If Wikipedia is one of the major sources for your searches, WikiTaxi is an excellent tool which can download ( almost ) Wikipedia on your local computer so you can still make searches to find information, definitions and carry on your project when Internet is not around.
WikiTax has three components. One is the WikiTaxi Search which searches to offline Wikipedia you download and import. This import is possible through the second part WikiTaxi Importer and third is the database.
How to download the Wikipedia Database :
Complete instructions for downloading the database in XML database format is available at Wikipedia Itself. You can go to the download page here ( Wikipedia:Database download ) and select what you need to download. Depending on what you need and size which expands upto 5Gb you should download it.
Remember the importer needs a database which ends with extension .xml.bz2. So when you download make sure to check the extension. My tip is to search using control + f and you will see all the listed.
Importing the Wikipedia Database :
Done this you will need to use the WikiTaxi Importer tool which accepts the above downloaded database and saves it to another database which can be read by the Wiki Taxi Application. Since the databases are in GB size you can dedicate a particular amount of your ram for it and anytime you feel like getting of the computer, pause the import process and hibernate your computer. Resume when you get back.
There is no default database that comes along with Wiki taxi. So best is you can create it with your name and save it at a place where you can get it back anytime. The best is to use a online storage solution or storage network if you have.
Launching the WikiTaxi with imported database :
Now to WikiTaxi to know which database to search we will have to do some work. This is a drawback of this tool not to support multiple databases or no configuration where one can set the database path and search can be made.
So to launch Wikitaxi with a database set to source :
- Launch the command prompt.
- Change directory to WikiTaxi Folder
- Copy your database path with name.
- Type in WikiTaxi.exe C:\Wikipediadatabase\SimpleEnglish.taxi
Or Do it through shortcut :
- Create s shortcut on desktop.
- Right click Properties and go to the Path Text Box.
- Right at end put space and then the path of the exe.
- Rename your Shortcuts according to database.
- Now you can create multiple shortcuts with path set to different database. This will make your job much easier.
Anytime you want to switch database you can use the Options Menu to select database. It always opens with a random page.
Done all this now you are ready to search, launch the database you need to search and type in your queries. You can use shortcuts like Control + F, Shift + F3 and so on. For which complete details are given here. You can download this tool from the same place.
Related : WikiReader: Carry the Wikipedia in your Pocket
is there a way to select text in wikitaxi because i cant copy text in it?