Help installing Dokuwiki [Elementary Hera]

Rafaelys

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Hi there! :)

So I'm not new on linux actually, but I think I really know just pretty basic console things as 'apt-get install' 'xkill' 'sudo bash' lmao

I'm running into problems while trying to install dokuwiki. I will share what happened with my first two tries and what went wrong on each one:

1st try - I followed instructions on this video


It was working well for me except for final command:

a2ensite yourdomain ; a2dissite 000-default.conf ; apache2ctl configtest

Which returns with "ERROR: Site yourdomain does not exist!". Am I supposed to create a particular domain name here?

As I didn't find anything about this specific error on any forums I've just deleted all dokuwiki folders.

PS: a little offtopic as an additional reminder for anyone reading the thread and following this video for Dokuwiki:

In the step where the guide suggests that you copy and paste this code

cd /var/www/html/; wget https://download.dokuwiki.org/out/dokuwiki-8a269cc015a64b40e4c918699f1e1142.tgz

tar -zxvf dokuwiki-8a269cc015a64b40e4c918699f1e1142.tgz

Don't forget to change the download link for the most current version on the official website:

https://download.dokuwiki.org/

Choose the characteristics of the version you want to use and wait for the download link, and replace within the code above. In this case,

cd /var/www/html/; wget html/; wget [new download link.tgz]
tar -zxvf [new dowload.tgz]

So getting back to this thread,


2º try - I installed a server, apache2 following these instructions


So I tried to follow the guidelines of the dokuwiki website

dokuwiki install

I've also looked for specific information about ubuntu (assuming that Elementary OS is ubuntu-based)

dokuwiki install ubuntu

I managed to extract the tar.gz file containing the most recent dokuwiki available on the website and I was also able to change the permissions of the extracted folder, which were blocked.

But when asked to open the page to access the editor, the browser points out the 404 error of a non-existent page.

I used the link suggestion in this case: http://www.yourserver.com/path/to/dokuwiki/install.php, changing the "yourserver" to "apache2" and the entire part of the file path, in my case "etc/[user]/dokuwiki/install.php".
It also didn't work.

Thank you for helping

Ps: I don't need to install dokuwiki necessarily, what I'm really looking for is a platform to memorize studies through content creation, and the layout of an encyclopedia seems to be the best scenario for that. I presume that's what Dokuwiki is for, but anything like that allowing editing content for personal use is welcome. So if you do not know how to help with Dokuwiki but know some other alternative, please tell me ;)

Ps: not sure if this thread belongs to Server or Ubuntu forums, please change location if I'm opening this in the wrong place
 
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Get cheap cPanel hosting and install it with Softaculous.

(This should not be construed as advertising. While I sell hosting, you will almost certainly want a company that will actually hold your hand and answer support questions. I don't do that.)

Seriously, it's the easiest way to go. A few clicks and it's installed. If you're just playing and learning, you can find free cPanel hosting out there.

Here's one such provider:

 
Ps: I don't need to install dokuwiki necessarily, what I'm really looking for is a platform to memorize studies through content creation, and the layout of an encyclopedia seems to be the best scenario for that. I presume that's what Dokuwiki is for, but anything like that allowing editing content for personal use is welcome. So if you do not know how to help with Dokuwiki but know some other alternative, please tell me
Zim - A Desktop Wiki might work.
 
Which returns with "ERROR: Site yourdomain does not exist!". Am I supposed to create a particular domain name here?
a2ensite and a2dissite enable or disable the specified virtualhost. Check the man page, man a2ensite or man a2dissite.
a2ensite, a2dissite - enable or disable an apache2 site / virtual host
If you created a virtualhost in /etc/apache2/sites-available, for example: example.conf. You could then use the commands to enable and disable the virtualhost, just the name leaving out the .conf.
Code:
a2ensite example
a2dissite example
If you enable an virtualhost listed under site-available it will create it symlink with the source being site-s-availble/example.conf and the link being created in sites-enabled/example.conf. When you afterwards use a2dissite it will remove the symlink, you will have to reload your apache configuration after using each command.
 
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Thank you all, I answer below how far I managed to go

Get cheap cPanel hosting and install it with Softaculous.

(This should not be construed as advertising. While I sell hosting, you will almost certainly want a company that will actually hold your hand and answer support questions. I don't do that.)

Seriously, it's the easiest way to go. A few clicks and it's installed. If you're just playing and learning, you can find free cPanel hosting out there.

Here's one such provider:


I fully understand what you are talking about, It really makes difference having a good customer service to answer such specific questions. It makes me think the level of knowledge perhaps required to be able to use an open software wiki just for personal studies (not intended to go public) may be greater than what I am willing to study in the first place. I also don't have any clue if servers are meant to being paid, lol

I mean, I would love to master this and I really have an urgency to study other things besides linux, but on the other hand my money is short so I'd probably stick with Libreoffice Calc as a plan B


Zim - A Desktop Wiki might work.

It looks really great considering what I've mentioned, just installed it via console, but I have questions whose answers I could not find on other user forums.

The question I couldn't find elsewhere is that each subcategory seems to be necessarily linked to only one category, which is not what occurs in wikipedia.

Most Zim users seem to use it as a notebook or to-do list manager, and it looks great for that. As my goal would be to edit and view pages that I could link to each other across many different categories and being able to access with a browser (as in wikipedia), first I passed on some of the content I have, creating a page for each "entry" in the encyclopedia.

The thing is, what I need to study is content from the nursing course. Suppose I have summaries about an antibiotic that is first categorized in the general area of "Drugs" and then in the subsection "Antibiotics"; but at the same time it may be that later in studies, I want to link it also to a subsection on "Urinary infection", which would belong to the general area of "Pathologies of the urinary system".

In this case would the notebook format, being hierarchical (in trees and branches) allow this?

If not, at least I think I can keep using Zim to keep adding entries only, without the interconnections between categories I need, and maintaining a database until I find the right thing. I was using Libreoffice Calc to do it, Zim looks as an upgrade already.

PS: while searching Zim-related forum threads I found another app that is Cherrytree. To be honest I think that its interface would not help me because, again, there is no other option of visualization besides a hierarchical list. Anyway someone reading this thread later may be interested:



a2ensite and a2dissite enable or disable the specified virtualhost. Check the man page, man a2ensite or man a2dissite.

If you created a virtualhost in /etc/apache2/sites-available, for example: example.conf. You could then use the commands to enable and disable the virtualhost, just the name leaving out the .conf.

Code:
a2ensite example
a2dissite example

If you enable an virtualhost listed under site-available it will create it symlink with the source being site-s-availble/example.conf and the link being created in sites-enabled/example.conf. When you afterwards use a2dissite it will remove the symlink, you will have to reload your apache configuration after using each command.

So if I understood correctly, these commands would serve to leave only the virtualhost we are working on enabled.

I wonder if it would not be better to delete the other files in /etc/apache2/sites-available leaving only the one we are going to work on - in the case of this installation guide, it would be yourdomain.conf

Anyway, I repeated all the steps to install Dokuwiki and everything goes ok just like in the video, untill the last part. I still haven't been able to access this:

http://www.yourdomain.com/install.php

The error that appears in Firefox this time was a different error though. Instead of the "404 page does not exist", now it appeared:

"Unable to connect
Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at www.yourdomain.com"
 
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In this case would the notebook format, being hierarchical (in trees and branches) allow this?

If not, at least I think I can keep using Zim to keep adding entries only, without the interconnections between categories I need
I'm not a Zim expert (or salesman!), but I did an interconnections test to link from one Zim note to another Zim note (see screenshot below). Everything in Zim is stored in your ~/Notebooks folder, and each note is an individual text file. Any image attachments should be stored there also. Using care to build your Zim structure will make it efficient and easily backed up. But Zim is not a web wiki and isn't designed to be a server that you can access from a browser... this may be a deal breaker for you. Also the simple tree structure may not scale well in such an advanced area of study as nursing.

My example below shows the link in my Windows Notes (Fix USB) that links back to a similar task in Tips & Tricks which uses Linux instead of Windows. However, clicking the link does not go to the linked Zim entry. Instead, it uses the default text editor to actually open the stored text file for that note. You can make changes in the text editor and save the file, and Zim will recognize the changes immediately if you then click on the Zim entry for that note. My link text is not clear exactly where the link is going, but you can mouse-over the link to see it's true name and location.

You don't have to link from one Zim note to another... you can link to any document on your computer, and it will open with it's default viewer. But, like attachments, I think it would be a good idea to store all of your relevant school documents in your ~/Notebooks folder for better backups, but that is not required and is up to you. Be safe, and good luck... the world needs more nurses! :)

zim.png



EDIT: A little more playing and I added new Pages in addition to Home (see below). But you can also create new independent notebooks. The first one by default is just Notes, but you can make a separate notebook for Drugs, or whatever, and you can open up multiple notebooks at the same time. You can link between different notebooks as well, but like before, the link does not take you to the note, but instead opens the linked document in the appropriate default viewer. Having separate notebooks may help the problem of scaling with so much material as you may put together. Organization is key... making it comfortable and intuitive for your workflow.

zim2.png
 
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Ps: not sure if this thread belongs to Server or Ubuntu forums, please change location if I'm opening this in the wrong place

I'll leave it here for now, unless one of the Helpers feels that with the inclusion of the Apache Server it is better off in Server.

Good luck @Rafaelys :)

Wizard
 
I mean, I would love to master this and I really have an urgency to study other things besides linux, but on the other hand my money is short so I'd probably stick with Libreoffice Calc as a plan B

The site I linked to is free and is largely meant for people learning. You wouldn't host a production site there, for example. They have a lovely community - or did years ago when I did some testing there. They'll answer any questions you might have - and do so for the low price of nothing. They do accept donations, but they're a non-profit and are really geared mostly to learning, testing, and trying new things.

They'll even give you a subdomain if you want one. Or, you can get a free top-level domain name here.

BUT...

The way you're doing it locally is also pretty educational and it looks like they'll get you sorted out.
 
These are notes from my experience:
Instructions to install for Ubuntu produce no user or password and
apache2-dokuwiki.conf needs to be moved manually from home dir to /etc/apache2/sites-enabled.
Also, you may need to insert the following into /var/www/dokuwiki/conf/local.php
$conf['useacl'] = 1; //Use Access Control Lists to restrict access?
$conf['superuser'] = 'your_user_name';
$conf['autopasswd'] = 1;
$conf['mailfrom'] = '<Your_email_address>';
- file can be copied from local.php.dist and saved as local.php in same folder.
also follow instructions (for hash) by https://forum.dokuwiki.org/u/biochemistrygmcs (see below) to
similarly create and change /var/www/dokuwiki/conf/users.auth.php
to include
"your_user_name":$"hash_of_your_password_as_obtained_per_biochemistrygmc_instructions:-:-:"your_user_password",user
Make www-data the owner of the /var/dokuwiki/conf directory (folder) with "create and delete files" or "read and write" Folder access and give Group: "your_user_name" the same access.
Do not use double quotes in the actual files but do retain the single quotes. Substitute your own user name and email address etc.

biochemistrygmcs instructions: https://forum.dokuwiki.org/post/69304
 

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