Working with images in MediaWiki

If you refer to an image-file in an article make sure that you have the correct settings in your LocalSettings.php, like :

- $wgEnableUploads = true; 

And if you want to use images from the WikiMedia Commons

- $wgUseInstantCommons = true; 

Screenshot of the NT Wiki sofar

I am not going to publish the Wiki yet because not only content is being added daily, I am still working on the structure, i.e. categories and templates, standards and guidelines.

Importing citations into Mediawiki

I like the format of articles in W'pedia so I decided to use the W'pedia format as my standard. When I add an article about a topic or just a theorem / proof it is important to record a reference to a book, journal article or other source. W'pedia has built quite a system for that which is NOT part of a fresh MediaWiki installation.

When you add a snippet like this in your article in W'pedia all formatting for the citation is automatically done.

{{Citation | title=Name of Book }

It is also possible to create a citation template for a book that is often cited like this

{{BK1 Einstein}}

If you want this functionality in your WikiMedia setup then you have to do three things.
* First you have to Export an example page anywhere in W'pedia using 'Export pages' Make sure that you select to copy templates as well. This page creates an XML file.
* Second, you have to import the XML file into your installation using the Import page. You can find this on Special Pages under Page tools.
* Finally you have to install the ParserFunctions extension.

Preview of the OU Math wiki.

How to set up MediaWiki with MathJax on Xampp

There are two mainstream PHP/MySql servers available: XAMPP and WAMP, a third option which I have worked with quite a lot is The Uniform Server. Before you decide on any software package, always check the user forums and how easy / difficult it is to get help when you have run into trouble. Where XAMPP runs on Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris, WAMP and Uniform Server are typical Windows solutions.

This time I selected XAMPP and I used the following checklist to install it How-To: MediaWiki on XAMPP, although you can also use this detailed installation guide.

As a last step you have to add MathJax to MediaWiki. You should do this in two steps. First install MathJax and test if it works in your environment by simpling trying to render some of the pages that come with distribution.

Finally, you have to install the MathJax extension for MediaWiki. This step consists of creating and saving a php file and modifying a settings file. Now MathJax should work in MediaWiki. It did in my case as you can see below.

At this stage you can edit your wiki just on your own computer. In a later stage, you might think of sharing your work with other internet users. You can do this by by exporting your mediawiki database and import it to a hosted mediawiki solution. If you like administrating computers and databases you can build MediaWiki again on some host computer, which are usually equipped with Linux. A step in between is that you give internet users access to your site via Opera Unite WebProxy. I am considering this option myself.

Setting up is something you have to do only once. The administration of a wiki site is minimal, i.e. you have to maintain a backup cycle and be prepared to restore a database.

Most of the work in the creation of a Wiki has to do with adding and maintaining content. To use as much experiences of people who did it before you, reading a book on the subject might help. I have read MediaWiki Administrators Tutorial Guide by Mizanur Rahman, and the Missing Manual:



You will see that there are various other books once you start browsing Amazon.