User's Guide

If you are unfamiliar with wiki syntax, check out the WikiSyntax page.

First Screen: Introduction ¶ 

1. Choose from the dropdown menu whether your entry is a Project or Technique.

2. Choose a Category and optional secondary Category. Categories don't show up on the main page, but are nested in the main subject areas. At the top-level organization, there are 19 main subject areas (each Category can get classified under up to 2 areas).

Here are the 19 major subjects:

  • Craft
  • Electronics
  • Fabrication
  • Flight and Projectiles
  • Food
  • Home
  • Mechanics
  • Microcontrollers
  • Motors and Engines
  • Music
  • Open Source Ecology
  • Open Source Hardware
  • Photo and Video
  • Reuse
  • Robotics
  • Science
  • Toys and Games
  • Transportation
  • Workshop

Each Category is a subdivision of one of the above subject areas. A drop-down menu in this fields will show all of your options.

For example, "Electronic Embroidery" is both Craft and Electronics, and the Categories may be Soft Circuits and Embroidery. You have the option of adding only one Category or adding a secondary Category.

3. Next, fill out the "title" field, which is the title of the project or technique. Make it as clear, short, and simple as possible.

4. Before you drop in your introductory paragraph, add a one-line summary (DEK) for the piece in the Summary field.

5. Click the red Save button.

NOTE: At this point, you will be taken to the screen for the first step. Below the Make:Projects logo are three tabs: Introduction, Tools & Parts, and Guide Steps. Click the Introduction tab to go back to the first screen and add the introductory paragraph. We'll get to the other in a moment. This is where you can describe the purpose or goal of the project in more detail and add a video.

6. Below the intro, choose the flags that apply to the project you're entering. Be sure to flag "in Progress" if you intend not to finish it in one fell swoop, or if you have missing elements.

7. Save.

Second Screen: Tools & Parts ¶ 

8. Click the Tools & Parts tab.

9. Estimate the time required. You can give a range. The unit of measurement should be capitalized. Example: 2–3 Hours.

10. Estimate the difficulty of the project from the drop-down menu.

11. List any prerequisite guides (which at this point is almost always none).

12. List any required tools and parts in these next two fields.

Start typing the name of each part or tool, and the dropdown menu will give you options of similar items already in the system. If you don't see your item as an option, go ahead and add it as new.

The key here is to distill the part or tool into its basic name and then add more information by clicking Details. Details will give you Type, Quantity, and Notes fields. For example, if your item is 8 Medium balsa sticks, 3/16" x 3/16", 36" long, enter Balsa sticks as the item, 8 as the Quantity, and medium, 3/16"x3/16", 36" long as the Type. Any additional information you have would go under Notes.

To edit an individual part or tool after you've bulk-imported a list of them, go back to the Meta Information page and click on the pencil next to the item.

13. Add any concluding messages you may have. This is a great place to add pointers to more resources, variations, etc.

14. Click "Bulk-import steps" to import all steps at once or hit save and move on to the Step 1 screen to enter steps individually.

To bulk-import steps, steps must be formatted with "Step 1: Blah blah blah." followed by separate paragraphs. You can simply copy and paste all of the steps and the appropriate fields will be populated. Here is a sample format for copying and pasting:

Step 1: Make the LED mount.

To hold the LEDs, use some scrap translucent plastic. Using a drill press, mark an outline on the plastic sheet by cutting partway through with a 1 1/4" hole saw.

Drill three 5mm holes inside it for the LEDs, then finished cutting out the disk with the hole saw.

Trim the edges of the disk until it fits snugly in the rubber side of the hose adapter, stretching the rubber a bit. I used a grinder, but you can also use a file or sandpaper.

The body doesn't have to be formatted as bullets but should be separate paragraphs.

15. Save. A step screen will be populated for each step you entered, and on the right-hand side under Guide Steps, there will be a box for each step.

Images ¶ 

16. Now is a good time to upload your images. Click the blue "Images" box at the bottom left of your screen. Then click Upload and Choose Your Images.

Bear in mind that:

  • Images must be at least 800x600 pixels.
  • You'll be prompted to crop images to 4:3 if necessary.
  • Documents (not images) should be PDFs.
  • Make sure your images are not CMYK. They must be RGB.
  • Choose multiple files with the shift key.
  • Images cannot be over 10MB.

When your images have loaded, you have the option of going through and cropping now or individually, each time you choose one for a step.

Note: Refer to the Photography Guidelines page for detailed information.

17. Choose a main image for your project, preferably a shot of the project done and/or in action. Drag the image up to the image placeholder box in the upper right.

18. Save.

Third Screen: Step 1 ¶ 

19. In the Guide Steps grid under the main image you just dropped in, click on the first box and you'll be taken to your first step.

Each bullet itself is clickable and gives you the option to add an icon for Caution, Note, or Reminder. The very first bullet also has the option of "Make title" if you choose to name your step. If you do name it, use sentence style with punctuation. For example: "Embroider the scene."

To edit text, simply click on it and edit.

20. Each step is allowed up to 3 accompanying images. If you have more than 3 images per step, break your step into smaller steps.

Drag and drop accompanying images. When done, save and move on to the next step until your project is complete, making sure to hit Save when you're done with each step.