User:Robin Strohmeyer (WMDE)/test

Prototype 1 Update: Template Finder

Back in March, the Technical Wishes team shared a first prototype: Featured Templates and Search Filters. It consisted of a search with filter options and the introduction of featured templates, similar to featured articles and images. We received a lot of feedback for that prototype. Thanks a lot for all your ideas, questions and comments.

After carefully reviewing the feedback and investigating several possible directions, the next prototype we would like to propose is a refined Template Finder as a standalone feature without Featured Templates. It builds upon the previous proposal but searches all templates on a wiki. Additionally, it has different types of filters and ways of exploring the results. Ideally, this specialized search would allow users to discover new templates to meet their specific needs and help experienced users who maintain templates to easily find the templates needing attention.

The video shows an example of how a search for a template might look like in the future.

This walkthrough video begins in Visual Editor, but we would be able to provide links to the Template Finder from the TemplateWizard in the source editor, Advanced Search, and potentially elsewhere. As a standalone page, there are many options for integration and the goal is to ensure that it would be accessible to anyone who might find it useful. The video then shows a user completing a search and narrowing the selection of templates by using the available filters. For more detail on the possible features, see the individual proposals below.

1a. Adjust search algorithm:

Currently, the search for templates is unsatisfactory as it does not display all suitable templates to users (too narrow) while at the same time leading to only loosely related pages (too broad).

Here are some potential ways that search results could be improved. Please note that not all proposals would necessarily be implemented.

• Remove documentation pages from search results
• Order of words does not affect results, meaning that the search term could exist at any point within the template name, not just at the beginning
• Look for search term in the template description, not just the template name

1b. Filter search results by:

Templates are mostly created for specific fields of application. Filters could help to find the right template for the use case in mind. Please note that the proposal includes some filters based on existing TemplateData (machine-readable metadata about individual templates) while some would require adding new fields. This content would not be added by the Technical Wishes team, but would be flexible and added on a per wiki basis by the Community based on their needs.

• Intended Namespace:

There are several namespaces on Wikipedia such as article pages, discussion pages and project pages. As most templates only make sense in the context of a certain namespace, this would be added as a filter (Information would need to be added to TemplateData).

• Template Type:

Wikis have different template types such as banners, citations or stubs. The exact template types differ from wiki to wiki. Every community would be empowered to set their own template type system in TemplateData and filter by this.

• Category:

The goal with category filters would be to make existing categories more visible and explorable. This does not include changes to the category system itself or the way categories function. When filtering by category, only categories used by templates in the current search results would show up.

The displayed categories are then ordered based on which contain the most templates, so that they are ordered by relevance.

As there are many categories, users could also start typing to find the one they want.

• Has/Missing TemplateData:

The search could allow filtering for templates that do or do not have TemplateData. This might be helpful to those maintaining templates, as well as users who are looking for a template that works easily within the visual editor.

Additionally, it would be possible to search using only filters without any search terms, for example to easily compare all templates in a category of a specific type.

1c. Sort search results by:

• Relevance:

Orderings templates by their relevance, based on the current advanced search algorithm, adjusted as mentioned in 1a.

• Alphabetical order

Ordering templates alphabetically by their name.

• Popularity

Ordering templates according to how often they are used, with the most used at the top.

1d. Display additional information in the results to facilitate template comparison

Preview:

The exact implementation and feasibility still needs more investigation, but ideally an example invocation (not an image) would be displayed. If no example invocation is available, the fallback plan would be to show a default/empty invocation. If a preview is missing or broken, it would display a button leading users to the TemplateData where it could be updated.

Note: The implementation would need significant investigation and discussion with the Community, but we believe that the benefits could also be significant.

• Description:

The search results would display the description provided in TemplateData. As the examples show, most templates are currently missing the required information. There would be an info icon encouraging users to add descriptions to fill in the gaps.

• Layout:

TemplateData already contains information on whether a template is inline or block formatted. This could easily be displayed. If useful, this could also be added as a filter. Please let us know if a filter for layout would be useful for you.

• Number of Parameters:

The number of parameters is a nice indicator of both complexity and type of template. This would also not require additional TemplateData.

1e. Template quick view

The quick view would show more detailed information without needing to open a new page. It would focus on information needed to:

• properly use the template,
• compare templates in detail, and
• select the right template.

It would contain:

• Name of the template

With a button to easily copy the name of the template for use in the visual editor’s TemplateDialog and the source editor’s TemplateWizard (the dialog windows for inserting templates).

• Wikitext

A box showing the source code, with a button for easy copying of the snippet, would allow source code editors to easily use a template.

• Link to the documentation page

Would direct users there for help.

• Link to all existing pages using the template

Thus providing users with examples.

1f. Show all templates used in an article

There is one more idea not included in the video: If users put the name of an article as the search term, all the templates used within the article would be displayed in the table below as search results.

Feedback

We are looking forward to any kind of feedback either on the talk page or in the survey in this section. Please note that not all features will necessarily be implemented, so feedback is very useful in helping prioritize. You are welcome to leave comments on any aspect of the design, but here are a few questions as a starting point:

• Do you think the Template Finder would simplify the process of finding the right template? How?
• Which feature is most useful? Which feature adds the least value?
• How do you see the Template Finder fitting into existing workflows?
• The expansion of TemplateData would increase the amount of machine readable information about templates and greatly improve the usefulness of this feature but would require community effort as well. What do you think about this impact?

Prototype 3: Improve working with templates in Visual Editor

When filling out a newly added template or editing an existing template in Visual Editor, a dialog window pops up to add, edit, or remove different fields. The following proposals concern this window and how to more easily fill in the fields. This is often laborious and confusing for both new and experienced editors. It is difficult to understand what information to fill in to the fields and how to format it correctly. Most of the proposals aim to provide better help, while also assisting in the correct formatting of fields. To find this screen, edit an article in Visual Editor and click on “Insert” > “Template.”

Note: The dialog in the images is expanded to show the interface changes, but the lengthened size is not part of the design proposal.

Prototype 3.1 - 3.6 - Improve working with templates in Visual Editor

3.1 Better help text

Currently, the name of the template appears twice. In the proposal, the icon and title are changed to describe the section more clearly and guide you to the right place when you are looking for help. A rephrased sentence encourages you to visit the documentation page.

3.2 Required parameters

For added clarity, required parameters would be shown with a label instead of an asterisk. Tests have shown that asterisks do not universally mean “required” to users. Suggested and Optional parameters remain unlabeled.

3.3 Eliminate [[ ]] button

When a specific parameter is in focus, the [[]] button would no longer be shown. The [[]] button rarely serves a useful purpose and is being eliminated to limit confusion and simplify the interface.

3.4 Make instructions more visible

Currently, descriptions are hidden and only shown when the info “i” icon is clicked. Often these descriptions have critical information which helps you correctly fill out parameters and format them correctly. The proposed design removes the info icon and instead displays descriptions under the parameter name. When TemplateData is missing, then nothing is displayed (ex. Birth date). Currently, the info icon is visible but unclickable in these cases, which is very confusing.

3.5 Introducing grouped parameters

People writing TemplateData could choose to group parameters. This would result in a visible grouping in Visual Editor, plus sub-parameters would not have labels in bold. This would for example be particularly useful for image related parameters.

3.6 Drop down menu

Adds the possibility of specifying a list of values that are proposed for a parameter in TemplateData. In the template dialog in Visual Editor, they would be shown as a drop down menu from which you could select one or type in a different value. The field would have auto completion so that when you start typing, the proposed values are filtered.

Prototype 3.7 - Improve autocomplete selector

3.7 Improve autocomplete

Autocomplete would work for file names on Wikimedia Commons, in addition to the names of Wikipages and usernames. The current functionality would be expanded, so that if a parameter accepts these input types, then results would show once you start typing (see 7a). In addition, after a page is selected, it would be automatically formatted to become a wiki link (see 7b).

Prototype 3.8a - Add buttons to use existing Visual Editor media selector

3.8a Add buttons to use existing Visual Editor media selector

Buttons to add images or other files would be added to parameters of the corresponding type. You would no longer need to open Wikimedia Commons in a separate tab to search for an image. This would be particularly helpful for newcomers who might not know that they need to copy and paste a file name. When clicked, the buttons would open the existing Media selector for Visual Editor. Depending on which button is clicked, the corresponding tab in the Media selector would open.

Prototype 3.8b - Image preview

3.8b Image preview

After an image has been selected, the file name would be automatically inserted and a preview of the image is shown within the template dialog window.