Wikinews:Water cooler/miscellaneous/archives/2014/March

Tech News: 2014-10
 Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please inform other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.  Recent software changes


 * The latest version of MediaWiki (1.23wmf16) was added to test wikis and MediaWiki.org on February 27. It will be added to non-Wikipedia wikis on March 4, and all Wikipedia wikis on March 6 (calendar).
 * When users enable web fonts by default, Universal Language Selector will now log if they don't have fonts to display pages correctly. This information will be used by developers to improve font support in the future. Read more about missing fonts. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/113876/]
 * You can now use Guided tours on the Czech and Japanese Wikipedia. If you want this tool on your wiki, you need to [//translatewiki.net/w/i.php?title=Special:Translate&group=ext-guidedtour&filter=&language=&action=translate translate it] and ask in [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org Bugzilla]. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/115824/]
 * You can now use information from Wikidata in all Wikisource wikis. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/115393/]
 * The multimedia team is now posting weekly updates on their mailing list.

VisualEditor news
 * You can now change image size to default for your wiki. If you add new images to pages, they will also be default size. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=47804] [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=50379] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/114420/]
 * If you switch from VisualEditor to wikitext editing, your edit will now be tagged. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=56465]
 * Template parameters now have a bigger, auto-sizing input box for easier editing. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=61289]
 * VisualEditor now has Arabic, Finnish and Kölsch icons for text styling. If you want icons for your language, ask in Bugzilla. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/115636/] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/115512/] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/115424/]

Future software changes  Problems
 * The new tool for viewing media files will soon show a progress bar and a thumbnail while loading full images. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/113963/] [//wikimedia.mingle.thoughtworks.com/projects/multimedia/cards/146]
 * You will soon be able to make user contributions show only page creations. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=42026] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/115189/]
 * Article Feedback Tool will be removed from the English and French Wikipedias on March 3. It will also no longer be possible to add this tool to any Wikimedia wiki. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=61163]
 * Wikis using the new search tool will come back to the old tool for a few hours starting at 00:00 UTC on March 6. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=61879]
 * For about an hour on February 23, there were problems with page loading due to a MediaWiki bug. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/114994/]

Tech news prepared by tech ambassadors and posted by MediaWiki message delivery • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.  09:30, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

Tech News: 2014-11
 Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please inform other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.  Recent software changes
 * The latest version of MediaWiki (1.23wmf17) was added to test wikis and MediaWiki.org on March 6. It will be added to non-Wikipedia wikis on March 11, and all Wikipedia wikis on March 13 (calendar).
 * You can now use the new search tool (CirrusSearch) on all Wikiquote projects. You can now enable it in your Beta options. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/116919/] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/116992/]

VisualEditor news
 * It is now easier to edit templates. Complex tools are now in the "advanced" mode. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=61822] [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=55434]
 * It is also easier to edit images. You now have more options and they are explained better. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=61059]
 * VisualEditor adds fake blank lines so you can put your cursor there. They are now smaller and animated to be different from actual blank lines. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=47790]
 * We have improved the tool to add special characters. The buttons are now larger. More changes are coming. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/116661/]
 * You can now use new keyboard shortcuts to undo the last action, clear formatting, and show the shortcut help window. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=53356] [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=52140] [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=56453]

Future software changes  Tech news prepared by tech ambassadors and posted by MediaWiki message delivery • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.  09:10, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
 * You will soon be able to use a Beta option to show a shorter list of language links. That way, Universal Language Selector will only show languages that are relevant to you. You will still be able to search for other languages. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/116726/]
 * CirrusSearch will soon automatically index newly imported pages. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=60053] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/116896/]
 * It will soon be possible to use CSS to style buttons in templates on all Wikimedia wikis, without needing JavaScript. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/114085/]
 * An IRC discussion with the Wikimedia Foundation Language Engineering team will take place on March 12 at 17:00 UTC on the channel #wikimedia-office on Freenode (time conversion).

Tech News: 2014-12
 Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please inform other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.  Recent software changes
 * The latest version of MediaWiki (1.23wmf18) was added to test wikis and MediaWiki.org on March 13. It will be added to non-Wikipedia wikis on March 18, and all Wikipedia wikis on March 20 (calendar).
 * You can now view smaller versions of PNG images bigger than 20 megapixels. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/117809/]
 * You can now use the new search tool (CirrusSearch) on all [//noc.wikimedia.org/conf/highlight.php?file=small.dblist small] wikis. You can now enable it in your Beta options. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/118482/] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/118638/]
 * You can read a summary of the Wikimedia technical report for February 2014.

VisualEditor news
 * Searching for template parameters in now case-insensitive. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=51673] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/117305/]
 * Required template parameters now have an asterisk (*) next to their edit boxes. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/117327/]
 * Several template dialogs are now smaller, and their insert buttons have changed wording. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=50998]

Future software changes  Problems
 * You will soon see an error message if you try to log-in or register with an invalid or taken username. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/117437/]
 * You can now test first version of a tool that includes OpenStreetMap maps inside the UploadWizard. Comments are welcome.
 * You will soon be able to use the Hovercards tool as a beta feature.
 * VisualEditor was slow to load on March 13 because of an API issue.

Tech news prepared by tech ambassadors and posted by MediaWiki message delivery • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe.  07:14, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Tech News: 2014-13
 Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please inform other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.  Recent software changes
 * The latest version of MediaWiki (1.23wmf19) was added to test wikis and MediaWiki.org on March 20. It will be added to non-Wikipedia wikis on March 25, and all Wikipedia wikis on March 27 (calendar).

VisualEditor news
 * You can now double-click or press the ↲ Enter key on an image or template to change its settings. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=50996] [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=54827]
 * Pages that don't exist will now show as red links in the edit mode. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37901]
 * You will no longer be able to try to use VisualEditor on pages translated using the Translate extension, and you will see a warning if you try to edit pages marked for translation. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=50284]
 * You will now see a full warning, including the most recent log entry, when you try to edit protected pages with VisualEditor. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=51215]

Future software changes  Tech news prepared by tech ambassadors and posted by MediaWiki message delivery • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe. <section end="technews-2014-W13"/> 18:56, 24 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Typography Refresh will be enabled for test wiki and MediaWiki.org users who use the Vector skin on March 27. For users on non-Wikipedia wikis, it will be enabled on April 1, and for Wikipedia users on April 3. If you don't use Vector as your skin, you will not be affected.
 * You will be able to use the Hovercards tool as a beta feature on all wikis from March 26.
 * You will soon be able to include the Whatlinkshere special page in other pages. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=35486] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/106625/]

Tech News: 2014-14
<section begin="technews-2014-W14"/> Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please inform other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available. <section begin="tech-newsletter-software-news"/> Recent software changes
 * The latest version of MediaWiki (1.23wmf20) was added to test wikis and MediaWiki.org on March 27. It will be added to non-Wikipedia wikis on April 1, and all Wikipedia wikis on April 3 (calendar).
 * Typography Refresh was added to test wikis and MediaWiki.org on March 27. You'll only see it if you use the Vector skin. For users on non-Wikipedia wikis, it will be enabled on April 1, and for Wikipedia users on April 3.
 * CirrusSearch, the new search tool, was enabled as a beta feature on over 30 new wikis on March 27. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/121305/] [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/121305/]

VisualEditor news
 * Blocked users now see the same messages in VisualEditor as in the wikitext editor. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=51454] [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=52004]
 * The search box for re-using a reference in VisualEditor is now cleared after each use. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=61959]
 * New links on sub-pages no longer point to the wrong location in VisualEditor. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=58314]
 * VisualEditor's media dialog no longer breaks when opening some types of images. [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=62024]

Future software changes <section end="tech-newsletter-software-news"/> Tech news prepared by tech ambassadors and posted by MediaWiki message delivery • Contribute • Translate • Get help • Give feedback • Subscribe or unsubscribe. <section end="technews-2014-W14"/> 09:20, 31 March 2014 (UTC)
 * You will not be able to use the Wikitech wiki for a short period around 16:00 UTC on April 1 due to a server change.
 * CirrusSearch will become the main search engine for all non-Wikipedia wikis except Commons, Meta and Incubator on April 2.
 * You will soon be able to use a new special page listing duplicate files. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/85446/]
 * Deleting a version of a file or a version of its description page will soon be shown differently in the logs. [//gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/c/115640/]