The XWiki user interface

This page contains an explanation of the UI of XWiki.

The documentation is based on the Modern skin since this is the default skin for xwiki.com wikis.

The Modern skin

modern.png

This page contains descriptions of the different elements you will find in the XWiki interface. The descriptions are based on the "modern" skin, which is the default skin for XWiki wikis.
You can modify the "modern" skin without having to mess around with code, HTML files and the likes. See the How to create a skin page for more information on customization the look and feel.

Banner

In the top left corner of the screen there is the xwiki logo and one or more links that indicate where in your wiki you currently are. You can click on the links to navigate the wiki. The logo is also a link that will take you to the front page.

The top right corner contains a Google Ad? and three links. The Google Ad is the XWiki.com server's salary and without it there would be no money for the free hosting. The first link to the right of the ad is dynamic in the sense that it can change based on your interaction with the wiki. When you first access the wiki the link will let you login. If you have already logged in, the link will let you view your profile (in the example above the user has the firstname Thomas).
The second link is also dynamic. If you are not logged in it will allow you to register as a user of the wiki. If you are logged in, it will let you log out.
The last link shows you the version of the XWiki software that is being used. If you click on the link you will be taken to the XWiki.com website.

Main menu

The first link (in the example "Home") takes you to the main page of your wiki. This is the same behavior is the link on the XWiki logo.
The second link shows a list of the wiki pages sorted by the date of the last update. This feature allows you to see which pages that have been updated lately.
The third link (in the example "Search") takes you to the search page, where you can perform free text search on the entire wiki.
The fourth link (in the example "Admin") takes you to a page with administration related functionality. There is an RSS page and an area for administrating your wiki users.
The fifth link "Doc" takes you to an index page of the XWiki documentation. This is where you can find all the available documentation on XWiki.
The sixth and last link lets you register a new wiki user.

Page menu

The first link is probably the most important and most famous link: the edit link. It let's you edit the current page.
The second link let's you add a comment to the current page.
The third link let's you add an attachment to the current page.
The fourth link "PDF" let's you generate a PDF version of the current page.
The fifth link "History" takes you to an overview of the change history of the current page. Here you can see when the page was changed and by who. You will even be able to see the differences between two versions of the page.
The sixth and last link "More actions" contains the advanced menu:

The advanced menu is dynamic in the sense that it changes menu items based on the rights of the current user. The following description explains all menuitems, and the example menu you see in the example above, is for a user will view, edit and admin rights. The HowDoesRightsWork explains how user rights work in XWiki.

View
The view section contains the links "Code" and "XML". The code link let's you see the wiki code for the page (the same as you see when you select edit). The XML link gives you an XML version of the page.

Edit
The Edit section has 7 menu items:

• "Edit Content" is the same as the Edit page link in the page menu. It lets you edit the content of the current page.
• "Edit as HTML" lets you edit the current page using a WYSIWYG editor
• "Edit en fr ..." lets you perform an "edit content" for different languages.
• "Edit form"
• "Edit objects" lets you administrate the objects that are attached to the current page. Objects are instances of classes and classes are components such as Skin, Calendar etc. See How to create a skin page for using the Edit Objects link to create a new skin for XWiki.
• "Delete" lets you delete the current page. This will need confirmation so don't worry if you accidentally click on the link :)
• "Page Access Rights" lets you administrate the access rights for the current page. See the HowDoesRightsWork page for more information regarding access rights.

• "Space Home" takes you to the homepage for the current space. See the What is a space? page for more information on XWiki spaces.
• "Space preferences" let's you customize the preferences for the current space. Preferences include skins, supported languages etc.
• "Space Access Rights" is the same as the page access rights, but for the current space. See the HowDoesRightsWork page for more information regarding access rights.
• "XWiki preferences" let's you customize the preferences for the entire wiki. Preferences include skins, supported languages etc.
• "XWiki Access Rights" is the same as the page and space access rights, but for the entire wiki. See the HowDoesRightsWork page for more information regarding access rights.
• "Class editor" let's you administrate classes. You can add a new class or edit existing ones.

• "Documentation" takes you to the index page for the XWiki documentation.
• "XWiki syntax" takes you to the page that explains the XWiki syntax.

Toolbar

In the right side of the screen there's a column that is referred to as the toolbar. The first parts of the toolbar is a Mozilla Firefox ad that shows our support for the Firefox browser.
Next up is a search form. The search form searches the entire wiki. The functionality is the same as if you go to the search page.
The "Recently visited" section shows the last pages you have visited as links, so that you can go back.
The two icons are "RSS" and "Edit toolbar". The "RSS" icon links to the RSS feed for your wiki. The "Edit toolbar" icon takes you to an edit screen that will let you edit the content of the toolbar. Attention: This will remove the current toolbar content!

Bottom bar

The left side of the bottom bar contains the same navigation links as you find in the top bar (next to the logo) and information regarding the page history. The information should be self explanatory.

The right side of the bottom bar contains links to the W3C's CSS and XHTML validation services. These are included since we strive to keep XWiki CSS and XHTML valid and you should too. If you want to validate your pages simply click on these links and you'll see if you've been a good boy/girl.
Underneath the validation links there's a copyright notice. The notice can be edited in the preferences areas.

Didn't find what you are looking for?

If you are looking for an explanation to a part of the UI that is not explained here, or if the information provided on this page is not good enough, then please contact Technical Support.