Download Wikipedia Pages - A Comprehensive Guide

The Enduring Legacy of Wikipedia

Periodically, Jimmy Wales appears on the Wikipedia homepage, appealing to its global community for financial support. Rather than simply maintaining its operations, Wikipedia consistently expands its reach and resources annually.

This represents just a fraction of the complete Wikipedia narrative. Its inception, development, and evolution are detailed in readily available accounts.

A comprehensive understanding of Wikipedia requires exploring not only its collaborative nature but also the insights offered in the article and memoir penned by Larry Sanger, accessible through the platform.

Wikipedia's Current Status

Currently, Wikipedia frequently dominates search engine results, appearing prominently in nearly every Google search. Its widespread accessibility is often taken for granted.

Occasional scrutiny regarding the accuracy of information presented is common, yet its established position as a vital and frequently bookmarked resource remains secure.

Taking Wikipedia Offline: A Practical Guide

However, this discussion isn't intended as an unqualified endorsement of the world’s largest collaborative encyclopedia. Instead, it serves as a guide detailing how to download Wikipedia pages for offline access.

Before proceeding with the download process, let’s address a fundamental question…

Why Download Wikipedia?

Accessibility: Access information even without an internet connection.
Preservation: Create a local archive of knowledge.
Research: Facilitate in-depth study without distractions.

Downloading Wikipedia allows for continued access to its vast repository of knowledge regardless of connectivity issues or potential service interruptions.

The ability to work with a local copy is particularly valuable for researchers and individuals in areas with limited or unreliable internet access.

Why Download Wikipedia Pages When Online Access Exists?

A fitting response to the question of why download Wikipedia mirrors the famed explanation for climbing Mount Everest. George Mallory’s answer – “Because it’s there” – can be adapted to Wikipedia as “Because we can!”

However, such a response would be overly simplistic. Let's explore several practical scenarios justifying the need to know how to download Wikipedia content, just for preparedness. I’ll present five primary reasons and encourage you to share any additional, real-world applications in the comments section. Unique, practical uses are highly valued.

1. Connectivity is Unavailable: Remote Locations

A common situation involves being offline and lacking immediate Wikipedia access, yet requiring information. The storage space occupied by Wikipedia on a smartphone or laptop is minimal by today’s standards, and could prove invaluable.

2. Conserving Data: Expensive Hotspots

Even with Wi-Fi access, expending bandwidth unnecessarily is undesirable. In-depth Wikipedia research, particularly when seeking specific details, can consume a significant amount of data.

3. Potential for Service Disruptions: Remembering SOPA

The SOPA protests, including Wikipedia’s blackout on January 18^th, demonstrated the site’s vulnerability. Imagine needing information on the cultivation of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis during such an event. Wikipedia’s widespread reliance means we often take its availability for granted. An offline copy could be essential if another blackout occurs or the site experiences outages due to high traffic.

4. Mobile Research: The On-the-Go Investigator

Researchers who frequently require access to facts and information while traveling will find an offline Wikipedia copy to be a consistently available tool. It eliminates delays caused by a lack of internet connectivity.

5. Resolving Disputes: The Informed Debater

Suppose you’ve wagered that Arsenal is the fourth most valuable football club globally. An offline Wikipedia copy allows you to quickly verify this claim, avoiding arguments or unfavorable outcomes with a simple search for “Arsenal”.

6. Expanding Knowledge: Utilizing Sister Projects

Maintaining access to Wikiquote and Wiktionary can be beneficial. These resources provide readily available quotes for insightful conversation or refresh one’s memory of notable film lines. Furthermore, Wikipedia and its related projects support numerous languages.

7. Combating Boredom: Serendipitous Discovery

While not advocating Wikipedia as a primary research source, I’ve often encountered fascinating information while browsing randomly. Although distinct from platforms like Reddit, any interesting piece of knowledge is worthwhile.

Now, let’s proceed to the practical aspects…

10 Tools To Download Pages From Wikipedia

WikiTaxi

WikiTaxi is a portable application that utilizes original Wikipedia database dumps. Manual download of these databases is required from the Wikimedia Downloads page, followed by importing them into WikiTaxi. These Wikipedia database dumps are SQL-formatted backups of Wikipedia’s database.

WikiTaxi then presents this complex data in a user-friendly format, enabling offline reading, searching, and browsing of Wikipedia content.

Key features include:

Automatic downloading of the most recent Wikipedia dump version.
Database compression to manage substantial file sizes, with the English version alone potentially reaching 3.5GB.
Compatibility with Wiktionary and WikiQuote, allowing for the download and storage of multiple wikis in various languages.
A self-contained, single executable file for easy portability on a USB drive.

Pocket Wikipedia [No Longer Available]

Containing 14 million words and 24,000 images, Pocket Wikipedia offers a substantial amount of reading material. This is a curated and condensed version of Wikipedia, packaged as a 180MB compressed download.

The information within Pocket Wikipedia is carefully selected, representing the scope of a fifteen-volume encyclopedia.

Notable features:

The content is a selection, providing a focused knowledge base.
It is based on the Wikipedia for Schools project, previously available as a DVD containing 34,000 images and 20 million words.
Pocket Wikipedia is offered as freeware for both Windows and Linux operating systems.

Kiwix

Kiwix is an Open Source software, measuring 29.7MB, that functions similarly to WikiTaxi. It requires a downloaded Wikipedia database, which is then opened within the software. However, Kiwix differs in its source for the database.

While WikiTaxi necessitates downloading from the Wikipedia website, Kiwix utilizes its own site, offering the latest edition as a .zim package, eliminating the need for conversion.

Important features:

Kiwix is compatible with Windows, Linux distributions, and Mac OS X.
The software supports drag-and-drop functionality and includes a Save As PDF option.
Users can search for Wikipedia articles and save them as bookmarks.

Okawix

Okawix is another offline reader designed for Wikipedia. This Open Source freeware is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android platforms. It allows users to download and store the entire Wikipedia, with or without images.

Furthermore, Okawix supports browsing Wikipedia’s sister projects, including Wikisource, Wiktionary, Wikiquote, and Wikibooks, and supports 253 languages.

Key features:

Articles can be searched using the Wikiwix search engine.
The Wikipedia database can be downloaded as a torrent file.

Note: Some users may experience functionality issues with this software; testing is recommended.

Offline Wiki (Chrome)

This Chrome extension transforms your browser into an offline Wikipedia reader. It operates by downloading compressed Wikipedia dumps, providing an indexed and searchable experience even without an internet connection.

It’s important to note that the database used by the extension may not always be the most current.

Features to consider:

Downloads all textual content from Wikipedia.
Offers a choice between two compressed dumps: 14MB and 1GB.
Limited functionality is available on Firefox and Safari.

Wiki Offline (iPhone)

The iTunes page for this app states that it allows you to “hold the world’s knowledge in the palm of your hands.” This iPhone, iPod, and iPad application is available for $9.99 and provides a valuable reference tool while traveling.

It offers full-screen viewing and enhanced readability features.

Notable features:

Organize searches into bookmarks and folders.
Customize the reading experience with adjustable font, brightness, and color settings.
Navigate easily with full page history, a reading queue, and a table of contents.
Discover articles related to your current geographic location.

Consider All Of Wiki ($8.99) as an alternative, offering similar features for iPad and iPhone/iPod.

WikiDroyd

WikiDroyd is a free Android application that enables offline access to Wikipedia. A unique feature is its text-to-speech capability, converting Wikipedia articles into audiobooks using the Android text-to-speech plugin.

Key features:

Supports multiple Wikipedia encyclopedias.
Offers support for over 40 languages.
Allows users to favorite articles, maintain a browsing history, and sort through content.
Image support is currently limited but may be included in future updates.

PediaPhon

Imagine listening to Wikipedia articles while exercising or waiting at a traffic light. PediaPhon transforms Wikipedia articles into downloadable podcasts, allowing you to listen to them on your preferred player.

The online PediaPhon service generates MP3 files from keywords, offering a choice of male or female voices. You can also link to the original Wikipedia page for verification.

Features to note:

MP3 creation is relatively quick, taking approximately two minutes.
The online app supports English, German, French, and Spanish.
Adjust speech speed between normal, fast, and slow.
Customize your listening experience.

Lexisum

While not a traditional download, Lexisum provides a way to create print-friendly summaries of Wikipedia articles. Enter a keyword, and Lexisum formats the content for printing.

This offers a tangible way to access Wikipedia information offline.

Features to note:

Lexisum generates summaries, not the full article.
It is available in multiple languages.

Turn Wikipedia Into An eBook And Carry It With You

A detailed technique exists for creating your own eBook from Wikipedia. You can selectively choose pages and download them as a PDF file, complete with an index. This method saves time but limits access to only the selected pages.

Features to note:

Download books as PDF or ODF, or order a printed copy.
The book creator suggests relevant pages based on your current selection.
Build eBooks by adding entire categories with a single click.

I trust this guide to downloading pages from Wikipedia proves helpful. Experiment with a downloaded copy for a week, especially when offline, and share your experiences. Knowledge is a valuable asset, and Wikipedia holds a significant amount of it.

Do you currently utilize a downloaded, offline copy of Wikipedia? If so, how did you obtain it, and what motivates your use of it?

Image Credit: xkcd