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.

TWiki Editing Shorthand

Formatting Command:	Example: You write:	You get:
Paragraphs: Blank lines will create new paragraphs.	1st paragraph 2nd paragraph	1st paragraph 2nd paragraph
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
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 three 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	Sushi Dim Sum
Definition List: Three spaces, the term, a colon, a space, 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. 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.	| *L* | *C* | *R* | | A2 | 2 | 2 | | A3 | 3 | 3 | | multi span ||| | A4 \ | next \ | next |	L C R A2 2 2 A3 3 3 multi span A4 next next
WikiWord Links: CapitalizedWordsStuckTogether (or WikiWords) will produce a link automatically. Note: In case you want to link to a topic in a different RHUL Physics Department 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 and use anchors.	[[wiki syntax]] [[Public.TWiki users]]	wiki syntax Public.TWiki users
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!]].	[[WikiSyntax][syntax]] [[http://gnu.org][GNU]]	syntax GNU
Anchors: You can define a link reference inside a RHUL Physics Department 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]] [[#MyAnchor][Jump]] #MyAnchor To here	WebHome#NotThere Jump To here
Prevent a Link: Prevent a WikiWord from being linked by prepending it with the <nop> tag.	<nop>SunOS	SunOS

Using HTML

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.

Hyperlinks

Being able to create links without any formatting required is a core TWiki feature, made possible with WikiWords. New TWiki linking rules are a simple extension of the syntax that provide a new set of flexible options.

Internal Links

• GoodStyle is a WikiWord that links to the GoodStyle topic located in the current RHUL Physics Department TWiki web.

• NotExistingYet is a topic waiting to be written. Create the topic by clicking on the ?. (Try clicking, but then, Cancel - creating the topic would wreck this example!)

External Links

• http://..., https://..., ftp://... and mailto:...@... are linked automatically.

• Email addresses like name@domain.com are linked automatically.

• [[Square bracket rules]] let you easily create non-WikiWord links.

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 RHUL Physics Department TWiki web is the default web. Example: %INCLUDE{"TWiki.TWikiWebsTable"}%

• There are many more variables, see TWikiVariables.

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 '<' instead of '<', and '>' instead of '>'.
    Example: Type 'prog <filename>' 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. '©' is the © copyright character. You need to escape '&' to see it as it is, so write '&' instead of '&'.
    Example: Type 'This & that' to get 'This & that'.

TWiki Plugins

Plugins provide additional text formatting capabilities and can extend the functionality of RHUL Physics Department 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:

• SpreadSheetPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30478 (2018-07-16) $): Add spreadsheet calculation like "$SUM( $ABOVE() )" to TWiki tables or anywhere in topic text
• BackupRestorePlugin (2018-07-10, $Rev: 30551 (2018-07-16) $): Administrator utility to backup, restore and upgrade a TWiki site
• BatchUploadPlugin (1.4, $Rev: 17006 (12 Dec 2008) $): Attach multiple files at once by uploading a zip archive
• BeautifierPlugin (2012-12-02, $Rev: 24286 (2012-12-02) $): Highlight and format source code fragments of various languages
• BibliographyPlugin (2011-03-09, $Rev: 20645 (2011-03-09) $): Cite bibliography in one topic and get an automatically created references list
• BibtexPlugin (1.6, $Rev: 19851 (2010-11-15) $): Embeds BibTeX entries in a TWiki page
• BreadCrumbsPlugin (2010-08-01, $Rev: 19303 (2010-08-01) $): A flexible way to display breadcrumbs navigation
• CalendarPlugin (2012-12-03, $Rev: 24315 (2012-12-04) $): Show a monthly calendar with highlighted events
• ChartPlugin (2013-05-23, $Rev: 25974 (2013-05-23) $): Visualize TWiki tables with area charts, bar charts, line graphs, scatter charts and sparklines
• ColorPickerPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30442 (2018-07-16) $): Color picker, packaged for use in TWiki forms and TWiki applications
• CommentPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30530 (2018-07-16) $): Quickly post comments to a page without an edit/preview/save cycle
• CounterPlugin (2010-09-05, $Rev: 19433 (2010-09-04) $): Show a site visit counter in a TWiki topic
• DatabasePlugin (2011-11-11, $Rev: 22417 (2011-11-11) $): Provide access to data in a SQL database
• DatePickerPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30446 (2018-07-16) $): Pop-up calendar with date picker, for use in TWiki forms, HTML forms and TWiki plugins
• EditTablePlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30448 (2018-07-16) $): Edit TWiki tables using edit fields, date pickers and drop down boxes
• EmbedPDFPlugin (2011-05-10, $Rev: 21206 (2011-05-11) $): Embed PDF documents in TWiki pages
• ExcelImportExportPlugin (TWiki, $Rev: 0$): Renders an attached Excel spreadsheet as TWiki table
• FilterPlugin (2010-07-25, $Rev: 19240 (2010-07-25) $): Substitute and extract information from content by using regular expressions
• FlexWebListPlugin (2010-07-25, $Rev: 19261 (2010-07-26) $): Flexible way to display hierarchical weblists
• FlowchartPlugin (2012-12-02, $Rev: 24291 (2012-12-02) $): Create a flowchart from topic text
• FormPlugin (2015-02-25, $Rev: 28764 (2015-02-25) $): Create simple and advanced web forms using TWiki forms
• GaugePlugin (2013-05-16, $Rev: 25944 (2013-05-16) $): Create gauges (graphical or not), typically used for dashboards
• GeoLookupPlugin (2015-01-09, $Rev: 28639 (2015-01-09) $): Lookup geolocation by IP address or domain name
• GluePlugin (2.1, $Rev: 18553 (2010-04-30) $): Enable markup to span multiple lines
• GnuPlotPlugin (2011-03-12, $Rev: 20701 (2011-03-13) $): Allows users to plot data and functions using GnuPlot
• HeadlinesPlugin (2018-07-13, $Rev: 30560 (2018-07-16) $): Show headline news in TWiki pages based on RSS and ATOM news feeds from external sites
• IfDefinedPlugin (v1.1, $Rev: 18548 (2010-04-29) $): Render content conditionally
• ImageGalleryPlugin (2011-07-21i - v3.74, $Rev: 21797 (2011-07-21) $): Show image gallery with auto-generated thumbnails from attachments
• ImagePlugin (2010-08-01, $Rev: 19301 (2010-08-01) $): Control the display and alignment of images using an easy syntax
• InterwikiPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30454 (2018-07-16) $): Write ExternalSite:Page to link to a page on an external site based on aliases defined in a rules topic
• JQueryPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30456 (2018-07-16) $): jQuery JavaScript library for TWiki
• JQueryTwistyPlugin (2010-07-25, $Rev: 19236 (2010-07-25) $): Twisty section JavaScript library to open/close content dynamically
• LatexModePlugin (3.71, $Rev: 16926 (12 Dec 2008) $): Enables LaTeX markup (mathematics and more) in TWiki topics
• LightboxPlugin (2010-11-09, $Rev: 19812 (2010-11-09) $): TWiki hooks to the Lightbox Javascript package for better thumbnail clickthrough
• LocalTimePlugin (2010-12-11, $Rev: 19947 (2010-12-11) $): Show the current date and time of a particular city/timezone.
• ObjectPlugin (2010-08-29, $Rev: 19389 (2010-08-29) $): Embed multi-media Objects into TWiki topics
• PercentCompletePlugin (2015-05-29, $Rev: 29248 (2015-05-29) $): Percent complete selector, for use in TWiki forms and TWiki applications
• PreferencesPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30528 (2018-07-16) $): Allows editing of preferences using fields predefined in a form
• QRCodePlugin (2012-11-14, $Rev: 24045 (2012-11-15) $): Create QR Code (a matrix barcode) in TWiki pages, useful for mobile applications
• RackPlannerPlugin (Dakar, $Rev: 15566 (2010-08-19) $): Render a rack overview (e.g. of 19'' computer racks) with HTML tables
• RecentVisitorPlugin (2011-06-06, $Rev: 21426 (2011-06-06) $): Show recent visitors to a TWiki site
• RedDotPlugin (2010-07-27, $Rev: 21402 (2011-06-04) $): Renders edit-links as little red dots
• RedirectPlugin (2015-12-02, $Rev: 29697 (2015-12-03) $): Create a redirect to another topic or website
• RemoteFileAttachPlugin (2011-01-13, $Rev: 20204 (2011-01-13) $): Download and attach remote files to topics
• RenderListPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30468 (2018-07-16) $): Render bullet lists in a variety of formats
• RevisionLinkPlugin (2.2, $Rev: 19837 (2010-11-10) $): Enable linking to specific topic revisions
• SendEmailPlugin (2013-01-24, $Rev: 25975 (2013-05-28) $): Allows to send e-mails through an e-mail form.
• SendMailPlugin (2016-01-19, $Rev: 29910 (2016-01-20) $): Send e-mail from actions in TWiki topics, useful for workflow automation
• SetGetPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30472 (2018-07-16) $): Set and get variables and JSON objects in topics, optionally persistently across topic views
• ShareMePlugin (2012-12-01, $Rev: 24254 (2012-12-01) $): Icon bar to share a TWiki page on popular social media sites such as Facebook, StumbleUpon, Twitter
• SkillsPlugin (2011-06-04, $Rev: 21404 (2011-06-04) $): Allows users to list their skills, which can then be searched
• SlideShowPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30474 (2018-07-16) $): Create web based presentations based on topics with headings.
• SmiliesPlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30476 (2018-07-16) $): Render smilies as icons, like  :-)  as or  :eek:  as
• SourceHighlightPlugin (2010-08-06, $Rev: 19332 (2010-08-06) $): Highlight and format code fragments using GNU source-highlight
• TWikiDrawPlugin (2013-05-17, $Rev: 25952 (2013-05-17) $): Vector drawing editor and clickable maps for diagrams and workflows
• TWikiSheetPlugin (2018-07-15, $Rev: 30604 (2018-07-16) $): Add TWiki Sheet spreadsheet functionality to TWiki tables
• TablePlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30480 (2018-07-16) $): Control attributes of tables and sorting of table columns
• TagCloudPlugin (2010-07-26, $Rev: 19266 (2010-07-26) $): Renders a tag cloud given a list of terms
• TagMePlugin (2018-07-05, $Rev: 30482 (2018-07-16) $): Tag wiki content collectively or authoritatively to find content by keywords
• TimeSincePlugin (2010-07-27, $Rev: 19277 (2010-07-27) $):
• TimeTablePlugin (Dakar, $Rev: 18182 (2010-08-19) $): Render a weekly timetable
• TinyMCEPlugin (2018-07-10, $Rev: 30541 (2018-07-16) $): Integration of the Tiny MCE WYSIWYG Editor
• TopicCreatePlugin (2014-11-07, $Rev: 28434 (2014-11-07) $): Automatically create a set of topics and attachments at topic save time
• TwistyPlugin (2018-07-06, $Rev: 30497 (2018-07-16) $): Twisty section JavaScript library to open/close content dynamically
• UserInfoPlugin (2010-07-25, $Rev: 19259 (2010-07-25) $): Render information about users on a TWiki site
• VotePlugin (2012-12-10, $Rev: 24404 (2012-12-10) $): Simple way to count votes
• WatchlistPlugin (2018-07-10, $Rev: 30536 (2018-07-16) $): Watch topics of interest and get notified of changes by e-mail
• WebPermissionsPlugin (2013-06-18, $Rev: 26000 (2013-06-18) $): View and edit web permissions
• WysiwygPlugin (2018-07-06, $Rev: 30528 (2018-07-16) $): Translator framework for WYSIWYG editors

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

-- MikeMannix - 30 Aug 2001