What is an ACRONYM?

Linking topics using acronyms.

An acronym is an abbreviation that is typically made up of the first letter or letters of a phrase. An acronym of 3 or more letters will be automatically linked if (and only if) a topic of that name already exists in the current web.

Just like WikiWord linking, acronym linking is easy to use:
  • You don't have to know the full path to where the topic is stored - you just type the name
  • You don't need to write HTML
  • Without HTML, the topic text is easier to read when editing
  • Easy linking leads to interesting texts with links placed in context

Examples of Acronyms

  • HTML
  • RADAR

But Not
  • HTML5 - A digit breaks the acronym link.
  • FAQs - The lower case letter breaks the link.

Variations in linking

When you write an acronym and the acronym topic already exists, it becomes a link. There are more ways

  • To force a link to to an acronym, use bracket notation: [[HTML5]] - this becomes: HTML5 and will display the broken link indicator (red dotted underline) if the topic does not exist.
  • To link to an acronym in another web, write: Sandbox.HTML - this becomes: Sandbox.HTML
  • To link to an acronym on a site like the Acronym Finder, use: Acronym:HTTP - this becomes: Acronym:HTTP (sites are defined in the InterwikiPlugin)

Hints

  • To stop an Acronym from being turned into a hyperlink, insert an exclamation point immediately before the Acronym. For example, write !HTML to get HTML.
  • Unlike WikiWords, plural Acronyms are not automatically linked to the singular topic.
  • FAQ will be linked, but FAQIndex will not. Turn acronyms into WikiWords, i.e. Change FAQIndex to FaqIndex for a "FAQ index" topic.
  • It is possible to turn off the auto-linking and to rely only on the bracket notation using the NOAUTOLINK preference setting.
    • You can set NOAUTOLINK in your personal topic, or directly in any topic to change linking behavior for you or an individual topic.


Related Topics: TopicMarkupLanguage
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