like name@domain.com are linked automatically.

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.22 - 30 Aug 2001 - MikeMannix)
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It is easy to collaborate; just type your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically, as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting. This page is available in a pop-up window when in Edit mode.

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It is easy to collaborate: just type in your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically, as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting. This page is also available as quick reference pop-up window from a link in the Edit screen.

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Being able to create links without any formating required is a core TWiki feature, made possible using WikiNames. With the latest version of TWiki linking rules, by adding a few extra symbols, you can have even more powerful linking control.

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Being able to create links without any formatting required is a core TWiki feature, made possible using WikiNames. With the latest version of TWiki linking rules, a simple extension of the syntax provides an new set of flexible linking options.

Changed:
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TWiki Internal Links

>
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Internal Links

Changed:
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Remote Site Links

>
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External Links

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TWiki Plugins

>
>

TWiki Plugins

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Plugins offer additional text formatting rules and extend the functionality of TWiki. Currently enabled plugins are:

>
>

Plugins provide additional text formatting rules and can extend the functionality of TWiki into many other areas. Available Plugins are located in the Plugins web. Currently enabled plugins on this site are:

Changed:
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<

Learn more about plugins in TWikiPlugins and TWikiPreferences.

>
>

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

-- MikeMannix - 30 Aug 2001


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.21 - 30 Aug 2001 - MikeMannix)
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It is easy to collaborate; just type your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically, as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting.

TOC: No TOC in "TWiki.TextFormattingRules"

>
>

TOC: No TOC in "TWiki.TextFormattingRules"

It is easy to collaborate; just type your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically, as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting. This page is available in a pop-up window when in Edit mode.

Changed:
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The Collaborative Work Area is a bunch of related links that are editable through your web browser.

>
>

Being able to create links without any formating required is a core TWiki feature, made possible using WikiNames. With the latest version of TWiki linking rules, by adding a few extra symbols, you can have even more powerful linking control.

Changed:
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External Links

>
>

Remote Site Links


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.20 - 11 Aug 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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Three spaces, the term, a colon, followed by the definition.

>
>

Three spaces, the term, a colon, a space, followed by the definition.


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.19 - 14 Jul 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Added:
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>
Changed:
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TWiki Plugins offer additional text formatting rules. Plugins currently installed are:

>
>

Plugins offer additional text formatting rules and extend the functionality of TWiki. Currently enabled plugins are:

Changed:
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<

  • DefaultPlugin: The default plugin is used for some depreciated rendering of older TWiki versions.
>
>

  • DefaultPlugin: This plugin can be used to specify some simple custom rendering rules. It also renders deprecated *_text_* as bold italic text.
  • InterwikiPlugin: Link ExternalSite:Page text to external sites based on aliases defined in the InterWikis topic.

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.18 - 28 Jun 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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<

LINKS

>
>

Links

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<

The TWiki web has the following types of internal links:

>
>

TWiki Internal Links

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<

External links:

>
>

External Links

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<

EDITING

>
>

Editing

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<

Sushi

>
>

---++ Sushi

Changed:
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<

Maguro

>
>

---+++ Maguro

Changed:
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<

Sushi

>
>

Sushi

Changed:
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<

Maguro

>
>

Maguro

Changed:
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HTML

>
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Using HTML

Changed:
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<

>
>

Changed:
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WIKI VARIABLES

>
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TWiki Variables

Added:
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>

  • %TOC% : The table of content, is based on headings in a topic.
Added:
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>

"Gotchas" when Editing Text

The formatting rules are fairly simple to use and fast to type. However, there are some things to watch out for:

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

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

Changed:
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TWiki PLUGINS

>
>

TWiki Plugins


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.17 - 05 Apr 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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Note: In case you have a long row and you want it to be more readable when you edit the table you can split the row into lines that end with a '\' backslash character.

>
>

Note: | *bold* | cells are rendered as table headers.
Note: |   spaced   | cells are rendered center aligned.
Note: |     spaced | cells are rendered right aligned.
Note: | 2 colspan || cells are rendered as multi-span columns.
Note: In case you have a long row and you want it to be more readable when you edit the table you can split the row into lines that end with a '\' backslash character.

Changed:
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<

A1 B1 C1
A2 B2 C2
| A3 \
>
>

L C R
A2 2 2
A3 3 3
multi span
| A4 \
Changed:
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<

A1 B1 C1
A2 B2 C2
| A3
>
>

L C R
A2 2 2
A3 3 3
multi span
| A4

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.16 - 16 Mar 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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LINKS

>
>

LINKS

Changed:
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External links:

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External links:

Changed:
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EDITING

>
>

EDITING

Changed:
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HTML

>
>

HTML

Changed:
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<

WIKI VARIABLES

>
>

WIKI VARIABLES

Added:
>
>

TWiki PLUGINS

TWiki Plugins offer additional text formatting rules. Plugins currently installed are:

  • DefaultPlugin: The default plugin is used for some depreciated rendering of older TWiki versions.

Learn more about plugins in TWikiPlugins and TWikiPreferences.


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.15 - 02 Mar 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Added:
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>

Headings:
At least three dashes at the beginning of a line, followed by plus signs and the heading text. One plus creates a level 1 heading (most important), two pluses a level 2 heading; the maximum is level 6. Note: A Table of Content can be created automatically with the %TOC% variable, see TWikiVariables.

---++ Sushi

---+++ Maguro

Sushi

Maguro

Changed:
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At least four dashes at the beginning of a line.

>
>

At least three dashes at the beginning of a line.

Changed:
<
<

Create a link where you can specify the link text and the link reference separately, using nested square brackets like [[text][reference]]. Internal link references (i.e. WikiSyntax) and external link references (i.e. http://TWiki.org/) are supported. The same Forced Links rules apply for internal link references. Anchor names can be added as well, like [[go home][WebHome@MyAnchor]] and [[Yahoo!][http://www.yahoo.com/#somewhere]].

>
>

Create a link where you can specify the link text and the link reference separately, using nested square brackets like [[reference][text]]. Internal link references (i.e. WikiSyntax) and external link references (i.e. http://TWiki.org/) are supported. The same Forced Links rules apply for internal link references. Anchor names can be added as well, like [[WebHome#MyAnchor][go home]] and [[http://www.yahoo.com/#somewhere][Yahoo!]].

Changed:
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<

WikiSyntax?

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>

syntax

Changed:
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<

http://gnu.org?

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GNU

Changed:
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<

WikiSyntax?

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>

syntax

Changed:
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<

http://gnu.org?

>
>

GNU

Changed:
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<

You can define a link reference inside a TWiki topic (called an anchor name) and link to that. To define an anchor write @AnchorName at the beginning of a line. The anchor name must be a WikiWord. To link to an anchor name use the [[MyTopic@MyAnchor]] syntax. You can omit the topic name if you want to link within the same topic.

>
>

You can define a link reference inside a TWiki topic (called an anchor name) and link to that. To define an anchor write #AnchorName at the beginning of a line. The anchor name must be a WikiWord. To link to an anchor name use the [[MyTopic#MyAnchor]] syntax. You can omit the topic name if you want to link within the same topic.

Changed:
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WebHome@NotThere?

>
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WebHome#NotThere

Changed:
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@MyAnchor?

>
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Jump

Changed:
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@MyAnchor To here

>
>

To here

Changed:
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<

WebHome@NotThere?

>
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WebHome#NotThere

Changed:
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<

@MyAnchor?

>
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Jump

Changed:
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<

@MyAnchor To here

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>

To here


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.14 - 25 Feb 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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WebNotify,

>
>

WebNotify

Changed:
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<

WebNotify,

>
>

WebNotify

Changed:
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<

You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets.
Note: Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces; i.e. [[text formatting FAQ]] links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. You can also refer to a different web.

>
>

You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets.
Note: Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces; i.e. [[text formatting FAQ]] links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. You can also refer to a different web and use anchors.

Changed:
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<

wiki syntax,

>
>

wiki syntax

Changed:
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<

wiki syntax,

>
>

wiki syntax

Added:
>
>

Specific Links:
Create a link where you can specify the link text and the link reference separately, using nested square brackets like [[text][reference]]. Internal link references (i.e. WikiSyntax) and external link references (i.e. http://TWiki.org/) are supported. The same Forced Links rules apply for internal link references. Anchor names can be added as well, like [[go home][WebHome@MyAnchor]] and [[Yahoo!][http://www.yahoo.com/#somewhere]].

[[syntax][WikiSyntax]]

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

http://gnu.org?

Anchors:
You can define a link reference inside a TWiki topic (called an anchor name) and link to that. To define an anchor write @AnchorName at the beginning of a line. The anchor name must be a WikiWord. To link to an anchor name use the [[MyTopic@MyAnchor]] syntax. You can omit the topic name if you want to link within the same topic.
[[WebHome@NotThere]]

[[Jump][@MyAnchor]]

@MyAnchor To here
WebHome@NotThere?

@MyAnchor?

@MyAnchor To here


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.13 - 10 Feb 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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<

Optional spaces followed by the cells enclosed in vertical bars.

>
>

Optional spaces followed by the cells enclosed in vertical bars.
Note: In case you have a long row and you want it to be more readable when you edit the table you can split the row into lines that end with a '\' backslash character.

Added:
>
>

| A3 \ | next \

next
Added:
>
>

A3 next next
Deleted:
<
<

Disable Links:
You can disable automatic linking of WikiWords by surround text with <noautolink> and </noautolink> tags.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.
 <noautolink>
 RedHat &
 SuSE
 </noautolink>
RedHat & SuSE

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.12 - 01 Feb 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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<

  • CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether (or WikiWords) will produce a link automatically. In case you want to link to a topic in a different TWiki web write Web.TopicName, i.e. write Know.ReadmeFirst to link to ReadmeFirst located in the Know web.
  • You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets, i.e. write [[text formatting FAQ]] to get text formatting FAQ that links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces. You can also refer to a different web, i.e. [[Main.TWiki users]] points to TWikiUsers in the Main web.
  • Blank lines will create new paragraphs.
  • Words get bold by enclosing them in * asterisks
  • Words get italic by enclosing them in _ underscores
  • Words get bold italic by enclosing them in __ double-underscores
  • Words get shown in fixed font by enclosing them in = equal signs
  • Words get shown in bold fixed font by enclosing them in == double equal signs
  • Note for bold , italic , bold italic and fixed font text:
    • Make sure to "stick" the * _ = signs to the characters, e.g.
      • This works
      • _This does not get italic because there is a space between the last word and the underline character _
    • Example text to enter:
      • Writing *bold text* , _italic text_ and =fixed== monospaced text
    • Example text gets rendered as:
      • Writing bold text , italic text and fixed= monospaced text
  • Separator: at least four dashes at the beginning of a line: <-------->
  • List Item: 3 spaces and an asterisk: <   *>
  • Nested Item: 6 spaces and an asterisk: <      *>
  • Ordered List: 3 spaces and a number: <   1>
  • Definition: 3 spaces, the term, a colon, followed by the definition: <   term: definition>
    Note that terms with spaces are not supported. In case you do have a term with more then one word, separate the words with dashes or with the non-breaking-space entity, i.e. write Character&nbsp;Set: to get Character Set:.
  • Table: Optional spaces followed by the cells enclosed in vertical bars: <   | cell 1 | cell 2 | cell 3 | ... |>
>
>

Formatting Command: Example: You write: You get:
Paragraphs:
Blank lines will create new paragraphs.
 1st paragraph

 2nd paragraph
1st paragraph

2nd paragraph

Bold Text:
Words get bold by enclosing them in * asterisks.
 *Bold*
Bold
Italic Text:
Words get italic by enclosing them in _ underscores.
 _Italic_
Italic
Bold Italic:
Words get _bold italic by enclosing them in _ double-underscores.
 __Bold italic__
Bold italic
Fixed Font:
Words get shown in fixed font by enclosing them in = equal signs.
 =Fixed font=
Fixed font
Bold Fixed Font:
Words get shown in bold fixed font by enclosing them in double equal signs.
 ==Bold fixed==
Bold fixed
Note: Make sure to "stick" the * _ = == signs to the words, e.g. take away spaces.
 _This works_,
 _this not _
This works, _this not _
Verbatim Mode:
Surround code excerpts and other formatted text with <verbatim> and </verbatim> tags.
Note: Use <pre> and </pre> tags instead if you want that HTML code is interpreted.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.
<verbatim>
class CatAnimal {
  void purr() {
    <code here>
  }
}
</verbatim>
class CatAnimal {
  void purr() {
    <code here>
  }
}
Separator:
At least four dashes at the beginning of a line.
-------

List Item:
Three spaces and an asterisk.
   * bullet item
  • bullet item
Nested List Item:
Six, nine, ... spaces and an asterisk.
      * nested stuff
    • nested stuff
Ordered List:
Three spaces and a number.
   1 Sushi
   1 Dim Sum
  1. Sushi
  2. Dim Sum
Definition List:
Three spaces, the term, a colon, followed by the definition.
Note: Terms with spaces are not supported. In case you do have a term with more then one word, separate the words with dashes or with the &nbsp; non-breaking-space entity.
   Sushi: Japan
   Dim&nbsp;Sum: S.F.
Sushi
Japan
Dim Sum
S.F.
Table:
Optional spaces followed by the cells enclosed in vertical bars.
| A1 | B1 | C1 |
| A2 | B2 | C2 |
A1 B1 C1
A2 B2 C2
WikiWord Links:
CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether (or WikiWords) will produce a link automatically.
Note: In case you want to link to a topic in a different TWiki web write Webname.TopicName.
 WebNotify,
 Know.ReadmeFirst
WebNotify, ReadmeFirst
Forced Links:
You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets.
Note: Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces; i.e. [[text formatting FAQ]] links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. You can also refer to a different web.
 [[wiki syntax]],
 [[Main.TWiki users]]
wiki syntax, Main.TWiki users
Prevent a Link:
Prevent a WikiWord from being linked by prepending it with the <nop> tag.
 <nop>SunOS
SunOS
Disable Links:
You can disable automatic linking of WikiWords by surround text with <noautolink> and </noautolink> tags.
Note: Each tag must be on a line by itself.
 <noautolink>
 RedHat &
 SuSE
 </noautolink>
RedHat & SuSE

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.11 - 21 Jan 2001 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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  • Words get shown in fixed font by enclosing them in = equal signs
>
>

  • Words get shown in fixed font by enclosing them in = equal signs
  • Words get shown in bold fixed font by enclosing them in == double equal signs

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.10 - 12 Dec 2000 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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<

  • Definition: 3 spaces, the term, a colon, followed by the definition.
>
>

  • Definition: 3 spaces, the term, a colon, followed by the definition: <   term: definition>
    Note that terms with spaces are not supported. In case you do have a term with more then one word, separate the words with dashes or with the non-breaking-space entity, i.e. write Character&nbsp;Set: to get Character Set:.

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.9 - 10 Dec 2000 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
<
<

It is easy to collaborate, just type your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting.

>
>

It is easy to collaborate; just type your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically, as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting.

Changed:
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<

  • NotExistingYet? is a topic waiting to be written. You could create that topic by clicking on the question mark. (Do not create that topic, you would wreck this example!)
>
>

  • NotExistingYet? is a topic waiting to be written. You could create that topic by clicking on the question mark. (Do not create that topic; you would wreck this example!)

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.8 - 11 Nov 2000 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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<

The TWiki web has the following types of internal links:

>
>

The TWiki web has the following types of internal links:

Changed:
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<

  • http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.
  • Email addresses like name@domain.com are linked automatically.
>
>

  • http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.
  • Email addresses like name@domain.com are linked automatically.
Changed:
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<

  • You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets, i.e. write [[text formatting FAQ]] to get text formatting FAQ that links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces. You can also refer to a different web, i.e. [[Main.TWiki users]] points to TWikiUsers in the Main web.
>
>

  • You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets, i.e. write [[text formatting FAQ]] to get text formatting FAQ that links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces. You can also refer to a different web, i.e. [[Main.TWiki users]] points to TWikiUsers in the Main web.
Changed:
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<

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

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

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.7 - 01 Nov 2000 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
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<

  • GoodStyle is a topic that is part of the current TWiki web.
>
>

  • GoodStyle is a WikiWord that links to the GoodStyle topic located in the current TWiki web.
Deleted:
<
<

  • ReadmeFirst is a topic in a different TWiki web. (You write it as Web.TopicName , but it will show up as TopicName )
  • You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets, i.e. write [[text formatting FAQ]] to get text formatting FAQ that links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces. You can also refer to a different web, i.e. [[Main.TWiki users]] points to TWikiUsers in the Main web.
Changed:
<
<

  • CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether will produce a link automatically.
>
>

  • CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether (or WikiWords) will produce a link automatically. In case you want to link to a topic in a different TWiki web write Web.TopicName, i.e. write Know.ReadmeFirst to link to ReadmeFirst located in the Know web.
  • You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets, i.e. write [[text formatting FAQ]] to get text formatting FAQ that links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces; the topic name is formed by capitalizing the initial letter and by removing the spaces. You can also refer to a different web, i.e. [[Main.TWiki users]] points to TWikiUsers in the Main web.

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.6 - 19 Sep 2000 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
<
<

The TWiki web has the following types of internal links:

>
>

The TWiki web has the following types of internal links:

Added:
>
>

  • You can create a forced internal link by enclosing words in double square brackets, i.e. write [[text formatting FAQ]] to get text formatting FAQ that links to topic TextFormattingFAQ. Text within the brackets may contain optional spaces. You can also refer to a different web, i.e. [[Main.TWiki users]] points to TWikiUsers in the Main web.
Changed:
<
<

External links:

>
>

External links:


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.5 - 18 Aug 2000 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
<
<

  • CapitalizedWordsStickedTogether? will produce a link automatically.
>
>

  • CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether will produce a link automatically.
Changed:
<
<

  • Separator: -------- (at the beginning of a line)
  • List Item: <3spaces>*
  • Nested Item: <6spaces>*
  • Ordered List: <3spaces><number>.
  • Definition: <3spaces><term>:<definition>.
  • Table: <optional spaces>| cell 1 | cell 2 | cell 3 | ... |
>
>

  • Separator: at least four dashes at the beginning of a line: <-------->
  • List Item: 3 spaces and an asterisk: <   *>
  • Nested Item: 6 spaces and an asterisk: <      *>
  • Ordered List: 3 spaces and a number: <   1>
  • Definition: 3 spaces, the term, a colon, followed by the definition.
  • Table: Optional spaces followed by the cells enclosed in vertical bars: <   | cell 1 | cell 2 | cell 3 | ... |>
Changed:
<
<

EXTRAS

>
>

HTML

Most HTML tags will work, but it's almost always preferable not to use HTML, so that the markup remains easy for everyone to edit.

Deleted:
<
<

  • Most HTML tags will work.
Changed:
<
<

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

>
>

Variables are names that are enclosed in percent signs; they get expanded on the fly.

Changed:
<
<

  • %INCLUDE{"file.ext"}% : Server side include, includes the text of a file. The default directory is the current Wiki web. Example: %INCLUDE{"Know/TopicName.txt"}%
>
>

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

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.4 - 28 Feb 2000 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
<
<

TWiki Variables

Special text strings expand on the fly to display user data or system info

TWikiVariables are text strings - %VARIABLE% - that expand into content whenever a page is opened. When a topic is rendered for viewing, VARIABLES are replaced by data, either user-entered, or info automatically generated by TWiki (like the date, or the current username). There are predefined variables, and Preference variables that you configure. You can also define custom variables, with new names and values.

Predefined Variables

Most predefined variables return values that were either set in the lib/twiki.cfg file, when TWiki was installed, or taken from server info (like current username, or date and time). Many of the variables let you format the appearance of the display results.

  • TIP Take the time to thoroughly read through ALL preference variables. If you actively configure your site, review variables periodically. They cover a wide range of functions, and it can be easy to miss the one perfect variable for something you have in mind. For example, see %INCLUDINGTOPIC%, %INCLUDE%, and the mighty %SEARCH%.

This version of TWiki - 01 Feb 2003 - expands the following variables (enclosed in % percent signs):

Variable: Expanded to:
%WIKIHOMEURL% The base script URL of TWiki, is the link of the Home icon in the upper left corner, is http://your.domain.com/twiki
%SCRIPTURL% The script URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin
%SCRIPTURLPATH% The path of the script URL of TWiki, is /cgi-bin
%SCRIPTSUFFIX% The script suffix, ex: .pl, .cgi is
%PUBURL% The public URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub
Example: You can refer to a file attached to another topic as %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/image.gif
%PUBURLPATH% The path of the public URL of TWiki, is /twiki/pub
%ATTACHURL% The attachment URL of the current topic, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
Example: If you attach a file you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif
%ATTACHURLPATH% The path of the attachment URL of the current topic, is /twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Returns the value of a URL parameter. Note that there is a low risk that this variable could be misused for cross-scripting. Ex: %URLPARAM{"skin"}% returns print for a .../view/TWiki/TWikiVariables?skin=print URL. Is
%URLENCODE{"string"}% Encodes a string for use as a URL parameter. Ex: %URLENCODE{"spaced name"}% returns spaced%20name
%WIKITOOLNAME% The name of your TWiki site - TWiki
%WIKIVERSION% Your current TWiki version - 01 Feb 2003
%USERNAME% Your login username - guest
%WIKINAME% Your Wiki username. Same as %USERNAME% if not defined in the TWikiUsers topic. Is TWikiGuest
%WIKIUSERNAME% Your %WIKINAME% including the Main web name - always use full signatures - Main.TWikiGuest
%MAINWEB% The web containing TWikiUsers, OfficeLocations and TWikiGroups is Main
%TWIKIWEB% The web containing all documentation and site-wide preference settings for TWiki - TWiki
%WEB% The current web is TWiki
%BASEWEB% The web name where the includes started, e.g. the web of the first topic of nested includes. Same as %WEB% in case there is no include.
%INCLUDINGWEB% The web name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %WEB% if there is no INCLUDE.
%HOMETOPIC% The home topic in each web - WebHome
%NOTIFYTOPIC% The notify topic in each web - WebNotify
%WIKIUSERSTOPIC% The index topic of all registered users - TWikiUsers
%WIKIPREFSTOPIC% The site-wide preferences topic - TWikiPreferences
%WEBPREFSTOPIC% The local web preferences topic in each web - WebPreferences
%STATISTICSTOPIC% The web statistics topic WebStatistics
%TOPIC% The current topic name - TWikiVariables
%BASETOPIC% The name of the topic where a single or nested INCLUDE started - same as %TOPIC% if there is no INCLUDE.
%INCLUDINGTOPIC% The name of the topic that includes the current topic. Same as %TOPIC% in case there is no include.
%SPACEDTOPIC% The current topic name with added spaces, for regular expression search of Ref-By, is TWiki%20*Variables
%TOPICLIST{"format"}% Topic index of a web. The "format" defines the format of one topic item. It may include variables: The $name variable gets expanded to the topic name; the $web variable gets expanded to the name of the web. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name and $web variables "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
web="Name" Name of web Current web
Examples:
%TOPICLIST{"   * $web.$name"}% creates a bullet list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{separator=", "}% creates a comma separated list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{" <option>$name</option>"}% creates an option list (for drop down menus).
%WEBLIST{"format"}% Web index, ex: list of all webs. Hidden webs are excluded, e.g. webs with a NOSEARCHALL=on preference variable. The "format" defines the format of one web item. The $name variable gets expanded to the name of the web, $qname gets expanded to double quoted name, $marker to marker where web matches selection. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name variable "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
webs="public" comma sep list of Web, public expands to all non-hidden "public"
marker="selected" Text for $marker where item matches selection, otherwise equals "" "selected"
selection="%WEB%" Current value to be selected in list section="%WEB%"
Examples:
%WEBLIST{"   * [[$name.WebHome]]"}% creates a bullet list of all webs.
%WEBLIST{"<option $marker value=$qname>$name</option>" webs="Trash,public" selection="TWiki" separator=" "}% Dropdown of all public Webs + Trash Web, current Web highlighted.
%GMTIME% GM time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:31 2025
%GMTIME{"format"}% Formatted GM time based on time variables.
Variable: Unit: Example
$seconds seconds 59
$minutes minutes 59
$hours hours 23
$day day of month 31
$month month in ISO format Dec
$mo 2 digit month 12
$year 4 digit year 1999
$ye 2 digit year 99
Variables can be shortened to 3 characters. Example:
%GMTIME{"$day $month, $year - $hour:$min:$sec"}% is
22 Jan, 2025 - 13:45:31
%SERVERTIME% Server time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:31 2025
%SERVERTIME{"format"}% Formatted server time.
Example: %SERVERTIME{"$hou:$min"}% is 13:45
%HTTP_HOST% HTTP_HOST environment variable, is qtella.sourceforge.net
%REMOTE_ADDR% REMOTE_ADDR environment variable, is 127.0.0.1
%REMOTE_PORT% REMOTE_PORT environment variable, is 41546
%REMOTE_USER% REMOTE_USER environment variable, is
%INCLUDE{"page" ...}% Server side include to IncludeTopicsAndWebPages:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"SomeTopic" The name of a topic located in the current web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"WebNotify"}%  
"Web.Topic" A topic in another web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"TWiki.SiteMap"}%  
"http://..." A full qualified URL, i.e. %INCLUDE{"http://twiki.org/"}%  
pattern="..." A RegularExpression pattern to include a subset of a topic or page none
rev="1.2" Include a previous topic revision; N/A for URLs top revision
%STARTINCLUDE% If present in included topic, start to include text from this location up to the end, or up to the location of the %STOPINCLUDE% variable. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STARTINCLUDE% variable itself.
%STOPINCLUDE% If present in included topic, stop to include text at this location and ignore the remaining text. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STOPINCLUDE% variable itself.
%TOC% Table of Contents of current topic.
%TOC{"SomeTopic" ...}% Table of Contents. Shows a TOC that is generated automatically based on headings of a topic. Headings in WikiSyntax ("---++ text") and HTML ("<h2>text</h2>") are taken into account. Any heading text after "!!" is excluded from the TOC; for example, write "---+!! text" if you do not want to list a header in the TOC. Parameters are topic name, web and depth:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"TopicName" topic name Current topic
web="Name" Name of web Current web
depth="2" Limit depth of headings shown in TOC 6
Examples: %TOC{depth="2"}%, %TOC{"TWikiDocumentation" web="TWiki"}%
%SEARCH{"text" ...}% Inline search, shows a search result embedded in a topic. Parameters are the search term, web, scope, order and many more: [1]
Parameter: Description: Default:
"text" Search term. Is a regular expression or literal, depending on the regex parameter. For regular expressions ";" is used to mean and e.g. "search;agrep" will find all topic containing search and agrep. required
search="text" (Alternative to above) N/A
web="Name"
web="Main Know"
web="all"
Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. [2] Current web
scope="topic"
scope="text"
Search topic name (title) or in the text (body) of the topic Topic text (body)
order="topic"
order="modified"
order="editby"
order=
 "formfield(name)"
Sort the results of search by the topic names, last modified time, last editor, or named field of TWikiForms Sort by topic name
limit="all"
limit="16"
Limit the number of results returned All results
regex="on" RegularExpression search; also enables ";" as and Literal search
reverse="on" Reverse the direction of the search Ascending search
casesensitive="on" Case sensitive search Ignore case
nosummary="on" Show topic title only Show topic summary
bookview="on" BookView search, e.g. show complete topic text Show topic summary
nosearch="on" Suppress search string Show search string
noheader="on" Suppress search header
Topics: Changed: By:
Show search header
nototal="on" Do not show number of topics found Show number
header="..."
format="..."
Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples Results in table
Regular example: %SEARCH{"wiki" web="Main" scope="topic"}%
Formatted example: %SEARCH{"FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="| *Topic: * | *Summary: * |" format="| $topic | $summary |"% (displays results in a table with header - details)
HELP If the TWiki:Plugins.TablePlugin is installed, you may set a %TABLE{}% variable just before the %SEARCH{}% to alter the output of a search. Example: %TABLE{ tablewidth="90%" }%
%METASEARCH{...}% Special search of meta data
Parameter: Description: Default:
type="topicmoved" What sort of search is required?
"topicmoved" if search for a topic that may have been moved
"parent" if searching for topics that have a specific parent i.e. its children
required
web="%WEB%" Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. required
topic="%TOPIC%" The topic the search relates to required
title="Title" Text that is prepended to any search results required
Example: %METASEARCH{type="topicmoved" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="This topic used to exist and was moved to: "}%, you may want to use this in WebTopicViewTemplate and WebTopicNonWikiTemplate
%METASEARCH{type="parent" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="Children: "}%
%VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}% Get a preference value from a web other then the current one. Example: To get %WEBBGCOLOR% of the Main web write %VAR{"WEBBGCOLOR" web="Main"}%, is #FFFFC0

[1] Note: The search form uses identical names for input fields.

[2] Note: A web can be excluded from a web="all" search if you define a NOSEARCHALL=on variable in its WebPreferences.

Preferences Variables

Additional variables are defined in the preferences ( site-level ( SL ) in TWikiPreferences, web-level ( WL ) in WebPreferences of each web, and user level ( UL ) preferences in individual user topics):

Variable: Level: What:
%WIKIWEBMASTER% SL Webmaster email address (sender of email notifications) , is webmaster@your.company
%WIKIWEBLIST% SL List of TWiki webs (in upper right corner of topics)
%WEBTOPICLIST% WL Common links of web (second line of topics)
%WEBCOPYRIGHT% SL , WL Copyright notice (bottom right corner of topics)
%WEBBGCOLOR% WL Background color of web
%NOSEARCHALL% WL Exclude web from a web="all" search (set variable to on for hidden webs)
%NEWTOPICBGCOLOR% SL , UL Background color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%NEWTOPICFONTCOLOR% SL , UL Font color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%EDITBOXWIDTH% SL , UL Horizontal size of edit box, is 70
%EDITBOXHEIGHT% SL , UL Vertical size of edit box, is 17
%RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Release edit lock" (UnlockTopic) check box in preview. Checkbox is initially checked if Set RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. If checked, make sure to click on Edit to do more changes; do not go back in your browser to the edit page, or you risk that someone else will edit the topic at the same time! Value is:
%DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Minor Changes, Don't Notify" (DontNotify) check box in preview. Check box is initially checked if Set DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. Value is:
%ATTACHLINKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the link check box in the attach file page. Check box is initially checked if value is set to CHECKED , unchecked if empty. If checked, a link is created to the attached file at the end of the topic. Value is:
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_VIEW% SL http-equiv meta tags for view, rdiff, attach, search* scripts.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_EDIT% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for edit script.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_PREVIEW% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for preview script.
%DENYWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%FINALPREFERENCES% SL , WL List of preferences that are not allowed to be overridden by next level preferences

Note: There are some more useful variables defined in the TWikiPreferences like %BR% for line break, colors like %RED% for colored text and small icons like %H% for a HELP Help icon.

Setting Preferences

  • The syntax for Preferences Variables is the same anywhere in TWiki (on its own TWiki bullet line, including nested bullets):
    [multiple of 3 spaces] * [space] Set [space] VARIABLENAME [space] = [value]
    Examples:
  • Set VARIABLENAME = value
    • Set VARIABLENAME = value

Creating Custom Variables

  • You can add your own Preference Variables for us across an entire site or a single web, using the standard Preferences syntax. Whatever you include in your Variable will be expanded on display, exactly as if it had been entered directly. You can place formatted text, page links, image paths.

Example: Create a custom logo variable the TWiki web
  • To place a logo anywhere in a web by typing %MYLOGO%, define the Variable on the web's WebPreferences page, and upload a logo file, ex: mylogo.gif. You can upload by attaching the file to WebPreferences, or, to avoid clutter, to any other topic in the same web, ex: LogoTopic:
    • Set MYLOGO = %PUBURL%/TWiki/LogoTopic/mylogo.gif

-- PeterThoeny - 19 Jan 2003
-- MikeMannix - 12 May 2002

>
>

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

  • %WEB% : The current web, is TWiki .
  • %TOPIC% : The current topic name, is TextFormattingRules .
  • %ATTACHURL% : The attachment URL of the current topic. Example usage: If you attach a file to a topic you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif to show the URL of the file or the image in your text.
  • %INCLUDE{"file.ext"}% : Server side include, includes the text of a file. The default directory is the current Wiki web. Example: %INCLUDE{"Know/TopicName.txt"}%
  • There are many more variables, see TWikiVariables.

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.3 - 09 Aug 1999 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
<
<

  • CapitalizedWordsWillProduce? a link automatically.
>
>

  • CapitalizedWordsStickedTogether? will produce a link automatically.
Changed:
<
<

  • Words get bold by enclosing them with * asterisks
  • Words get italic by enclosing them with _ underscores
  • Words get bold italic by enclosing them with __ two underscores
  • Words get showns in fixed font by enclosing it with = equal signs
  • Notes for bold , italic , bold italic and fixed font text:
>
>

  • Words get bold by enclosing them in * asterisks
  • Words get italic by enclosing them in _ underscores
  • Words get bold italic by enclosing them in __ double-underscores
  • Words get shown in fixed font by enclosing them in = equal signs
  • Note for bold , italic , bold italic and fixed font text:
Added:
>
>

  • Table: <optional spaces>| cell 1 | cell 2 | cell 3 | ... |
Changed:
<
<

TWiki Variables

Special text strings expand on the fly to display user data or system info

TWikiVariables are text strings - %VARIABLE% - that expand into content whenever a page is opened. When a topic is rendered for viewing, VARIABLES are replaced by data, either user-entered, or info automatically generated by TWiki (like the date, or the current username). There are predefined variables, and Preference variables that you configure. You can also define custom variables, with new names and values.

Predefined Variables

Most predefined variables return values that were either set in the lib/twiki.cfg file, when TWiki was installed, or taken from server info (like current username, or date and time). Many of the variables let you format the appearance of the display results.

  • TIP Take the time to thoroughly read through ALL preference variables. If you actively configure your site, review variables periodically. They cover a wide range of functions, and it can be easy to miss the one perfect variable for something you have in mind. For example, see %INCLUDINGTOPIC%, %INCLUDE%, and the mighty %SEARCH%.

This version of TWiki - 01 Feb 2003 - expands the following variables (enclosed in % percent signs):

Variable: Expanded to:
%WIKIHOMEURL% The base script URL of TWiki, is the link of the Home icon in the upper left corner, is http://your.domain.com/twiki
%SCRIPTURL% The script URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin
%SCRIPTURLPATH% The path of the script URL of TWiki, is /cgi-bin
%SCRIPTSUFFIX% The script suffix, ex: .pl, .cgi is
%PUBURL% The public URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub
Example: You can refer to a file attached to another topic as %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/image.gif
%PUBURLPATH% The path of the public URL of TWiki, is /twiki/pub
%ATTACHURL% The attachment URL of the current topic, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
Example: If you attach a file you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif
%ATTACHURLPATH% The path of the attachment URL of the current topic, is /twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Returns the value of a URL parameter. Note that there is a low risk that this variable could be misused for cross-scripting. Ex: %URLPARAM{"skin"}% returns print for a .../view/TWiki/TWikiVariables?skin=print URL. Is
%URLENCODE{"string"}% Encodes a string for use as a URL parameter. Ex: %URLENCODE{"spaced name"}% returns spaced%20name
%WIKITOOLNAME% The name of your TWiki site - TWiki
%WIKIVERSION% Your current TWiki version - 01 Feb 2003
%USERNAME% Your login username - guest
%WIKINAME% Your Wiki username. Same as %USERNAME% if not defined in the TWikiUsers topic. Is TWikiGuest
%WIKIUSERNAME% Your %WIKINAME% including the Main web name - always use full signatures - Main.TWikiGuest
%MAINWEB% The web containing TWikiUsers, OfficeLocations and TWikiGroups is Main
%TWIKIWEB% The web containing all documentation and site-wide preference settings for TWiki - TWiki
%WEB% The current web is TWiki
%BASEWEB% The web name where the includes started, e.g. the web of the first topic of nested includes. Same as %WEB% in case there is no include.
%INCLUDINGWEB% The web name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %WEB% if there is no INCLUDE.
%HOMETOPIC% The home topic in each web - WebHome
%NOTIFYTOPIC% The notify topic in each web - WebNotify
%WIKIUSERSTOPIC% The index topic of all registered users - TWikiUsers
%WIKIPREFSTOPIC% The site-wide preferences topic - TWikiPreferences
%WEBPREFSTOPIC% The local web preferences topic in each web - WebPreferences
%STATISTICSTOPIC% The web statistics topic WebStatistics
%TOPIC% The current topic name - TWikiVariables
%BASETOPIC% The name of the topic where a single or nested INCLUDE started - same as %TOPIC% if there is no INCLUDE.
%INCLUDINGTOPIC% The name of the topic that includes the current topic. Same as %TOPIC% in case there is no include.
%SPACEDTOPIC% The current topic name with added spaces, for regular expression search of Ref-By, is TWiki%20*Variables
%TOPICLIST{"format"}% Topic index of a web. The "format" defines the format of one topic item. It may include variables: The $name variable gets expanded to the topic name; the $web variable gets expanded to the name of the web. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name and $web variables "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
web="Name" Name of web Current web
Examples:
%TOPICLIST{"   * $web.$name"}% creates a bullet list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{separator=", "}% creates a comma separated list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{" <option>$name</option>"}% creates an option list (for drop down menus).
%WEBLIST{"format"}% Web index, ex: list of all webs. Hidden webs are excluded, e.g. webs with a NOSEARCHALL=on preference variable. The "format" defines the format of one web item. The $name variable gets expanded to the name of the web, $qname gets expanded to double quoted name, $marker to marker where web matches selection. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name variable "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
webs="public" comma sep list of Web, public expands to all non-hidden "public"
marker="selected" Text for $marker where item matches selection, otherwise equals "" "selected"
selection="%WEB%" Current value to be selected in list section="%WEB%"
Examples:
%WEBLIST{"   * [[$name.WebHome]]"}% creates a bullet list of all webs.
%WEBLIST{"<option $marker value=$qname>$name</option>" webs="Trash,public" selection="TWiki" separator=" "}% Dropdown of all public Webs + Trash Web, current Web highlighted.
%GMTIME% GM time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:31 2025
%GMTIME{"format"}% Formatted GM time based on time variables.
Variable: Unit: Example
$seconds seconds 59
$minutes minutes 59
$hours hours 23
$day day of month 31
$month month in ISO format Dec
$mo 2 digit month 12
$year 4 digit year 1999
$ye 2 digit year 99
Variables can be shortened to 3 characters. Example:
%GMTIME{"$day $month, $year - $hour:$min:$sec"}% is
22 Jan, 2025 - 13:45:31
%SERVERTIME% Server time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:31 2025
%SERVERTIME{"format"}% Formatted server time.
Example: %SERVERTIME{"$hou:$min"}% is 13:45
%HTTP_HOST% HTTP_HOST environment variable, is qtella.sourceforge.net
%REMOTE_ADDR% REMOTE_ADDR environment variable, is 127.0.0.1
%REMOTE_PORT% REMOTE_PORT environment variable, is 41546
%REMOTE_USER% REMOTE_USER environment variable, is
%INCLUDE{"page" ...}% Server side include to IncludeTopicsAndWebPages:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"SomeTopic" The name of a topic located in the current web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"WebNotify"}%  
"Web.Topic" A topic in another web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"TWiki.SiteMap"}%  
"http://..." A full qualified URL, i.e. %INCLUDE{"http://twiki.org/"}%  
pattern="..." A RegularExpression pattern to include a subset of a topic or page none
rev="1.2" Include a previous topic revision; N/A for URLs top revision
%STARTINCLUDE% If present in included topic, start to include text from this location up to the end, or up to the location of the %STOPINCLUDE% variable. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STARTINCLUDE% variable itself.
%STOPINCLUDE% If present in included topic, stop to include text at this location and ignore the remaining text. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STOPINCLUDE% variable itself.
%TOC% Table of Contents of current topic.
%TOC{"SomeTopic" ...}% Table of Contents. Shows a TOC that is generated automatically based on headings of a topic. Headings in WikiSyntax ("---++ text") and HTML ("<h2>text</h2>") are taken into account. Any heading text after "!!" is excluded from the TOC; for example, write "---+!! text" if you do not want to list a header in the TOC. Parameters are topic name, web and depth:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"TopicName" topic name Current topic
web="Name" Name of web Current web
depth="2" Limit depth of headings shown in TOC 6
Examples: %TOC{depth="2"}%, %TOC{"TWikiDocumentation" web="TWiki"}%
%SEARCH{"text" ...}% Inline search, shows a search result embedded in a topic. Parameters are the search term, web, scope, order and many more: [1]
Parameter: Description: Default:
"text" Search term. Is a regular expression or literal, depending on the regex parameter. For regular expressions ";" is used to mean and e.g. "search;agrep" will find all topic containing search and agrep. required
search="text" (Alternative to above) N/A
web="Name"
web="Main Know"
web="all"
Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. [2] Current web
scope="topic"
scope="text"
Search topic name (title) or in the text (body) of the topic Topic text (body)
order="topic"
order="modified"
order="editby"
order=
 "formfield(name)"
Sort the results of search by the topic names, last modified time, last editor, or named field of TWikiForms Sort by topic name
limit="all"
limit="16"
Limit the number of results returned All results
regex="on" RegularExpression search; also enables ";" as and Literal search
reverse="on" Reverse the direction of the search Ascending search
casesensitive="on" Case sensitive search Ignore case
nosummary="on" Show topic title only Show topic summary
bookview="on" BookView search, e.g. show complete topic text Show topic summary
nosearch="on" Suppress search string Show search string
noheader="on" Suppress search header
Topics: Changed: By:
Show search header
nototal="on" Do not show number of topics found Show number
header="..."
format="..."
Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples Results in table
Regular example: %SEARCH{"wiki" web="Main" scope="topic"}%
Formatted example: %SEARCH{"FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="| *Topic: * | *Summary: * |" format="| $topic | $summary |"% (displays results in a table with header - details)
HELP If the TWiki:Plugins.TablePlugin is installed, you may set a %TABLE{}% variable just before the %SEARCH{}% to alter the output of a search. Example: %TABLE{ tablewidth="90%" }%
%METASEARCH{...}% Special search of meta data
Parameter: Description: Default:
type="topicmoved" What sort of search is required?
"topicmoved" if search for a topic that may have been moved
"parent" if searching for topics that have a specific parent i.e. its children
required
web="%WEB%" Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. required
topic="%TOPIC%" The topic the search relates to required
title="Title" Text that is prepended to any search results required
Example: %METASEARCH{type="topicmoved" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="This topic used to exist and was moved to: "}%, you may want to use this in WebTopicViewTemplate and WebTopicNonWikiTemplate
%METASEARCH{type="parent" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="Children: "}%
%VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}% Get a preference value from a web other then the current one. Example: To get %WEBBGCOLOR% of the Main web write %VAR{"WEBBGCOLOR" web="Main"}%, is #FFFFC0

[1] Note: The search form uses identical names for input fields.

[2] Note: A web can be excluded from a web="all" search if you define a NOSEARCHALL=on variable in its WebPreferences.

Preferences Variables

Additional variables are defined in the preferences ( site-level ( SL ) in TWikiPreferences, web-level ( WL ) in WebPreferences of each web, and user level ( UL ) preferences in individual user topics):

Variable: Level: What:
%WIKIWEBMASTER% SL Webmaster email address (sender of email notifications) , is webmaster@your.company
%WIKIWEBLIST% SL List of TWiki webs (in upper right corner of topics)
%WEBTOPICLIST% WL Common links of web (second line of topics)
%WEBCOPYRIGHT% SL , WL Copyright notice (bottom right corner of topics)
%WEBBGCOLOR% WL Background color of web
%NOSEARCHALL% WL Exclude web from a web="all" search (set variable to on for hidden webs)
%NEWTOPICBGCOLOR% SL , UL Background color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%NEWTOPICFONTCOLOR% SL , UL Font color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%EDITBOXWIDTH% SL , UL Horizontal size of edit box, is 70
%EDITBOXHEIGHT% SL , UL Vertical size of edit box, is 17
%RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Release edit lock" (UnlockTopic) check box in preview. Checkbox is initially checked if Set RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. If checked, make sure to click on Edit to do more changes; do not go back in your browser to the edit page, or you risk that someone else will edit the topic at the same time! Value is:
%DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Minor Changes, Don't Notify" (DontNotify) check box in preview. Check box is initially checked if Set DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. Value is:
%ATTACHLINKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the link check box in the attach file page. Check box is initially checked if value is set to CHECKED , unchecked if empty. If checked, a link is created to the attached file at the end of the topic. Value is:
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_VIEW% SL http-equiv meta tags for view, rdiff, attach, search* scripts.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_EDIT% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for edit script.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_PREVIEW% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for preview script.
%DENYWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%FINALPREFERENCES% SL , WL List of preferences that are not allowed to be overridden by next level preferences

Note: There are some more useful variables defined in the TWikiPreferences like %BR% for line break, colors like %RED% for colored text and small icons like %H% for a HELP Help icon.

Setting Preferences

  • The syntax for Preferences Variables is the same anywhere in TWiki (on its own TWiki bullet line, including nested bullets):
    [multiple of 3 spaces] * [space] Set [space] VARIABLENAME [space] = [value]
    Examples:
  • Set VARIABLENAME = value
    • Set VARIABLENAME = value

Creating Custom Variables

  • You can add your own Preference Variables for us across an entire site or a single web, using the standard Preferences syntax. Whatever you include in your Variable will be expanded on display, exactly as if it had been entered directly. You can place formatted text, page links, image paths.

Example: Create a custom logo variable the TWiki web
  • To place a logo anywhere in a web by typing %MYLOGO%, define the Variable on the web's WebPreferences page, and upload a logo file, ex: mylogo.gif. You can upload by attaching the file to WebPreferences, or, to avoid clutter, to any other topic in the same web, ex: LogoTopic:
    • Set MYLOGO = %PUBURL%/TWiki/LogoTopic/mylogo.gif

-- PeterThoeny - 19 Jan 2003
-- MikeMannix - 12 May 2002

>
>

TWiki Variables

Special text strings expand on the fly to display user data or system info

TWikiVariables are text strings - %VARIABLE% - that expand into content whenever a page is opened. When a topic is rendered for viewing, VARIABLES are replaced by data, either user-entered, or info automatically generated by TWiki (like the date, or the current username). There are predefined variables, and Preference variables that you configure. You can also define custom variables, with new names and values.

Predefined Variables

Most predefined variables return values that were either set in the lib/twiki.cfg file, when TWiki was installed, or taken from server info (like current username, or date and time). Many of the variables let you format the appearance of the display results.

  • TIP Take the time to thoroughly read through ALL preference variables. If you actively configure your site, review variables periodically. They cover a wide range of functions, and it can be easy to miss the one perfect variable for something you have in mind. For example, see %INCLUDINGTOPIC%, %INCLUDE%, and the mighty %SEARCH%.

This version of TWiki - 01 Feb 2003 - expands the following variables (enclosed in % percent signs):

Variable: Expanded to:
%WIKIHOMEURL% The base script URL of TWiki, is the link of the Home icon in the upper left corner, is http://your.domain.com/twiki
%SCRIPTURL% The script URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin
%SCRIPTURLPATH% The path of the script URL of TWiki, is /cgi-bin
%SCRIPTSUFFIX% The script suffix, ex: .pl, .cgi is
%PUBURL% The public URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub
Example: You can refer to a file attached to another topic as %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/image.gif
%PUBURLPATH% The path of the public URL of TWiki, is /twiki/pub
%ATTACHURL% The attachment URL of the current topic, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
Example: If you attach a file you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif
%ATTACHURLPATH% The path of the attachment URL of the current topic, is /twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Returns the value of a URL parameter. Note that there is a low risk that this variable could be misused for cross-scripting. Ex: %URLPARAM{"skin"}% returns print for a .../view/TWiki/TWikiVariables?skin=print URL. Is
%URLENCODE{"string"}% Encodes a string for use as a URL parameter. Ex: %URLENCODE{"spaced name"}% returns spaced%20name
%WIKITOOLNAME% The name of your TWiki site - TWiki
%WIKIVERSION% Your current TWiki version - 01 Feb 2003
%USERNAME% Your login username - guest
%WIKINAME% Your Wiki username. Same as %USERNAME% if not defined in the TWikiUsers topic. Is TWikiGuest
%WIKIUSERNAME% Your %WIKINAME% including the Main web name - always use full signatures - Main.TWikiGuest
%MAINWEB% The web containing TWikiUsers, OfficeLocations and TWikiGroups is Main
%TWIKIWEB% The web containing all documentation and site-wide preference settings for TWiki - TWiki
%WEB% The current web is TWiki
%BASEWEB% The web name where the includes started, e.g. the web of the first topic of nested includes. Same as %WEB% in case there is no include.
%INCLUDINGWEB% The web name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %WEB% if there is no INCLUDE.
%HOMETOPIC% The home topic in each web - WebHome
%NOTIFYTOPIC% The notify topic in each web - WebNotify
%WIKIUSERSTOPIC% The index topic of all registered users - TWikiUsers
%WIKIPREFSTOPIC% The site-wide preferences topic - TWikiPreferences
%WEBPREFSTOPIC% The local web preferences topic in each web - WebPreferences
%STATISTICSTOPIC% The web statistics topic WebStatistics
%TOPIC% The current topic name - TWikiVariables
%BASETOPIC% The name of the topic where a single or nested INCLUDE started - same as %TOPIC% if there is no INCLUDE.
%INCLUDINGTOPIC% The name of the topic that includes the current topic. Same as %TOPIC% in case there is no include.
%SPACEDTOPIC% The current topic name with added spaces, for regular expression search of Ref-By, is TWiki%20*Variables
%TOPICLIST{"format"}% Topic index of a web. The "format" defines the format of one topic item. It may include variables: The $name variable gets expanded to the topic name; the $web variable gets expanded to the name of the web. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name and $web variables "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
web="Name" Name of web Current web
Examples:
%TOPICLIST{"   * $web.$name"}% creates a bullet list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{separator=", "}% creates a comma separated list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{" <option>$name</option>"}% creates an option list (for drop down menus).
%WEBLIST{"format"}% Web index, ex: list of all webs. Hidden webs are excluded, e.g. webs with a NOSEARCHALL=on preference variable. The "format" defines the format of one web item. The $name variable gets expanded to the name of the web, $qname gets expanded to double quoted name, $marker to marker where web matches selection. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name variable "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
webs="public" comma sep list of Web, public expands to all non-hidden "public"
marker="selected" Text for $marker where item matches selection, otherwise equals "" "selected"
selection="%WEB%" Current value to be selected in list section="%WEB%"
Examples:
%WEBLIST{"   * [[$name.WebHome]]"}% creates a bullet list of all webs.
%WEBLIST{"<option $marker value=$qname>$name</option>" webs="Trash,public" selection="TWiki" separator=" "}% Dropdown of all public Webs + Trash Web, current Web highlighted.
%GMTIME% GM time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:31 2025
%GMTIME{"format"}% Formatted GM time based on time variables.
Variable: Unit: Example
$seconds seconds 59
$minutes minutes 59
$hours hours 23
$day day of month 31
$month month in ISO format Dec
$mo 2 digit month 12
$year 4 digit year 1999
$ye 2 digit year 99
Variables can be shortened to 3 characters. Example:
%GMTIME{"$day $month, $year - $hour:$min:$sec"}% is
22 Jan, 2025 - 13:45:31
%SERVERTIME% Server time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:31 2025
%SERVERTIME{"format"}% Formatted server time.
Example: %SERVERTIME{"$hou:$min"}% is 13:45
%HTTP_HOST% HTTP_HOST environment variable, is qtella.sourceforge.net
%REMOTE_ADDR% REMOTE_ADDR environment variable, is 127.0.0.1
%REMOTE_PORT% REMOTE_PORT environment variable, is 41546
%REMOTE_USER% REMOTE_USER environment variable, is
%INCLUDE{"page" ...}% Server side include to IncludeTopicsAndWebPages:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"SomeTopic" The name of a topic located in the current web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"WebNotify"}%  
"Web.Topic" A topic in another web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"TWiki.SiteMap"}%  
"http://..." A full qualified URL, i.e. %INCLUDE{"http://twiki.org/"}%  
pattern="..." A RegularExpression pattern to include a subset of a topic or page none
rev="1.2" Include a previous topic revision; N/A for URLs top revision
%STARTINCLUDE% If present in included topic, start to include text from this location up to the end, or up to the location of the %STOPINCLUDE% variable. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STARTINCLUDE% variable itself.
%STOPINCLUDE% If present in included topic, stop to include text at this location and ignore the remaining text. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STOPINCLUDE% variable itself.
%TOC% Table of Contents of current topic.
%TOC{"SomeTopic" ...}% Table of Contents. Shows a TOC that is generated automatically based on headings of a topic. Headings in WikiSyntax ("---++ text") and HTML ("<h2>text</h2>") are taken into account. Any heading text after "!!" is excluded from the TOC; for example, write "---+!! text" if you do not want to list a header in the TOC. Parameters are topic name, web and depth:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"TopicName" topic name Current topic
web="Name" Name of web Current web
depth="2" Limit depth of headings shown in TOC 6
Examples: %TOC{depth="2"}%, %TOC{"TWikiDocumentation" web="TWiki"}%
%SEARCH{"text" ...}% Inline search, shows a search result embedded in a topic. Parameters are the search term, web, scope, order and many more: [1]
Parameter: Description: Default:
"text" Search term. Is a regular expression or literal, depending on the regex parameter. For regular expressions ";" is used to mean and e.g. "search;agrep" will find all topic containing search and agrep. required
search="text" (Alternative to above) N/A
web="Name"
web="Main Know"
web="all"
Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. [2] Current web
scope="topic"
scope="text"
Search topic name (title) or in the text (body) of the topic Topic text (body)
order="topic"
order="modified"
order="editby"
order=
 "formfield(name)"
Sort the results of search by the topic names, last modified time, last editor, or named field of TWikiForms Sort by topic name
limit="all"
limit="16"
Limit the number of results returned All results
regex="on" RegularExpression search; also enables ";" as and Literal search
reverse="on" Reverse the direction of the search Ascending search
casesensitive="on" Case sensitive search Ignore case
nosummary="on" Show topic title only Show topic summary
bookview="on" BookView search, e.g. show complete topic text Show topic summary
nosearch="on" Suppress search string Show search string
noheader="on" Suppress search header
Topics: Changed: By:
Show search header
nototal="on" Do not show number of topics found Show number
header="..."
format="..."
Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples Results in table
Regular example: %SEARCH{"wiki" web="Main" scope="topic"}%
Formatted example: %SEARCH{"FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="| *Topic: * | *Summary: * |" format="| $topic | $summary |"% (displays results in a table with header - details)
HELP If the TWiki:Plugins.TablePlugin is installed, you may set a %TABLE{}% variable just before the %SEARCH{}% to alter the output of a search. Example: %TABLE{ tablewidth="90%" }%
%METASEARCH{...}% Special search of meta data
Parameter: Description: Default:
type="topicmoved" What sort of search is required?
"topicmoved" if search for a topic that may have been moved
"parent" if searching for topics that have a specific parent i.e. its children
required
web="%WEB%" Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. required
topic="%TOPIC%" The topic the search relates to required
title="Title" Text that is prepended to any search results required
Example: %METASEARCH{type="topicmoved" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="This topic used to exist and was moved to: "}%, you may want to use this in WebTopicViewTemplate and WebTopicNonWikiTemplate
%METASEARCH{type="parent" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="Children: "}%
%VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}% Get a preference value from a web other then the current one. Example: To get %WEBBGCOLOR% of the Main web write %VAR{"WEBBGCOLOR" web="Main"}%, is #FFFFC0

[1] Note: The search form uses identical names for input fields.

[2] Note: A web can be excluded from a web="all" search if you define a NOSEARCHALL=on variable in its WebPreferences.

Preferences Variables

Additional variables are defined in the preferences ( site-level ( SL ) in TWikiPreferences, web-level ( WL ) in WebPreferences of each web, and user level ( UL ) preferences in individual user topics):

Variable: Level: What:
%WIKIWEBMASTER% SL Webmaster email address (sender of email notifications) , is webmaster@your.company
%WIKIWEBLIST% SL List of TWiki webs (in upper right corner of topics)
%WEBTOPICLIST% WL Common links of web (second line of topics)
%WEBCOPYRIGHT% SL , WL Copyright notice (bottom right corner of topics)
%WEBBGCOLOR% WL Background color of web
%NOSEARCHALL% WL Exclude web from a web="all" search (set variable to on for hidden webs)
%NEWTOPICBGCOLOR% SL , UL Background color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%NEWTOPICFONTCOLOR% SL , UL Font color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%EDITBOXWIDTH% SL , UL Horizontal size of edit box, is 70
%EDITBOXHEIGHT% SL , UL Vertical size of edit box, is 17
%RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Release edit lock" (UnlockTopic) check box in preview. Checkbox is initially checked if Set RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. If checked, make sure to click on Edit to do more changes; do not go back in your browser to the edit page, or you risk that someone else will edit the topic at the same time! Value is:
%DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Minor Changes, Don't Notify" (DontNotify) check box in preview. Check box is initially checked if Set DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. Value is:
%ATTACHLINKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the link check box in the attach file page. Check box is initially checked if value is set to CHECKED , unchecked if empty. If checked, a link is created to the attached file at the end of the topic. Value is:
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_VIEW% SL http-equiv meta tags for view, rdiff, attach, search* scripts.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_EDIT% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for edit script.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_PREVIEW% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for preview script.
%DENYWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%FINALPREFERENCES% SL , WL List of preferences that are not allowed to be overridden by next level preferences

Note: There are some more useful variables defined in the TWikiPreferences like %BR% for line break, colors like %RED% for colored text and small icons like %H% for a HELP Help icon.

Setting Preferences

  • The syntax for Preferences Variables is the same anywhere in TWiki (on its own TWiki bullet line, including nested bullets):
    [multiple of 3 spaces] * [space] Set [space] VARIABLENAME [space] = [value]
    Examples:
  • Set VARIABLENAME = value
    • Set VARIABLENAME = value

Creating Custom Variables

  • You can add your own Preference Variables for us across an entire site or a single web, using the standard Preferences syntax. Whatever you include in your Variable will be expanded on display, exactly as if it had been entered directly. You can place formatted text, page links, image paths.

Example: Create a custom logo variable the TWiki web
  • To place a logo anywhere in a web by typing %MYLOGO%, define the Variable on the web's WebPreferences page, and upload a logo file, ex: mylogo.gif. You can upload by attaching the file to WebPreferences, or, to avoid clutter, to any other topic in the same web, ex: LogoTopic:
    • Set MYLOGO = %PUBURL%/TWiki/LogoTopic/mylogo.gif

-- PeterThoeny - 19 Jan 2003
-- MikeMannix - 12 May 2002


 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.2 - 23 Jun 1999 - PeterThoeny)
Changed:
<
<

  • words get bold by enclosing it with * asterisks
  • words get italic by enclosing it with _ underscores
  • words get showns in fixed font by enclosing it with = equal signs
>
>

  • Words get bold by enclosing them with * asterisks
  • Words get italic by enclosing them with _ underscores
  • Words get bold italic by enclosing them with __ two underscores
  • Words get showns in fixed font by enclosing it with = equal signs
  • Notes for bold , italic , bold italic and fixed font text:
    • Make sure to "stick" the * _ = signs to the characters, e.g.
      • This works
      • _This does not get italic because there is a space between the last word and the underline character _
    • Example text to enter:
      • Writing *bold text* , _italic text_ and =fixed== monospaced text
    • Example text gets rendered as:
      • Writing bold text , italic text and fixed= monospaced text

 <<O>>  Difference Topic TextFormattingRules (r1.1 - 13 Jun 1999 - PeterThoeny)
Added:
>
>

It is easy to collaborate, just type your text. You don't need to know HTML at all, though you can use it if you prefer. Links to topics will be created automatically as long as you follow these simple Text Formatting Rules. TextFormattingFAQ has answers to frequently asked questions about text formatting.

LINKS

The Collaborative Work Area is a bunch of related links that are editable through your web browser.

The TWiki web has the following types of internal links:

  • GoodStyle is a topic that is part of the current TWiki web.
  • NotExistingYet? is a topic waiting to be written. You could create that topic by clicking on the question mark. (Do not create that topic, you would wreck this example!)
  • ReadmeFirst is a topic in a different TWiki web. (You write it as Web.TopicName , but it will show up as TopicName )

External links:

  • http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.
  • Email addresses like name@domain.com are linked automatically.

EDITING

  • CapitalizedWordsWillProduce? a link automatically.
  • Blank lines will create new paragraphs.
  • words get bold by enclosing it with * asterisks
  • words get italic by enclosing it with _ underscores
  • words get showns in fixed font by enclosing it with = equal signs
  • Separator: -------- (at the beginning of a line)
  • List Item: <3spaces>*
  • Nested Item: <6spaces>*
  • Ordered List: <3spaces><number>.
  • Definition: <3spaces><term>:<definition>.

EXTRAS

WIKI VARIABLES

TWiki Variables

Special text strings expand on the fly to display user data or system info

TWikiVariables are text strings - %VARIABLE% - that expand into content whenever a page is opened. When a topic is rendered for viewing, VARIABLES are replaced by data, either user-entered, or info automatically generated by TWiki (like the date, or the current username). There are predefined variables, and Preference variables that you configure. You can also define custom variables, with new names and values.

Predefined Variables

Most predefined variables return values that were either set in the lib/twiki.cfg file, when TWiki was installed, or taken from server info (like current username, or date and time). Many of the variables let you format the appearance of the display results.

  • TIP Take the time to thoroughly read through ALL preference variables. If you actively configure your site, review variables periodically. They cover a wide range of functions, and it can be easy to miss the one perfect variable for something you have in mind. For example, see %INCLUDINGTOPIC%, %INCLUDE%, and the mighty %SEARCH%.

This version of TWiki - 01 Feb 2003 - expands the following variables (enclosed in % percent signs):

Variable: Expanded to:
%WIKIHOMEURL% The base script URL of TWiki, is the link of the Home icon in the upper left corner, is http://your.domain.com/twiki
%SCRIPTURL% The script URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin
%SCRIPTURLPATH% The path of the script URL of TWiki, is /cgi-bin
%SCRIPTSUFFIX% The script suffix, ex: .pl, .cgi is
%PUBURL% The public URL of TWiki, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub
Example: You can refer to a file attached to another topic as %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/image.gif
%PUBURLPATH% The path of the public URL of TWiki, is /twiki/pub
%ATTACHURL% The attachment URL of the current topic, is http://qtella.sourceforge.net/twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
Example: If you attach a file you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif
%ATTACHURLPATH% The path of the attachment URL of the current topic, is /twiki/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
%URLPARAM{"name"}% Returns the value of a URL parameter. Note that there is a low risk that this variable could be misused for cross-scripting. Ex: %URLPARAM{"skin"}% returns print for a .../view/TWiki/TWikiVariables?skin=print URL. Is
%URLENCODE{"string"}% Encodes a string for use as a URL parameter. Ex: %URLENCODE{"spaced name"}% returns spaced%20name
%WIKITOOLNAME% The name of your TWiki site - TWiki
%WIKIVERSION% Your current TWiki version - 01 Feb 2003
%USERNAME% Your login username - guest
%WIKINAME% Your Wiki username. Same as %USERNAME% if not defined in the TWikiUsers topic. Is TWikiGuest
%WIKIUSERNAME% Your %WIKINAME% including the Main web name - always use full signatures - Main.TWikiGuest
%MAINWEB% The web containing TWikiUsers, OfficeLocations and TWikiGroups is Main
%TWIKIWEB% The web containing all documentation and site-wide preference settings for TWiki - TWiki
%WEB% The current web is TWiki
%BASEWEB% The web name where the includes started, e.g. the web of the first topic of nested includes. Same as %WEB% in case there is no include.
%INCLUDINGWEB% The web name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %WEB% if there is no INCLUDE.
%HOMETOPIC% The home topic in each web - WebHome
%NOTIFYTOPIC% The notify topic in each web - WebNotify
%WIKIUSERSTOPIC% The index topic of all registered users - TWikiUsers
%WIKIPREFSTOPIC% The site-wide preferences topic - TWikiPreferences
%WEBPREFSTOPIC% The local web preferences topic in each web - WebPreferences
%STATISTICSTOPIC% The web statistics topic WebStatistics
%TOPIC% The current topic name - TWikiVariables
%BASETOPIC% The name of the topic where a single or nested INCLUDE started - same as %TOPIC% if there is no INCLUDE.
%INCLUDINGTOPIC% The name of the topic that includes the current topic. Same as %TOPIC% in case there is no include.
%SPACEDTOPIC% The current topic name with added spaces, for regular expression search of Ref-By, is TWiki%20*Variables
%TOPICLIST{"format"}% Topic index of a web. The "format" defines the format of one topic item. It may include variables: The $name variable gets expanded to the topic name; the $web variable gets expanded to the name of the web. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name and $web variables "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
web="Name" Name of web Current web
Examples:
%TOPICLIST{"   * $web.$name"}% creates a bullet list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{separator=", "}% creates a comma separated list of all topics.
%TOPICLIST{" <option>$name</option>"}% creates an option list (for drop down menus).
%WEBLIST{"format"}% Web index, ex: list of all webs. Hidden webs are excluded, e.g. webs with a NOSEARCHALL=on preference variable. The "format" defines the format of one web item. The $name variable gets expanded to the name of the web, $qname gets expanded to double quoted name, $marker to marker where web matches selection. Parameters are format, separator and web:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"format" Format of one line, may include $name variable "$name"
format="format" (Alternative to above) "$name"
separator=", " line separator "\n" (new line)
webs="public" comma sep list of Web, public expands to all non-hidden "public"
marker="selected" Text for $marker where item matches selection, otherwise equals "" "selected"
selection="%WEB%" Current value to be selected in list section="%WEB%"
Examples:
%WEBLIST{"   * [[$name.WebHome]]"}% creates a bullet list of all webs.
%WEBLIST{"<option $marker value=$qname>$name</option>" webs="Trash,public" selection="TWiki" separator=" "}% Dropdown of all public Webs + Trash Web, current Web highlighted.
%GMTIME% GM time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:32 2025
%GMTIME{"format"}% Formatted GM time based on time variables.
Variable: Unit: Example
$seconds seconds 59
$minutes minutes 59
$hours hours 23
$day day of month 31
$month month in ISO format Dec
$mo 2 digit month 12
$year 4 digit year 1999
$ye 2 digit year 99
Variables can be shortened to 3 characters. Example:
%GMTIME{"$day $month, $year - $hour:$min:$sec"}% is
22 Jan, 2025 - 13:45:32
%SERVERTIME% Server time, is Wed Jan 22 13:45:32 2025
%SERVERTIME{"format"}% Formatted server time.
Example: %SERVERTIME{"$hou:$min"}% is 13:45
%HTTP_HOST% HTTP_HOST environment variable, is qtella.sourceforge.net
%REMOTE_ADDR% REMOTE_ADDR environment variable, is 127.0.0.1
%REMOTE_PORT% REMOTE_PORT environment variable, is 41546
%REMOTE_USER% REMOTE_USER environment variable, is
%INCLUDE{"page" ...}% Server side include to IncludeTopicsAndWebPages:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"SomeTopic" The name of a topic located in the current web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"WebNotify"}%  
"Web.Topic" A topic in another web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"TWiki.SiteMap"}%  
"http://..." A full qualified URL, i.e. %INCLUDE{"http://twiki.org/"}%  
pattern="..." A RegularExpression pattern to include a subset of a topic or page none
rev="1.2" Include a previous topic revision; N/A for URLs top revision
%STARTINCLUDE% If present in included topic, start to include text from this location up to the end, or up to the location of the %STOPINCLUDE% variable. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STARTINCLUDE% variable itself.
%STOPINCLUDE% If present in included topic, stop to include text at this location and ignore the remaining text. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STOPINCLUDE% variable itself.
%TOC% Table of Contents of current topic.
%TOC{"SomeTopic" ...}% Table of Contents. Shows a TOC that is generated automatically based on headings of a topic. Headings in WikiSyntax ("---++ text") and HTML ("<h2>text</h2>") are taken into account. Any heading text after "!!" is excluded from the TOC; for example, write "---+!! text" if you do not want to list a header in the TOC. Parameters are topic name, web and depth:
Parameter: Description: Default:
"TopicName" topic name Current topic
web="Name" Name of web Current web
depth="2" Limit depth of headings shown in TOC 6
Examples: %TOC{depth="2"}%, %TOC{"TWikiDocumentation" web="TWiki"}%
%SEARCH{"text" ...}% Inline search, shows a search result embedded in a topic. Parameters are the search term, web, scope, order and many more: [1]
Parameter: Description: Default:
"text" Search term. Is a regular expression or literal, depending on the regex parameter. For regular expressions ";" is used to mean and e.g. "search;agrep" will find all topic containing search and agrep. required
search="text" (Alternative to above) N/A
web="Name"
web="Main Know"
web="all"
Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. [2] Current web
scope="topic"
scope="text"
Search topic name (title) or in the text (body) of the topic Topic text (body)
order="topic"
order="modified"
order="editby"
order=
 "formfield(name)"
Sort the results of search by the topic names, last modified time, last editor, or named field of TWikiForms Sort by topic name
limit="all"
limit="16"
Limit the number of results returned All results
regex="on" RegularExpression search; also enables ";" as and Literal search
reverse="on" Reverse the direction of the search Ascending search
casesensitive="on" Case sensitive search Ignore case
nosummary="on" Show topic title only Show topic summary
bookview="on" BookView search, e.g. show complete topic text Show topic summary
nosearch="on" Suppress search string Show search string
noheader="on" Suppress search header
Topics: Changed: By:
Show search header
nototal="on" Do not show number of topics found Show number
header="..."
format="..."
Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples Results in table
Regular example: %SEARCH{"wiki" web="Main" scope="topic"}%
Formatted example: %SEARCH{"FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="| *Topic: * | *Summary: * |" format="| $topic | $summary |"% (displays results in a table with header - details)
HELP If the TWiki:Plugins.TablePlugin is installed, you may set a %TABLE{}% variable just before the %SEARCH{}% to alter the output of a search. Example: %TABLE{ tablewidth="90%" }%
%METASEARCH{...}% Special search of meta data
Parameter: Description: Default:
type="topicmoved" What sort of search is required?
"topicmoved" if search for a topic that may have been moved
"parent" if searching for topics that have a specific parent i.e. its children
required
web="%WEB%" Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs. required
topic="%TOPIC%" The topic the search relates to required
title="Title" Text that is prepended to any search results required
Example: %METASEARCH{type="topicmoved" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="This topic used to exist and was moved to: "}%, you may want to use this in WebTopicViewTemplate and WebTopicNonWikiTemplate
%METASEARCH{type="parent" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="Children: "}%
%VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}% Get a preference value from a web other then the current one. Example: To get %WEBBGCOLOR% of the Main web write %VAR{"WEBBGCOLOR" web="Main"}%, is #FFFFC0

[1] Note: The search form uses identical names for input fields.

[2] Note: A web can be excluded from a web="all" search if you define a NOSEARCHALL=on variable in its WebPreferences.

Preferences Variables

Additional variables are defined in the preferences ( site-level ( SL ) in TWikiPreferences, web-level ( WL ) in WebPreferences of each web, and user level ( UL ) preferences in individual user topics):

Variable: Level: What:
%WIKIWEBMASTER% SL Webmaster email address (sender of email notifications) , is webmaster@your.company
%WIKIWEBLIST% SL List of TWiki webs (in upper right corner of topics)
%WEBTOPICLIST% WL Common links of web (second line of topics)
%WEBCOPYRIGHT% SL , WL Copyright notice (bottom right corner of topics)
%WEBBGCOLOR% WL Background color of web
%NOSEARCHALL% WL Exclude web from a web="all" search (set variable to on for hidden webs)
%NEWTOPICBGCOLOR% SL , UL Background color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%NEWTOPICFONTCOLOR% SL , UL Font color of non existing topic. ( UL needs authentication for topic views )
%EDITBOXWIDTH% SL , UL Horizontal size of edit box, is 70
%EDITBOXHEIGHT% SL , UL Vertical size of edit box, is 17
%RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Release edit lock" (UnlockTopic) check box in preview. Checkbox is initially checked if Set RELEASEEDITLOCKCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. If checked, make sure to click on Edit to do more changes; do not go back in your browser to the edit page, or you risk that someone else will edit the topic at the same time! Value is:
%DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the "Minor Changes, Don't Notify" (DontNotify) check box in preview. Check box is initially checked if Set DONTNOTIFYCHECKBOX = checked="checked", or unchecked if empty. Value is:
%ATTACHLINKBOX% SL , UL Default state of the link check box in the attach file page. Check box is initially checked if value is set to CHECKED , unchecked if empty. If checked, a link is created to the attached file at the end of the topic. Value is:
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_VIEW% SL http-equiv meta tags for view, rdiff, attach, search* scripts.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_EDIT% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for edit script.
%HTTP_EQUIV_ON_PREVIEW% SL , UL http-equiv meta tags for preview script.
%DENYWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBCHANGE% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to change topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICCHANGE% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to change the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWWEBRENAME% WL List of users and groups who are allowed to rename topics in the TWiki web. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%DENYTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are not allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%ALLOWTOPICRENAME% (any topic) List of users and groups who are allowed to rename the current topic. (More in TWikiAccessControl)
%FINALPREFERENCES% SL , WL List of preferences that are not allowed to be overridden by next level preferences

Note: There are some more useful variables defined in the TWikiPreferences like %BR% for line break, colors like %RED% for colored text and small icons like %H% for a HELP Help icon.

Setting Preferences

  • The syntax for Preferences Variables is the same anywhere in TWiki (on its own TWiki bullet line, including nested bullets):
    [multiple of 3 spaces] * [space] Set [space] VARIABLENAME [space] = [value]
    Examples:
  • Set VARIABLENAME = value
    • Set VARIABLENAME = value

Creating Custom Variables

  • You can add your own Preference Variables for us across an entire site or a single web, using the standard Preferences syntax. Whatever you include in your Variable will be expanded on display, exactly as if it had been entered directly. You can place formatted text, page links, image paths.

Example: Create a custom logo variable the TWiki web
  • To place a logo anywhere in a web by typing %MYLOGO%, define the Variable on the web's WebPreferences page, and upload a logo file, ex: mylogo.gif. You can upload by attaching the file to WebPreferences, or, to avoid clutter, to any other topic in the same web, ex: LogoTopic:
    • Set MYLOGO = %PUBURL%/TWiki/LogoTopic/mylogo.gif

-- PeterThoeny - 19 Jan 2003
-- MikeMannix - 12 May 2002


Topic TextFormattingRules . { View | Diffs | r1.37 | > | r1.36 | > | r1.35 | More }
Revision r1.1 - 13 Jun 1999 - 07:38 GMT - PeterThoeny
Revision r1.37 - 01 Feb 2003 - 20:47 GMT - PeterThoeny
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