BearOfaTime , (edited )

Here's an idea, since you're an MS shop - OneNote.

My SMB consultant friends use it as a secondary, shared, more comprehensive and free-form way to track system docs, changes, etc.

It's so easy to use, just using it yourself will sell it to other people in the company, besides giving you a single place to store stuff (that can easily be shared or copied elsewhere when needed).

When someone asks "where's this" and you can pull it up in seconds in OneNote, they'll be impressed.

Just don't use the Universal app version of OneNote, or use OneDrive - use the full version included with Office. I'm still using OneNote 2016,though I think there's a 2022 version (I keep all notebooks in the 2016 version just in case)

Store your OneNote files on a file share (that gets backed up, and that you can control access), so it only syncs locally. You won't get mobile device sync this way, but it never leaves the premises, and it's not sensitive to OneDrive issues (I've seen OneDrive hose a notebook). (You can do mobile device sync if you store notebooks on a SharePoint server).

I have a personal notebook I work from, plus a work notebook (which is just mine, not shared). I then create other notebooks as needed - I have an IT Reference notebook with saved web pages and docs of how to fix problems. My personal notebook has a section for a current laptop rebuild, with a spreadsheet embedded that I open every day to track changes and problems.

OneNote auto syncs between all devices using a given notebook. You can copy anything into it, even zip files or executables (don't do this, since OneNote keeps 3 copies of a notebook locally - working version, cache, and backup).

Last year I started using the PARA model for my notebooks, and it's a huge help with business stuff: one notebook with section groups (Tabs) for Projects, Area of responsibility, Resources, Archive. I've added a fifth section, Reference, to my work notebook.

I do things like share emails from outlook to OneNote - it puts the email in there with all it's info, then I can add notes as needed for reference. Great for tracking Approvals.

If you start using OneNote, there are numerous paid and free add-ons for it that really extend its ability to sort, search, layout, edit, etc, such as OneMore and NoteGem. Just the calendar showing notebook changes is worth installing either one, but the section and page sorting is a massive help.

I have 15 years of nitebooksbat this point - be judicious in setting up and organizing your notebooks. I've found the idea of Archiving to be hugely helpful.

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