Commons

Commons - the Labs Institutional Wiki.

Commons is the Lab's brand name for an installation of the Confluence Wiki from Atlassian. Spaces are requested by users for everything from a division, department, or group web site, documentation, to project and team collaboration efforts.

How do I restrict the number of spaces I see when I first log into commons?

The easiest way is to click on the star next to each of the listed spaces on your Dashboard. The stars turn yellow and become your favorites. Clicking under the "Spaces" or "Favorite Spaces" tabs reduces the spaces you see to this smaller list.

How can I log into commons and automatically be placed in the space I am most interested in?

Choose your profile picture at top right of the screen, then Settings

Click Edit and choose an option from the Site Homepage drop down (Only spaces you're allowed to view will appear) and click Submit. 

Can I use commons for a personal web site?

Yes. Everyone can create a personal space by choosing your profile picture at top right of the screen, then Add Personal Space. Indicate whether your space should be private or not. A private space will be visible only to you. If you do not make it private, the space will have the default space permissions. Note that you can change these settings again later. You will have space administrator permissions on your space. Choose Create and the home page of your new space will appear. Your home page will contain any default space content as defined by your Confluence administrator. You can change this content at any time.

Can people outside the lab see content on commons?

Yes - if the space administrator allows anonymous viewing. Every page that is impacted this way indicates it by the words Viewable by the world in the upper right hand corner.

Who is allowed to create content on commons?

Anyone with a good business reason. Some spaces (for example the "Divisions and Department Space" can be used by anyone - just recognize that content, by default, is open to the world. Other spaces allow viewing and not editing - it depends on how the space administrator set it up.

I would like a space for my workgroup - who can do this for me?

If you need to create a (non-personal) space, put in a trouble ticket by emailing at [email protected] or by opening an AskUs ticket. Let us know what the purpose of the space is, administrator(s) will be and the space name. We will create the space for you and set the user permissions to your desired configuration.

Can I restrict who can see my space or a page in a space?

Yes - space administrators can set defaults for the entire space. Any page within a space can have restricted viewing or edit rights as deemed appropriate.

At the space level, Pages, News (blogs), attachments, and other features can have different permissions (ability to add, modify, or delete).

Where can I get help?

In the top right corner next to the search bar, the question mark drop down provides links to help pages: