Categories
Categories are used to organize related entries dispersed throughout the wiki. Categories can be further divided into subcategories, which will provide for the gradual development of a hierarchical organization of pages within the wiki. This organization will facilitate future readers' browsing of the wiki.
Creating a New Category
Creating a new category is similar to creating a new entry - at the end of the wiki's URL, insert Category:Category_Title (using _ instead of spacing). If the category already exists, the administrator will be brought to a category page that lists all of the entries already tagged with that category tag; if the category does not exist, the administrator will notice the option to Create the new category page.
Using Category Tags
After a category page has been created, entries can be added to that category page through the application of category tags. Category tags appear at the bottom of an entry and any number of category tags can be assigned to a given entry.
RichTextEditor: Select the Category icon on the toolbar:
- Enter the title of the category into the first field.
- The second field—Sortkey within category—allows for the reorganization of entries within the category page. If several entries assigned to a category begin with the same word, such as The, the administrator should sort by the second word of the entry's title by placing this modified title into this field. This refers to the title of the entry being placed within a category, not the category itself.
WikiTextEditor: Similar to linking, categories are enclosed by double square brackets and placed at the bottom of the entry. To establish a Sortkey, use a pipe ( | ) to separate the category from the modified title of the entry being added to it:
- Remember: All titles in MediaWiki are case-sensitive. Always check the title of the source page if a link does not function.
- When creating the category page, spaces must be replaced by underscores ( _ ) - otherwise your web browser will (likely) treat your effort like a Google search. However, when assigning category tags, spacing can be used. MediaWiki will automatically replace the spacing with underscores (this can be observed by looking at the WikiTextEditor coding after saving a category tag with spacing).
Creating Subcategories
Subcategories can be created to help a broader themed category. These relationships can grow infinitely in either direction. Any category can belong to several broader categories, depending on the desired organizational structure.
To create a subcategory, simple attach the category tag of the broader category to the subcategory.