Shortcut

September 2020 Twinkle updates, features, and behaviors (2020-09-05) @10b4f79c

Twinkle now uses change tags for all its actions! You should start seeing it immediately, and be able to filter edits and actions accordingly. Beyond that, there are a number of other improvements and bug fixes; a brief summary of some of them are below. Changes not otherwise attributed were made by User:Amorymeltzer.

This section should serve as a catching ground should anything not work properly or if any new bugs crop up, as well as for any feedback or suggestions. There were a lot of changes behind the scenes, so feel free to ping me. As always, input is welcome at the GitHub repo as well. Finally, if you're interested in helping out with Twinkle development, there's a guideline to help new contributors get set up — check it out! ~ Amory (u • t • c) 17:31, 5 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Technical changes

The Morebits library has added RegExp.escape for a while; this has been deprecated in favor of Morebits.string.escapeRegExp; see #1077 for more info. It also added Morebits.string.isInfinity to check whether mediawiki will parse a string as infinite (#1057).

~ Amory (u • t • c) 17:31, 5 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@SD0001: Hey there, I'm not sure if it's a result of the font size changes you made, but some changes recently now make the Twinkle font smaller in my Windows 10 Chrome browser. I thought I was nuts at first and somehow zoomed out of the page, but my normal Wikipedia browsing experience is unchanged, other than how Twinkle displays. Thoughts? Thanks, Cyphoidbomb (talk) 18:23, 6 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Cyphoidbomb: Which skin do you use (vector/monobook/...)? I don't see any issues in Chrome on Windows 10 at my end. If possible, can you check what is the rendered font size using the browser's inspect element tool? Temporarily, you can try enabling the "Use larger text in Twinkle dialogs" option in your WP:TWPREFS and see if that helps. – SD0001 (talk) 18:56, 6 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@SD0001:} I use Vector. I know how to access the inspect element tool, but I don't know what string I'm supposed to be looking for. I see a lot of "font-size" stuff after right-clicking an open Twinkle window and selecting Inspect element, then searching for "font". In case it's helpful, my browser is set to Large fonts and 100% page zoom. Also, when I used to open the Protect Page window, the pulldowns for "Edit protection: Autoconfirmed Expires: 2 days" (for example) used to be on two lines. Now they line up, which is aesthetically pleasing, but the font size is a bit smaller now. I did tick the "Use large text" option per your suggestion, but it didn't make a difference. Let me know what other info I can give you. Thanks, Cyphoidbomb (talk) 18:08, 7 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Cyphoidbomb: With any Twinkle window opened, press Ctrl+Shift+C. Now hover (don't click) over any text inside the Twinkle window. A popup should show up like this which shows the font details. – SD0001 (talk) 08:09, 8 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@SD0001: A-ha! Thank you. I see 12px sans-serif in the Twinkle box. With my Chrome font set to Large, the article text (and on talk pages, etc) is 16.25px. If I change my Chrome font size to Medium, article text goes down to 13px but the Twinkle font stays at 12px. If I change the Chrome font size to Extra Large. Article text goes up to 19.5px, Twinkle stays at 12px. Regards, Cyphoidbomb (talk) 16:45, 8 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Noted. Thanks for the info. It means Twinkle needs to mention the font size using relative percentages rather than an absolute "12px". – SD0001 (talk) 12:53, 9 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@SD0001: Thanks for taking this into consideration! You'd make my eyes grateful. Also, the window(s) might need to scale up to accommodate different font sizes, which I don't think I was experiencing before (hence the fields not always lining up horizontally on my display). Thanks, Cyphoidbomb (talk) 04:22, 10 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Cyphoidbomb: Yesterday I made some changes to Twinkle on the testwiki. Can you enable Twinkle over there and confirm if everything looks all right? – SD0001 (talk) 17:44, 12 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@SD0001: Hey there, thanks for working on it. It looks much better. The only difference I note is that the article text size is 16.1px where the Twinkle text is about 15. I'm not sure if that difference matters so much. I don't have my admin tools at the test site, so I can't do an exact test drive, but otherwise it looks pretty good! Thanks again, Cyphoidbomb (talk) 18:14, 12 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
1128 – SD0001 (talk) 06:46, 15 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

CSD deletion - alternate reasons?

I've done a couple of deletions now where there is "extra" info, most recently U.S. Route 10 Alternate (Washington–Montana) (see log if it's been recreated), but when I put in that extra info it's not adding it to the deletion summary (for example, the db-move I used above should have included "AFC submission ready for acceptance"). Is this a recent change or have I just never noticed that Twinkle doesn't do this? Primefac (talk) 16:44, 8 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Primefac: It been that way for ages (ever?). The proximate reason is that Twinkle uses the summary parameter from the rendered template, and ((db-move)) doesn't handle extra parameters well, just a custom summary. I've been meaning to go through all the CSD templates and audit their deletion reasons for a while; last time I did some work on them there were some inconsistencies. Twinkle could try to customize adding parameters, but if the templates themselves would make use of the parameters provided, it'd be more beneficial for everyone. At the very least, though, Twinkle shouldn't require you to enter parameters that will be dumped and ignored. I would guess G6s are probably the worst offenders, are there others that come to mind? As a stopgap, you can select certain criteria for Twinkle to prompt you to edit the default deletion log entry before deleting, that's in your Twinkle preferences. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 17:15, 8 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I guess that shows how much I pay attention to pages I delete... G6 is the only one I would be using it regularly for. I remember there was a non-G6 deletion I did at some point last week that had the same issue, but since there's no extra summary I can't find it! In the meantime, if there's something that needs further explanation I'll just use the regular delete menu. Primefac (talk) 17:28, 8 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Primefac: Check out this diff to db-move (sandbox), what do you think? That would allow all sysops (including Twinkle) to make use of the parameters in the default deletion summary. I can start a section on Template talk:Db-meta. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 20:38, 12 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Seems like a good idea. Primefac (talk) 17:43, 13 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

merge helper

There are several articles I'm trying to propose a merger into one article. Despite removing "tag the target" check box, it keeps tagging up the target and causing me frustrations as you can see in the edit history at Atlassian. Why is this happening? Graywalls (talk) 00:55, 10 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for just seeing this today, Graywalls, but that's a bona fide bug! I fixed it at https://github.com/azatoth/twinkle/pull/1125 and pushed it up live, should work from here on out! ~ Amory (u • t • c) 15:08, 12 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Amorymeltzer:, so do I have to do anything on my end to update it like reinstalling it in my user profile? Graywalls (talk) 04:40, 16 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Nope, you should be all set! There's a small chance you'd need to refresh your cache, but you should be good to go. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 10:37, 16 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Unable to add Template:Bad trace

Hello!

When I was trying to add ((Bad trace)) to File:Amber Sound FM logo.svg I got this error message: This appears to be a svg file, please use ((Bad SVG)) instead. which is very weird, since it is SVGs that can be autotraced.Jonteemil (talk) 12:15, 15 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yup! Bug from when I added checks for extensions to certain tags (like ((Bad SVG)), etc.) because I'm dumb. This should be fixed now. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 10:36, 16 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Repeated error

Twice in the last 15 minutes or so I've nominated two articles at AfD through Twinkle (Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Baltimore Police Department officers killed in the line of duty and Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/List of Los Angeles Police Department officers killed in the line of duty) and Twinkle has failed to create the AfD page or add the discussion to DELSORT pages (while successfully tagging the article, adding the AfD to the daily log, and notifying the creator). It showed me an error message in red, though I can't remember what it said, and, I believe, said it was re-trying, though apparently to no avail. In the same time I've successfully nominated two other articles with no issues. – Arms & Hearts (talk) 13:02, 16 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

That it was re-trying indicates a token error. 1119 – SD0001 (talk) 14:05, 16 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks – good to know people are aware of it. I probably could've found my way to that page but find Github a bit perplexing; will try to explore further in future. – Arms & Hearts (talk) 17:01, 16 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Uw-afd series RM

These templates are used by Twinkle, so you may want to see the discussion at Wikipedia_talk:Template_index/User_talk_namespace#Requested_move_16_September_2020. Adam9007 (talk) 19:55, 16 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Add ((subst:Welcome-anon-unsourced))

Self-explanatory. The template is not on Twinkle for some reason. Mvcg66b3r (talk) 04:33, 19 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

"Historic name" vs. "former name" for redirects

It's not at all clear in the Twinkle redirect tagging box that "historic name" refers to a former name of the subject, whereas "former name" refers to a former name of the subject's article (at least I think). Could the descriptions please be improved? ((u|Sdkb)) talk 22:29, 21 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

From the documentation of ((R from historic name)) and ((R from former name)), both appear to refer to former names of the subject, the difference being whether the name has historical significance, like Ceylon, or not, like Rubber (band). However, there are plenty of cases where one could argue for either, and a few which seem blatantly wrong. For former names of the article, we have ((R from move)). Certes (talk) 22:41, 21 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@Certes: Hmm, thanks for the clarification. I think the twinkle descriptions could still be improved, since if they gave me the wrong impression they probably are others as well. I also wonder if these really need to be separate; have they been considered for merging? ((u|Sdkb)) talk 08:33, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I'm rarely sure which to use, and my choices may be based on opinion rather than fact, so I'm not sure we gain much by distinguishing them. Certes (talk) 10:04, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Certes, I've nominated for merging at Wikipedia:Templates_for_discussion/Log/2020_September_23#Template:R_from_historic_name. ((u|Sdkb)) talk 19:31, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Error Deleting page: Failed to delete the page: The tag "twinkle" is not allowed to be manually applied.

Hello, I am updating Twinkle for viwiki. I don't know what this error is? Alphama (talk) 03:45, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Alphama: Create the tag named "twinkle" first, using Special:Tags (you'll need to be an admin). Twinkle on enwiki recently switched from edit summary ads to using tags. – SD0001 (talk) 04:40, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
@SD0001: Ok, thank. I am admin of viwiki. Alphama (talk) 15:49, 26 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Template:R avoided double redirect

"R avoided double redirect" should have a parameter for the redirect avoided. 𝟙𝟤𝟯𝟺𝐪𝑤𝒆𝓇𝟷𝟮𝟥𝟜𝓺𝔴𝕖𝖗𝟰 (𝗍𝗮𝘭𝙠) 08:26, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Query

Hi, this is a small query, today when I used twinkle after a long time to revert an edit I saw from my controls it dosent have (tw) in it after the summary, is it just my problem or has twinkle been updated?Antila ✉ 08:19, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Late notifcation again

((Uw-3rr)) is being discussed for merger with ((Uw-ew)) again, at Wikipedia:Templates_for_discussion/Log/2020_September_26#Template:Uw-3rr. Techie3 (talk) 00:46, 26 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

XFD

The dialog stays put after it finishes the job instead of closing itself and preferably reloading the page or opening the deletion discussion entry. It is confusing as that's what also happens if there is a disconnect while it is in the middle of the job. Isn't just me, is it? Thanks! Usedtobecool ☎️ 08:54, 29 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Usedtobecool: Which namespace (AFD/RFD/FFD/...)? – SD0001 (talk) 08:59, 29 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
SD0001, AFD. I do AFD almost exclusively, I don't know why I wrote X. Usedtobecool ☎️ 09:03, 29 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Bug report -> Inaccessible drop-down menu in Visual Editor for New Vector users

The search box has been moved to the right side of the logo in New Vector skin, so the TW tab is now the rightmost item among the tabs above the page. The new change has also revealed an important issue, which affects users when the Visual Editor is used.

In order to replicate the issue, enable the VE if you haven't, go to any article of your choice, and click the Edit button so that you see ?veaction=edit in the address bar. Then you will notice that the [Publish changes...] button disallows access to the contents of the TW drop-down. Other items that may be there such as the [Page] & [User] tabs introduced by m:MoreMenu, or the default [More] button are fine.

Let me also ping Amorymeltzer, because an urgent fix might be needed here.

Vito Genovese 14:16, 1 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

For me, even the "More" menu behaves likewise, which means it's worth reporting to phab. Putting a z-index of 3 on on the ul elements fixes the issue at my end. – SD0001 (talk) 15:08, 1 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Oh yeah, I was also wondering about that, because More behaves okay at enwiki, but not at trwiki for me (with an up-date-to version of Twinkle on its right).
Vito Genovese 15:18, 1 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, I get the overlap with the "More" menu, so this looks like a VE bug (or, at least, a bug with not considering VE). Phabricator would indeed be the right place to report it. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 15:41, 1 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

XfD feature issue

So, I tried to nominate a template for deletion, but it choked and halted because it was protected beyond my privilege. Nonetheless, it went ahead and added it to the deletion log and notified the creator even though the actual nomination didn't go through. I had to revert all those; request an admin to unprotect the target, then repeat the whole thing all over. Could an improvement be made, so Twinkle doesn't proceed with listing things for deletion and notifying the creator until it succeeds the actual nomination step? Graywalls (talk) 10:49, 3 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Bug report - Laos in Africa?

Laos is a country in Asia. However, when using the DelSort feature for AFD nominations in Twinkle, Laos is sorted under "Africa". power~enwiki (π, ν) 18:31, 3 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed! Looks like WP:DS/C has had some changes lately. Just pushed an update fixing this, as well as updating a bunch of other delsort items. ~ Amory (u • t • c) 20:08, 3 October 2020 (UTC)[reply]
More