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Defining Wiki Navigation
Users navigate between pages on a Wiki using hypertext links. In most Wiki implementations, users can create links as they add pages and content to the Wiki, and users are responsible for linking pages as they feel appropriate. As a result, by default most Wikis provide a generally flat navigational structure, rather than a more formal hierarchical structure, such as the hierarchical navigation typically provided by default in online help systems.
If you use ePublisher to generate and deploy Wiki content, you can use some of the navigational components provided by ePublisher to quickly and easily define a navigational structure for the Wiki content you deploy. For example, you can use ePublisher functionality to provide a basic hierarchical structure that users can use to help them navigate through ePublisher-produced content.
ePublisher can create and display the following navigational components on Wiki pages you generate and deploy with ePublisher:
Table of contents (TOC) page
Mini-TOCs on specified pages
Navigation browse buttons at the top or bottom of Wiki pages
Breadcrumbs at the top or bottom of Wiki pages
Categories or labels for Wiki pages that help group pages with similar subjects
If you plan to use ePublisher to generate Wiki output, consider configuring ePublisher to create TOCs, mini-TOCs, navigation browse buttons, and breadcrumbs on your Wiki pages. TOCs and mini-TOCs provide useful navigational elements for users and are especially helpful for users viewing content on a Wiki. This is because Wikis, unlike more traditional online help systems, do not provide a default tri-pane hierarchical structure that can assist users when navigating content. Navigation browse buttons and breadcrumbs also help users to navigate through Wiki content.
When you use ePublisher to generate Wiki output, by default ePublisher places navigation buttons and breadcrumbs at the top of each page of your ePublisher-generated Wiki content. Stationery designers can quickly take advantage of these built-in navigational components by mapping table of contents levels in Style Designer and defining if and where ePublisher should create mini-TOCs in generated output and whether and where navigation buttons and breadcrumbs should display in Wiki output. For more information about defining TOCs and mini-TOCs, see “Defining TOCs and Mini-TOCs”. For more information about defining the appearance of your Wiki pages, including breadcrumbs and navigation browse buttons, see “Defining the Appearance of Pages”.
You can also use the WikiCategory marker to assign categories or labels to Wiki pages. Category or label tags on Wiki pages allow categorized pages to automatically be added to a list on a category page on the Wiki.
Note: MoinMoin and Media Wiki use the term category to describe page grouping functionality. Confluence uses the term label to describe page grouping functionality.
The category page lists all of the Wiki pages tagged for a certain category. For example, if you tag each page on a Wiki that contains licensing information with a Licensing category tag, then a licensing category page on the Wiki can display a list of all of the pages tagged as containing licensing information. For more information, see “Defining Wiki Categories or Labels”.