In SharePoint 2010, wikis are designed to make it easy for you and other team members to contribute information. The format of a wiki page is open, and you can easily edit wiki pages using a browser without any other special editing tools. In SharePoint 2010, the default page format is a wiki page. When you create new pages on a SharePoint 2010 site, they are by default stored in the Site Pages library. The first time you create a page on a site, the Site Pages library will automatically be created for you.

If you want to manage a wiki separately from the pages in the Site Pages library, you can create your own Wiki Library. This allows you to manage the properties and permissions of your wiki library as a separate group.

We will first create a wiki page library, and then create a wiki that will be stored in the new library.

Creating a wiki page library

To create a wiki page library:

1. Click the Site Actions menu on the site where you want to create the library.
2. Click More Options.
3. Select Wiki Page Library in the Create dialog box as shown in the following screenshot.
4. Type a name for the library and click Create.

Creating a wiki page

The easiest way to create wiki pages, once you have created the wiki library, is to first create a link on the Wiki Library's Home page.

Tip

It may seem odd at first to create the link before creating the page and its contents. But, as you will see, this is the easiest way to create wiki pages.

This also makes it easier for you, as a first step, to outline the contents of your wiki before drilling down into the details.

To create the page link:

1. Edit the library page by clicking Edit on the Ribbon.
   

   Tip

   Note the additional capabilities on the wiki page ribbon.

   These include:

   • Manage Properties, Page History, and Page Permissions
   • Make Homepage—to make the current wiki page the homepage for your site
   • Incoming Links—to view pages that point to this one
2. Type the name of the page link in double-square brackets, as seen in the following screenshot with [[Insurance Benefits]].

   Note

   When you type the square brackets, you will automatically see a list of page links that already exist so you can select one. You will also have the option to create a new one.

   

   Note

   When in Edit mode, existing links such as [[Onboarding new employees]] in the above example, as well as new ones, will appear within double-square brackets.

3. Save the library page.

Tip

Once you save the page, the link will appear with a dashed underline if the linked page has not yet been created.

Now, to actually create the wiki page:

1. Click the link with dashed underline as shown previously.
2. Click Create in the dialog box that appears.
   
3. Enter content on the wiki page as in the following example:
   
4. Click Save.

Editing a wiki page

To edit an existing wiki page:

1. Open the wiki page.
2. Click Edit on the Ribbon.

Note

Note the tools on the Ribbon available to edit the styles and effects on your wiki pages, or to insert pictures, video, audio, and web links. More information on these capabilities is covered in Chapter 7, Office Integration with SharePoint and Chapter 13.