Help/Special Formatting

Special Formatting

The Table of Contents

Aligning the Table of Contents Box

Normally the Table Of Contents (TOC) box aligns itself on the left. If this doesn't work for you, the following code will allow you to "float" the TOC box to another location. The command code below shows aligning the TOC to the right (as seen here).

{|align=right
|__TOC__
|}

Another benefit of this method, especially with long TOCs, is that the content will wrap around the TOC box making the best use of any wasted space. If for some reason you do not desire this, simply insert a lot of <br> commands to insert enough line breaks to push the start of the page content below the TOC box. Preview your work until you get the right number, then save.

Other TOC commands

Normally, within wiki, the Table of Contents [TOC] function automatically generates if you have more than three Headings identified on your page. Additional options are available using various TOC commands inserted into the pages wiki code allowing additional control beyond the automatic TOC function first mentioned.

__NOTOC__ - Forces the TOC to remain hidden [requires 2 underscores on either side] no matter how many headings you have.

__FORCETOC__ - Forces the TOC to appear even if less than 4 Headings are present.

__TOC__ - Over-rides the __NOTOC__ command, but allows you the ability to place the TOC where ever you want it including within a table or providing multiple TOC displays within the page.

For Example....

Headings

What is a Level 1 Heading? The title of the page you are working on is the Level 1 Heading. Once you create your page, you are done with Level 1.

To format Headings, the basic Level 2 Heading (found in the edit toolbar as the giant capital A) uses double equal == signs before and after the heading text. Subsequent heading levels can be added by adding one additional = sign at either end for each level of subhead. Each of these Headings will automatically add an entry to the page Table of Contents (TOC) (if you have more than 3 "headings").
Examples:

Level 2 Heading

As seen above, ==text== gives you a Large Bold Font and an Underline. This would be used for MAJOR Topic division.

Level 3 Heading

As seen in this example, ===text=== gives you a slightly Smaller Font, but no Underline. This would be used for a Sub Category of a "Level 2" Heading Topic.

Level 4 Heading

====text==== gives you an even smaller Header and be used as a Sub Topic of a "Level 3" Heading.

Level 5 Heading

=====text===== gives you an even smaller Header and be used as a Sub Topic of a "Level 4" Heading.

Level 6 Heading

======text====== gives you an even smaller Header and would be used as a Sub Topic of a "Level 5" Heading.

A Level 6 Heading would work well for a "Footnote", or "Bibliography" heading at the bottom of the page and used in conjunction with Font Size 1 <font size=1> .

Please note that Five Levels of user controlled Heading [2 through 6] are ALL that are currently defined in our wiki.
But then... When would you actually NEED more than Five Levels of user headings?

Please do not confuse using these various levels of Headings in place of the Font Size <font size="X"> command.

Bullets - * -

To insert a "Bullet" before a line of text, simply add a single star (*) at the begining of the line.
The same trick as used above will allow nesting of bullets also. Examples:

• Level One - *text
  
• Level One - just to see how it looks...
  
  • Level Two - **text
    
  • Level Two - just to see how it looks...
    
    • Level Three - ***text
      
      • Level Four - ****text
        
        • Level Five - *****text
          
          • Level Six - ******text
            

Do not use <br> at the end of lines using "bullets" (unless you want an extra Line Space inbetween Bulleted items.

Numbering - # -

Similar to "Bullets", the "Numbering" command - " # " - will allow you to automatically number items before a line in a list of items.

1. "First Item" would be coded: "#First Item"
2. "The Next Item" would be coded: "#The Next Item"
3. "Another Item" would be coded: "#Anther Item"
4. "And Another Item" would be coded: "#And Another Item"

Do not use <br> at the end of lines using "numbering". Doing so will restart the numbering process over from #1.

Indenting - : -

You may also indent paragraphs and personnel in a similar way.
This might be useful when following a topic on a talk page to show which comment you are replying to.
This can also be useful when making Staff Pages where you need to list members who serve under other members. The wiki format code in this case is the colon (:) , used as follows:

Basic text with NO indention - text

Indent One - :text

Indent Two - ::text

Indent Three - :::text

Indent Four - ::::text

Indent Five - :::::text

Blue Box

Another useful formatting feature is the "Blue Box". On the left side of the editing page simply insert a single space. The entire paragraph will appear in a blue box until an "enter" or <br> appears. If you want a series of lines within the box, simply place a space at the beginning of every line. They will all appear within the same box as long as no "no box" line is between them. Examples:

A single paragraph or sentence will be boxed.  If you wish 
to define where the lines wrap, place your cursor at the 
break point you desire, then hit enter and insert one space 
allowing the text to continue as if it had wrapped at that 
point on its own.  

Also be aware that in wiki, when using a blue box, an extremely long paragraph will override the normal page 
template right margin.  This will make the blue boxed text continue to the right off the page instead of 
wrapping and force you to horizontally scroll to read the entire text.  This is a nuisance and should be 
avoided by manually inserting line breaks as descibed above.  

-- Admiral 10 of 9

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