TWiki CGI and Command Line Scripts

Programs on the TWiki server performing actions such as rendering, saving and renaming topics.

The TWiki scripts are located in the twiki/bin and twiki/tools directories. This topic describes the interfaces to some of those scripts. All scripts in the twiki/bin directory can be called from the CGI (Common Gateway Interface) environment or from the command line. The scripts in the twiki/tools directory can only be called from the command line.

CGI Scripts

Details on CGI scripts located in the twiki/bin directory.

General Information

CGI environment

In the CGI environment parameters are passed to the scripts via the URL and URL parameters. Environment variables are also used to determine the user performing the action. If the environment is not set up, the default TWiki user is used (usually guest).

Command-line

You must have the twiki/bin directory on the perl path to run the scripts from the command line. To avoid issues with file permissions, run the scripts as the web server user such as nobody or www.

Parameters are passed on the command line using '-name' - for example,

$ cd /usr/local/twiki/bin
$ save -topic MyWeb.MyTopic -user admin -method POST -action save -text "New text of the topic"

All parameters require a value, even if that is the empty string.

Common parameters

All the scripts accept a number of common parameters. The first two components of the URL after the script name are taken as the web and the topic, respectively. Standard URL parameters are:

Parameter Description Default

topic If this is set to a URL, TWiki will immediately redirect to that URL. Otherwise it overrides the URL and is taken as the topic name (you can pass Web.TopicName)

user Command-line only; set the name of the user performing the action. Note: this usage is inherently insecure, as it bypasses webserver login constraints. For this reason only authorized users should be allowed to execute scripts from the command line. TWikiAdminGroup

method Commad-line only; set the HTTP request method. Some scripts requires the POST method under certain circumstances. In such a case, you need to specify the POST method to run the script from a command line. GET

skin Overrides the default skin path (see TWikiSkins)

cover Specifies temporary skin path to prepend to the skin path for this script only (see TWikiSkins)

Parameter	Description	Default
`topic`	If this is set to a URL, TWiki will immediately redirect to that URL. Otherwise it overrides the URL and is taken as the topic name (you can pass Web.TopicName)
`user`	Command-line only; set the name of the user performing the action. Note: this usage is inherently insecure, as it bypasses webserver login constraints. For this reason only authorized users should be allowed to execute scripts from the command line.	`TWikiAdminGroup`
`method`	Commad-line only; set the HTTP request method. Some scripts requires the POST method under certain circumstances. In such a case, you need to specify the POST method to run the script from a command line.	`GET`
`skin`	Overrides the default skin path (see TWikiSkins)
`cover`	Specifies temporary skin path to prepend to the skin path for this script only (see TWikiSkins)

redirectto parameter

Some scripts take the redirectto parameter. Since the parameter's effect is not simple, it's described here.

The parameter value can either be a TopicName, a Web.TopicName (optionally with parameters e.g. FooBar?param1=value1), or a URL. Please note that redirect to a URL only works if it is enabled in configure (Security setup > Miscellaneous {AllowRedirectUrl}).

If the parameter value contains a ${field} or $field, it's replaced with the value of the specified field of the page (URL-encoded). To know what fields are there on the page, please look into the HTML of the page.

For the save script, special variables are available as below:

Parameter Value

$web and $topic The names of the web/topic of the topic that has just been saved. It is useful when the redirectto parameter is passed around over multiple redirections or form submissions, where the topic name is dynamically determined (e.g. using AUTOINC, custom topic creation form, and JavaScript)

$dontnotify When "Quiet Save" is used, this value is set to "checked".

Parameter	Value
`$web` and `$topic`	The names of the web/topic of the topic that has just been saved. It is useful when the `redirectto` parameter is passed around over multiple redirections or form submissions, where the topic name is dynamically determined (e.g. using AUTOINC, custom topic creation form, and JavaScript)
`$dontnotify`	When "Quiet Save" is used, this value is set to "checked".

`attach`

Despite the name, this script doesn't actually attach a file to a topic - for that, use upload. This script is part of the transactions sequence executed when a file is uploaded from the browser. it just generates the "new attachment" page for a topic.

Parameter Description Default

filename Name of existing attachment (if provided, this is a "manage attachment" action) none (in which case this is a "new attachment" action)

redirectto The attach script itself does not do anything special with this parameter. But the attach template is written so that the parameter's value is propagated to upload, which is called when attachments are uploaded.

Parameter	Description	Default
`filename`	Name of existing attachment (if provided, this is a "manage attachment" action)	none (in which case this is a "new attachment" action)
`redirectto`	The `attach` script itself does not do anything special with this parameter. But the attach template is written so that the parameter's value is propagated to `upload`, which is called when attachments are uploaded.

`changes`

Shows all the changes in the given web.

The changes script can receive one parameter:

Parameter Description Default

minor If 0, show only major changes. If 1, show all the changes (both minor and major) 0

Parameter	Description	Default
`minor`	If 0, show only major changes. If 1, show all the changes (both minor and major)	0

The main difference between invoking this script and using WebChanges is that WebChanges is based on a %SEARCH%, while this script reads the changes file in each web, making it much faster.

Note: The result from changes script and the topic WebChanges can be different, if the changes file is deleted from a web. In particular, in new installations the changes script will return no results while the WebChanges topic will.

`configure`

configure is the browser script used for inspection and configuration of the TWiki configuration. None of the parameters to this script are useable for any purpose except configure. See configure.

`edit`

The edit script understands the following parameters, typically supplied by HTML input fields:

Parameter Description Default

action Optional. Use the editaction template instead of the standard edit. If action=text, then hide the form. If action=form hide the normal text area and only edit the form. You can change the Edit/Edit Raw buttons to always append the action parameter in skins like Pattern and Classic by setting the topic or preference variable EDITACTION to the value text or form. To edit the topic once the EDITACTION is defined as form simply remove the action=form from the browser URL of the edit script and reload the edit window

onlynewtopic If set, error if topic already exists

onlywikiname If set, error if topic name is not a WikiWord

templatetopic The name of the template topic, copied to get the initial content (new topic only)

text Initial text for the topic

topicparent The parent topic

formtemplate Name of the form to instantiate in the topic. Overrides the form set in the templatetopic if defined. (will remove the form is set to 'none')

template Specify a different skin template, overriding the 'edit' template the edit script would normally use. Use this for specialized templates in a TWiki Application. This parameter is not commonly used.

contenttype Optional parameter that defines the application type to write into the CGI header. Defaults to text/html. May be used to invoke alternative client applications

anyname Any parameter can passed to the new topic; if the template topic contains %URLPARAM{"anyname"}%, it will be replaced by its value

breaklock If set, any lease conflicts will be ignored, and the edit will proceed even if someone is already editing the topic.

redirectto The edit script itself does not do anything special with this parameter. But the edit template is written so that the parameter's value is propagated to save, which is called when a topic is saved.

t Provide a unique URL each time a topic is edited, typically specifying parameter t=%SERVERTIME{$epoch}% in an edit link. This is done to prevent browsers from caching an edit session, which could result in editing outdated content. The parameter name and value is arbitrary, but must be unique each time.

Parameter	Description	Default
`action`	Optional. Use the editaction template instead of the standard edit. If action=text, then hide the form. If action=form hide the normal text area and only edit the form. You can change the Edit/Edit Raw buttons to always append the action parameter in skins like Pattern and Classic by setting the topic or preference variable EDITACTION to the value `text` or `form`. To edit the topic once the EDITACTION is defined as form simply remove the action=form from the browser URL of the edit script and reload the edit window
`onlynewtopic`	If set, error if topic already exists
`onlywikiname`	If set, error if topic name is not a WikiWord
`templatetopic`	The name of the template topic, copied to get the initial content (new topic only)
`text`	Initial text for the topic
`topicparent`	The parent topic
`formtemplate`	Name of the form to instantiate in the topic. Overrides the form set in the `templatetopic` if defined. (will remove the form is set to 'none')
`template`	Specify a different skin template, overriding the 'edit' template the edit script would normally use. Use this for specialized templates in a TWiki Application. This parameter is not commonly used.
`contenttype`	Optional parameter that defines the application type to write into the CGI header. Defaults to `text/html`. May be used to invoke alternative client applications
`anyname`	Any parameter can passed to the new topic; if the template topic contains `%URLPARAM{"anyname"}%`, it will be replaced by its value
`breaklock`	If set, any lease conflicts will be ignored, and the edit will proceed even if someone is already editing the topic.
`redirectto`	The `edit` script itself does not do anything special with this parameter. But the edit template is written so that the parameter's value is propagated to `save`, which is called when a topic is saved.
`t`	Provide a unique URL each time a topic is edited, typically specifying parameter `t=%SERVERTIME{$epoch}%` in an edit link. This is done to prevent browsers from caching an edit session, which could result in editing outdated content. The parameter name and value is arbitrary, but must be unique each time.

Form field values are passed in parameters named 'field' - for example, if I have a field Status the parameter name is Status.

The first sequence of ten or more X characters in the topic name will be converted on save to a number such that the resulting topic name is unique in the target web.

Notes:

Most skins support the definition of EDIT_SKIN, which is used as the value of the cover parameter in edit URLs. This allows you to override the default edit skin on a web, topic or user basis.

This is not a behavior of the edit script, but most skins' view template refers to the SAVEREDIRECTTO preference variable. If it's defined, the edit links on the view page gets redirectto parameter with the value of SAVEREDIRECTTO.

`login`

Used for logging in when TWiki login is being used (e.g TemplateLoginManager).

Parameter Description Default

origurl URL that was being accessed when an access violation occurred. the login process will redirect to this URL if it is successful none

username username of user logging in none

password password of user logging in none

Parameter	Description	Default
`origurl`	URL that was being accessed when an access violation occurred. the login process will redirect to this URL if it is successful	none
`username`	username of user logging in	none
`password`	password of user logging in	none

`logon`

Used for logging in when Web Server authentication is being used (e.g. ApacheLoginManager). The script does nothing; it is purely a placeholder for triggering the login process. The webserver will be set up to require a valid user to access this script, thus triggering the webserver login process.

`manage`

Performs a range of management functions.

Parameter Description Default

action One of createweb, renameweb, deleteUserAccount, editSettings or saveSettings none

Parameter	Description	Default
`action`	One of `createweb`, `renameweb`, `deleteUserAccount`, `editSettings` or `saveSettings`	none

Note: The manage script can only be called via http POST method for createweb renameweb, and deleteUserAccount.

`action=createweb`

Parameter Description Default

newweb Name of the new web ''

baseweb Name of the web to copy to create the new web ''

webbgcolor value for WEBBGCOLOR ''

sitemapwhat Value for SITEMAPWHAT ''

nosearchall Value for NOSEARCHALL ''

Parameter	Description	Default
`newweb`	Name of the new web	''
`baseweb`	Name of the web to copy to create the new web	''
`webbgcolor`	value for WEBBGCOLOR	''
`sitemapwhat`	Value for SITEMAPWHAT	''
`nosearchall`	Value for NOSEARCHALL	''

`action=renameweb`

Parameter Description Default

newsubweb Name of the web after move ''

newparentweb New parent web name ''

confirm If defined, requires a second level of confirmation. Supported values are "getlock", "continue", and "cancel" ''

Parameter	Description	Default
`newsubweb`	Name of the web after move	''
`newparentweb`	New parent web name	''
`confirm`	If defined, requires a second level of confirmation. Supported values are "getlock", "continue", and "cancel"	''

`action=editSettings`

No parameters

`action=saveSettings`

Parameter Description Default

text Text of the topic ''

originalrev Revision that the edit started on Most recent revision

redirectto If the savesettings process is successful, save will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details.
All other parameters may be interpreted as form fields, depending on the current form definition in the topic.

Parameter	Description	Default
`text`	Text of the topic	''
`originalrev`	Revision that the edit started on	Most recent revision
`redirectto`	If the savesettings process is successful, save will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details.

`action=bulkRegister`

See BulkRegistration.

Parameter Description Default

OverwriteHomeTopics Whether to overwrite existing home topics or not false

EmailUsersWithDetails Whether to mail registered users or not false

LogTopic Topic to save the log in Same as topic name, with 'Result' appended.

Parameter	Description	Default
`OverwriteHomeTopics`	Whether to overwrite existing home topics or not	false
`EmailUsersWithDetails`	Whether to mail registered users or not	false
`LogTopic`	Topic to save the log in	Same as topic name, with 'Result' appended.

`action=changePassword`

Change password, email address, or both, of a user.

Parameter Description Default

username god alone knows none

oldpassword current password none

password new password none

passwordA new password confirmation none

email new email address none
password, =passwordA and email are optional. If neither or password and passwordA is set, then the user password is left unchanged. If email is unset, their email is left unchanged.

Parameter	Description	Default
`username`	god alone knows	none
`oldpassword`	current password	none
`password`	new password	none
`passwordA`	new password confirmation	none
`email`	new email address	none

`action=resetPassword`

Reset the password for a single or multiple users

Parameter Description Default

LoginName list of usernames to reset none - error if not set

Introduction message to be sent alongside the reset, most often used to announce to the user that they have been given an account. ''

Parameter	Description	Default
`LoginName`	list of usernames to reset	none - error if not set
`Introduction`	message to be sent alongside the reset, most often used to announce to the user that they have been given an account.	''

This is used by BulkResetPassword and ResetPassword. Only administrators can provide a list of LoginNames, non-admins can only provide a single LoginName.

BulkRegistration provides the means to create multiple accounts but it does not announce those accounts to the users who own them. BulkResetPassword is used to assign the passwords, the Introduction is used to explain why they are receiving the mail.

`action=deleteUserAccount`

Unregisters (removes) the currently logged-in user.

Parameter Description Default

password Users' password none

Parameter	Description	Default
`password`	Users' password	none

`oops`

This script is mainly used for rendering pages containing error messages, though it is also used for some functional actions such as manage pages (move topic etc).

oops templates are used with the oops script to generate system messages. This is done to make internationalization or other local customizations simple.

The oops script supports the following parameters:

Parameter Description Default

template Name of the template file to display

def Optional, can be set to the name of a single definition within template. This definition will be instantiated in the template wherever %INSTANTIATE% is seen. This lets you use a single template file for many messages. For an example, see oopsmanagebad.tmpl.

paramN Where N is an integer from 1 upwards. These values will be substituted into template for %PARAM1% etc.

Parameter	Description	Default
`template`	Name of the template file to display
`def`	Optional, can be set to the name of a single definition within `template`. This definition will be instantiated in the `template` wherever `%INSTANTIATE%` is seen. This lets you use a single template file for many messages. For an example, see `oopsmanagebad.tmpl`.
`paramN`	Where N is an integer from 1 upwards. These values will be substituted into `template` for `%PARAM1%` etc.

`preview`

This script is deprecated. Its functions are covered by the save script.

`rdiff`

Renders the differences between version of a TWiki topic

Parameter Description Default

rev1 the higher revision

rev2 the lower revision

render the rendering style {sequential, sidebyside, raw, debug} DIFFRENDERSTYLE, sequential

type {history, diff, last} history diff, version to version, last version to previous diff

context number of lines of context
TODO:

Parameter	Description	Default
rev1	the higher revision
rev2	the lower revision
render	the rendering style {sequential, sidebyside, raw, debug}	DIFFRENDERSTYLE, `sequential`
type	{history, diff, last} history diff, version to version, last version to previous	`diff`
context	number of lines of context

add a {word} render style

`register`

Parameter Description Default

action register or verify or resetPassword or approve

topicparent The parent topic of the new user profile page {UsersTopicName} configure setting

Parameter	Description	Default
`action`	`register` or `verify` or `resetPassword` or `approve`
`topicparent`	The parent topic of the new user profile page	`{UsersTopicName}` configure setting

Note: The register script can only be called via http POST method, not GET. Make sure to specify the "post" method if you call the register script via a form action.

`rename`

Used for renaming topics and attachments.

Parameter Description Default

skin skin(s) to use

newweb new web name

newtopic new topic name

breaklock

attachment

confirm if defined, requires a second level of confirmation

currentwebonly if defined, searches current web only for links to this topic

nonwikiword if defined, a non-wikiword is acceptable for the new topic name

redirectto If the rename process is successful, rename will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details.

disablefixlinks Bypass fixing WikiWord links in the rename destination topic if rename is done across webs. Fixing links in the renamed topic such as from SomeLink to Otherweb.SomeLink is usually desirable so that links in the copied topic still point to the same target off (links are fixed)

Parameter	Description	Default
`skin`	skin(s) to use
`newweb`	new web name
`newtopic`	new topic name
`breaklock`
`attachment`
`confirm`	if defined, requires a second level of confirmation
`currentwebonly`	if defined, searches current web only for links to this topic
`nonwikiword`	if defined, a non-wikiword is acceptable for the new topic name
`redirectto`	If the rename process is successful, rename will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details.
`disablefixlinks`	Bypass fixing WikiWord links in the rename destination topic if rename is done across webs. Fixing links in the renamed topic such as from SomeLink to Otherweb.SomeLink is usually desirable so that links in the copied topic still point to the same target	`off` (links are fixed)

Note: The rename script can only be called via http POST method, not GET. Make sure you specify method="post" if you call the rename script via a form action.

`copy`

Used for copying the current topic in its entirety including its history and attachments.

Parameter Description Default

newweb destination web name current web

newtopic destination topic name current topic

nonwikiword if defined, a non-wikiword is acceptable for the destination topic name

redirectto If the copy process is successful, copy will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details.

overwrite By default, copy does not happen if the destination topic already exists. If this parameter is 'on', the destination topic is deleted if exists before copying takes place off (no overwrite)

disablefixlinks Bypass fixing WikiWord links in the copy destination topic if copy is done across webs. Fixing links in the copied topic such as from SomeLink to Otherweb.SomeLink is usually desirable so that links in the copied topic still point to the same target off (links are fixed)

Parameter	Description	Default
`newweb`	destination web name	current web
`newtopic`	destination topic name	current topic
`nonwikiword`	if defined, a non-wikiword is acceptable for the destination topic name
`redirectto`	If the copy process is successful, copy will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details.
`overwrite`	By default, copy does not happen if the destination topic already exists. If this parameter is `'on'`, the destination topic is deleted if exists before copying takes place	`off` (no overwrite)
`disablefixlinks`	Bypass fixing WikiWord links in the copy destination topic if copy is done across webs. Fixing links in the copied topic such as from SomeLink to Otherweb.SomeLink is usually desirable so that links in the copied topic still point to the same target	`off` (links are fixed)

`mdrepo`

Used to retrieve and update data in MetadataRepository. Please read MetadataRepository#mdrepo_script_from_command_line and MetadataRepository#mdrepo_script_from_browser.

`rest`

This REST (Representational State Transfer) script can be invoked via http in the same way as the other TWiki scripts (see Invocation Examples, below) to execute a function that is associated to a "subject" and a "verb" (see below). These functions are usually registered by plugins using the TWiki::Func::registerRESTHandler method. The rest script will print the result directly to the browser unless the endPoint parameter is specified, in which case it will output a redirect to the given topic.

The rest script supports the following parameters:

username If TemplateLogin, or a similar login manager not embedded in the web server, is used, then you need to pass a username and password to the server. The username and password parameters are used for this purpose.

password See username

topic If defined as the full name (including web) of a topic, then when the script starts up plugins will be passed this as the "current" topic. If not defined, then Main.WebHome will be passed to plugins.

endPoint Where to redirect the response once the request is served, in the form "Web.Topic"

`username`	If `TemplateLogin`, or a similar login manager not embedded in the web server, is used, then you need to pass a username and password to the server. The `username` and `password` parameters are used for this purpose.
`password`	See `username`
`topic`	If defined as the full name (including web) of a topic, then when the script starts up plugins will be passed this as the "current" topic. If not defined, then Main.WebHome will be passed to plugins.
`endPoint`	Where to redirect the response once the request is served, in the form "Web.Topic"

The function is free to use any other query parameters for its own purposes.

Note: The rest script should always require authentication in any TWiki that has logins. Otherwise there is a risk of opening up major security holes. So make sure you add it to the list of authenticated scripts if you are using ApacheLogin.

Invocation Examples

The rest script assumes that it will be called with URL in the form:

http://my.host/bin/rest/<subject>/<verb>

where <subject> must be the WikiWord name of one of the installed TWikiPlugins, and the <verb> is the alias for the function registered using the TWiki::Func::registerRESTHandler method. The <subject> and <verb> are then used to lookup and call the registered function.

<subject> and <verb> are checked for illegal characters exactly in the same way as the web and topic names.

As an example, the EmptyPlugin has registered a function to be used with the rest script under the subject EmptyPlugin and the verb example. Click below to see the rest script in action (run as TWikiGuest).

Call the Plugin

Note that for Plugins to register REST handlers, they must be enabled in configure.

`save`

The save script performs a range of save-related functions, as selected by the action parameter.

Parameter Description Default

action_save=1 default; save, return to view, dontnotify is off

action_quietsave=1 save, and return to view, dontnotify is on

action_checkpoint save and redirect to the edit script, dontnotify is on

action_cancel exit without save, return to view

action_preview preview edited text

action_addform Redirect to the "change form" page.

action_replaceform... Redirect to the "change form" page.

action_delRev Administrators only delete the most recent revision of the topic - all other parameters are ignored. You have to be an administrator to use this, and not all store implementations will support it.

action_repRev Administrators only replace the text of the most recent revision of the topic with the text in the text parameter. text must included embedded meta-data tags. All other parameters are ignored. You have to be an administrator to use this, and not all store implementations will support it.

onlynewtopic If set, error if topic already exists

onlywikiname If set, error if topic name is not a WikiWord

dontnotify if defined, suppress change notification

templatetopic Name of a topic to use as a template for the text and form (new topic only)

text New text of the topic

forcenewrevision if set, forces a revision even if TWiki thinks one isn't needed

topicparent If 'none' remove any current topic parent. If the name of a topic, set the topic parent to this.

formtemplate if defined, use the named template for the form (will remove the form is set to 'none')

editaction When action is checkpoint, add form or replace form..., this is used as the action parameter to the edit script that is redirected to after the save is complete.

originalrev Revision on which the edit started.

edit The script to use to edit the topic when action is checkpoint edit

editparams The parameter string to use to edit the topic

redirectto The save process will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter if it is successful. Please read here for details. Please read notes on redirectto below as well. view topic being saved

Parameter	Description	Default
`action_save=1`	default; save, return to view, dontnotify is `off`
`action_quietsave=1`	save, and return to view, `dontnotify` is `on`
`action_checkpoint`	save and redirect to the edit script, `dontnotify` is `on`
`action_cancel`	exit without save, return to view
`action_preview`	preview edited text
`action_addform`	Redirect to the "change form" page.
`action_replaceform...`	Redirect to the "change form" page.
`action_delRev`	Administrators only delete the most recent revision of the topic - all other parameters are ignored. You have to be an administrator to use this, and not all store implementations will support it.
`action_repRev`	Administrators only replace the text of the most recent revision of the topic with the text in the `text` parameter. `text` must included embedded meta-data tags. All other parameters are ignored. You have to be an administrator to use this, and not all store implementations will support it.
`onlynewtopic`	If set, error if topic already exists
`onlywikiname`	If set, error if topic name is not a WikiWord
`dontnotify`	if defined, suppress change notification
`templatetopic`	Name of a topic to use as a template for the text and form (new topic only)
`text`	New text of the topic
`forcenewrevision`	if set, forces a revision even if TWiki thinks one isn't needed
`topicparent`	If 'none' remove any current topic parent. If the name of a topic, set the topic parent to this.
`formtemplate`	if defined, use the named template for the form (will remove the form is set to 'none')
`editaction`	When action is `checkpoint`, `add form` or `replace form...`, this is used as the `action` parameter to the `edit` script that is redirected to after the save is complete.
`originalrev`	Revision on which the edit started.
`edit`	The script to use to edit the topic when action is `checkpoint`	`edit`
`editparams`	The parameter string to use to edit the topic
`redirectto`	The save process will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter if it is successful. Please read here for details. Please read notes on `redirectto` below as well.	view topic being saved

Notes:

Any errors will cause a redirect to an oops page.

It is possible to get auto-incremented topic names: Add AUTOINC<n> (such as AUTOINC0001, <n> being one or more consecutive digits) to the topic name; it will be converted to a number to make a unique topic name in the web. For example, ItemAUTOINC0001 makes Item0001, Item0002, Item0003, ... (detail)

When the action is save, checkpoint, quietsave, or preview:
1. The new text is taken from the text parameter, if it is defined,
  - otherwise it is taken from the templatetopic, if it is defined, (new topic only)
  - otherwise it is taken from the previous version of the topic, if any,
2. The name of the new form is taken from the formtemplate, if defined
  - otherwise it is taken from the templatetopic, if defined, (new topic only)
  - otherwise it is taken from the previous version of the topic, if any,
  - otherwise no form is attached.
3. The value for each field in the form is taken from the query, if it is defined
  - otherwise it is taken from the templatetopic, if defined, (new topic only)
  - otherwise it is taken from the previous version of the topic, if any,
  - otherwise it defaults to the empty string.

Merging is only enabled if the topic text comes from text and originalrev is > 0 and is not the same as the revision number of the most recent revision. If merging is enabled both the topic and the meta-data are merged.

Form field values are passed in parameters with names matching the field names - for example, if the form has a field named Status, specify a parameter named Status.

As a security precaution, it is not possible to use save in an <a href=""> link. The save script can only be called via http POST method, not GET. Make sure to specify the "post" method if you call the save script via a form action. Example:
<form name="new" action="%SCRIPTURLPATH{save}%/Sandbox/" method="post">
...
</form>

There are two things to mention about the redirectto parameter.
- You may create a new topic name containing AUTOINC<n> and you may want to redirect to a URL containing the newly created topic's name. This is tricky but you can achieve that by putting AUTOINC in the redirectto parameter. Let's say you create new topics by specifying ItemAUTOINC000 as the topic name, then ItemAUTOINC in redirectto is replaced with the appropriate ItemNNN. For example, if the latest existing topic is Item012, a new topic named Item013 is created, and the web client is redirected to a URL having Item013.
- When the "Quiet save" button is clicked, TWiki processes as if the dontnotify field has the value checked. Here's a concrete example. Let's say redirectto=WebHome?t=$dontnotify parameter is present to an edit URL.
  - If "Save" button is clicked, you are redirected to WebHome?t=
  - If "Quiet save" button is clicked, you are redirect to WebHome?t=checked

`search`

CGI gateway to the %SEARCH% functionality driven by the following CGI parameters:

Parameter: Description: Default:

"text" Search term. Is a keyword search, literal search or regular expression search, depending on the type parameter. SearchHelp has more required

search="text" (Alternative to above) N/A

web="Name"
web="Main, Know"
web="all" Comma-separated list of webs to search. See VarSEARCH for more details. Current web

topic="WebPreferences"
topic="*Bug" Limit search to topics: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma. All topics in a web

excludetopic="Web*"
excludetopic="WebHome, WebChanges" Exclude topics from search: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma. None

type="keyword"
type="literal"
type="regex" Do a keyword search like soap "web service" -shampoo; a literal search like web service; or RegularExpression search like soap;web service;!shampoo %SEARCHVAR- DEFAULTTYPE% preferences setting (literal)

scope="topic"
scope="text"
scope="all" Search topic name (title); the text (body) of topic; or all (both) "text"

sort="topic"
sort="created"
sort="modified"
sort="editby"
sort="parent"
sort= "formfield(name)" Sort the results of search by the topic names, topic creation time, last modified time, last editor, parent topic name, or named field of TWikiForms. The sorting is done web by web; in case you want to sort across webs, create a formatted table and sort it with TablePlugin's initsort Sort by topic name

limit="all"
limit="16" Limit the number of results returned. This is done after sorting if sort is specified All results

date="..." limits the results to those pages with latest edit time in the given time interval. All results

reverse="on" Reverse the direction of the search Ascending search

casesensitive="on" Case sensitive search Ignore case

bookview="on" BookView search, e.g. show complete topic text Show topic summary

nonoise="on" Shorthand for nosummary="on" nosearch="on" nototal="on" zeroresults="off" noheader="on" noempty="on" Off

nosummary="on" Show topic title only Show topic summary

nosearch="on" Suppress search string Show search string

noheader="on" Suppress search header
Topics: Changed: By: Show search header

nototal="on" Do not show number of topics found Show number

zeroresults="off" Suppress all output if there are no hits zeroresults="on", displays: "Number of topics: 0"

noempty="on" Suppress results for webs that have no hits. Show webs with no hits

header="..."
format="..." Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples Results in table

expandvariables="on" Expand variables before applying a FormattedSearch on a search hit. Useful to show the expanded text, e.g. to show the result of a SpreadSheetPlugin %CALC{}% instead of the formula Raw text

multiple="on" Multiple hits per topic. Each hit can be formatted. The last token is used in case of a regular expression ";" and search Only one hit per topic

nofinalnewline="on" If on, the search variable does not end in a line by itself. Any text continuing immediately after the search tag on the same line will be rendered as part of the table generated by the search, if appropriate. off

separator=", " Line separator between hits Newline "$n"

Parameter:	Description:	Default:
`"text"`	Search term. Is a keyword search, literal search or regular expression search, depending on the `type` parameter. SearchHelp has more	required
`search="text"`	(Alternative to above)	N/A
`web="Name"` `web="Main, Know"` `web="all"`	Comma-separated list of webs to search. See VarSEARCH for more details.	Current web
`topic="WebPreferences"` `topic="*Bug"`	Limit search to topics: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma.	All topics in a web
`excludetopic="Web*"` `excludetopic="WebHome, WebChanges"`	Exclude topics from search: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma.	None
`type="keyword"` `type="literal"` `type="regex"`	Do a keyword search like `soap "web service" -shampoo`; a literal search like `web service`; or RegularExpression search like `soap;web service;!shampoo`	`%SEARCHVAR- DEFAULTTYPE%` preferences setting (literal)
`scope="topic"` `scope="text"` `scope="all"`	Search topic name (title); the text (body) of topic; or all (both)	`"text"`
`sort="topic"` `sort="created"` `sort="modified"` `sort="editby"` `sort="parent"` `sort= "formfield(name)"`	Sort the results of search by the topic names, topic creation time, last modified time, last editor, parent topic name, or named field of TWikiForms. The sorting is done web by web; in case you want to sort across webs, create a formatted table and sort it with TablePlugin's initsort	Sort by topic name
`limit="all"` `limit="16"`	Limit the number of results returned. This is done after sorting if `sort` is specified	All results
`date="..."`	limits the results to those pages with latest edit time in the given time interval.	All results
`reverse="on"`	Reverse the direction of the search	Ascending search
`casesensitive="on"`	Case sensitive search	Ignore case
`bookview="on"`	BookView search, e.g. show complete topic text	Show topic summary
`nonoise="on"`	Shorthand for `nosummary="on" nosearch="on" nototal="on" zeroresults="off" noheader="on" noempty="on"`	Off
`nosummary="on"`	Show topic title only	Show topic summary
`nosearch="on"`	Suppress search string	Show search string
`noheader="on"`	Suppress search header Topics: Changed: By:	Show search header
`nototal="on"`	Do not show number of topics found	Show number
`zeroresults="off"`	Suppress all output if there are no hits	`zeroresults="on"`, displays: "Number of topics: 0"
`noempty="on"`	Suppress results for webs that have no hits.	Show webs with no hits
`header="..."` `format="..."`	Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples	Results in table
`expandvariables="on"`	Expand variables before applying a FormattedSearch on a search hit. Useful to show the expanded text, e.g. to show the result of a SpreadSheetPlugin `%CALC{}%` instead of the formula	Raw text
`multiple="on"`	Multiple hits per topic. Each hit can be formatted. The last token is used in case of a regular expression ";" and search	Only one hit per topic
`nofinalnewline="on"`	If `on`, the search variable does not end in a line by itself. Any text continuing immediately after the search tag on the same line will be rendered as part of the table generated by the search, if appropriate.	`off`
`separator=", "`	Line separator between hits	Newline `"$n"`

`statistics`

Refresh the WebStatistics topics in range of webs.

Parameter Description Default

webs comma-separated list of webs to run stats on all accessible webs

logdate YYYYMM to generate statistics for current month

Parameter	Description	Default
`webs`	comma-separated list of webs to run stats on	all accessible webs
`logdate`	YYYYMM to generate statistics for	current month

For example:

from browser http://amazedbygrace.org/bin/statistics updates all user webs
from browser http://amazedbygrace.org/bin/statistics?webs=TWiki,Main,Sandbox updates TWiki,Main,Sandbox
from browser http://amazedbygrace.org/bin/statistics/TWiki updates TWiki
from command line twiki/bin/statistics updates all user webs
from command line twiki/bin/statistics -webs=TWiki,Main,Sandbox updates TWiki,Main,Sandbox
from command line twiki/bin/statistics TWiki.WebHome updates TWiki

See TWikiSiteTools#WebStatistics_site_statistics for updating statistics using cron.

`upload`

Uploads an attachment to a topic. The HTTP request is expected to be in multipart/form-data format.

Parameter Description Default

hidefile If defined, will not show file in attachment table

filepath Local (client) path name of the file being uploaded. This is used to look up the data for the file in the HTTP query.

filename Deprecated, do not use

filecomment Comment to associate with file in attachment table

createlink If defined, will create a link to file at end of topic

changeproperties If defined, this is a property change operation only - no file will be uploaded. null

redirectto The upload process will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details. Even if an error or warning ocurrs, clicking the OK link below the message redirects you to the specified topic or URL.

updatefield If defined and if the value matches the name of a form field, it will update that form field with the format defined by the updateformat parameter.

updateformat Format of the value of the form field indicated by the updatefield parameter. The default is the name of the attached file, but can be set to include more, such as the path to the image, %PUBURL%/%BASEWEB%/%BASETOPIC%/$filename. $filename

Parameter	Description	Default
`hidefile`	If defined, will not show file in attachment table
`filepath`	Local (client) path name of the file being uploaded. This is used to look up the data for the file in the HTTP query.
`filename`	Deprecated, do not use
`filecomment`	Comment to associate with file in attachment table
`createlink`	If defined, will create a link to file at end of topic
`changeproperties`	If defined, this is a property change operation only - no file will be uploaded.	null
`redirectto`	The upload process will redirect to the topic or URL specified by this parameter. Please read here for details. Even if an error or warning ocurrs, clicking the OK link below the message redirects you to the specified topic or URL.
`updatefield`	If defined and if the value matches the name of a form field, it will update that form field with the format defined by the `updateformat` parameter.
`updateformat`	Format of the value of the form field indicated by the `updatefield` parameter. The default is the name of the attached file, but can be set to include more, such as the path to the image, `%PUBURL%/%BASEWEB%/%BASETOPIC%/$filename`.	`$filename`

You can use a tool like curl to upload files from the command line using this script.

Note: The upload script can only be called via http POST method, not GET.

`view`

Used for viewing topics.

Parameter Description Default

raw=on Shows the text of the topic in a scrollable textarea

raw=debug As raw=on, but also shows the metadata (forms etc) associated with the topic.

raw=text Shows only the source of the topic, as plain text (Content-type: text/plain). Only shows the body text, not the form or other meta-data.

raw=expandvariables Similar to raw=text but TWiki variables are expanded.

raw=all Shows only the source of the topic, as plain text (Content-type: text/plain), with embedded meta-data. This may be useful if you want to extract the source of a topic to a local file on disc.

section Allows to view only a part of the topic delimited by a named section (see VarSTARTSECTION). If the given section is not present, no topic content is displayed.

contenttype Allows you to specify a different Content-Type: (e.g. contenttype=text/plain)

rev Revision to view (e.g. rev=45)

template Allows you to specify a different skin template, overriding the 'view' template the view script would normally use. The default template is view. For example, you could specify /bin/view/TWiki/TWikiScripts?template=edit. This is mainly useful when you have specialized templates for a TWiki Application.

topic redirects to show the specified Web.Topic, or, redirects to a URL, if allowed by {AllowRedirectUrl} and {PermittedRedirectHostUrls} configure settings

createifnotexist If createifnotexist is set to 1 and in case the topic does not exist, it is created automatically on view. Useful to create topics automatically based on a specific template (see example below). Behind the scene, the view script redirects first to the save script, passing along all URL parameters. Thus all URL parameters of the save script can be used, such as templatetopic, topicparent and redirectto. Next, the save script creates the topic and redirects back to the view script (or displays an error in case there were any issues creating the topic).

extralog Add additional text to TWiki log, next to the user agent string. Useful to log actions by cache scripts and crawlers.

Parameter	Description	Default
`raw=on`	Shows the text of the topic in a scrollable textarea
`raw=debug`	As `raw=on`, but also shows the metadata (forms etc) associated with the topic.
`raw=text`	Shows only the source of the topic, as plain text (Content-type: text/plain). Only shows the body text, not the form or other meta-data.
`raw=expandvariables`	Similar to `raw=text` but TWiki variables are expanded.
`raw=all`	Shows only the source of the topic, as plain text (Content-type: text/plain), with embedded meta-data. This may be useful if you want to extract the source of a topic to a local file on disc.
`section`	Allows to view only a part of the topic delimited by a named section (see VarSTARTSECTION). If the given section is not present, no topic content is displayed.
`contenttype`	Allows you to specify a different Content-Type: (e.g. `contenttype=text/plain`)
`rev`	Revision to view (e.g. `rev=45`)
`template`	Allows you to specify a different skin template, overriding the 'view' template the view script would normally use. The default template is `view`. For example, you could specify /bin/view/TWiki/TWikiScripts?template=edit. This is mainly useful when you have specialized templates for a TWiki Application.
`topic`	redirects to show the specified Web.Topic, or, redirects to a URL, if allowed by `{AllowRedirectUrl}` and `{PermittedRedirectHostUrls}` configure settings
`createifnotexist`	If `createifnotexist` is set to `1` and in case the topic does not exist, it is created automatically on view. Useful to create topics automatically based on a specific template (see example below). Behind the scene, the `view` script redirects first to the `save` script, passing along all URL parameters. Thus all URL parameters of the `save` script can be used, such as `templatetopic`, `topicparent` and `redirectto`. Next, the `save` script creates the topic and redirects back to the `view` script (or displays an error in case there were any issues creating the topic).
`extralog`	Add additional text to TWiki log, next to the user agent string. Useful to log actions by cache scripts and crawlers.

Example use of createifnotexist to link to the bookmark page of a user, and to create the page on the fly if needed:
[[%SCRIPTURL{view}%/%USERSWEB%/%WIKINAME%Bookmarks?createifnotexist=1&templatetopic=%SYSTEMWEB%.UserBookmarksTemplate&topicparent=%WIKINAME%][Bookmarks]]

For historical reasons, the view script has a special interpretation of the text skin. In earlier TWiki versions the skin=text parameter was used like this: http://.../view/MyWeb/MyTopic?skin=text&contenttype=text/plain&raw=on which shows the topic as plain text; useful for those who want to download plain text for the topic. Using skin=text this way is DEPRECATED, use raw=text instead.

`viewfile`

Used for viewing attachments. Normally, a site will publish the attachments (pub) directory using a URL. However if it contains sensitive information, you will want to protect attachments using TWikiAccessControls. In this case, you can use the viewfile script to give access to attachments while still checking access controls.

Parameter Description Default

filename name of attachment

rev Revision to view

debug Put debug info to the debug log

Parameter	Description	Default
`filename`	name of attachment
`rev`	Revision to view
`debug`	Put debug info to the debug log

Instead of using the filename parameter, you can append the attachment name to the end of the URL path (after the topic) e.g. http://amazedbygrace.org/bin/viewfile/Webname/TopicName/Attachment.gif In that case, determining the attachment file name is non-trivial -- please consider a file name having multiple dots and a file name having no dots. As such, the process of determining the file name is put on the debug log if debug=1 URL parameter is supplied.

Command Line Scripts

Details on command line scripts located in the twiki/tools directory.

`geturl.pl`

This is a very simple script to get the content of a web site. It is marked as deprecated and might be removed (or enhanced) in a future TWiki release. Its functions are covered by the standard wget and curl commands.

Usage: geturl.pl <host> <path> [<port> [<header>]]
Example: geturl.pl some.domain /some/dir/file.html 80
Will get: http://some.domain:80/some/dir/file.html

`rewriteshebang.pl`

Simple script to rewrite the #!/usr/bin/perl shebang lines specific to your local Perl installation. It will rewrite the first line of all your TWiki cgi scripts so they use a different shebang line. Use it if your perl is in a non-standard location, or you want to use a different interpreter (such as 'speedy').

`tick_twiki.pl`

This script executes a number of non-essential regular administration tasks that will help keep your TWiki healthy and happy, such as removing expired sessions and lease files.

It is intended to be run as a cron job or a scheduled task once a week. Example crontab entry:
0 0 * * 0 cd /usr/twiki/bin && perl ../tools/tick_twiki.pl

Note: The script has to be run by a user who can write files created by the webserver user.

-- Contributors: TWiki:Main.ArthurClemens, TWiki:Main.CrawfordCurrie, TWiki:Main.MichaelDaum, TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny, TWiki:Main.RafaelAlvarez, TWiki:Main.SvenDowideit, TWiki:Main.ThomasWeigert, TWiki:Main.WillNorris

Revision r17 - 2016-11-22 - 07:30:46 - TWikiContributor Edit