Zim Desktop Wiki — The Complete Guide: A Desktop Wiki for Project Logbooks, Procedures and Know-How
Zim Desktop Wiki is a graphical editor for a collection of linked wiki pages, stored as ordinary text files in folders. That means you can read and back up the pages even without the program. In an engineering office it is a natural home for a project logbook, work procedures and accumulated know-how — what worked, what did not, and why a decision was made.
Zim Desktop Wiki
Jaap Karssenberg
A desktop wiki that stores pages as plain text files — project logbooks, procedures and meeting notes.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Linked pages — create a new page simply by linking to it.
- Text files in folders — no closed format and no database.
- Images and attachments — a site photo or a sketch inside the page.
- Automatic saving — no need to remember to press save.
- Plugins — task lists, an equation editor, a journal and version control.
How to organise it
One main page per project, with sub-pages for site visits, design decisions and correspondence with consultants. The journal plugin gives you a page per day — a good place for a short log of what was done. Keep the wiki folder in a backed-up or synced location.
Related tools
For a hierarchical notebook in a single file — CherryTree. For notes synced between devices — Joplin. For a knowledge base with two-way links — Logseq.
CherryTree
Giuseppe Penone
Hierarchical notes in a tree, with rich text, code boxes and tables — a whole technical notebook in one file.
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Joplin
Joplin
Notes and to-do app with encrypted sync — site diaries, checklists and project documentation.
Get it from the vendor
Logseq
Logseq
Outliner-style notes and a daily journal kept as local text files — for meeting notes, tasks and technical know-how.
Get it from the vendor
Trilium Notes
TriliumNext community
A hierarchical knowledge base for large engineering notebooks — code, canvas, diagrams, encryption and self-hosted sync.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
Zim is a simple, fast and open wiki whose content stays readable ten years from now. Open source and free for any use.