Project Design

Customize MediaWiki

Customize look

This is in progress but there is still lots of tweaking that needs to happen, especially on administrative pages. I'll keep tweaking as we go, but make a note here if you find something that looks off

Customize Options

I think this thing should be much simpler than Wikipedia so I am going to start by hiding most of the functionality. Make a note if something seems weird or you can't find something you need. There are some functions that are only available to you when you're logged in as admin

Customize Navigation

I'm thinking we'll have a simple homepage that gives links to all the books. Should the home page be static deep linking to the wiki and blog, or should the wiki or blog host this page too

At this point, I would have said this page should be static deep linking to the wiki and blog - both others may have different thoughts. (gh)

Depending on which functionality needs to be included, I may need to rename and rearange the navigation section. This can be done through the wiki itself, for more information see:

www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Interface/Sidebar

Customize editing experience

How about customizing the FCKeditor, for instance can we:

  • Make it load by default? Works for me, let me know if it doesn't work for you.
  • Simplify the toolbar?
  • Make custom formats?
  • Use only preset formats?

Gripes

If you notice anything that looks like it 'works' but you don't like the way it works, make a note of it here.

Can we change the names of the nav links? (I don't know what Page means). Yes we can. I've changed 'Page' to 'Read' and a couple of other things. Mention other obscure language here.

I just made a test book! But I made new pages for each chapter instead of just one page with links at the top to anchors to the different chapters.How are we thinking the content will be displayed - will each chapter be a link to an external site? Or are we importing HTML text from OA repositories into Living Books About Life, so each book is a self-contained unit?

It will be a combination of both (a hybrid approach)? For the most part we have encouraged editors to import HTML text from OA repositories into Living Books About Life. However, for those instances where this is not possible - because of certain licensing restrictions, or because they cannot get the permission to do so - then we have said they can include a link to an external site. We have done this so the books do not consist merely of a collection of links, with a view to ensuring they are 'books' rather than resembling portals. However, we have also said that around the 10 main articles, editors can include a variety of links, sound files, video clips etc. precisely so they books do not become -self-contained units, but are more themselves part of a liquid, living, constantly unfolding network. (gh)

Queries from 20/06/11 am

I've been trying to get to grips with the Help pages but I'm still struggling with a few bits, especially as far as uploading still images and video is concerned.

For still images, I'm not sure where to upload them to? I've found this bit in the Help section but I'm not sure I fully follow? How does 'user upload the file'? And where to? Do we have such a space already?

Before using images in your page, the system administrator of your wiki must have Template:Mediawiki and a user has to upload the file. System administrators may also set the wiki to accept files from Template:Mediawiki, such as the Wikimedia Commons. For server side image resizing it is necessary to have a scaler configured (such as GD2, ImageMagick, etc.).

I couldn't find anything about video or sound files in the Help pages...? (I've read on the actual WikiMedia help site that one of the open-source plug-ins needs to be installed for video...?)

Also - this issue is still giving us trouble: - How do editors add a link to a word in a continuous text, without adding a large gap either side of the linked word, which is what I'm getting at the moment? (See "edited by Joanna Zylinska", with large gaps on both sides of “Joanna Zylinska” in my newly edited Bioethics book)

We've spent the day playing with the wiki; see our queries below

**Queries about editing the wiki** - While editing a page and trying to save it, the following text appears at times: “Someone else has changed this page while you were working on it... Your changes appear below. You will need to merge the two.” But no one else seems to have been editing anything - but this ‘double-editing’ really mangles things up.

I'll look into it --Admin 00:51, 20 June 2011 (PDT)

-What is the 'garyhall'/’Joanna’ page - top right hand corner of the home page - for? (I'm just wondering what to put on it?)

Your bio or whatever else you'd like. --Admin 00:51, 20 June 2011 (PDT)

- We need to add editing instructions (With this wiki tool, why are we writing our own editing instructions? Does it not already come with some?)

I thought we we're going to do videos for help, no? In the meantime I've imported the help contents from the mediawiki site, so try the help link t the top of the page again. As I've simplified the number of options not all of it is relevant or exactly the same, but it should answer your questions below. --Admin 01:05, 20 June 2011 (PDT)

- How do editors add a new page - and link to that new page?

- How do editors add a link to a word in a continuous text? (Rather: how do they do it without adding a large gap either side of the linked word, which is what I'm getting at the moment --see edited by Joanna Zylinska, with large gaps on both sides of “Joanna Zylinska” in my newly edited Bioethics book)

- How do we embed video files? / sound files? [Does a plug-in need to be installed?] Still images? [There’s a button for it but I’m not sure where the images need to be stored?]

- How to increase/decrease font size?

You can change the font size with the browser, but there is no built-in function that provides the user a button if that's what you mean. If you'd like the default size to be different or san serif etc. let me know and I'll jigger the styles. --Admin 01:05, 20 June 2011 (PDT)

**Look of the LiviBL site**

- Logo on top? Do we want one? Maybe Pete / David could design?

I'm thinking we'll have a simple homepage that gives links to all the books. Should this page be static deep linking to the wiki and blog, or should the wiki or blog host this page too? [DO]

JZ: Home page: brief description, one sexy image designed by Pete that will represent the books, OHP logo, JISC logo, Gold logo, Cov logo, Kent logo, link to wiki [i.e. to ‘Books’] and blog

I snarfed the JISC logo off the web but the Uni are tricky as they aren't on white. Can you get them form your marketing depts? --Admin 01:05, 20 June 2011 (PDT)

Books page: 20+ thumbnails/topics, each linking to individual book Pete will design book covers/images [need to discuss if we need/want large images or only thumbnails, depending on how we’re using the books]

Each book will have a theme [JZ: Bioethics] and a title [LifeTM: Bioethics, Biopolitics, Bioeconomics]

We already have a list of themes and editors (enclosed at the bottom of this sheet) so we can design their page placeholders for them

How do we want to include content: via links or into the wiki? Is there any point in doing the latter? Can we create pdf books?

GH: It will be a combination of both (a hybrid approach)? For the most part we have encouraged editors to import HTML text from OA repositories into Living Books About Life. However, for those instances where this is not possible - because of certain licensing restrictions, or because they cannot get the permission to do so - then we have said they can include a link to an external site. We have done this so the books do not consist merely of a collection of links, with a view to ensuring they are 'books' rather than resembling portals. However, we have also said that around the 10 main articles, editors can include a variety of links, sound files, video clips etc. precisely so the books do not become -self-contained units, but are more themselves part of a liquid, living, constantly unfolding network.

JZ: yes, but how feasible is the above? We need to Skype with DO to talk about the look/format of the actual books and about what’s practical/doable.

Do we need a separate page with editors’ bios, with editors’ names linking to them? Or we can just link to people’s external sites?