Guidelines for Creating an Example Page
The term “Example Page” has been adopted to refer to any reference on the site that is not a technical guidance document, training, or Best Practices Resource. These will typically consist of case studies or other real-life narratives that are illustrative of the technical topic being addressed. This type of content is important to incorporate in the Dam Safety Toolbox; many people learn more from examples or experiences than from technical reports, and these real-life examples help demonstrate the concepts described in such reports. Such pages may include links to case studies on ASDSO’s DamFailures.org website, links to YouTube or other online streaming platforms with pertinent videos, or “dead end” pages within the Technical Library itself that share case studies or other similar content.
Example Pages can be accessed via a hyperlinked image and caption that can be included on the right side of any Topic Page as appropriate. One or more examples can also be linked to a single Topic Page by listing them under the “Examples” heading. Links may go directly to another website (e.g., DamFailures.org or YouTube.com). When the creation of Example Pages within the wiki is needed, these pages are formatted differently from the rest of the website. They typically feature an image carousel that can be used to share example photos and text in an interactive fashion.
A listing of all example pages created on the Dam Safety Toolbox can be accessed at https://damtoolbox.org/wiki/Category:Example_Pages.
Watch the
Dam Safety Toolbox Tutorial: Creating an Example Page for additional help.
Naming and Creating a New Example Page
Care should be taken when naming a new Example Page. Avoid simplistic titles or terms that can mean multiple things or apply to more than one discipline. Rather, names of example pages should be as specific as possible. For example, if creating an example page with examples of spillway gate failure mechanisms, the page should be called "Examples of Spillway Gate Failures" or "Spillway Gate Failure Mechanisms". If it was simply called "Gates" or "Gate Failure", these generic page titles may inadvertently auto-link to other pages on the website where a link is not appropriate. In general, the inclusion of terms like "examples", "samples", and "case studies" is encouraged in Example Page titles.
An easy way to create a new page within the wiki is use the "Search Toolbox" utility in the header of the site to search for the exact title of the page you wish to create. If the page or something similar already exists on the site, it will open or appear within the search results. In cases where similar content or page titles already exist, the existing page should be edited where possible to avoid duplication of content. If the page does not exist, an option to create this page will appear at the top of the search results. The title of the page should appear as red text indicating that an internal hyperlink has been created, but the linked page does not yet exist. By clicking on the red title link, the contributor is taken to the content editor for the new example page. The contributor then simply follows the instructions and template below to complete the creation of the new example page.
Typical Example Content
At a minimum, an example will consist of a link to a video, website, or other informative resource. An Example Page developed on the Dam Safety Toolbox site may include any and all of the following items:
- Title of example (this item is included in the title of the page)
- Source for content (organization, author, collection, etc.) and publication/release date
- Summary of content
- Content (gallery of images, link to video, etc.)
Formatting of an Example Page is more flexible than Topic Pages. The template code below can be used to create a basic Example Page that includes a key message along with a carousel of sample photos. Other images, hyperlinks, tables and figures can also be used to reinforce the message an example page is trying to convey.
New Example Page Template Code
The following template code can be copied and pasted into the editor when creating a new Example Page to facilitate the process of creating, formatting, and reviewing new content. Contributors should add or delete sections, pictures, and code as necessary for a specific example.
<!-- Default code to remove table of contents -->
__NOTOC__
<!-- Add Category to drive breadcrumb menus -->
[[Category:Undefined]]
''' ''Message: <!-- Add key message of example page here -->'' '''
<gallery mode="slideshow" >
<!-- Add image files here -->
File:HJ1.jpg|Caption for Image 1.
File:HJ2.jpg|Caption for Image 2.
File:HJ3.jpg|Caption for Image 3.
File:HJ4.jpg|Caption for Image 4.
File:HJ5.jpg|Caption for Image 5.
</gallery>
<!-- Citations will automatically populate if instructions on the "Guidelines for Inserting a Citation" are followed. -->
{{Citations}}
<!-- Revision history information and example page categorization -->
[[Category:Example Pages]]
{{revhistinf}}
Revision ID: 7795
Revision Date: 01/18/2024