Help:Contents
From Wilmott Wiki
WilmottWiki is a Quantitative Finance reference written by its users. Any member of wilmott.com can edit WilmottWiki, and its contents are free and open. The following article explains the basics of how to participate. For more in-depth information, see the See also section.
WilmottWiki is a wiki-based site, using the same software that runs Wikipedia. However, it is not a part of Wikipedia, but rather, a site created by Quantitative Finance professionals and academics, for those who are curious or beginning to discover Quantitative Finance.
As such, it is a collaborative venture. Every member can edit existing material, or add new information. This is not a typical website where "someone" is presenting information. Instead, this site allows all members to update the content and participate in the growth. The goal is to create a resource where information has been collectively brought together from people all around the world.
Contents |
Navigation
To navigate, you might want to start with the Key Pages available on the Main Page. Simply browse any page of interest and follow the blue links. You can also view the list of all written articles. There is also a Search box on the left-hand side navigation bar to find something in particular.
Why are there red and blue links? What's the difference?
You'll notice that some links are red, and some are blue. Blue links indicate a page that currently exists with user contributions on it. A red link indicates a placeholder page, a page that "should" exist, but no content has been entered into it yet. Clicking on a red link takes you directly into edit mode for the placeholder page. It's ready for someone to contribute to it. To edit a page, you must be a member. Membership is free.
Becoming a Member
The first step is to register a WilmottWiki account. Just click the "Register" link in the top right of any page. Once registered, you will be able to make modifications to most pages. Please take care in your alterations, as they are live pages.
Your "username", and "my talk" links at the top of the page
Once you are a member, you will notice two icons at the top of every page, your "username", and "mytalk".
username: If you click it, you will be prompted to create a page about yourself. Tell us about yourself and your interests. List your research interests and publications.
my talk: This is your public message board. There are no private pages on WilmottWiki, so please remember when leaving messages that everyone can see them. On your "my talk" page, other members can leave you notes, just as you can leave notes for others on their "my talk" page.
Recent changes
Also on the left of the screen under "navigation" you will find the Recent Changes page. This is a history of every edit that has occured on WilmottWiki. You can check there to see what's new, and who is contributing.
Watching pages
You can also "watch" a page, and be alerted via email (if you have set up email in your preferences) whenever a change occurs to the page. Just click the "watch" tab on the top of any page to watch it.
Page Discussion
Just like every user has their own "my chat" area, each page does as well. You can leave comments in the "discussion" tab, sign it if you wish, and others will be able to add new comments about the content and have a discussion about what might improve the page.
Signing
When leaving message in "my chat" or on a page's "discussion" area, you can type four tildes (~~~~) to have the system automatically insert your username (with a link to your user page) and time you entered the message. Like this: WilmottWikiSysop 15:43, 10 October 2006 (CDT) (three tildes ~~~ inserts only your username with a link, not the time).
How to edit an existing page
Most pages have an "edit" tab at the top of the page that allows members to update, delete, or add content. Some pages have been locked for organizational purposes, in that case you will see a "view source" tab instead.
To edit a page, just click on the "edit" tab, make your modifications, click the "Show preview" button at the bottom of the page to check your edits, and when you are ready, click the "Save page" button to save your edits to the page.
Formatting your code
You'll see that pages have formatting, such as words in italic or bold, sub-headings, images, and other formatting that give each page its special look.
There are two ways to code your text. The first is to simply know some of the code. The second is that as you edit, you'll see above the edit box a series of buttons. In edit mode, moving your cursor over these will both describe their function, and show the code.
Here are a few formatting codes to help. For even more codes, please visit this page.
Links
External websites use: [URL description], for example:
[http://www.wilmott.com Wilmott's home page] to get this: Wilmott's home page
Internal links use: [[pagename]] (notice the double brackets for internal links), for example:
[[Foreign Exchange]] to get this: Foreign Exchange
Subheadings
Each of the sections above is headed by a subheading. For example, the code for the subtitle Formatting your code (just above) looks like this:
==Formatting your code== ← two '=' signs signify a level 2 subheading.
The subheadings subheading has the following code:
===subheadings=== ← three '=' signs signify a level 3 subheading:
Bold and Italic
To make any word or words bold, place three single quotation marks on either side of the word or words. For example, '''credit''' → credit
To make any word or words italic, place two single quotation marks on either side of the word or words. For example, ''credit'' → credit
To make something bold and italic, use both codes together (ie, place five single quotation marks!). For example, '''''credit''''' → credit
Bullets
To add a bullet, put an asterisk (*) as the first character of the line.
Adding Images
You can add an image to an article by clicking "Upload file" link which is always available under the "toolbox" menu on the left. It will take you to the Upload page.
Image file size should be kept as low as possible, under 50k is a good guideline.
Spacing the paragraphs
When you add a Header, the text below will automatically be spaced. When writing paragraphs, you may need to add TWO "returns" to get the paragraphs separated correctly. Just check the "show preview" button to see how the text will be displayed, and add "returns" to get the right look.
How to create a new page
Creating a page from a pre-existing placeholder page (red link)
Anytime you see a red link, it is a placeholder page. It means that page has been suggested (by someone creating a link to it), but no content exists for the page yet. If you would like to start content for that page, just click the link and you will be prompted to add content. This is just like editing a page, only you are editing a page that just came into existence because you opened the link.
Creating a placeholder page (red link), and then adding content to make it an actual page (blue link)
Sometimes you may wish to create a page that doesn't already have a placeholder page (red link). You need to decide where the link that leads to it will exist. For example, if you would like to create a new page about a topic, and no one has created a placeholder (red link) for it, you simply need to create the link and the placeholder page will be created.
[[new page name]] once saved, will look like: new page name.
This creates a link on the page. After saving, just click on the link, and follow the instructions under "Creating a page from a pre-existing placeholder page (red link)".
See also
WilmottWiki:How to start a page
WilmottWiki:What WilmottWiki is not
WilmottWiki:Neutral point of view
Help:Example page - Style guide on formatting articles.
WilmottWiki:Stub - Help WilmottWiki by expanding stubs.
Consult the User's Guide for detailed information on using the wiki software.
