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Best option for a wiki that isn't a wiki?
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Best option for a wiki that isn't a wiki?

user123user123 Member

I'm trying to put together something for my personal use that's like a wiki, but easier to manage (add info/files to, backup, and restore). I know that sounds odd, so I will clarify. I'm trying to create a knowledgebase for my own personal reference where I can save notes and relevant files (PDFs, PPTs, videos, etc). For example, if I attend a conference or seminar, I will often get a handout, PDF, and/or take my own notes; I would like to be able to add this to the knowledgebase. The data to be added covers a variety of fields and is not linear (i.e. some information is overlapping). It would also be very useful if data could be entered/edited easily. Similarly, it would be nice if uploading/renaming/deleting/linking to documents/files was easy and if it is possible to search the searchable uploaded documents (PDFs, DOCs, PPTs). I can either host it on CPanel shared hosting or a VPS.

In the past, I had tried to create something like this using Dokuwiki and it was very close to what I wanted (flat DB, portable, and easy to backup/restore). BUT, copying/pasting data in was a pain with how finicky it was with fonts, text sizes, and so forth. Uploading files, linking to them, and managing those uploaded files was also a challenge.

Thanks!

Comments

  • Why not just use WordPress? I know it's for blogging purposes, but you could easily repurpose it with the right theme/menus.

  • @Jonchun said:
    Why not just use WordPress? I know it's for blogging purposes, but you could easily repurpose it with the right theme/menus.

    That's an interesting thought! Do you mean something like this: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-knowledgebase/

    The other recommendations I came across via Google were $20-$50+ to purchase; this one appears to be free and have decent ratings? Ideally, the solution would be something where doing a complete backup would be as simple as creating an archive of the folder and downloading that, with restoration only requiring uploading and extracting said archive onto any server with an HTTP(S) server.

  • Yea something like that.

    It would probably be really easy to integrate it because it would literally require just downloading wp-content and a backup of the database.

  • and honestly, even without a specific knowledgebase plugin, it has categories, articles, and tags. you could search through it easily, tag things with what you want, and add/attach media as requested. it comes with a wysiwyg editor that's great, and i can't really think of any other features you would need.

  • @Jonchun said:
    Yea something like that.

    It would probably be really easy to integrate it because it would literally require just downloading wp-content and a backup of the database.
    @Jonchun said:
    and honestly, even without a specific knowledgebase plugin, it has categories, articles, and tags. you could search through it easily, tag things with what you want, and add/attach media as requested. it comes with a wysiwyg editor that's great, and i can't really think of any other features you would need.

    Thanks! How is it in terms of being able to upload, manage, and search uploaded content?

  • JonchunJonchun Member
    edited April 2015

    @user123 said:
    Thanks! How is it in terms of being able to upload, manage, and search uploaded content?

    Amazingly easy. It's as easy as drag and drop.

    https://codex.wordpress.org/Media_Library_Screen

    You can also use
    https://wordpress.org/plugins/private-only/

    To make sure only you can access it since it's personal

  • Have you tried mdwiki?

    It's markdown based wiki and is rendered using javascript.

  • pcanpcan Member

    Evernote is the most popular solution. The web access component for sharing/publishing is included in the business version(should you ever need it).

  • user123user123 Member
    edited April 2015

    @Jonchun msg7086 WP with a wiki plugin and MDWiki seem interesting options. Are there any options that have an even easier backup method (i.e. just zipping/unzipping the entire directory to do a complete backup)? The reason is in case I decide to migrate hosting it from my shared hosting to one of my larger VPS. I'm quite useless when it comes to anything related to SQL. That was the nice thing about Dokuwiki - it was so easy to backup/transfer/restore the entire thing; unfortunately, mucking around with copying/pasting, formatting, and fonts was very time-consuming.

    @pcan I'm looking for an option I can quickly access from the browser on any computer or phone where I have the option of setting it up so that I don't need to login unless I want to edit/update something. I'm also expecting it to be quite large, since the adjunct files I will be uploading (PPTs, images, etc) are sometimes sizeable.

  • pcanpcan Member

    Give a try to Evernote web, basic level is free (altough severely limited). After logging in first time, you can use the mobile app or have the autologin enabled on the browser version for 30 days - no need to reenter credentials.
    A few of my company coworkers have 50+ Gb of data on Evernote and they still work smoothly. There is a 4 Gb monthly upload cap on the premium version, but disk space is unlimited. Professional and Business versions aren't free but the price of the professional version is inside LEB limits.

  • Evernote?

  • @user123 said:
    Jonchun msg7086 WP with a wiki plugin and MDWiki seem interesting options. Are there any options that have an even easier backup method (i.e. just zipping/unzipping the entire directory to do a complete backup)? The reason is in case I decide to migrate hosting it from my shared hosting to one of my larger VPS. I'm quite useless when it comes to anything related to SQL. That was the nice thing about Dokuwiki - it was so easy to backup/transfer/restore the entire thing; unfortunately, mucking around with copying/pasting, formatting, and fonts was very time-consuming.

    Just download cPanel home directory backup for a tar of your home directory (which contains the entire site)

    Then, download the MySQL export using PHPMyAdmin and done, you have a backup of your entire database.

  • raindog308raindog308 Administrator, Veteran

    An alternative to Evernote is OneNote from Microsoft (which can also be used purely on the web). I prefer EN but ON has its advantages, too.

    I agree with the shortcomings of a wiki for personal docs. Creating an editing pages when you're the only user has a lot of overhead built for shared usage, and attachments/images/etc. are not simple. You really need something desktop-ish for that.

  • @user123 said:
    Are there any options that have an even easier backup method (i.e. just zipping/unzipping the entire directory to do a complete backup)?

    MDWiki is just bunch of markdown text files + 1 html to render everything. You can use github pages or even dropbox+static hosting to host your wiki.

    That is to say, what you'll have to build a mdwiki site are:

    • index.html
    • post1.md
    • post2.md
    • ...
    • post12345.md

    And basically that's it.

  • paperwork.rocks looks a lot like WP with some of the plugins. From those who have used it, would it be a practical option for my needs?

  • cassacassa Member

    Ikiwiki uses git

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