Using the Topincs Editor

The Topincs Editor is a web page that creates user experience similar to an installed application. It is accessible under the URL of the store. The store that is created upon installation is available under http://localhost/topincs/. The Editor requires Firefox or Opera 9 to work correctly. Furthermore JavaScript and Cookies must be activated. You will need to provide valid credentials to access the Editor. Therefore you must create a user before you can start working. Look into Server section of this manual on how to achieve this.

This section of the manual is far from complete. If you are familiar with Topic Maps and in particular with the Topic Maps Data Model, then using the Editor should be no problem. If you need more assistance on how to create Topic Maps with the Editor you have to be patient until i publish a more complete manual or take the time to learn more about Topic Maps.

At the moment the Editor neither supports Variants nor Reification. Support for these important features of the Topic Map paradigm will be added in one of the next releases.

Entering references

Under many circumstances in the authoring process, you will have to enter a reference to another topic, e.g. when you enter the type of a topic or when you create an association. The input element that is used appears like a normal text field, but it is not. After you type three characters, a drop down box will appear, where you can choose from all the matching topics. To be more exact, all topics are presented which have a name, which contains the string you typed. It does not necessarily have to be the current display name. So don't be confused, if an option does not contain the string.

Journal

The journal shows you the development of the store over time. For now, the only events it displays are the creations of topics. It focuses on one day and allows you to go back and forth, day by day.

Options

Scope

The scope tab allows you to change the scope under which the Topic Maps in the store are viewed. This selection will influence all scoped items of the model, which include Associations, Names, Occurrences and Variants.

Tools

In the tools tab you find little helpers which will increase your productivity when working with Topincs. To install them, drag them on the toolbar of Firefox. You will find two tools, one which allows you to create a Topic by marking text on a web page, and another for creating Occurrences.

Account

Use the form in account tab to change your password. After you successfully changed your password, your browser will prompt you for username and password on one of your next actions.