Comments on: Offline-capable wiki?

Question: Offline-capable wiki?

lbergstr — Tue, 30 May 2006 22:30:51 -0800

I'd like to get my group at work using a wiki for certain projects. However, I've uncovered very few wiki implementations that would allow offline editing and syncback; this is a dealbreaker. Any ideas?

So far I've considered using TiddlyWiki, which would have the nice feature of being sharable over Groove (which we're already using.) I'm worried that all the flashy AJAX/microcontent/etc nonsense would scare people, though, I'd prefer a more traditional non-AJAXy, page-based wiki.

TiwyWiki looks nice, but it's just a demo.

Having everyone run a webserver on their machines isn't out of the question if that's what it takes.

Thanks for your thoughts.

By: Sharcho

Sharcho — Wed, 31 May 2006 04:16:32 -0800

Besides TiwyWiki, another option I found is Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 (Beta).

Another option is to use a regular wiki software, e.g. MediaWiki, and then something like HTTrack to create periodically complete (but uneditable) copies of the wiki website.

You might also want to reconsider if it really needs to be offline. You could probably equip all the computers with WiFi or some mobile data service (GPRS, UMTS, etc.).

By: gemini

gemini — Wed, 31 May 2006 11:47:48 -0800

I've done exactly this by using a wiki that stores pages as plain text (TinyWiki) and using the rsync command before and after editing locally, to stay synchronized with the server.

It was really nice, actually. I could edit files from any web browser, anywhere, or for more serious stuff, could use a text editor on a Mac, Windows, or Linux computer.

By: Sharcho

Sharcho — Wed, 31 May 2006 12:55:08 -0800

gemini, rsync doesn't handle conflicts, but Unison File Synchronizer does.

See also earlier related question

By: freshgroundpepper

freshgroundpepper — Wed, 31 May 2006 13:00:34 -0800

How about using a combination of WikidPad (or VoodooPad on the Mac) and FolderShare?

It's what I use for a personal wiki that I share between a number of computers and I'm sure it would work just as well for multiple people.

By: tommorris

tommorris — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 04:36:46 -0800

A sort-of related option is to use the Instant Outline option in the OPML Editor - it's not so much a wiki, but each person gets an outline and can subscribe to other people's outlines - you can update your file offline, and it syncs up on connection. As I said, it's not a wiki, but it may do what you want for you.