Editing Help:Contents (section)

===Site Creation===

The following explains how this wiki site was created. The intention is that in the event the site is lost, so long as the text from this page 
is backed-up somewhere, the site could be recreated. Also, just to complete the documentation, I have tried to outline all the steps that 
I took and explanations of parts that I had problems with while developing this site.

*The "wiki" interface of this site was developed by MediaWiki and this software runs in the background, on the server at all times.  It 
is this interface that allows users to edit pages, upload documents, and change a variety of settings, which is all stored in a database
on the server.
*The database that is compatible with MediaWiki is mySQL. This is a standard database that is one of the packages included with the latest
Fedora Core for linux.  This database caused several problems during the development of the first versions of the wiki site, however the 
version mySQL 4.1 has so far not caused any similar problems.
:*It is useful to know that all the data from the site is stored on a mySQL database on the server, however there should be no need to ever
directly access this database, or try to edit or modify it directly.  
:*The one exception to this is for setting up the system operator (sysop) or bureaucrat privileges. (more on this later)

====Install Instructions====

Check out [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_User%27s_Guide:_Installation MediaWiki Installation] 
*Download the latest, stable version of mediawiki from [http://wikipedia.sourceforge.net/| wikipedia.sourcforge].
::The MediaWiki FAQs are '''excellent''', and should provide clear and thorough instructions for downloading and installing the program.
(However here is a quick summary)
*Read the 'Install.txt' file for installation instructions and system requirements.
*The system requirements for the server (which could really be any computer set up appropriately, although '''preferably linux''') are:
:*Apache web server
:*mySQL database
:*PHP-mySQL package
:(If running a new version of Fedora Core, all of these can be installed as packages from the original boot disks).
*Uncompress and untar the mediawiki folder.  It is advised to rename this folder something convenient, like wiki or mediawiki.
*Change the read/write access of the config directory to be readable by all.  This folder contains the php script for the initial configuration.
::<code>chmod a+w config</code>
*The next step is to browse into this folder from an internet browser.  If this is run off of your linux box, you will need to find the folder open to the world 
via http and move the entire mediawiki folder here.  When I did it, it was:
::/var/www/html/
:*Once the folder is there, browse <code><nowiki>http://my_ip_address/mediawiki</nowiki></code>.  The installation script should start and you can now fill in the boxes, 
initializing the site and the database  which will store all the site data.

*The on-screen instructions are rather self-explanatory and after filling in and confirming the necessary information, the site should be created.
*On the new page, the instructions will say to move the 'LocalSettings.php' file into your main mediawik folder and then delete the config directory.
::Once this is done, the 'LocalSettings.php' file now becomes the default script that loads the mainpage of the wiki site.

====LocalSettings.php====

This becomes the most important and useful file to change the apperance and customize the wiki site. Everything else can be done through the interface
of the wiki site itself. Within this file, one can change the navigation bar on the left margin, the logo appearing in the upper left corner, the login restrictions, the name 
of the site, the ability to upload files, the name of the site, the contact information and address of the site administrator, among others.

*Navigation bar - For a detailed explanation on editing the Navigation bar, see [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_FAQ#How_do_I_change_the_contents_of_the_navigation_toolbar.3F MediaWiki Navigation Help]
:Summary:
:*The following array should be moved to LocalSettings, from <code>includes/DefaultSettings.php </code>. It specifies the pages which hold the text to be displayed in the navigation bar and the pages which hold the link of where each navigation bar tab points to. In other words, what appears here, in this array is not necessarily what will appear in the navigation bar; they are pages on the wiki site (or pointers within the database) to where this information is stored.

 $wgNavigationLinks = array (
 	array( 'text'=>'mainpage',	'href'=>'mainpage' ),
 	array( 'text'=>'portal',	'href'=>'portal-url' ),
 	array( 'text'=>'currentevents', 'href'=>'currentevents-url' ),
 	array( 'text'=>'recentchanges', 'href'=>'recentchanges-url' ),
 	array( 'text'=>'randompage',	'href'=>'randompage-url' ),
 	array( 'text'=>'help', 		'href'=>'helppage' ),
 	array( 'text'=>'sitesupport',	'href'=>'sitesupport-url' ),
 );

For example, one line in the navigation array for this site is:
::<code>array( 'text'=>'howto',	'href'=>'howto-url' ) </code>

If this was a new page you wanted to add, you'd have to log in as a SYSOP and then in the
browser URL type <code>bonewiki.ucalgary.ca/~skboyd/wiki/index.php/MediaWiki:howto</code>

*On the wiki site, there is a page <code>..../index.php/MediaWiki:howto</code> which holds the text to be displayed on the navigation bar. The text on this page is:
::<code> How To's</code>

*There's another page on this wiki site, <code>..../index.php/MediaWiki:howto-url</code> which holds the page address of this navigation link's target.
::<code> How To </code>

:*The next step is to add the desired text and target to the pages on the wiki site, that are mentioned in the navigation array.  These will initially be empty pages and must be edited for the navigations to work.


*Logo - This is the picture which appears in the top left corner throughout the site. At all times, this acts as a link returning to the mainpage. To customize this logo, replace the location of the logo picture in the following line of LocalSettings:
::<code>$wgLogo     = "$wgScriptPath/myfavoritepicture.gif";</code>
:(Could use another file type for the image, such as .png).

*Enable File Uploading - To enable file uploading, uncomment the following line, in LocalSettings. 
::<code>$wgDisableUploads   = false;</code>

: - Then change the permissions on the image directory so that it is writable.
::<code>$chmod a+w images </code>