Introduction to Using and Editing Climbing Topos

Viewing topos

Before delving into the topos, be sure you have read the word of caution on the home page. You should also be aware that by using wikitopo, you accept the terms and conditions of the wikitopo disclaimer in full.

The topos are displayed as normal images but can also be viewed in the editor if you are logged in. This allows you to highlight, show and hide routes, zoom in and out, resize the images and more.

Editing topos      Try editing the demo

If you are having trouble loading the topo editor, you may need to install or upgrade Java on your system. To get the latest version of Java for free click the button below. Download and installation is easy and quick.

Topo contributors can choose from three levels of permissions for topos in the topo library. The top level restricts editing to the creator's account only and the bottom level allows anyone to edit anonymously. The default is the middle level where anyone who is logged in can edit the topo. We encourage you to log in before editing, even if you don't have to, so that we can acknowledge you contributions.

If you need a bit of help getting started, take a quick look at the topo help page.

Creating topos

The topo library is fully extensible and you are very welcome to make an addition.

To create topos, you need to join up and sign in. This is partly so that your contributions can be acknowledged but also to give you control over the topo images that you put on the site. Once you have signed in, you will see a link to "My Profile" in the top right corner, click this and then click on "TOPOS" and you will find yourself in the "topo manager". From here you can launch the "new topo" wizard.

Alternatively you can click here  Create a Topo

OR ... you can navigate the topo library to the location you want and add a topo there.

NB: You will need a jpeg of less than 200 kilobytes. This limmit has been reduced from what was previously 300k and we encourage you to upload smaller files where possible; ideally under 100k. The hight and width of the image should also be no more than 1500 pixels. Topos are displayed as jpeg images, generated on the fly and dimensions greater than this may cause problems.

There are various free tools on the internet you can use to resize, crop and enhance your images.
UKClimbing recommends irfanview among others. In fact, for a good basic overview Preparing Photos For The Internet on UKC is well worth a look.

We have also had good reports of Makup.
If you want loads of bells and whistles and are not afraid of a steep learning curve you could give The Gimp a try.

The Topo Manager

From the topo manager, you can create new topos, set editing permissions and set up external links to be displayed alongside your contributions.

Links

To encourage people to contribute topo images, Wikitopo lets contributors link their images to other web sites with prominently displayed text.

You can set up a default link and/ or individual links for each topo. If you have a default link set up, that link will also appear in areas where you are the main contributor or moderator.

To try and avoid it being used inappropriately we have set out the following guidelines to be observed when taking advantage of this facility.

• You can link your topos to any web site you want provided its content is not offensive or illegal.
  
  
• If you are a non climber wishing to put linked topos on the site, please be sure to get your facts right. There are plenty of climbing forums on the web where you can get good advice and you can easily send a message to any of the Wikitopo contributors.
  
  
• Whilst welcoming all useful contributions, we reserve the right to remove contributions that fall foul of these guidelines, infringe copy write or that we deem to be in any way against the interests of Wikitopo.
  

Moderation

We are currenly working on a moderation system that will give contributors the the option of more control over the content they put on the site by letting them set up managed projects..