Azure DevOps includes a Wiki feature for all projects. The wiki content is stored as a git repository, with a .md markdown file for every page. You can clone the repository and look at how it is organised. All pages in the wiki allow users to submit comments - clearly these must be stored somewhere, but where? They do not appear in the wiki repository.
1
votes
That's definitely internal implementation details. As long as they do not expose the API for dealing with wiki comments (you can only work with WI and PR comments for now), we - users - are not intended to know those details. :) Perhaps, that will become possible in the future, but I don't see anything similar in the upcoming features list.
– Yan Sklyarenko
I agree with Yan, as of now we only have an option for wiki revisions.Also, I guess if someone deletes wiki pages under overview-->wiki, we wont be able to restore
– Venkat
If it is as we suppose and the wiki system is storing some of the data in places other than the wiki repo, one consequence of that is that if the user were to take a copy of the repository for whatever reason (analysis, migrating to some other store, any other reason the user wants and they don't have to justify because it is, after all, their data), the comments get left behind. That is a bad thing because the comments may well have valuable information in them.
– Jinlye
This hidden implementation detail (comments being stored outwith the git source control system) may also be behind why there is no history on comments in Azure DevOps wiki - you can edit a comment and can see that a comment has been edited (it gets a "(edited)" after the credit for that comment), but you cannot see when it was edited, nor can you see what it used to say. So some of the data in an Azure DevOps wiki is under what we would recognise as full source control (can see earlier revisions, etc), and some (the comments) is not.
– Jinlye
2 Answers
2
votes
Unfortunately, we haven't sort it into any history and it only relevant to Wiki page until now. This comment feature is being implement but haven't supported from UI.
As of today, what we provide is view the comments content from UI, or get them from API:
Get https://dev.azure.com/{org name}/{project name}/_apis/wiki/wikis/{wiki name}/pages/{page id}/comments
In fact, the backend data structure has been built, but we haven't provide the corresponding UI to public. So, with above api, you can not only get the comments you want, but also record the modification history of the comments.
Personally, it sounds a good idea about putting comments into source control since it not only records some important conversation about current wiki, also has representation about its development process.
Much recommend you can share your idea here, it is the official forum that our Product Group reviewed.
You can share the suggestion ticket link here, I'm sure I would be the first voter on that. Also, there will have other SO users who view this ticket support that.
-1
votes
So here is a question in regards to this:
When setting up cross repo policies, this affects the wiki pages. Is there a way to exclude the wiki from these policies?
I was testing out some policies and it prevented me, or anyone, from updating the page and gave this article: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/project/wiki/add-edit-wiki?view=azure-devops&tabs=browser#edit-and-delete-wiki-pages
Here is a screenshot of what message the wiki gave on save: Message from wiki
In the article, it shows there is a drop down option "Edit in Repos" when saving. There was only the regular "Save" and "Save with revision message" which both would result in the above message and link: Current Save Options
It doesn't make sense to include them in the repo policies if you can't do anything with it.
Has anyone else had the same issue? How did you get around using the cross repo policies and not affect the wiki pages?
Thanks in advance! You are appreciated.
