Community Server Forum Backup Utility

Community Server Forum Backup Utility

Description:

The idea is to be able to fire off a script after I'm working for the night that downloads the contents of my forums and creates local HTML backups. It seems that utilizing the RSS feeds from Community Server would be the easiest way to achieve this. Would this be possible with a scripting language such as Python? 

The written material on my Community Server is of great value and importance to me.  I need to find a way to archive backup copies of the material to ensure that it is never lost and so that I can access it independent of Community Server if necessary. Aside from backing up the SQL database, I want to be able to view the content offline and in a lowest common denominator form.

Here is a breakdown of the Forum Backup Utility project in stages (Basic through Advanced) in order of importance.  If I only ever got to the Basic stage that would be enough to survive on.  The subsequent levels are non-critical and would improve efficiency, quality and convenience.

Basic: (the simplest possible version required for this to work)

A script utility to produce a local HTML file displaying the contents of a given RSS feed. (Python?)

Intermediate: (automation - increased efficiency) 

The ability to backup multiple RSS feeds as local HTML files automatically from a single web link.  Maybe the RSS feeds could be defined in a config file that I could easily maintain.

Advanced:  (non-critical - higher quality HTML backup)

1. The images displayed on my Community Server reference a directory structure that is mirrored locally.  An example image URL will look like: www.mydomain.com/projects/myproject/web/images/image.jpg.  The local copy resides at C:\projects\myproject\web\images\image.jpg.  I wonder what it would take to replace these links with the local address when the local HTML backup is made from the RSS feed.  That way the images would show up in the HTML the same way they do on Community Server. 

2. As far as I can tell, the forums on Community Server are organized in a five level deep hierarchy:

Main >> ForumGroup >> Forum >> Topic >> Post. 

It would facilitate easy navigation of the local HTML backups if they were linked together in a similar way with the navigation line at the top of the page such as it is here on the top of this page:

Community_Server >> Community_Server >> Forums >> Community_Server_Forum_Backup_Utility

 

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My kingdom for a script that can do this! 

• Filed under: rss |
• Post Points: 5 |