# User guide _Deutsche Fassung: [docs/de/manual/user-guide.md](../de/manual/user-guide.md)_ How to find your way around Dorfteich as a regular member. For pond configuration see the [pond-admin guide](pond-admin-guide.md); for instance administration the [site-admin guide](site-admin-guide.md). ## Signing up and signing in - **Sign up** (if the instance allows open registration): username, e-mail, display name, password, language. You confirm your e-mail via the link in the verification mail; that also creates your **personal pond** — your own space that only you can see until you share it. - **Sign in** with username _or_ e-mail. Forgot your password? The sign-in page has a reset link (requires the instance to have mail configured). - Your sessions are listed under **Settings → Sessions**; you can revoke any device from there. ## Ponds and pages - The **pond switcher** in the top bar moves you between the ponds you can see — and **"+ New pond"** at its bottom creates a new shared pond (subject to a quota the site admin sets). The **sidebar** lists the pages of the current pond — sort them A–Z, by creation date, or drag them into a manual order (the sort mode is a pond setting). - **+ New page** at the bottom of the sidebar creates a page. Page addresses are readable: `/p//`. - The **trash** link sits at the very bottom of the sidebar: deleted pages can be restored from there until the retention period ends. ## The editor Click the **pencil icon** in the top bar to switch a page between reading and editing. In edit mode a toolbar offers paragraph styles (H1–H4), bold/italic/strikethrough/inline code, bullet/numbered/task lists, quotes, code blocks, horizontal rules, images, and tables. The toolbar stays visible while you scroll. - **Everyone edits together.** Other people on the page appear in the presence strip in the top bar and as named cursors in the text. There is no save button for content — every keystroke is persisted and replicated live. - **Offline?** The status icon in the footer (bottom left) shows your connection. You can keep typing offline; changes sync on reconnect. - **Markdown in, Markdown out.** You can paste or type Markdown; the page can always be copied or downloaded as Markdown again (**…** overflow menu → Copy/Download Markdown). - **Wikilinks:** type `[[page-slug]]` or `[[page-slug|shown text]]`. Links to pages that do not exist yet are listed on the pond home page ("phantom pages") — one click creates the target. The **backlinks** panel of a page shows every page that links to it. - **Images and attachments:** paste or drag images straight into the text. Other file types (PDFs etc., as allowed by the instance) attach to the page via the **paperclip icon**. - **Named versions:** the **save icon** in edit mode stores a named snapshot ("before the big rewrite"). The **history icon** lists all versions — automatic and named — with their contributors; you can view any version and restore it. Restoring never deletes history. ## The top-bar page actions When a page is open you find, next to the pencil: **watch** (bell for this page), **comments** (with unread count), **attachments**, **plugin tools** (table of contents, page index — when enabled), **labels**, **history**, and the **…** overflow menu (copy/download Markdown, export to Word/LibreOffice/PDF, delete). ## Labels Open the **label icon** to tag the page. You can pick existing labels or create one on the spot (creating is for pond admins). Labels organize pages and can carry access rules — a page inherits every rule of its labels. ## Search The search field in the top bar searches every page you are allowed to read, across all ponds — tolerant of accents ("Baume" finds "Bäume") and of partial words. Recent searches are remembered (and can be cleared). ## Comments The **speech-bubble icon** opens the comment panel: threads with one reply level, Markdown supported, edit and delete for your own comments, **resolve** to fold finished discussions away. Whether every reader or only editors may comment is a pond setting. ## Watches, notifications, digests - **Watch** a page (bell in the page actions) or a whole pond (bell in the pond settings header) to be notified about changes and comments. By default you automatically watch pages you create or comment on — both switches live under **Settings → Profile**. - The **bell in the top bar** is your notification inbox; entries link straight to the change (comment notifications open the panel). - **E-mail digests** bundle unread notifications hourly or daily — configure under Settings, unsubscribe from any digest mail directly. ## Import and export - **Import a document** (sidebar link): `.docx`, `.odt`, or `.md` becomes a new page, embedded images included. - **Export a page**: overflow menu → Markdown / Word / LibreOffice / PDF. **Export a pond**: pond settings → ZIP of all pages you may read, as Markdown plus media. ## Your settings (top-right → Settings) Profile (display name, e-mail, language, watch defaults, digest frequency), password, active sessions, your watches, **API tokens** (for scripts and AI assistants — see the [API guide](api-guide.md) and [MCP guide](mcp-guide.md)), and **data export**: a ZIP with your profile data and the full content of your own ponds. ## Public pages If a pond admin has published a page for the public, it is readable without an account at `/public//` — with the pond's typography and a link to the instance's legal pages.