Kalispell Montana FSC Template Guide
(This page is a work in progress, come back weekly for more updates!)
Updating wiki pages are done infrequently and can be time consuming. Styling them can be even more difficult, especially for those just learning how to edit. I have put together a set of templates that can help other contributors organize and style their own wikis with (hopefully) minimal effort. This page contains an exhaustive list of all the templates with descriptions their intended use and how to use them on your own wiki.
For an example of a completed wiki using the following templates, visit the Kalispell Montana Family History Center's wiki page.
When used properly, all of these templates will adjust to the screen size of the current viewer. So people on phones can read everything just as well as someone visiting on a desktop computer.
Before You Start[edit | edit source]
- All edits must be done in the "Edit source" tab.
- It may be easier to print these instructions out before you start the tutorial. You will be bouncing between two different browser tabs once you begin if you do not print the tutorial. To print go to "File" in the top left side of your browser and click "Print" in the menu, or hit CMD + P or CTRL + P. This should bring up the print dialogue box that you are familiar with. NOTE: I provide lot's of examples of how the page should look as you go through the tutorial. The examples will not look the same when printed, so be careful when comparing what you see and the completed examples in the print version.
- These are templates, so I may make improvements on them. Do not be surprised if you see the boxes behaving or looking different.
- Plan out your pages - a little planning goes a long way. Figure out how you would like to organized the information by answering the following questions:
- What information should stand out?
- What information should be grouped together?
- What levels of information do I have? Think sections, subsections within those section, and then titles within those subsections. Create a hierarchy of information that makes sense to the information you have.
Tutorial[edit | edit source]
Here I will walk you through a simple tutorial where we create a page with a couple of announcements, two different lists of resources, and an article written about my FHC. This should give you a good idea of how to use the templates for creating your own family history center page. For reference, here is what you should have at the end of this tutorial.
A good place to practice without messing with your family history center page is to click on "Sandbox" up next to your name on the wiki page. This will take you to your own page where you can try things out and practice before you edit the real thing. I would recommend going through the following tutorial on your "Sandbox" page.
1. Decide what sections you need[edit | edit source]
Everything on a page should be organized into sections. Think of a section like a chapter in a book - its purpose is to group like content together. When you are planning out your page you may have one section or many sections depending on how much information you are displaying.
In our example we have a couple of announcements, two different lists of resources and an article written about my FHC. Let's make three sections, "Announcements" where all of the FHC announcements are located, "Resources" where you can find a list of various resources for doing research in your area, and "Articles" for the cool published articles about my family history center.
Of course, when you are planning out your family history center page, you may have different sections. Do what makes most sense for your family history center when deciding what sections to create.
2. Order your sections[edit | edit source]
Now that we have our sections, we need to put them in order from most important to least important. This will determine what order the sections show up on your page. For our example, I want "Articles" first because I want people to see the article written about my family history center, then "Announcements" because we have several events hosted at our family history center, and I want visitors to know what is going on, and finally "Resources" where people who are doing research in our area can go to to find local links.
3. Create your sections using Kalispell FHC Section template[edit | edit source]
Now we will use the "Kalispell FHC Section" template to create each of our sections. This template allows you to type in the name and the content for each of your sections and then takes care of all the formatting.
For now we are just going to create sections with titles and no content.
3A. Open up the page you would like to edit and click "Edit source" at the top. You will probably see a lot of text on the page. If you are planning on replacing everything, you can delete it all and start with a blank page.
3B. Figure out where on the page you would like to create your first section. If you just deleted everything, this will just be at the very top.
3C. Copy everything in the box below.
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title =
| Section Content =
}}
3D. Go back to "Edit source" and paste everything you just copied into where you would like your first section.
3E. Where it says "Section Title" type in your title for your first section after the equals sign. Our first section is "Articles," so we will type that in after the equals sign next to "Section Title." Below is an example of what it should look like.
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title = Articles
| Section Content =
}}
3F. At the bottom of "Edit Source" click the button that says "Show Preview." This button allows you to see the changes you made without saving the page. You should see something similar to the section below. As you can see, each section has the title with an underline at the top, and a link "Back to Top" at the bottom. All of our content, that we will add in later, will end up between the line and the "Back to Top" link. If you don't see something like below, go to step 3G.
Articles
3G. Notice the brackets at the beginning ({{) and end (}}) of the text in step 3C. These brackets are very important because the mark the beginning and end of the section. If you miss the brackets, then you will see a whole bunch of random text on the screen instead of the section. If you miss the brackets, you may see something like the text below, instead of the section in step 3F.
{{Kalispell FHC Section | Section Title = | Section Content = }
3H. Repeat steps 2B through 2E with the rest of the sections. Below is an example of what it should look like once you've created our three sections: "Articles," "Announcements," and "Resources," in that order.
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title = Articles
| Section Content =
}}
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title = Announcements
| Section Content =
}}
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title = Resources
| Section Content =
}}
3I. After you have created all of your sections, hit the "Show preview" button again. It should look something like the example below.
Articles
Announcements
Resources
Good work! You have successfully created 3 new sections on your wiki page! This stuff isn't easy, so take a second to give yourself a pat on the back :)
4. Add an article to the "Articles" section using Kalispell FHC Article template[edit | edit source]
Now that we have our sections, we can start adding our content to each of the sections. We are going to start with our first section "Articles" and add an article. I created light blue boxes for displaying articles. These boxes draw people's attention, but aren't too distracting.
For our example we have one article we want to add. The text for the article is below for reference:
Family History Highlight: April Finding Your Roots Need a break from your own family history? Or maybe some inspiration to get you going? This fun series by Ancestry on YouTube features 38 5-minute episodes featuring famous people's reaction to finding out about their ancestors. Get inspired on YouTube. (the word YouTube will be a link to a YouTube video)
4A.
This tutorial is unfinished. Below this title are my notes... they will not make sense from the tutorial above, but may be interesting to look through if you want to jump ahead.[edit | edit source]
Sections have a couple of optional fields, that will change the way it looks depending if they are filled out or not.
Empty Template With Only Required Fields
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title =
| Section Content =
}}
Empty Template With Only Required Fields Completed
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title = Announcements
| Section Content =
{{Kalispell FHC Announcement
| Announcement Title = 2022 RootsTech videos available now!
| Announcement Content =
"RootsTech welcomes millions of people worldwide to celebrate family at the world’s largest family history conference and year-long learning platform. With thousands of classes, inspiring speakers, meaningful activities and joyful connections, RootsTech brings the human family together like no other event."
''Rewatch this year's RootsTech videos now at [https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech rootstech.org].''
}}
{{Kalispell FHC Announcement
| Announcement Title = Get your personal family history books digitized.
| Announcement Content =
The Salt Lake Family History Library will be digitizing family history archives in the NW Montana History Museum (previously the Central School Museum) in Kalispell. If you have your own PERSONAL family history book and would like it digitized so that others are able to search it online at FamilySearch.org, please contact Diane Denney at 406-212-2176 or Debbie Russell at 760-703-5558.
''For questions or digitization requests go to the [https://www.fsrecordfinder.org/contact Family Search Record Finder Contact Page].''}}
{{Kalispell FHC Announcement
| Announcement Title = Join the Ranks! Help digitize Flathead County records.
| Announcement Content =
FamilySearch has provided volunteers and professional equipment to digitize Flathead County local records for FREE! No longer will these records need to languish on dusty shelves in our local repositories with their valuable nuggets of genealogical information forgotten and hidden. This project is HUGE, and FamilySearch’s volunteers are seeking to swell their ranks. They can use all the help they can get.
''Read more at [https://www.fsrecordfinder.org/ Family Search Record Finder].''}}
}}
Announcements
2022 RootsTech videos available now!
"RootsTech welcomes millions of people worldwide to celebrate family at the world’s largest family history conference and year-long learning platform. With thousands of classes, inspiring speakers, meaningful activities and joyful connections, RootsTech brings the human family together like no other event."
Rewatch this year's RootsTech videos now at rootstech.org.
Get your personal family history books digitized.
The Salt Lake Family History Library will be digitizing family history archives in the NW Montana History Museum (previously the Central School Museum) in Kalispell. If you have your own PERSONAL family history book and would like it digitized so that others are able to search it online at FamilySearch.org, please contact Diane Denney at 406-212-2176 or Debbie Russell at 760-703-5558.
For questions or digitization requests go to the Family Search Record Finder Contact Page.
Join the Ranks! Help digitize Flathead County records.
FamilySearch has provided volunteers and professional equipment to digitize Flathead County local records for FREE! No longer will these records need to languish on dusty shelves in our local repositories with their valuable nuggets of genealogical information forgotten and hidden. This project is HUGE, and FamilySearch’s volunteers are seeking to swell their ranks. They can use all the help they can get.
Read more at Family Search Record Finder.
Empty Template With All Available Fields
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title =
| Style visibility =
| Style background-color =
| Style align-items =
| Style justify-content =
| Section Content =
}}
Empty Template With All Available Fields Filled Out
{{Kalispell FHC Section
| Section Title = Center Resources
| Style visibility = visible
| Style background-color = #f4f4f4
| Style align-items = stretch
| Section Content = <div style="min-width: 300px; flex: 1; margin: 0 1em;">
[[File:Kalispell Montana Family History Center.jpg]]
=== Hardware and Software ===
* 12 computers
* Lexmark mx611dhe copier
* Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner - flatbed
* LibreOffice for word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation preparation
</div>
<div style="min-width: 300px; flex: 1; margin: 0 1em;">
[[File:Kalispell Montana FHC workroom.jpeg]]
=== Collections ===
* Polk's Directory
* Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish (1959, 1961–1972, 1974–1976, 1979–1982)
* Missoula (1992)
* Flathead County Obituaries (1952–1971, 1980–2021)
* Demersville Cemetery (6 CDs)
* Over 300 reference books
</div>
}}
Center Resources
Hardware and Software
- 12 computers
- Lexmark mx611dhe copier
- Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner - flatbed
- LibreOffice for word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation preparation
Collections
- Polk's Directory
- Kalispell, Columbia Falls, Whitefish (1959, 1961–1972, 1974–1976, 1979–1982)
- Missoula (1992)
- Flathead County Obituaries (1952–1971, 1980–2021)
- Demersville Cemetery (6 CDs)
- Over 300 reference books
Kalispell FHC Announcement Template[edit | edit source]
These bright green boxes are designed to draw the viewers attention. These were created to show temporary announcements that rotate frequently.
Empty Template
To use this template, copy and paste the following code into your wiki editor. Then fill in the Announcement Title and the Announcement Content.
{{Kalispell FHC Announcement
| Announcement Title =
| Announcement Content =
}}
Completed Template Example
{{Kalispell FHC Announcement
| Announcement Title = 2022 RootsTech videos available now!
| Announcement Content =
"RootsTech welcomes millions of people worldwide to celebrate family at the world’s largest family history conference and year-long learning platform. With thousands of classes, inspiring speakers, meaningful activities and joyful connections, RootsTech brings the human family together like no other event."
''Rewatch this year's RootsTech videos now at [https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech rootstech.org].''
}}
2022 RootsTech videos available now!
"RootsTech welcomes millions of people worldwide to celebrate family at the world’s largest family history conference and year-long learning platform. With thousands of classes, inspiring speakers, meaningful activities and joyful connections, RootsTech brings the human family together like no other event."
Rewatch this year's RootsTech videos now at rootstech.org.
Kalispell FHC Article Template[edit | edit source]
These blue boxes are designed to draw the viewers but not compete with the announcements. These were created to show rotating articles that either highlight the family history center or get people involved in family history. I use these to post new family history tutorials each month.
Empty Template
To use this template, copy and paste the following code into your wiki editor. Then fill in the Article Title, Article Subtitle, Article Image URL and the Article Content.
{{Kalispell FHC Article
| Article Title =
| Article Subtitle =
| Article Image URL =
| Article Content =
}}
Completed Template Example
{{Kalispell FHC Article
| Article Title = Family History Highlight: April
| Article Subtitle = Finding Your Roots | Ancestry
| Article Image URL = Family history argentina.jpeg
| Article Content =
Need a break from your own family history? Or maybe some inspiration to get you going? This fun series by Ancestry on YouTube features 38 5-minute episodes featuring famous people's reaction to finding out about their ancestors.
Get inspired [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0xuz8BBkD4gm8NBVH8ga1elIoAkBjL-q on YouTube].
}}
Family History Highlight: April
Finding Your Roots
Need a break from your own family history? Or maybe some inspiration to get you going? This fun series by Ancestry on YouTube features 38 5-minute episodes featuring famous people's reaction to finding out about their ancestors.
Get inspired on YouTube.
Kalispell FHC Resources Template[edit | edit source]
These grey boxes are designed to group related content without being distracting. These are great for organizing the bulk of the content on the page because the soft grey background does not distract from the legibility. I use these to group lists of related information together.
Empty Template
To use this template, copy and paste the following code into your wiki editor. Then fill in the Article Title, Article Subtitle, Article Image URL and the Article Content.
{{Kalispell FHC Resources
| Resources Title =
| Resources Content =
}}
Completed Template Example
{{Kalispell FHC Resources
| Resources Title = Premium Sites
| Resources Content =
The following premium sites are free to use at the family history center:
* [https://americanancestors.org AmericanAncestors.org] (New England Historic Genealogical Society)
* [https://www.ancestry.com Ancestry] (Largest commercial genealogy site)
* [https://www.arkivdigital.net Arkivdigital] (Swedish Database)
* [https://www.findmypast.com Findmypast] (British Isles, Australian, and Canadian records)
* [https://www.filae.com Filae] (French archives)
* [https://www.fold3.com Fold3] (Military records)
* [https://en.geneanet.org Geneanet] (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany)
* [https://www.myheritage.com MyHeritage] (Strong in European records)
* [https://www.newspapers.com Newspapers.com] (Newspapers)
''You can read more about premium sites on the [[FHC Portal|Family History Center Portal]] page.''
}}
Premium Sites
The following premium sites are free to use at the family history center:
- AmericanAncestors.org (New England Historic Genealogical Society)
- Ancestry (Largest commercial genealogy site)
- Arkivdigital (Swedish Database)
- Findmypast (British Isles, Australian, and Canadian records)
- Filae (French archives)
- Fold3 (Military records)
- Geneanet (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany)
- MyHeritage (Strong in European records)
- Newspapers.com (Newspapers)
You can read more about premium sites on the Family History Center Portal page.
Other Sources[edit | edit source]
Here are some other sources that I used to create these templates.
- FamilySearch style guide. This is where I look up all of the official FamilySearch colors for the boxes.
- Free Image Collections. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has curated a set of free, high-quality images that are great to use on the wiki. I have already uploaded a few (listed below).
File:Family history argentina.jpeg
File:Girls giggling GL.jpg
