Help:Administrator guide

A list of useful links for administrators can be found on the Admin links page.

Manage reference data

As an administrator you can edit the values that appear in drop-down lists and autocomplete lists. There are two classes of lists: category-based and property based. All the reference data lists can be accessed via Category:Reference data list.

Category-based lists

With category-based lists, each item in the list has its own page. The pages are grouped into a category that provides the basis for the list. Case study fields that are related to category-based lists will generally allow users to enter arbitrary values as well as selecting from the list.

To add a new item to a category-based list, visit the category page (example: Category:Biological quality element). The category page will contain a link to a form for creating a new page in the category.

To edit the description of an item in a category-based list, visit the page for that item (example: Fish) and click Edit with form in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page.

To change the name of an item in a category-based list, visit the page for that item and select the Move option from the drop-down menu in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. Note that moving the page to a new title will not affect any existing case studies referring to that item - they will still use the old value. They can be located via a search and changed manually if desired.

Property-based lists

With property-based lists, the list items are specified in a single page that defines the property (example: Property:Average channel width category). Case study fields associated with property-based lists will generally only allow users to enter values from the list.

To modify a property-based list, visit the property page and click Edit in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. The list items are specified with [[Allows value:: ]] entries in the wiki text.

As with category-based lists, changing the name of an item or deleting an item will not automatically affect existing case studies that refer to that item.

Approval of case studies

The main reason for the approval system is that if users (non-RESTORE partners) are uploading projects, moderators can check if the level of quality is sufficient. The instructions provided for QAQC should be used for this. For case studies that we have uploaded ourselves we can use the approval system to keep track of which case studies are finished and which ones still need work. After a case study is approved, it is still possible to make changes. Should any other user make any changes, you will be notified about that automatically because the project is s added to your watchlist when you edited its approval status.

Delete or rename pages

Delete a page

To delete a page (for example, a case study), visit the page you want to delete. Then select the Delete option from the drop-down menu in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. You have the option to watch a page that you delete, so that you will be notified if a page with the same name is recreated by someone else.

Rename a page

To rename a page, visit the page you want to rename. Then select the Move option from the drop-down menu in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. You have the option to leave a redirect under the page's old name, so that links to that page from elsewhere will be automatically redirected.

Manage user rights

Set a user's rights

A user's permissions can be set via the Special:UserRights page. Enter the log-on ID of the user you want to amend and click Edit user groups. A list of user log-on IDs can be obtained from the Special:ListUsers page.

You must be a member of the Bureaucrats group to edit other users' permissions.

User groups

Group name	Description
Users	This is the default group that all registered users are assigned to. Members of this group can edit and create case studies and subcatchments.
Reviewers	In addition to editing case study data, reviewers can also approve case studies, and delete pages.
Administrators	Administrators can perform most functions on the wiki. They can edit all content, as well as perform administrative operations such as blocking users.
Bureaucrats	Members of the Bureaucrats group are the only users who can edit other users' permissions. It is recommended that there should be several users in the Bureaucrats group, so that permissions can still be assigned if one Bureaucrat leaves the project.

Users who are not logged in can view all content and perform searches, but not modify or create any content.

Deal with vandalism or incorrect edits

The open nature of a wiki means that from time to time, incorrect information may be posted on it, or correct information may be deleted - either maliciously or by accident.

Undo or roll back edits

On any page, click on History in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page to view a history of edits to that page. As an administrator, you can undo or roll back changes that have been made. The undo function will undo a single revision. The rollback function will remove all revisions made to the page by a single user, back to the last revision that was made by someone else.

Undo all edits for a user

If a user has made wrong or malicious edits to a large number of pages, they can be reversed using the mass delete special page.

Block users

To block a problem user, use the Special:Block page.

Protect pages

If a particular page is attracting frequent malicious or erroneous edits, then it can be protected to prevent ordinary users editing it. To do this, visit the page and select Protect from the drop-down menu in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. Protected pages can only be edited by administrators.