Common questions relating to using wiki syntax to edit pages
Questions
Answers
Question:
How do I edit an existing protocol?
Answer
Select the 'edit' icon from the top right hand side of the protocol or section you wish to edit.
Alternately, click the button labelled 'EDIT' at the foot of the protocol in question.
This will open an new window in which you can see the protocol text, in wiki format (ie the formatting has been replaced by special symbols amongst the wording). In this editing mode you can add, remove or alter existing text and attachments using TikiWiki syntax, or the editing tool bar.
Note: you must be registered to edit any PrometheusWiki page.
See our Help Tutorial to get you started.
Question:
What kind of markup language does PrometheusWiki use?
Question:
Can I still use HTML?
Answer
No, currently only Admins and Editors have the permission to have HTML enabled.
Question:
How do I learn more about editing?
Question:
Are there any tools to make editing easier?
Answer
Within the editing mode of any given page there is an editing tool bar.
This includes quicklinks and buttons to help with general text formatting including:
bolding, italics etc.
inserting special characters e.g. ±
coloured text
- numbers
links
super and sub scripts.
See the Editing Cheatsheet
as a simple guide to using wiki-syntax.
Question:
I still need more help with the editing process, what do I do?
Answer
If all else fails, please 'Contact Us' (link in the left hand menu bar or link at base of this page) with your intended changes.
Question:
I inserted my text into the protocol submission template but when I clicked ‘Proceed to editing protocol’ it lost all the formatting, what should I do?
Answer
PrometheusWiki pages are formatted using Wiki-syntax, hence formatting details such as indents, numbering systems, bolded text and tables will be lost when raw text from a word document or similar is ‘dumped’ into the template or editing feature. Quicktags are available along the top of the editing box to allow you to reformat your text. See
Wiki syntax text
for more tips and codes to help you with formatting your protocol. Also learn a bit move through our
Help tutorial.
Question:
How do I upload images, documents or other links associated with my protocol?
Answer
Before any images, video files, word documents, pdfs, or other attachments can be inserted into a protocol, they need to be uploaded into the file gallery. This can be done within the editing page, by selecting the quicklink/icon which appears as a stack of polariods and is labeled ‘Add image from file gallery’.
You will be prompted to label the file, fill in a description, and choose which file gallery to save it into.
Once the file has been uploaded, you can return to 'LIST GALLERIES' to select your file for insertion directly into the text.
Note: .tiff files often do not appear intext. The best format for images is .jpeg
Question:
How do I create hyperlinks (links to external webpages) and wikilinks (links to other PrometheusWiki pages) within my protocol?
Answer
In the editing mode of a wiki page, there are two quicktags/editing buttons available in the formatting toolbar – a globe with a chain link (for creating external links)

and a document with a chain link (for creating wikilinks)
Question:
What is the difference between pressing ‘Preview’, ‘Save minor edit’ or ‘Save’ after editing a protocol?
Answer
‘Preview’ allows you to refresh the edit page to include both the editing feature with the raw code, as well as a view of the page as it will appear on the wiki itself. This does not ensure your changes have been saved however.
By pressing ‘Save minor edit’, you leave the editing mode and any edits you have made appear in a refreshed screen image of the protocol.
Until you have completely finished editing and formatting your protocol, it is best to choose to ‘Preview’ or ‘Save minor changes’ rather than the 'Save' button, because pressing ‘Save’ automatically sends your protocol to the responsible editor for assessment. Once you are completely prepared to submit your new protocol, then press 'Save'.
Question:
While editing I accidentally pressed the back button on my browser and lost all the work I had done, is there anything I can do to recover it?
Answer
Even if you had previously previewed the page, unless you had saved it at some point, no, unfortunately there is no way of retrieving your lost work. An alert message should have popped up to warn you that pressing back could lead to the loss of unsaved work.
Question:
How long should a protocol be?
Answer
This is entirely dependent upon the nature of the experiment and how much additional or background information is included. Protocols with multiple parts can be created as separate, but linked protocols (through the creation of wikilinks) if this makes viewing easier.
Question:
How can I work out what other users have changed in an article?
Answer
At the base of each page there is a button labeled ‘HISTORY’.
This provides a record of all the edits that have ever been made to the page. By selecting two protocols, you can choose to ‘Compare’ them, and a list of changes will be displayed.