Design Principles

Overview of page types and structures

Content Page Types

Structural Pages and Project Organisation Pages

free form depending on content and purpose; e.g. start page, introduction page, editorial principles page, etc.

• URL: short (e.g. “About”, “DesignPrinciples”)
• Begin page with:
  • Category: none OR as needed (e.g. “Editorial Pages”)
  • Page Title: can be changed from URL to be more readable with {{DISPLAYTITLE:title}}
  • Show or hide TOC as needed

Overview Pages

overview of large amounts of data/pages via DataTables JavaScript library (DT) and DynamicPageList3 MediaWiki extension (DPL3)

• URL: short, currently uses no blank spaces (e.g. “ArticleOverview”, “ReferencesOverview”)
• Begin page with:
  • Category: “Overview Pages”
  • Page Title: changed from URL to be more readable with {{DISPLAYTITLE:title}} (e.g. “Overview of Newspaper Articles” for “ArticleOverview”)
• Main content:
  • use Template:OverviewPageNote for header section; use the variables:
    • summary for introductory text (wikitext format)
    • explanation for explanations regarding the table formatting, abbreviations, etc. (wikitext format; usually a list with bullet points)
  • Overview/table section can be one of the following:
    • Static table with DT functionality; either html or wikitext table (example: Overview of Mark Twain's Writing and Speeches):
      • set <table class=“wikitable datatable hover”>
      • set separate id if needed
      • other styling and DT parameters as needed (e.g. “data-page-length”, “data-order”, etc.)
    • Dynamic table using DPL3 with additional DT functionality (example: Overview of Newspaper Articles)
      • use DPL3 “table” parameter
      • set <table class=“wikitable datatable hover”>
      • if appropriate, initialise DT Custom Search Builder with the following DT styling parameters:

        data-layout=‘{“top1Start”:“searchBuilder”}’ data-language=‘<nowiki>{“searchPlaceholder”:” Quick Search”, “search”:““,”searchBuilder”:{“add”:“Add Search Condition”}}’</nowiki>

      • use DPL3 “tablerow” parameter to style individual columns (width, font, etc.)
    • Dynamic list using DPL3 with styling as needed; either table or custom formatting; without DT functionality (example: Overview of Topics)

Newspaper Article Pages

table design w/ 2 or 3 columns to display screenshot, transcript, and translation/original; links to Topic Pages

• URL: item ID
• Begin page with:
  • Template:ArticleInfo with variables corresponding to article metadata; the template automatically sets Category:Article Pages and generates a header section with metadata
• Main content:
  • Template:ArticleImage for screenshot
  • optional: Template:ArticleNote OR Template:ArticleNoteTop with the variables:
    • content for contextual information on the text (optional variable)
    • note to change the “Changes in Translation” color coding information which is displayed by default
      • don’t declare variable to include the standard section
      • define variable with wikitext as alternative text for the section
      • declare variable but leave the value empty to omit the “Changes in Translation” section entirely
  • table with transcription and translation
    • surround with <div></div> tags
      • set <div class="large-8 columns"> for 3-column layout
      • set <div class="row"> for 2-column layout
    • set <table class=“wikitable translationTable”> for styling
    • include annotation links to Topic Pages in the translation column (NOT in the transcription column)

3-column design

{{{Template:ArticleNoteTop}}} (optional)
{{{Template:ArticleImage|file=}}}
<div class="large-8 columns">
<table class="wikitable translationTable">
<tr>
<th>Transcription</th>
<th>English Translation</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>text</td>
<td>text</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>

2-column design

{{{Template:ArticleImage|file=}}}
{{{Template:ArticleNote}}} (optional)
<div class="row">
<table class="wikitable translationTable">
<tr>
<th>Transcription</th>
<th>English Translation</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>text</td>
<td>text</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>

Topic Pages

context and explanations for relevant key words on Article Pages

• URL: short topic name, e.g. “Vienna” or “Anti-Imperialist League”
  • for subpages:
    • use "main-topic/sub-topic" in URL
    • set displaytitle with {{DISPLAYTITLE:sub-topic}} at the bottom of the page (placement is necessary for the correct transclusion on Topic Pages)
    • e.g.: "Vienna/Visit to Parliament" with displaytitle "Visit to Parliament"
  • exception for “Topic Person” pages:
    • use Lastname • Firstname in URL
    • reassign displaytitle with {{DISPLAYTITLE:Firstname Lastname}} at the bottom of the page (placement is necessary for the correct transclusion of Topic Pages and to correctly display entries in the Topic Overview)
• Main content:
  • explanatory text including citations and pictures
  • citations (for a more detailed explanation see chapter Citations):
    • MLA formatting
    • short in-text citation with direct link to zotero bibliography
    • newspaper articles (not part of the project collection): complete bibliographical data
    • newspaper articles (part of project collection): link to item page on scalar
  • pictures:
    • include content from Image Page as caption: {{File:''image-title''}}
    • e.g. on page Visit to Parliament:

      [[File:Austrian_parliament_harpers_1897.jpg|thumb|right|350px|{{File:Austrian_parliament_harpers_1897.jpg}}]]

  • Topic Page has subpages:
    • yes: include Template:SubTopicList to display each subpage with heading, beginning of the text, and "continue reading" link (example Vienna)
    • no: include Template:TopicLinkList to display a list of Article Pages which link to the Topic Page (example Visit to Parliament)
• set Category:Topic Pages AND chose additional category if needed (currently Category:Topic Place or Category:Topic Person) at the bottom of the page

Image Page Types

Article Screenshots

• URL: generated during upload as File:item-ID.png
• currently no page content
• .PNG format is necessary for Template:ArticleImage

Images for Topic Pages

• URL: descriptive
• Main content:
  • header (== Summary ==); auto-generated when file upload summary section is used
  • short description
  • source with full citation
  • place <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> tags around parts that should be visible in the caption on the Topic Page (example: File:Austrian_parliament_harpers_1897.jpg)

Template Pages

pre-formatted elements which can be easily re-used on many pages. For a current list of templates refer to Special:AllPages > Templates.

• URL: short, recognizable for the Template's main purpose or content
• Begin page with:
  • __NOTOC__ so no table of contents will be genrated
• Main content:
  • Use of this Template: information on what the template is for, where it is used, etc.:
    • current example page
    • short description of purpose and content
    • list of required variables
    • CSS-class used in the structure of the template
    • snippet to copy and paste the template invocation in <nowiki></nowiki> tags
  • Content of this Template: section with the same template contents in un-rendered and rendered format
    • as wikitext: in <pre><nowiki> tags
    • as rendered on this page: in <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> tags

full layout

__NOTOC__
=== Use of this Template ===
* Current example page: [[title]]
* Include where to do what.
* Variables:
** variable1:
* CSS-class:
* Copy: <nowiki>{{templatename}}</nowiki>


=== Content of this Template ===
==== As Wikitext ====
copy template content

==== As Rendered On This Page ====
<onlyinclude>
copy template content
</onlyinclude>

Citations

all citations use MLA formatting

• newspaper articles that are not part of the project collection:
  • include complete bibliographical data
  • direct link to online repository (if available)
  • example: "“Mark Twain Settles It,” Worcester Daily Press (Worcester, Mass.), 27 July 1876".
• newspaper articles that are part of the project collection:
  • link to item Article Page by referencing the title
  • inclusion of bibliographical data is not necessary, but might be useful depending on context
  • example: "The following text partially reproduces one such article entitled “Im Freundeskreise” published by the Illinois Staats-Zeitung on 14 March 1892".
• all other sources (books, articles, letters, etc.):
  • short in-text citation
  • link to zotero bibliographic entry (avoid direct links to digital versions of the source, because these links will likely break over time; it’s easier to include and keep them updated in zotero),
  • example: "The original letters can be found in Mark Twain on Potholes and Politics (Scharnhorst, 48-62)".