Protospace Wiki:Adding new tools

If a tool has been donated, semi-permanently loaned, or brought into the space for a specific short-term, it is encouraged to add the tool to the "tools we have" gallery page. This will help avoid damage due to other members being uninformed about the tool's operation, maintenance, ownership, etc. Follow this procedure to achieve that.

Preparing to add a tool

• Gather information on the tool. Try to get as much of the following information as you can, but don't worry about missing information as long as its absence won't keep anyone from figuring out which physical tool at Protospace corresponds to which gallery entry or page on the wiki. You must provide enough information for that purpose, whether it's in the form of a photo showing distinctive markings, a serial number, or (reverse approach) a label on the tool linking to the wiki page. If you do not, your addition will be meaningless and will probably have to be deleted and recreated from scratch.
• Take a photo of the tool.
  • Try to take it in good lighting.
  • If you can, make the background as uncluttered as possible. (Suggestions: Put the tool against a blank wall or on a clean table. Put a piece of cardboard or plywood behind the tool. Edit the photo to blur the background/surroundings.)
  • Crop it if necessary to avoid excessive space around the tool at the edges of the photo.
• Consider once more whether those who work on the wiki after you will be able to easily tell which physical item in Protospace is represented by what you're about to add. If the answer is no, consider what additional info you could include (or how else you could distinguish the tool, such as by adding a label to it) to help with this. Adding information that refers to a tool that others can't positively identify in the physical world is usually worse than not adding the tool to the wiki at all. If in doubt, ask on the forum (or an appropriate talk page on the wiki that may exist in the future).

Adding a tool page

This option will result in a page about the tool, linked from the tools gallery. Clicking on the picture in the tools gallery will open the tool's page instead of enlarging the picture (though you can still enlarge the picture by clicking on it where it appears in the tool's own page).

• Advantages: more informative; the tool may be assigned a wiki-ID; info about the tool can be easily linked to from elsewhere on the wiki/forum and from a label on the tool
  
• Disadvantages: more work on your part

Procedure:

1. Decide on a name for the wiki to refer to the tool by. Try to follow the format: [tool type], [distinguishing characteristics separated by commas] ([make/model]) (with each part but the first being included only if it makes sense). If the tool was made by a member and therefore has no make/model, use the member's name in possessive form. (Don't worry too much about getting it exactly right—anybody can fix it later by moving the page and updating any redirects.) Don't add an ID number at the end yet.

   Examples:

   • Laser cutter, large (Rabbit Laser RL-80-1290)
   • Counter (Fluke 1910A Multi-Counter)
   • Function generator (John's)
   • Power supply, bench, 2-channel (TENMA 72-7245)
   • Vise, wood (Travis's)
   • Magnifier lamp, large, without lid
   • Forge, propane (Jim's)

2. Enter that name in the search box at the top right (in the default skin (Vector) on desktop). You should see just a single suggestion in the dropdown, which says "containing... [what you entered]". Click that or press Enter/Return (or do the latter even if you don't see that suggestion). You should arrive on a search results page where there's a line below the search box and options that says "Create the page "[what you entered]" on this wiki!". Click the redlink in the middle of that line. Now you will arrive at an editor with what you entered set as the page's title.
3. Add the template to the page:
   • If editing in source mode, copy and paste the following code into the editor:

     {{Equipment page
     | toolname =
     | model =
     | serial =
     | owner =
     | loanstatus =
     | arrived =
     | location =
     | status =
     | permission =
     | certification =
     | photo =
     | caption =
     | id =
     }}

   • If editing in visual mode, choose "Template" from the "Insert" menu at the top of the editor. A popup window will appear. Start typing "equipment page" in the field and click it once it's suggested.
4. Fill in the template. Leave photo, caption, and id blank for now. With the other fields, enter a question mark or leave it blank if you don't know that information. toolname is not supposed to be in the same format as the page title (what you decided on in step 1); instead, it should be more of a natural-sounding but still detailed name, such as "Tormach PCNC 1100 CNC mill" or "red 12" hacksaw". For help with the other fields, see the descriptions at Template:Equipment page.
   • If editing in source mode, add the appropriate information on each line, after the equals sign. (If you copied and pasted from above, there should already be a space after each equals sign. Spaces are optional on both sides, but they improve code readability.
   • If editing in visual mode: The template isn't set up for convenient visual editing yet, so you'll have to manually enter the full name of each field you want to use in the "Field name" search box and click it as an unknown field below that, then fill it in above. When you're done, click the blue "Insert" button at the top right of the popup window.
5. Add any other information you want to below the template. It's commonly useful to include sections for specifications, usage instructions, repair tips, etc. (Reminder: the code for a section heading is ==Section title==, with more equals signs for further levels.) If you don't have this information now, it can of course be added later.
6. Add all appropriate tool categories. If you forget any of these, don't worry, because you can come back and fix it later, or someone else can. The current tool categories can be found listed in the "Subcategories" section of Category:Tools—blue triangles there are clickable to expand subcategories. You can also add categories that don't exist, and they'll appear at Special:WantedCategories so we know they're wanted.
   • In source editing, this is done by simply adding links to the categories (e.g., [[Category:Showcase tools]]), usually at the very bottom of the page's code. They won't appear as links once you save the page. When previewing, they'll appear at the very bottom, below the editor even if you have the preview set to appear above the editor.
   • In visual editing, there is a category tool accessible from the hamburger menu at the top right, just to the left of the editing mode menu.
7. Preview and save the page:
   • If editing in source mode:
     1. Click the "Show preview" button at the bottom of the editor to check that the page appears correctly. You should see an infobox on the right side of the preview, with the info you entered. If not, try to fix it so you do. If you don't, proceed anyway, and somebody else will probably fix it soon.
     2. Click the blue "Save page" button at the bottom of the editor to publish your addition.
   • If editing in visual mode:
     1. The editor itself serves as the preview. Look at what appears after closing any popup windows. You should see an infobox on the right side of the preview, with the info you entered. If not, try to fix it so you do. If you don't, proceed anyway, and somebody else will probably fix it soon.
     2. Click the blue "Save page" button at the top-right of the editor to publish your addition.
8. Assign a wiki-ID number to the tool according to the instructions for that.
9. Upload a photo with the wiki-ID number as the filename, such as 512.jpg.
10. Edit the tool page you created to add the photo. Copy and paste the filename into the photo field of the equipment page template: 512.jpg.
11. Preview and save the page again, preferably with an edit summary saying you added a photo.
12. Go to the tools we have gallery, find the appropriate section, and click the edit button on that section so you can insert an entry. Find the appropriate place in the section according to where the name you chose in step 1 fits in alphabetical order.
    • If editing in source mode, copy and paste the following code:

      File:FILENAME        |link=TOOLDESCRIPTION            |[[TOOLDESCRIPTION]]

    • If editing in visual mode, double-click the gallery in the appropriate section (or click once to select it and then click the "Edit" button that appears), then click "+ Add new image" at the bottom-left of the popup window. In the search box, type in the filename of the image, including the filename extension. When the image appears, click it. It will join the others in the column on the left; drag it to the appropriate alphabetical position. Don't close the popup window yet.
13. Fill in the info:
    • If editing in source mode, edit the line with FILENAME after the name of the image you uploaded, such as File:512.jpg or File:Red hacksaw.jpg, and replace the words "TOOLDECRIPTION" with the page you wish to link. Example: replace link=TOOLDESCRIPTION with link=Hacksaw, 12", red ID:512 and [[TOOLDESCRIPTION]] with [[Hacksaw, 12", red ID:512]]. Be careful to not delete the pipes (|), and make sure there are no spaces between the second pipe and the beginning of the link code ([[). It should look like this:

      File:512.jpg|link=Hacksaw, 12", red ID:512 |[[Hacksaw, 12", red ID:512]]

      .
    • If editing in visual mode, click the link button (with the chain icon) at the top of the caption field below the image on the right side of the popup window. Start typing the title of the page you created, and click it when it appears in the suggestions. Now click the blue "Apply changes" button at the top-right of the popup window. Editing visually, you can't set the link= parameter; somebody else might do that, or you can add it yourself by editing again in source mode.
14. If editing in source mode, click the "Show preview" button at the bottom of the editor to check that your addition appears correctly. (In visual mode, the editor itself serves as the preview.) If not, try to fix it so it does. If you can't, proceed anyway, and somebody else will probably fix it soon.
15. Click the "Save changes" (at the bottom in source mode or the top-right in visual mode) button to publish your addition, preferably with an edit summary saying which tool you added.

Assigning a wiki-ID to a tool that doesn't have one

Main article: 0#I want to assign a wiki-ID number to a tool or other item

Prerequisite: an equipment page, created as described under 'Option 2' or 'Upgrading a tool from just a gallery entry (option 1) to a page (option 2)' (above)'

Procedure:

[not written yet; you can probably figure it out if you need to]