Frequently Asked Questions

Installation

• How to install Foswiki on Mac OS X Leopard
• Where can I find professional support?
• Search doesn't find words written in my language (Eg. Chinese), help!
• Can I hide the System web

Setup

• Cron webnotify and mailercontrib on Ubuntu server
• How should I set filesystem access modes?
• Does Foswiki require Javascript?
• My Foswiki shows times in UTC/GMT, how do I fix that?
• Basic configuration for Cyrillic support
• How does Foswiki find Perl libraries? And how do I change that?

Security

• How do I configure Apache to always redirect users to my secure (https) site?
• How do I enter file paths into a link? (Both local and UNC Names)
• Can I hide the System web
• How can I secure my Foswiki against hostile attacks?

Registration, Authentication, Authorisation

• How can I manually approve registrations?
• Why can't I use BasicAuth to protect configure with FastCGI?
• How can I rebuild my WikiUsers topic?
• How can I show the user's e-mail address in the Users topic?
• Login for foswiki-beginners-vm
• How can I create my own login box in a topic of my choice?
• How do I solve email issues
• Can I hide the System web
• How do I use WYSIWYG with NTLM?

Editing

• Where is the preview mode when editing
• NatSkin and TinyMCE editor
• How do I put raw text / Javascript / CSS in my topics?
• How do I move data forms to the top of the topic?
• How can I use LESS for CSS using Less.js
• How can I stop the WYSIWYG editor leaving tables as HTML?
• How can I stop the WYSIWYG editor converting tables to TML?
• How do I create two tables side by side?
• When creating a topic from a template, can I make it so that %MACROs% are expanded on save?
• How can I force WYSIWYG to save content as HTML (prevent conversion to TML?)
• Enabling word count in the editor
• How do I prevent Foswiki from automatically linking WikiWords?
• How do I enter file paths into a link? (Both local and UNC Names)
• How to make wiki text editing ("raw edit") default
• How do I create a Table of Contents?
• How do I use WYSIWYG with NTLM?

Templates

• How can I tell what DEFs are generating certain parts of my skin/template output?

Email and Notifications

• Cron webnotify and mailercontrib on Ubuntu server
• How do I solve email issues

Search

• My SEARCHes are a mess. How can I write them more clearly?
• How do I stop a System.FormattedSearch using $formfield() from breaking TML tables?
• How do I re-write DBQUERY as SEARCH{type="query"}?
• Do I really have to hard-code a formatted search to suit a given form and its fields?
• Create a Solr search form on any page
• Can a SEARCH take another SEARCH's output as input? How to search all webs and subwebs, while excluding subwebs of a particular web
• How can I SEARCH for topics which have some metadata (Eg. parent.name) that I want to change?
• How can I report a list of topic children, with a total number of topics under each?
• How do I search for all child topics, including their descendants?
• How can I create a simple Google Sitemap for Search Engine Optimisation?
• How can I dynamically list only fields with values on a topic?
• How do I find topics not listed on a topic?

Extensions

• How can I set a topic variable using a HTML form button/elements?
• NatSkin and TinyMCE editor
• A plugin I installed is not working. How can I troubleshoot it?
• How can I stop the WYSIWYG editor leaving tables as HTML?
• How can I process lists in Foswiki, or what is the modern replacement for ForEachPlugin?
• How do I re-write DBQUERY as SEARCH{type="query"}?
• Do I really have to hard-code a formatted search to suit a given form and its fields?
• How can I stop the WYSIWYG editor converting tables to TML?
• The new PatternSkin broke my Foswiki 1.0 system
• Create a Solr search form on any page
• How do I capture a selection in a jqgrid for use in my wiki application?
• How can I more easily create topics that use System.DataForms - do I really need to write HTML code each time?
• How do I search for all child topics, including their descendants?
• How can I re-write image tag URLs with FilterPlugin's SUBST macro?
• How can I use JQueryTextboxList on my own HTML input field (without using data forms)?
• How can I force WYSIWYG to save content as HTML (prevent conversion to TML?)
• Enabling word count in the editor
• How do I use WYSIWYG with NTLM?

Errors

• I keep getting mysterious errors from RCS
• How do I solve email issues

Development

• How do you handle errors resulting from calls to CGI executables or REST handlers?
• How do I put raw text / Javascript / CSS in my topics?
• How can I tell what DEFs are generating certain parts of my skin/template output?
• Why can't I get a stack trace from Foswiki after a failure when using FastCGI?

Debugging

• A plugin I installed is not working. How can I troubleshoot it?
• How can I determine which plugin might be causing me an issue
• How do I solve email issues
• Why can't I get a stack trace from Foswiki after a failure when using FastCGI?
• How do I debug calls to third-party programs?

General

• What are the rules on form field names? Eg. Can they have spaces?
• Why does FastCGI cause the browser to pause 15+ seconds on each view?
• Does Foswiki have encrypted groups or any other technique to restrict access all the way?
• How do I backup a Foswiki installation
• configure tells me that I am "..using a version of $CGI that is know to have issues with Foswiki"
• How do I redirect users from old twiki install to new foswiki install urls?
• How do I (bulk) import data into Foswiki?
• How do I dump my topics' formfields out as XML?
• Is there a nice way to make a (pre-computed) version of a slow page available, so Foswiki doesn't have to expand all its macros on every single view?
• How do I remotely update topics (form fields)?
• How can I broadcast a message to my wiki users, Eg. for maintenance reasons?
• Why do I still get login prompts even though DENY and ALLOWWEBCHANGE are set to allow WikiGuest?
• How do I escape double-quotes (") in my formfield data? For Eg. nested macro expressions
• How do I safely upgrade a customized Foswiki installation
• What is a "structured wiki", and what does it mean in Foswiki?
• Creating applications with DataForms
• Deleting and renaming topics
• Deleting and renaming attachments
• Get Foswiki
• Explanation of Foswiki's repRev feature
• Foswiki software license
• HiddenUsersAndGroups
• Rebuilding WikiUsers topic
• Fixing broken %SEARCH caused by faulty configuration.
• How simultaneous edits are handled in Foswiki
• Troubleshooting Extensions
• Definition of "WikiWiki"

Foswiki administration

• How to install Foswiki on Mac OS X Leopard
• Why does FastCGI cause the browser to pause 15+ seconds on each view?
• Why can't I use BasicAuth to protect configure with FastCGI?
• Does Foswiki have encrypted groups or any other technique to restrict access all the way?
• How do I backup a Foswiki installation
• configure tells me that I am "..using a version of $CGI that is know to have issues with Foswiki"
• How can I rebuild my WikiUsers topic?
• I keep getting mysterious errors from RCS
• How should I set filesystem access modes?
• How do I redirect users from old twiki install to new foswiki install urls?
• How can I show the user's e-mail address in the Users topic?
• Login for foswiki-beginners-vm
• How do I (bulk) import data into Foswiki?
• The new PatternSkin broke my Foswiki 1.0 system
• How can I create a simple Google Sitemap for Search Engine Optimisation?
• Can I hide the System web
• How do I debug calls to third-party programs?
• How do I safely upgrade a customized Foswiki installation

Developing extensions

• How do you handle errors resulting from calls to CGI executables or REST handlers?
• Why can't I get a stack trace from Foswiki after a failure when using FastCGI?

see also System.FrequentlyAskedQuestions