FAQ

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Do you have questions about your account?

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How can I get an account in EcoliWiki?

If you would like an account to be created for you at EcoliWiki.org, simply send an email with the user name you want to use to ecoliwiki@gmail.com and the EcoliWiki Staff will get you set-up. You'll receive an email with a temporary password that you can use to log in. Once you log in, you will be prompted to create a new password.

Can I invite new users to join EcoliWiki?

Yes, simply click the Accounts link in the sidebar on the left. Next, under the Create a Registered User section, click Create an account. You'll need to know the user name the person wants to use. Once you have that, type in the username and the email address of the person you wish to invite and click by email. An email will be sent to the person and they will be able to complete registration.

What do I do if I forget my username?

Click on the Accounts link in the sidebar on the left. Under the section called Becoming a Registered User, click the registered user link to bring up a list of registered user names. Hopefully, you can identify your username and the crisis will be averted. If you cannot, email the EcoliWiki staff at ecoliwiki@gmail.com and someone will reply with your username.

What do I do if I forget my password?

If you forget your password, type in your username and click the email password button. A temporary password will be emailed to the email account on file. Once you log in, you will be prompted to enter a new password.

How do I change my username?

Contact the EcoliWiki Staff at ecoliwiki@gmail.com for changing your username.

How do I change my password?

To change your password, click the my preferences link in the upper right hand corner of the browser window. Under the user profile tab, you will have to enter your old password, then type the new one. You will have to retype the new one to verify spelling, then click the Save button.

Can I customize EcoliWiki?

Yes. You may customize the style in which you display the information by clicking the my preferences link in the upper right hand corner of the browser window. Under the skins tab, you may click the display that best suits you. You may preview these styles by clicking the preview button to the right of the style name. once you have made your selection, click the Save button to apply the new setting.

What is the My Watchlist link and how do I add topics to my watchlist?

If you have a particular page or topic of specific interest to you, you can add it to the watchlist and you can opt to receive an email notification when that page is modified (you select the email option under the user profile tab). To add pages to your watchlist, go to the my preferences link in the upper right hand corner of your browser. Under the watchlist tab, select the boxes of the pages you want to watch. Click the Save button to apply the new setting.

What is the User Contribution link?

Ecoliwiki keeps track of all the contributions you make to the wiki. Once you've logged in, you can click on this link and see a history of the contributions you've made.

Are you are having trouble editing information in EcoliWiki?

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How do I format text?

The Mediawiki software uses formatting tags to indicate italics, bold, etc. For example, two apostrophes on either side of a word or phrase cause it to be italicized; the text ''rpoD'' will display as rpoD. You won't need to enter the tags by hand, because most of the time there will be a toolbar at the top of the editing box. Just select the word you want formatted and click on the appropriate box in the toolbar. One exception is when entering or editing information in tables. In tables the formatting tags need to be entered by hand.

How do I add references?

For papers in Pubmed, type <ref name=PMID:xxxxxxx/> where the x's are the Pubmed ID. For a more detailed description about how to enter references in EcoliWiki, see Help: References.

What do I do if someone changes what I wrote?

This is a wiki and so the information you add to the wiki may be changed by other users, just as you may change other users' enties. If you find the correction to be inaccurate, you may discuss the subject with other users in the Notes section available below each main section, or on the Discussion page. To add a note on the same page at the bottom of the section, click the Edit link to the right of the Notes heading. To initiate or view a discussion on a particular topic, click the discussion tab located on the top left hand side of the page. To add additional comments, you can click the + to add your comment to the end of the list. OR, you may click the edit tab and type your comments there. As you can see, there are plenty of places to make your voice heard.

Is there any way to keep people from editing my entries?

Yes. When you add data to a table, you have the opportunity to select public or private. The public selection allows any registered user to change your entries, whereas the private selection allows only you and the Ecoliwiki staff to edit your entries.

How do I import a large data set into the EcoliWiki?

Contact the EcoliWiki staff at ecoliwiki@gmail.com for options about getting your data set into EcoliWiki.

How do I add links?

There are two main types of links for EcoliWiki: internal and external.

Adding an internal link to an EcoliWiki page is done using [[link]] wiki mark-up. For example, to link to the lacZ page type [[lacZ]] and the link will appear on the page like this: lacZ.

Adding links that are outside of EcoliWiki is simple. Write: [url what you want to appear]. For example, to add a link to Google you would type: [http://www.google.com link to Google] and the usable link will appear on the page looking like link to Google.

How do I add tables?

EcoliWiki uses a special Table Extension for tables. For more detailed information, see Special:TableEdit

How do I get an image to show up in a page?

To add an image to a wiki page, you must first upload the image to the wiki. Click the upload file link in the toolbox on the left hand side of your browser window underneath the search bar. You may type in the file pathway or click browse to find the file. Write a summary of the image, and click the Upload File button.

Once an image is in the wiki, go back to the page where you want to add the image; click Edit and type [[Image:File.jpg]] where File.jpg is the name of the file you uploaded. Click the Save button to save the image to the wiki.

Can I import data from an Excel spreadsheet?

No. We are working on creating a way to do that, but that option is currently unavailable.

Are you having trouble adding information to EcoliWiki?

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When should I use the Create new page link in the navigation bar?

When information you want is not in EcoliWiki, you may add it using the page generator found under the Create new page link. Using the page generator is beneficial because it automatically formats the information you add using a specific template. The page generator is available for Complexes, Strains, Plasmids, Literature, Physiological Processes, Genes, Databases, and Bioinformatic Tools.

How do I make my page show up in a category?

Categories are ways of grouping pages together by some common thread. To add a page to a category page, you'll need to know the category you want to add your page to. Once you know the Category, use the following wiki mark-up to add the category:[[Category:Name of Category]].

How do I make suggestions?

There are two ways to make suggestions to the EcoliWiki staff. Click on the Suggestions subheading under the main heading and you will be taken to the Suggestions page. Click the + tab or the edit tab at the top of the page and let us have it. The other way to do this is to email the Ecoliwiki staff at ecoliwiki@gmail.com. Either option will get your suggestions to us.

How do I add a new plasmid, strain, gene, bioinformatic tool, etc?

For adding a new item, click on the Create new page link on the left-hand side of the page. Find the appropriate heading for the information you want to add in the Page_Generator and click either the Create or Edit buttons.

How do I know if it's right?

You can't break the wiki. If you're unsure of the formatting, markup, etc. someone else can fix it. Email the Ecoliwiki staff at ecoliwiki@gmail.com and inform them of your concern. The staff will then format the page.

What if my information doesn't fit in to any templates?

If you find that the pre-existing categories don't apply to your information, search for the information in the search box at the left and click the Create this page link and you can edit the page however you would like. You may also email the EcoliWiki staff at ecoliwiki@gmail.com add ask a staffer to create a template for you.

Are you having trouble finding the information you are looking for?

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What's the difference between Go and Search?

You use Go when you know the name of the item you are searching for. Search is used to search through the text within the pages. Clicking search will generate a list of pages where the item is found. You will just need to click on the link to be taken to the appropriate page. The search box is case-sensitive so that may be the reason for an unproductive search.

How do I find information about a particular gene or its product

Type the gene name into the search box on the left and click Go. You will be taken directly to the Quickview page for that gene. Once there, you may select the specific tab to display the desired information.

If the gene product's name is the same as the gene name,e.g. DnaK and dnaK, typing the product name into the search box and clicking Go will take you directly to the Quickview page. However, when the product and gene names are different, e.g. sigma70 and rpoD, you will be taken to a page of Search Results that lists Article title matches and Page text matches. Scroll through the list to find the page you want, which is usually at or near the top of the list. For example, a search for sigma70 will yield a list of Page text matches where the second item is "rpoD::Gene Product(s)."

How do I find information about a gene product if I don't know the name of the gene that encodes it?

Type the name of the gene product in the search box on the left and click the Search button. This will search for matching text within EcoliWiki and produce a page of Search Results listing the pages that contain the text you searched for. Scroll through the list to find the page you want and click on its link to be taken to that page.

How do I find information related to plasmids?

Type the plasmid name in the search box on the left and click the Go button. If the plasmid has been entered in EcoliWiki you will be taken to that page. To browse the plasmids index already entered, go here. To enter a new plasmid into EcoliWiki, click on Create new page on the left hand side of the browser window and type the plasmid name into the Plasmid page generator. Click the Edit button and follow the directions.

How do I find information related to Databases?

To search for a specific database, type the name in the search box. If it doesn't come up, you may browse the database index by typing Databases into the search box. If your database is absent, you may add it by using the Database template generator at the top of the index page.

How do I find information related to Complexes?

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How do I find information related to Physiological Processes?

To search for a physiological process, type it into the search box. To enter a new physiological process, click the Create new page link in the navigation bar on the left hand side of the page. This will bring you to the Page_Generator. Type in the name of the process you would like to create under the Physiological Process Page heading and click the create button.

How do I enter journal articles into the wiki?

Click the Create new page link in the navigation bar on the left hand side of the page. This will bring you to the Page_Generator. Type in the Pubmed ID number under the literature page heading and click the create button.

How do I view papers already entered into the wiki?

To see if your paper of interest is in EcoliWiki, type PMID:## (## is the Pubmed ID) into the search box and click the Go button.

How do I find additional help if I need it?

If you need additional assistance, please email the Ecoliwiki staff at ecoliwiki@gmail.com and we will be happy to answer your questions.

Is the type of information you are looking for just not in EcoliWiki?

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If you would like to see something else in EcoliWiki, add it the EcoliWiki:Wishlist page. Or, email us at ecoliwiki@gmail.com.

Would you like to get involved with EcoliWiki?

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Contact the EcoliWiki team at ecoliwiki@gmail.com