TikiWiki – a powerful wiki / groupware system
Mar 20, 2008 by Melanie Bremner Wikis
TikiWiki (Tiki) CMS/Groupware is an open source web-based application that you can use to build a website for working collaboratively with others. The content management system at the heart of TikiWiki powers wikis, forums, blogs, map servers, and more. You can configure the various tools and customize the appearance of the website from Admin Pages that are also web-based.
There are some video-tutorials at the end of the review. Check them out!
Wikipedia definition of a Wiki:
A wiki is a software that allows users to easily edit and link pages together. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. Wikipedia is one of the best known wikis.
Wikis are used in many businesses to provide affordable and effective Intranets and for knowledge management. Ward Cunningham, developer of the first wiki, WikiWikiWeb, originally described it as “the simplest online database that could possibly work.”
WikiWiki is a re-duplication of “wiki“, a Hawaiian word for “fast“. Some suggest that wiki means “What I know Is”. However this is a backronym(a phrase that is constructed “after the fact” from a previously existing word).
TikiWiki CMS/Groupware www.tikiwiki.org was created by the Tiki Wiki Community, and is available for free under the LGPL General Public License. The last release was February 23rd, 2008. Tiki Wiki is a dynamic application and not a static.
You can customize some of the links and URLs that Tiki produces in order to create “search engine friendly” links. Tiki includes a “_htaccess” file that takes advantage of the web-servers re-write rules. If you would like to enable this feature, you simply rename the _htaccess file to .htaccess
Is this software compatible with your server?
TikiWiki (Tiki) CMS / Groupware can be used on all web servers whether Linux/UNIX, based, Windows based or MAC X based. As long as you have a database installed this system is setup to run on multiple database options with even going the extra mile and offers the ability to use the assistance of ADOdb-which is a Database Abstraction Library for PHP and Python. If you are not currently using MySQL, Postgress, or Oracle, you can check the library to see if you can use your database system at http://adodb.sourceforge.net/
Runs on any server that supports PHP and has 512 MB RAM, 100 MB free storage and at least 32MB of memory allocated for PHP.
Note on PHP Memory Limits: most ISP’s install PHP with a memory_limit = 8m. While Tiki Wiki may install, and initially appear to work fine, when faced with even a slight load, this limit will be easily passed and the system will constantly fail: pages will not load properly, odd errors will occur etc. To check this limit, try yourdomain.com/tiki-phpinfo.php .
Run that and search for three values on your ISP’s server:
This limit is not generally user managable so you must rely on the kindness of your ISP to grant you more resources. On a busy shared server that will also mean that all other PHP users on that shared server will also be granted those resources.Although many databases can be used with Tiki not all have full support offered. This system was originally designed with the MySQL in mind and the MySQL 4.0x and higher have full support. Postgress, SQLite, Oracle, Sybase, and MSSQL have only partial support offered.
Installing the software and Running the Tiki Admin Installer
There are two ways available to install the Tiki software. If you have Fantastico as part of your hosting package, you can install automatically (one click).Look for your Fantastico icon in your cPanel.. You may have to scroll all the way down to the bottom in the Fantastico panel to find the Tiki Wiki link.When you click “new installation” you will need to fill out some information such as what domain you will be using, and assign an Admin access name and password.
The second step will tell you what directories the files have been placed. On the third step, you will be given a URL of where your admin control panel can be found. Be sure to bookmark this as you will be going into that admin panel every day for configurations.
The last step will be to set the CHMOD-permission settings so the files can be written as well as read.
You will need to change the following files to 777:
Although you can install the software automatically with Fantastico, using Fantastico for upgrades is not recommended as it will not preserve any theme changes, image galleries, etc. that have been made.
Installing the Tiki Software Manually
If you do not have the Fantastico as part of your hosting package you will need to install the software manually.This is a lengthier process as you need to also create a database before the software can be installed.To create a database you will need to go into you cPanel and find the database icon.
Enter in a new database name. You can use the name TikiWiki if you prefer. Next you will need to create a username and password.
The last step is to add your username to the database so permissions can be given for you to work with the database.
Once you click to add the user, you will be taken to a privileges page where you need to select the option for all privileges.
Be sure to write down the name of your database, username, and password, as you will need further along in the installation.
You will need to download the Tiki Wiki here http://info.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php
You will need an FTP client (Filezilla would be a good choice) to upload the zip program from your computer onto your server. An FTP client enables you to transfer large amounts of files quickly and directly into where you would like it to be on your hosting server without any long time manual hassles of uploading each file alone. I find Filezilla is quite an easy to use FTP client.
Once you have entered you host address, username, and password (all things that should have been in your welcome email when you signed up with your hosting account), the FTP client connects your computer directly to your server.
Depending on what hosting company you are with, your files might be listed under www. or public-html. Drag the Tiki zip package with your mouse to the left hand side and drop it in the folder on your right.
When you have uploaded the package successfully you need to go back into your cPanel and click on your file manager icon and look for your new upload. Click to highlight the zip package and choose the option to extract from the top right of your file manager. This will unpack all of your files into the folder.
You now need to set the CHMOD permissions for the files mentioned above in the automatic install section above.
Highlight the file or folder you need to set the permission for. Go to the top of your file manager beside where you found the extract icon. You will see the change permissions. When you click on the icon you should get a box pop up that looks like this:
When all the permissions have been set correctly you are ready to proceed to the next step which will be telling the Tiki software how to connect to the database you created earlier.
Open a new browser to http://www.yourdomain.com/tiki-index.php
You will see a message that says “db/local.php not found. Please run tiki-install.php. This is normal. This is what you need to configure now.
Click the link provided for the tiki-install.php. This pops up an Installer screen.
You will get a message saying cannot find a database connection.
You will need to enter the following information the installer needs to make the connection:
When you have made sure it has all been typed in correctly, click the submit query button.On the next page you will need to select “Default installation profile” and then “create”.Make sure you select the “click here to disable the install script and proceed into Tiki” option. If you o not disable the install script, anyone could re-run the installation program which would wipe out your database. You can always re-enable the install script later if necessary.
Installation Troubleshooting
You should have an easy install, but sometimes errors do happen. If it doesn’t work, there is help available! The following are some common messages you could see. If you encounter a message you do not see below you can find additional help at http://twbasics.keycontent.org/tiki-index.php?page=Troubleshooting&bl
“Can’t connect to server on “localhost” or “access denied for username@database”
- make sure you have entered the correct info EXACTLY as you created it; that is the database name, database username, and password. Is the database up and running?
“Tiki Installer cannot proceed: the directory ‘/some directory”
- you will need to double check all your permissions. Make sure all necessary files and directories have been assigned the proper settings of 777
Nothing happens- Blank Screen
- make sure your database and web server meet the minimum requirements. The most common problem is insufficient memory allocated for PHP scripts, you need at least 16MB available. Review the recommended settings for your php.ini file. If you are using PHP 5 you may need to install the extension Mysqli found at http://ca.3php.net/mysqli
For more Tiki Wiki documentations and topics, you can visit http://doc.tikiwiki.org
For support forums and discussions with other members you can visit http://www.tikiwiki.org/forums
Using Your Tiki Admin Panel to Set up Your Configurations
The first thing you will need to do to be able to make any changes as the administrator is login into the panel on the right of your Tiki and change you username and password. Tiki automatically sets it up as admin for both username and password during the installation.
Once you are logged in you will want to go to the Admin Home section found on the left of you panel.
This will take you to a page where you will see all of the features you will be able to access. If a feature is greyed out that means it is turned off and needs to be turned on before you can start using it.
Once you click the link for the Admin->Features it will bring you to a page where you can select the features you would like.
Video-tutorial on how to create a blog using TikiWiki
Video-tutorial on how to edit the homepage
Video-tutorial on how to write a TikiWiki article
You may want to make one more configuration before you set about to play with your new features. This would be making sure your website name is on the general page. You will also want to add the email address you are going to be using. If you leave this blank, emails from your Tiki may use your web host provider’s name instead of yours. This could confuse your visitors.
To change your configurations click on the icon at the top of your Administration: General page.
Each feature you turn on to use will have its own folder on the left hand side of your admin control panel. In each folder you will find the tools to setup and use each feature. There are so many features you may want to spend a little time exploring and having fun tweaking your Tiki site to the way you desire.
Comparisons with other Wiki software
TikiWiki (Tiki) CMS/Groupware is not only a full-featured wiki content management system and groupware. Its theme management and template system also offer unmatched page design flexibility.
Thanks to Theme Control, you can use several themes on the same site assigning them to a section (ex. Blog, or forum) to a category or to an individual item.
For a list of available themes you can visit http://themes.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php
Unlike some other wiki softwares such as Prowiki the use of a PHP base is easier to use than the Perl programming using a database instead of individual files.
There are more support features available with Tiki than most other wikis except the Mediawiki (which is powering Wikipedia). Other wikis have no plugin options, comment functions, no section editing, no toolbar, no WYSIWYG editing option, statistics are limited, no XML export, no PDF export, and hardly any media options available such as embedded video option, image editing, or media search.
In my opinion the only wiki software that even comes close to the Tiki Wiki functionality is the Media Wiki.
Conclusion
Whether you are a individual website/business owner or a larger corporation, the TikiWiki is the perfect system to use. It is the complete package for creating a perfect website loaded with all of the features you would love to have with the ease of maintaining all in one administration control panel. This software is so packed with features you will not need to use any other content management system again. This software is easy enough for a novice to use and detailed enough for the veteran webmaster. I highly recommend this software program system.
———————————–
Melanie Bremner has been running an online business teaching software programs to new beginners for the last 6 years. She creates lesson plans with easy to follow instructions in which she teaches to her students in an online classroom for which anyone globally can participate. She is presently living in Toronto, Canada.
———————————–
Want more web software reviews, news and tips/tricks?
Then make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!
Tags: cms software, groupware, mediawiki, tiki, tikiwiki, wiki software
(5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)
Loading ...
Get News by RSS feed
June 10th, 2008 at 8:43 am
I build with tikiwiki exclusively since I found it two years ago. Homeowners Associations and neighborhood associations are a central tool to our survival of the coming difficult times. We must band together, meet our neighbors and help one another heal our planet, our lifestyles and our health.