Questions Before I Buy

**EGS** · January 14, 2009

Hello.

Man, this project really has me coming back, because it really interests me. I may re-ask some questions within this thread, but please bear with me so that I can use this thread as a good reference and reason for purchasing.

1.) How are wiki pages created? Are they basically just threads that is the wiki page and posts that create the discussions?

2.) If I lock a thread (a wiki page?), does that make it locked from people editing the wiki page? If so, can people still create discussions about the wiki page? I am not sure how this function works..

3.) Does this product have SE-friendly URLs, or any support for them? If not, will vBSEO be compatible with this product so I can have my page URLs just like a wiki?

4.) Before wiki pages are edited, is there a way to put those editions into moderation queue? And also, is there a way to revert pages (like a history function) in case someone sabotages a page?

5.) What usergroups are there needed with this product? Obviously moderators would be page editors I guess? Please explain how the system works.

6.) This product works directly with vB's template engine correct, so no additional templates or custom coding will be needed, correct? I have a custom vB theme, and just want to make sure this will work with it, not against it.

7.) Can this product create pages (like about, etc etc, that are not wiki pages..but more-like site pages about the wiki)?

*Maybe this thread should be stickied as a FAQ for n00bs like me in the future, to help you guys from answering too many support questions like this.

**pegasus** · January 15, 2009

1.) Wiki pages are basically just threads in forums designated by the Forum Manager. Replies to these threads are used as the discussions. Naturally, the templates for these are much different from the standard SHOWTHREAD template.

2.) There are a number of "protection" options for pages. You can lock it from editing. You can lock it from moderation. You can delete it and lock it from being created again. And you can always close a thread in the same way vBulletin allows, which prevents both editing and making new replies.

3.) There is a built-in SE-friendly URL option. As a result, the product has a conflict with vBSEO. You will need to make a change to your .htaccess file to workaround this.

4.) Yes, you can select certain usergroups whose edits will go into a moderation queue. These edits must be approved or unapproved before further edits to an article are possible. There is a history function which has several aspects. You can view a list of all edits to a page. You can compare two edits side by side. You can look at old versions of a page. And yes, you can revert pages to any old version.

5.) There is no separate complicated system for your usergroups. There are some new permissions for editing, using page history, among others, so you can configure your existing groups accordingly. These new permissions are also available on the Forum Permissions admin page.

6.) Yes, this works using vB's template system, but it adds its own templates. Our hope is that the layout will work with most themes. The one thing you will probably want to modify is the new CSS used by the product, so that it fits in with your custom style.

7.) This product was designed to create pages. Whether or not you choose to consider them "wiki pages" is up to you and how you choose to set things up. Once you have developed some understanding about its various functions, it's possible to do a lot of things with this mod if you use your imagination.

**EGS** · January 15, 2009

What an amazing, resourceful thread, and very professional response.
Thank you for your time.

I will be purchasing this product as soon as I find a vB theme skinner.

As for question #1, I didn't quite understand the answer. So you're saying some forums, when threads are created, they will act as wiki pages? So it would make sense to have a forum called "wiki" for instance for this plugin's needs?

P.S. Sticky this thread for future customers of yours!

**pegasus** · January 16, 2009

There is actually a very complicated way of answering #1, for which the install instructions have not gone into much detail (thus inspiring some criticism). The long answer is that you will be grouping forums into something called namespaces. This thread describes how to set those up: https://www.vaultwiki.org/showthread.php?t=1584

**EGS** · January 30, 2009

So does this product work with the latest version of vBulletin, which is vBulletin 3.8.1? I see you guys are only using 3.8.0 Release 2...

**pegasus** · January 31, 2009

We have not yet tested with 3.8.1, but vBulletin hasn't changed enough since Release 2 to cause many conflicts other than the ones previously mentioned (the broken history "compare" action).

As I write this, we are working on the import script from single-wiki MediaWiki installations, which is the last thing we need to finish before releasing the new fully 3.8.x-compatible build. This has been a long process because MediaWiki does not store its article text in any consistent way.

**EGS** · January 31, 2009

Fuck MediaWiki. This is a vB plugin! Can you get it working with vB 3.8+ first so I can buy it and install it today? I'm finally ready...I finally got the skin built etc.

I think I'm going to go premium too, not sure what the category add-on is but premium sounds better than standard.

**pegasus** · January 31, 2009

We are working on this feature so that users using the unsupported vbWiki mod can install VaultWiki on their vBulletin without losing any of their existing articles. It's not a bridge or anything, just a way for users of MediaWiki to keep their articles if they decide they want VaultWiki instead.

The new build should be ready by tomorrow morning (GMT +5).

**EGS** · January 31, 2009

Well I'm going to buy today. I hope that VaultWiki will work with vB 3.8.1...
Is upgrading/updating VaultWiki easy?..

Edit: I have just purchased it and am now officially a CES customer.

**EGS** · January 31, 2009

What is the special images add-on? I understand what categories is, but there's no page explaining what special images is?..

**pegasus** · January 31, 2009

Special Images is essentially a file manager for images that you want to use in the wiki. This is designed as an alternative the ATTACH BB-Code, so that an attached image can be used in other articles other than the one it's directly attached to.

There is currently no page about it because it's still in Beta. Mainly in Beta because we have not developed a straightforward interface yet, but there is a meager tutorial lying around here somewhere.

**pegasus** · February 1, 2009

Sorry about all the problems you had upgrading to the newest build. I hope you soon find that the product was worth the headache.

You had asked about getting your subforums to display correctly on the forum index. Here's what you do:

For each Namespace's Top-Level Forum, go to the Forum Manager and set the Display Order to 0.
Create a Forum Category with Parent Forum set to No One. Your namespaces will magically appear inside this on the index. Call it "Namespaces" or something like that.
For each Namespace that you actually want to show (you probably won't want to show Header or Template anyway), go to the Namespace Manager, and click Edit.
Set the "Display in Forum" to "Namespaces" or whatever you called the category.

**EGS** · February 1, 2009

The above worked like a charm, thanks pegasus.

You know I really must apologize for my behavior yesterday. I was just so frustrated...I really do apologize.

But at the same time I'd like to really think you for such fabulous support and walking me through it all. I do think that this product needs more documentation though, but I'm sure you'll write some as the product progresses. You should make a wiki so maybe I can contribute too?

Well thanks again. I can't wait to finish this site and release it in beta. This is truly a great product!!