This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.
I'm trying to upload an SVG I created using diagrams.net, but MediaWiki gives me a This SVG file contains an illegal namespace "http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" error. I tried to remove the xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" attributes from the file, but this causes the text to not display at all. How do I resolve this issue? Ixfd64 (talk) 23:00, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
@Ixfd64: Is the SVG simple enough that you can post its contents (before you removed the xmlns attributes) as a code block
That is an SVG file, but it is a mess. It can display text two ways: first with XHTML code and second with conventional SVG text elements. See if the tool can emit plain SVG (no foreignObjects). Alternatively, delete every foreignObject element and the final switch element.
went almost unchanged since they were written and they are meant to be run on your PC in Visual Studio. This month, the codes stopped compiling for me and so far I was not able to create voting pages or score last month results. I am very familiar with dozen programing languages but I do not know C# and its external libraries management. I suspect the issue is with changing C# language standards and lack of backwards compatibility. Can someone familiar with C# can help me getting those 2 codes to run? Jarekt (talk) 04:12, 7 January 2024 (UTC)
being a noobish coder, i'd throw the code into chatgpt and ask it to rewrite a python version? or a language that you use. :p RZuo (talk) 10:26, 7 January 2024 (UTC)
Searching on "Highgate tube station" - pics of Archway tube station also appear!
Searching on "Highgate tube station" (a station on the London Underground system) also brings up pictures of the nearby "Archway tube station". A glitch in the system? Best, Sunil060902 (talk) 13:41, 8 January 2024 (UTC).
@Sunil060902: Assuming you're using Special:MediaSearch and typing without quotation marks, I see similar results: after about 50 pictures of Highgate station I start getting photos of Archway as well. I think this is because those photos have structured data indicating that they depict Archway tube station (Q636351), and that Wikidata item has aliases that include "Highgate tube station" (because that's what Archway used to be called). So I think this is intended behaviour: Special:MediaSearch thinks that by "Highgate tube station" you might mean that one that used to be called "Highgate" and returns files for that as well as for the current Highgate. If you want a search that doesn't use Wikidata (and generally tries less hard to be helpful) you can use Special:Search instead. And for cases like this, just using the category Category:Highgate tube station is likely to give even fewer bad results. --bjh21 (talk) 14:13, 8 January 2024 (UTC)
Hi bjh21, thanks for that. Seems to work, and I do remember the history re. naming. But just to let you know I actually was using quotes in the MediaSearch! I noticed it also when searching specifically for my own pictures of Highgate - namely Sunil060902 "Highgate tube station".
@Sunil060902: Yes, since the alias in Wikidata is precisely "Highgate tube station" the quotation marks aren't enough to exclude it. I mentioned not using them because when I started that reply I thought the cause would be stray uses of "Highgate" in descriptions like on File:Archway station (3749849371).jpg, but that turned out not to be relevant. --bjh21 (talk) 14:56, 8 January 2024 (UTC)
Tech News: 2024-02
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Recent changes
mediawiki2latex is a tool that converts wiki content into the formats of LaTeX, PDF, ODT, and EPUB. The code now runs many times faster due to recent improvements. There is also an optional Docker container you can install on your local machine.
The way that Random pages are selected has been updated. This will slowly reduce the problem of some pages having a lower chance of appearing. [1]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 9 January. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 10 January. It will be on all wikis from 11 January (calendar). [2][3]
Which file has the largest number of associated timedtext pages
i'm wondering how mediaplayer's selection menu for cc looks like if there're a hundred languages to choose from. RZuo (talk) 10:47, 7 January 2024 (UTC)
Hi. I was checking the strcture of the url to files here on Commons. Someone pointed out to me that to create a thumbnail in an excel data sheet you need that, not the page url (I trusted that assetion, I haven't checked), so they asked me how to extract it.
That's how (after so many years) I have noticed that the url to the file is not "direct", and there is also a short string between the first part ''https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/'' and the actual file name:
First question: what is it about? Soemone told me that maybe it's related to the distrtibuted server where the file is actually stored.
Second question: so far I only find it in the format X/XY, where the first number or letter seems to be always identical to the second number or letter (also a/ac, c/c7, 6/65...). Is this correct? What's the "physical" meaning of that, if so?
Third question: can it be predicted from the file name or there is no way to do? I suppose it can't.
2. The file URL numbers are generated from an MD5 hash of the filename. That algorithm should be viewed as opaque: WMF should be able to change it later, and if it does, then the concrete links will no longer work.
3. Yes, it can be predicted, but it is better to use other methods. Special:Filepath will find the image through a redirect. The MediaWiki API will give the filename.
This is an auxiliary tool that can parse videos. Recently, it was found that it could not be opened normally, and it was suspected that the website was out of service. Fumikas Sagisavas (talk) 08:36, 11 January 2024 (UTC)
@Nowakki: Hi. There is no special parameter in the template to specify such requests, you can ask for it in the request reason (|reason=), the filemover won't refuse if the uploads are recent and unused. Thanks! -- CptViraj (talk) 18:15, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
50,000+ files. At some point the approval will become an automatic operation. I just leave it to them to auto-approve with no redirect? Nowakki (talk) 18:26, 12 January 2024 (UTC)
If you want to have 50,000+ files renamed, you should probably write at Commons:Bots/Work requests instead of flooding the backlog category. There you can explain what exactly you want, including that you don’t want redirects. —Tacsipacsi (talk) 09:25, 13 January 2024 (UTC)
Actually I think system administrators read the technical forum. Or they have lieutenants who do.
In a properly run organization this would be a minor problem and would have been solved years ago. It is my current understanding that commons celebrates a kind of post office mediocrity. Nobody volunteers to be staff. They volunteer to be volunteers. Nowakki (talk) 13:07, 15 January 2024 (UTC)
Anyway, this isn't even the worst. I have been here for 2 weeks or so and already had the pleasure of going against a crust of bureaucracy on a proposal to rename Sanborn map files.
I have learned that it is policy to enshrine whatever bad name choice was made by the original uploader. Although, given that names of mass uploads do not have to be approved, i am fairly sure that there also exists a policy that bad names can always be changed at a later time.
Spent 1.5 weeks building an sqlite database and a bunch of scripts to try and rectify the mess. Spent another week trying to convince what are probably mid level staffers of the benefits. I did everything right, what i got was negative help. The whole thing could have been over with last week. Now it will probably be done a few years down the road. Nowakki (talk) 14:14, 15 January 2024 (UTC)
Don't know. Probably more than 1%, less than 3%. Depends on a lot of factors in the end. Commons doesn't rent Icelandic deep cave long term storage for premium dollar amounts? This is only files from one uploader, not all tiffs on the server. Waste in one place encourages waste in other places, if 10TB is not much then 50TB would only be a small problem. How often is the data replicated and backed up. And so on...
Assume 20 Watt to run 1 CPU core and the hard disk on the conversion job. The process generates 50MB of free space per second.
That is 1TB in 20,000 seconds at 400 kilowattseconds. Assuming 10 cents per kilowatthour that would mean a 1TB hard disk can be generated effortlessly out of thin air for the price of 1.1 cents. Nowakki (talk) 17:44, 15 January 2024 (UTC)
Tech News: 2024-03
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Recent changes
Pages that use the JSON contentmodel will now use tabs instead of spaces for auto-indentation. This will significantly reduce the page size. [7]
Gadgets and personal user scripts may now use JavaScript syntax introduced in ES6 (also known as "ES2015") and ES7 ("ES2016"). MediaWiki validates the source code to protect other site functionality from syntax errors, and to ensure scripts are valid in all supported browsers. Previously, Gadgets could use the requiresES6 option. This option is no longer needed and will be removed in the future. [8]
An update on the status of the Community Wishlist Survey for 2024 has been published. Please read and give your feedback.
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 16 January. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 17 January. It will be on all wikis from 18 January (calendar). [11][12]
Starting on January 17, it will not be possible to login to Wikimedia wikis from some specific old versions of the Chrome browser (versions 51–66, released between 2016 and 2018). Additionally, users of iOS 12, or Safari on Mac OS 10.14, may need to login to each wiki separately. [13]
The jquery.cookie module was deprecated and replaced with the mediawiki.cookie module last year. A script has now been run to replace any remaining uses, and this week the temporary alias will be removed. [14]
I keep on seeing this weird error on the right top of my system: "Uncaught Error: module already implemented: ext.gadget.MoreMenu". Is this only me? ─ The Aafī (talk) 11:03, 18 January 2024 (UTC)
Upload Wizard issue with file extensions
The Upload Wizard is giving uploaders misleading information about why a given image title cannot be accepted. If you try to upload a file with the image extension included by mistake, the Wizard will warn you to Please choose a different, descriptive title (more info).
Clicking "more info" brings up a box that says this:
There was an error in your submission. The file name you were trying to upload has been blacklisted because it is very common, uninformative, or spelled in ALLCAPS. Please go back and choose a better file name. When uploading files to Wikimedia Commons, please use a file name that describes the content of the image or media file you're uploading and is sufficiently distinctive that no-one else is likely to pick the same name by accident.
Examples of good file names:
Nodnol skyline from Nodnol City Hall - Aug 2022.jpg
1875 Meeting of Settlers at Falconer Bay, New Nodland.jpg
Pseudohedron with no vertex visible from center.png
Examples of bad file names:
Image01.png
Joe.jpg
DSC00001.JPG
Foo.svg.png
30996951316264l.jpg
PSEUDOHEDRON WITH NO VERTEX VISIBLE FROM CENTER.png
For more information, please see Commons:First steps/Upload form. If you have a good reason for uploading a file with this name, or if you receive this message when attempting to upload a new version of an existing file, please let us know at Commons:Administrators' noticeboard or directly at MediaWiki talk:Titleblacklist. Be sure to specify the exact name of the file you are trying to upload. Thank you.}}
This information is unhelpful. The problem with the image is that it includes an image description, not that it isn't descriptive enough. Schierbecker (talk) 00:38, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
Request feedback
Hello, I look forward to seeking your feedback on this script, which easily helps copy decoded links of pages/files in one click. It does not, however, currently work on revisions/pages that come through Special:MobileDiff but it perfectly works elsewhere. ─ The Aafī (talk) 07:59, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
i already forked 1 for myself User:RZuo/PagenameCopier.js. for me i dont care about aesthetics so much. i just need the button to be big, really BIG. it'd be even better if there's a keyboard shortcut. :D
The titles of sections appear vertical on mobile devices.
Since December 2023 I've been experiencing the titles of sections in mobile to be vertical. I am also experiencing this on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia websites. Does anyone else experience this while using a mobile device? I notice that it is very screen size sensitive, on smaller devices I see this, but on tablet computers and laptops the titles appear different. --Donald Trung 『徵國單』 (No Fake News 💬) (WikiProject Numismatics 💴) (Articles 📚) 23:44, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
Tech News: 2024-04
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Problems
A bug in UploadWizard prevented linking to the userpage of the uploader when uploading. It has now been fixed. [15]
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 23 January. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 24 January. It will be on all wikis from 25 January (calendar). [16][17]
Do we have a tool that will show the totals for image views similar to the old d.o.s. syntax "*common_image_title.jpg" that poll from the viewer logs? The site wmcloud.org does not allow wildcards * in the lookup and seems to only be able to handle one request at a time. [GLAMorous] on toolforge might be configurable to do it, anyone have any suggestions or experience here? --Don (talk) 21:07, 17 January 2024 (UTC)
Hi thank you for the reply, I am familiar with Glam and it does not seem to be configurable to use a wild card * in the search and limits the scope of the search to category by image. What I am looking for is total number of views of ALL images in a category. --Don (talk) 22:25, 18 January 2024 (UTC)
i dont get how this tool doesnt fulfil your wish. if you try the demo, it gives
76 files in category tree.
37 files were viewed, out of 44 used.
235 pages on 66 wikis use those files.
243,106 file views in 2016-01. (= total number of views of ALL images in a category? albeit limited to only a given month.)
I have tried starting CropTool to modify images. It stopped working about 2024-01-19. I use it frequently and have tried to start it with several different images.
I just tried it again and got the following message:
Wikimedia Toolforge Error
This Grid Engine web service cannot be reached. Please contact a maintainer of this tool.
I have spent over an hour trying to figure out where to post my problem. This was my best guess. I am too old to figure out who the maintainer is. I do not have a talk page on Wikimedia. User-duck (talk) 01:09, 22 January 2024 (UTC)
I'm afraid I'm not sure, but I did discover that the file has 295 embedded PNGs, which mostly seem to be things like borders for the legend at the top and text fragments like "Nor". —CalendulaAsteraceae (talk • contribs) 04:50, 25 January 2024 (UTC)
@Ewithu: The primary issue is the file does character placements, something that librsvg (the wiki SVG to PNG rasterizer) does not support. You will get many such warnings at Commons:Commons SVG Checker. It looks like that error causes the tspan elements to just add to the last string rather than move to the expected location. The file is also poorly organized with labels placed in tspan subelements rather than their own text elements. Glrx (talk) 05:24, 25 January 2024 (UTC)
I tried fixing it, it looked like I managed, but when I uploaded as a new version, somehow it's still messed up :/
I'm not too skilled with svg programing so I cannot manually fix what's broken. Should I upload it as a large png image instead? Ewithu (talk) 17:38, 25 January 2024 (UTC)
If you have another device, try viewing the image on that. You might be looking at an old cached version of the image. It looks good to me now. Soap (talk) 18:20, 25 January 2024 (UTC)
what is responsible for the popup for filemovers to move files? a gadget?
i have a suggestion for it. it'd be good if the proceed button, or "hitting the enter key to proceed", can be toggled on/off temporarily.
it has happened occasionally that while you are editing the intended filename you accidentally hit enter, then the file gets moved to a wrong name. this is especially a trouble for me as i use input methods for cjk chars, which often involve hitting the enter key.
notice how the proceed button greys out if the filename field is less than 8 chars. a button to toggle the proceed button off like that would be good.
or even better, as long as cursor is active in the filename field it should grey out the proceed button. RZuo (talk) 07:06, 27 January 2024 (UTC)
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available.
Recent changes
Starting Monday January 29, all talk pages messages' timestamps will become a link. This link is a permanent link to the comment. It allows users to find the comment they are looking for, even if this comment was moved elsewhere. This will affect all wikis except for the English Wikipedia. You can read more about this change on Diff or on Mediawiki.org. [18]
There are some improvements to the CAPTCHA to make it harder for spam bots and scripts to bypass it. If you have feedback on this change, please comment on the task. Staff are monitoring metrics related to the CAPTCHA, as well as secondary metrics such as account creations and edit counts.
Changes later this week
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 30 January. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 31 January. It will be on all wikis from 1 February (calendar). [19][20]
Gadgets which only work in some skins have sometimes used the targets option to limit where you can use them. This will stop working this week. You should use the skins option instead. [22]
it'd be great if someone can write something at Commons:UploadStash about Special:UploadStash, like how long the temporary files are stored in the stash.
or maybe you can point to where the actual documentation about this is. i made it a soft redirect to where the doc is supposed to be but the target page is certainly abandoned and outdated. RZuo (talk) 10:49, 29 January 2024 (UTC)
Ah yes, its 48 hours, controlled by $wmgUploadStashMaxAge in InitialiseSettings.php [23]. It should be noted there is currently a bug where sometimes stash files get reported as being deleted way before it should. We think it happens when multiple mediawiki jobs try to assemble the file at the same time, and one deletes the file out from under the other one and we are working to try and fix it. Bawolff (talk) 19:42, 22 February 2024 (UTC)
This section is resolved and can be archived. If you disagree, replace this template with your comment. Ixfd64 (talk) 22:16, 14 January 2024 (UTC)
.jpg){kind=link}
The way that Random pages are selected has been updated. This will slowly reduce the problem of some pages having a lower chance of appearing. [1]
The new version of MediaWiki will be on test wikis and MediaWiki.org from 9 January. It will be on non-Wikipedia wikis and some Wikipedias from 10 January. It will be on all wikis from 11 January (calendar). [2][3]![[4]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Ricci_di_castagno.jpg){kind=link}
![[5]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/%22Pizza%22_ai_funghi.jpg){kind=link}
![[6]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/-_Garzetta_-_Valli_di_Comacchio.jpg){kind=link}
.png)
On February 1, a link will be added to the "Tools" menu to download a QR code that links to the page you are viewing. There will also be a new Special:QrCode page to create QR codes for any Wikimedia URL. This addresses the #19 most-voted wish from the 2023 Community Wishlist Survey. [21]