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Advanced setup

The browser sandbox limits File Backups to writing inside your Downloads folder. If you’d rather keep your wikis on a different drive, in your Documents folder, or in a cloud-synced location, you can use a directory junction (Windows) or symlink (macOS / Linux) to make an outside folder appear inside Downloads. Saves and backups are then written at the real location while the browser believes it’s working inside Downloads/.

Windows: directory junction

It has to be a Windows junction. A Windows shortcut (.lnk) won’t work. Browsers won’t open a wiki through one.

1. Make sure you create a new directory at your desired “outside” directory. Eg: C:\Users\<your-user>\Documents\MyWikis\

2. Make sure there is no MyWikis directory in the browser Downloads folder.

3. Open Command Prompt (no admin required for junctions) and run:
   • Windows key or Start Menu
   • Type: cmd

   It should show something like this:

    Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.xxxxx.yyyy]
    (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
   
    C:\Users\your-user>
   

4. Create a Junction

   Replace your-user with your real user name. The following command assumes, that you use the default browser settings. If you did configure a different download folder in your browser, you need to adjust it.

   The format is mklink /J LinkTo LinkFrom

    mklink /J "C:\Users\<your-user>\Downloads\MyWikis" "C:\Users\<your-user>\Documents\MyWikis"
   

   It should show something like this

    Junction created for C:\Users\<your-user>\Downloads\MyWikis <<===>> C:\Users\<your-user>\Documents\MyWikis
   

5. Now open your Downloads folder in the File Explorer

   • There should be a Link icon and the MyWikis directory.
   • Right Click - Drag that directory onto your Desktop.
   • It opens a dialogue.
     • Select: Create shortcut here

   The Desktop, will now be the location, from where you open your wikis from now on.

   It’s also possible to right click the MyWikis icon and choose

   • Pin to Quick access or
   • Pin to Start

6. Open MyWikis Folder

   Drop your TW wiki files into there. Now they can be handled from the browser, but they actually stay out of your browser downloads folder.

   To remove the junction later:

    rmdir "C:\Users\<your-user>\Downloads\MyWikis"
   

   rmdir on a junction removes only the link, not the target folder. Your wiki files at Documents\MyWikis\ are untouched.

macOS / Linux: symlink

mkdir -p ~/Wikis
ln -s ~/Wikis ~/Downloads/MyWikis

Same effect — wikis live at ~/MyWikis, the browser sees them inside Downloads/MyWikis/. Remove with rm ~/Downloads/MyWikis (deletes only the link).

Caveats

• Cloud-sync folders: OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive sometimes have trouble with junctions or symlinks crossing into their managed trees. If you sync from inside a junctioned folder and see odd behaviour, junction the OTHER way — keep the wiki inside the synced folder and junction the synced folder into Downloads instead.
• Cross-volume junctions work on NTFS (e.g. C:\ → D:\) but not across network shares.
• Backups follow the junction — the twBackups/ folder lives at the real location, not inside Downloads. That’s usually what you want; just be aware if you’re configuring backup software at either end.
• Junction visibility in Explorer: the link appears with a small shortcut overlay icon and behaves like a regular folder.

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