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What is a WikiWord?

A WikiWord consists of two or more words with initial capitals, run together. WikiWords are topic names. A TWiki topic name always has a fixed format: two or more words with initial capitals, run together. Like the name of the current topic: WikiWord. When you type the name of a topic, you create a link to that topic. You type WebHome and on saving the page this becomes WebHome. It's as easy as that.

When you type a WikiWord, you establish a hyperlink. It's as easy as that.

WikiWord linking is easy to use:

  • You don't have to know the full path to where the topic is stored - you just type the name
  • You don't need to write HTML
  • Without HTML, the topic text is easier to read when editing
  • Easy linking leads to interesting texts with links placed in context

WikiWords are styled like this because:

  • It makes Wiki hyperlinks instantly recognizable
  • It leads to interesting Wiki topics
  • It avoids the need to fiddle with HTML tags
  • It avoids over-general topics because at least two words are required

Syntax of a WikiWord

  • Uppercase letter(s)
  • Lowercase letter(s)
  • Uppercase letter(s)
  • Optional lowercase or uppercase letter(s) or number(s)

Good examples of WikiWords

  • WikiWord
  • GoodStyle
  • VersionFiveDotThree?
  • ReleaseVersion5dot3?
  • AVeryLongWikiTopicNameIsAlsoPossible?: wherever an uppercase or lowercase letter is allowed, a group of letters of the same case is allowed
  • YearTwoThousand?

Bad examples of WikiWords:

  • Web: Name without the uppercase letter(s), lowercase letter(s), uppercase letter(s) sequence
  • T5Wiki: Name with number before the uppercase, lowercase, uppercase sequence
  • Md5sumsAfterBurning: Name with number before the uppercase, lowercase, uppercase sequence
  • Know-How: Name with dashes in between

Variations in linking

When you write the name of a topic, it becomes a link. There are more ways

  • To write a custom link label, use bracket notation: [[TWikiAccessControl][access control]] - this becomes: access control
  • To link to a topic in another web, write: Sandbox.WebSearch - this becomes: WebSearch
  • To show the web name in the link use bracket notation: [[Sandbox.WebHome]] - this becomes: Sandbox.WebHome
  • To link to a topic on another Wiki site, use: TWiki:Main/WebHome - this becomes: TWiki:Main/WebHome (sites are defined in the InterwikiPlugin)
  • To link to a part on the same page, write a dash and the name of the header, with spaces replaced by underscores (and ! removed): [[#Good_examples_of_WikiWords]] becomes: #Good_examples_of_WikiWords. You can also link to a part on another page: TWiki.WebHome#Disclaimer becomes: WebHome#Disclaimer.

Hints

  • Insert WikiWords wherever you can. Rich linking helps to make a Wiki successful.
  • Be specific. All topics in a web share one name space. For example, instead of FunctionalSpec write BreadSlicerFunctionalSpec because other projects might also have a functional spec topic.
  • To stop a WikiWord from being turned into a hyperlink, insert an exclamation point immediately before the WikiWord. For example, write !SunOS to get SunOS.
  • Create topics with singular names. Plural WikiWords are automatically linked to the singular topic, i.e. the link WikiWords links to the topic WikiWord.
  • Sometimes you have to be creative to find a good WikiName. Examples:
    • To create a topic about the the Bread Slicer 1.2 product, use BreadSlicer1dot2 or BreadSlicer1pt2, but not BreadSlicer1.2.
    • To create a topic about year 2000, you could go for YearTwoK or YearTwoThousand, but not Year2K or Y2K or Y2000.
  • Turn acronyms into WikiWords, i.e. take FaqIndex for a "FAQ index" topic.
  • It is possible to turn off the auto-linking of WikiWords and to rely only on the bracket notation. See NOAUTOLINK setting in TWikiPreferences#Default_Web_Preferences.
  • ALERT! When linking to a WebHome topic in another web, the link will be rendered as the name of the web, e.g. Sandbox.WebHome becomes Sandbox.

Related Topics: WikiSyntax, TextFormattingRules

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