On 27 Mar 2005, at 20:47, Matthew England wrote:
I'm new to MediaWiki. I'd like users to be
able to Import/export
Word/.pdf/.xml files to/from MediaWiki pages. Is this feasible?
...
I am attracted to Wiki mechanisms for their apparent
collaborative-documentation capability... In order to make new-user
adoption and general use much easier, it would be fantastic if authors
can write in a known, understood format (namely Microsoft Word) and
then import the created file into the Wiki page.
I think you may be missing the meaning of "collaborative" with respect
to wikis. It does not mean a bunch of people posting Microsoft
documents to a website. If that is what you want, there are probably
better ways to do it.
Wikis allow collaborative work within pages of a document. For that,
the users must use wikitext -- no amount of translation will do when
they are editing each others' pages. Rather than have them get into the
bad habit of treating the wiki as merely a viewing place for Word docs,
you're better off (IMHO) introducing them cold-turkey to the world of
wiki.
If you truly want collaborative authoring, you should develop a class
and train your users in using a wiki, rather than, in effect, training
your wiki to behave as your users expect. The former will create a new
mind-set; the latter will simply reinforce the existing one.
That said, I agree it might be nice to be able to import various
formats in order to "bulk load" a wiki, but it would not then actually
be a wiki, which was designed to allow *incremental* collaborative
authoring.
:::: Our present economic system is... little more than a
well-organized method for converting natural resources into garbage.
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:::: Jan Steinman <http://www.Bytesmiths.com/Van>