looking for document management software

[soulquarian14]

hey all

does anyone know of a piece of software (free ideally but i am willing to pay for a product if it does the job) which will allow me to create a database of documents (ms word files, pdfs etc.) similar in vein to that of wikipedia, in that i can make links between documents - however not webpage based as i dont have a server to host it and would like the database to be private not public.

i really dont know where to begin looking for such a piece of software (if it exists), and hoped that someone here may know, or if not at least a place where i could ask if this forum isnt really the best place to ask

thanks - any help will be appreciated!

 

[KSoD]

Well if the documents are local and not on a server, then how would you link them? Cause they would all be in the same location on the hard drive would they not? Like C:\Documents is where they are all stored. So i dont get what linking them would really do. Since they would all be stored in the same place anyways, all you would really need is something to catalog the names of the documents right?

The issue here is simple. If you move a document, any document that is stored in this "database" and you clicked on the link that it has, it wouldnt open the file. If you changed even a single letter in the name, it wouldnt open the file. Just like it would operate as if it was on the web. So no matter what was done, you would have to update the database as often as you added or changed a document.

I dont know of any software that automates such a process. I only know that it could be done manually via Excel.

 

[office politics]

Making a spreadsheet of file paths is counter productive because the OS is already doing that for you. You could do a file search in Windows and find the same information.

Well if the documents are local and not on a server, then how would you link them?

The OP asked how to link pages in a similar fashion to wiki. and I say if this is the functionailty you want, why not go get the same thing. the link below will point you towards a virtual appliance for MediaWiki. You'll need to install VMware server, download the appliance, and load the appliance. It's a prebuilt Wiki system. You can use firewalls to block public access to the system. MediaWiki allows you to import certain doc types.

 

[KSoD]

Yes but at the same time what if he doesnt want to load a VM every time he wants to use this "wiki". What if the system cant handle running a VM?

I could have sat here and said the same thing. But the OP never said a single thing about what the system they are running it on, if a VM is an option or anything else. Instead of suggesting something that may not even be within the reason of the OP why suggest it first without asking such question? Then if they say it isnt possible, then you are right back to where you started instead of asking first and then suggesting to do the VM with MediaWiki.

Not every one has the resources or ability to know how to use a VM, let alone try to run a Virtual Appliance within the VM. Kinda jumping off the diving board before seeing if there is water in the pool first.

 

[soulquarian14]

hey fellas, first off thanks for the responses!

you both make valid ponts about what im after - sorry i was initially vague, my enquiry came purely out of necessity as i sat opening and finding and opening document after document in various folders and wondered if there was a program like the one i describe, where information can be easily entered and navigated much like wikipedia but in a private manner on my own computer

linking documents in a similar fashion to wikipedia IS a functionality i am looking for and i am intrigued by this VMware server/mediawiki stuff you speak of (evidently i have no clue of what they are) but i couldnt find a link that you mentioned to check them out.

in terms of what system i have its 2.21 Ghz with 1 GB of ram (im sure that was utterly useless to you) if you need to know anything specific let me know and ill reply back with it...

but yeh like i said ANY help is appreciated, as im sure ive approached this enquiry clumsily and i apologise for that but i really dont know how else to ask of this programs possible existance!

thanks guys - look forward to hearing back!

 

[KSoD]

Sadly having that kinda of system specs with only 1GB of RAM, you will be hurting trying to run a VM (Virtual Machine or a machine within your machine). Not saying that it cant be done, but to do it would cause severe slow down on not only your main rig but the VM as well. Since the VM borrows resources from your main machine to operate you would have to dedicate at least 512MB of your RAM to this system in VM and your CPU would constantly be in use. It would be like trying to search YouTube on DialUp.

So not sure if there is someway you can maybe get another machine you can run on your home network that you can connect to in order to use this mediawiki or if there is a remote chance you might be updating your machine anytime soon?!?

Sadly i dont know of any software. Cause of the limitations i stated above. Cant make any changes to the name or location. Makes it very difficult to create software that can do what your looking for on a local machine. You might want to try searching for some sort of database software.

 

[office politics]

you don't have to run a vm to use mediawiki. if you could run the vm, the setup could be greatly simplified. however, you could install iis & php & mediawiki on the current pc; see link below. if you are using a router to connect to the internet, then, by default, only computers connected to your private network could see the information.

Manual:FAQ - MediaWiki

 

[soulquarian14]

i hear what your saying about my system struggling to run a VM but would that not be dependant on how much data i am entering into the wiki?... as in more information entered will result in more resource use as opposed to less information entered..or is this not how they work? although i appreciate that the whole necessity of this software is to organise a large amount of info and make it easily navigatable (real word?) - so a large amount of data is a given... i wonder at what amount of data it may struggle to run smoothly on my system...

if this is not the case and you believe that a VM is out the question than ill happily give the mediawiki guide a shot - so ill wait for your feedback on that

thanks guys, i genuinly appreciate you giving your time helping me out with this!

 

[KSoD]

VM dont operate on the whole more data = more resources. You have to remember you are loading a full version of Windows into a virtual environment and then accessing it from your current OS. So it is literally a machine within a machine. So your resources are not going to be dependent on how much data is entered.

Yeah if there is a lot of data entered, there most certainly will be problems with running the VM and the Wiki. But that is on top of the original fact. That you will have to basically split your RAM in order to run a VM. I have 4GB and even when i try to run a VM and dedicate a full GB of RAM to it, the system can get hammered down. You will be using half of that and even less CPU power.

 

[soulquarian14]

OK thats cool

in that case ill follow that mediawiki installation guide and see how i get on - ill post back whether it be problematic or successful!

thanks

Okay - aftre trying to manually install mediawiki i realised that i may be out of my league here...

i d/l'ed php, iis, sqlite, and mediawiki ... extracted/installed them all, the next step said to upload mediawiki to my server and i had no clue how to begin doing that...

i did however come across this idea when reading:
Manual:Installing on MoWeS Portable (Windows) - MediaWiki

i quickly skimmed through the installation guide for it and from what i gather its already pre-packaged and might save me alot of time and effort - what is your opinion on this? would it still offer the same functionality im after? i have a 16GB memory stick... from what ive read about it, it seems ideal but i could well be missing something...

in a way it might actually offer more appeal if this idea is feasible as it is portable.

anyway, lookin forward to your replies!