VisualEditor#Technical

{{Short description|Rich-text editor for MediaWiki wikis}}

{{For|character mode editors in general|Visual editor}}

{{For|the Wikipedia project page about the VisualEditor feature|Wikipedia:VisualEditor|selfref=yes}}

{{Update|date=January 2023|reason=it still is used a decade on, but the article is stuck in the 2010s}}

{{Infobox software

| name = VisualEditor

| title = VisualEditor

| logo = 250px

| logo caption = VisualEditor logo, set in Gill Sans

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| screenshot = 300px

| caption = VisualEditor's text formatting menu

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| screenshot_alt = VisualEditor's text formatting menu

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| developer = Wikimedia Foundation and Fandom, Inc.

| released =

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| programming language = JavaScript, Node.js, PHP

| operating system = Cross-platform

| platform = MediaWiki extension

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| genre = Wiki

| license = MIT[https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/diffusion/EVED/browse/master/LICENSE.txt;9740d1683e9f2d66e81d8c54466b89b7ca2a0292 LICENSE.txt], VisualEditor source code repository

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| website = {{URL|https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor}}

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VisualEditor (VE) is an online rich-text editor for MediaWiki-powered wikis that provides a way to edit pages based on the "what you see is what you get" principle. It was developed by the Wikimedia Foundation in partnership with Fandom.{{cite web |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/22/3110130/wikimedia-visual-editor-prototype |title=Wikimedia releases updated prototype for simplified visual editor |author=Andrew Webster |date=2012-06-22 |access-date=2013-07-27 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927065510/http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/22/3110130/wikimedia-visual-editor-prototype |archive-date=2013-09-27 }} In July 2013, it was enabled by default on several of the largest Wikipedia projects.{{cite web|work = Wikipedia|url = https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:VisualEditor&oldid=566232325|title = Wikipedia:VisualEditor|access-date = 15 September 2013}}{{cite web|work=The Next Web|url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/07/02/wikimedia-rolls-out-its-wysiwyg-visual-editor-for-logged-in-users-accessing-wikipedia-articles-in-english/|title=Wikimedia rolls out WYSIWYG visual editor for logged-in users accessing Wikipedia articles in English|author=Emil Protalinski|date=2013-07-02|access-date=2013-07-06|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705200158/http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/07/02/wikimedia-rolls-out-its-wysiwyg-visual-editor-for-logged-in-users-accessing-wikipedia-articles-in-english/|archive-date=2013-07-05}}

The Wikimedia Foundation considered it the most challenging feature to date, while The Economist has called it Wikipedia's "most significant feature".{{cite news |author=L.M. |date=2011-12-13 |title=Changes at Wikipedia: Seeing things |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/12/changes-wikipedia |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2013-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609185354/http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2011/12/changes-wikipedia |archive-date=2013-06-09}} According to The Daily Dot, the Wikimedia Foundation's pursuit of wider participation may regret alienating existing editors.{{cite web|author=Tim Sampson|date=2012-07-04|title=Will Wikipedia's pretty new editing software solve its recruitment crisis?|url=http://www.dailydot.com/business/wikipedia-visual-editor-wysiwyg/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927181859/http://www.dailydot.com/business/wikipedia-visual-editor-wysiwyg/|archive-date=2013-09-27|access-date=2013-07-27|work=The Daily Dot}} In September 2013, English Wikipedia's VisualEditor was changed from opt-out to opt-in, following user complaints,{{cite news|work=The Register|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/25/wikipedia_peasants_revolt/|title=Revolting peasants force Wikipedia to cut'n'paste Visual Editor into the bin|author=Andrew Orlowski|date=2013-09-25|access-date=2013-10-06|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001154730/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/25/wikipedia_peasants_revolt/|archive-date=2013-10-01}} but it was returned to being available by default (for new registered users only) in October 2015 after more development.{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Forrester|first=James|date=2015-09-01|title=Gradual availability of VisualEditor for new users is now complete|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_talk:VisualEditor&oldid=678948662|encyclopedia=Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia|language=en}} A 2015 study by the Wikimedia Foundation found that VisualEditor failed to provide the anticipated benefits for new editors.

VisualEditor is bundled with every MediaWiki releases since version 1.35, released in September 2020.

Development

{{main|MediaWiki#Editing interface}}

File:Editing makes me feel stupid.ogv

File:Wikimania 2013 - VisualEditor - The present and future of editing our wikis.webm, the team developing the software presented it to attendees]]

The original web-based Wikipedia editor provided by MediaWiki is a plain browser-based text editor, also called 'Source editor', where authors have to learn the wiki markup language to edit.{{cite web |work=ghacks |url=http://www.ghacks.net/2012/02/24/wikipedia-visual-editor-coming-soon/ |title=Wikipedia Visual Editor Coming Soon |author=Martin Brinkmann |date=2012-02-24 |access-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927175934/http://www.ghacks.net/2012/02/24/wikipedia-visual-editor-coming-soon/ |archive-date=2013-09-27 }} A what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editor for Wikipedia had been planned for years in order to remove the need to learn the wiki markup language. It was hoped this would reduce the technical hurdle for would-be Wikipedians, enabling wider participation in editing, and was an attempt to reverse the decline in editor numbers of 50,000 in 2006 to 35,000 in 2011, having peaked in 2007. It was part of a $1m project aimed at developing new features and making improvements. A goal of the project is to allow both the former wiki markup editing and editing with the WYSIWYG VisualEditor.{{cite web |work=h-online |url=http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Wikimedia-testing-visual-editor-1394872.html |title=Wikimedia testing visual editor |author=ehe |date=2011-12-14 |access-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727133929/http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Wikimedia-testing-visual-editor-1394872.html |archive-date=2013-07-27 }} According to Wikimedia Foundation's Jay Walsh, the hope is to redress under-represented contributions from Arabic, Portuguese, and Indic-language versions of the site.Respective Wikipedia websites: [//ar.wikipedia.org/ Arabic], [//pt.wikipedia.org/ Portuguese] and Indic languages' [//ur.wikipedia.org/ Urdu], [//hi.wikipedia.org/ Hindi], [//bh.wikipedia.org/ Bihari], [//gu.wikipedia.org/ Gujarati]

According to Wikimedia Foundation, "There are various reasons that lead existing and prospective contributors not to edit; among them, the complexity of wiki markup is a major issue. One of VisualEditor's goals is to empower knowledgeable and good-faith users to edit and become valuable members of the community, even if they're not wiki markup experts. We also hope that, with time, experienced editors will find VisualEditor useful for some of their editing tasks." In 2012, Sue Gardner, the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, said "we don't think that the visual editor, in and of itself, is going to solve the challenge",{{cite web |author=Megan Garber |date=2012-07-12 |title=On the Ugliness of Wikipedia |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/on-the-ugliness-of-wikipedia/259747/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703125036/http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/on-the-ugliness-of-wikipedia/259747/ |archive-date=2013-07-03 |access-date=2013-07-29 |work=The Atlantic}} and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales remarked "This is epically important".{{cite web |author=Gene Ryan Briones |date=2012-06-21 |title=Wikimedia launches new prototype "visual editor" for Wikipedia |url=http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/06/wikimedia-launches-new-prototype-visual-editor-for-wikipedia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929171844/http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/06/wikimedia-launches-new-prototype-visual-editor-for-wikipedia/ |archive-date=2013-09-29 |access-date=2013-07-29 |work=Ubergizmo}}

=Rollout=

MediaWiki is used by numerous wikis, with smaller sites originally conceived as being rolled out first.{{cite web |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2011/12/15/2637734/wikimedia-previews-simplified-editor |title=Wikimedia Foundation previews simplified visual editor |author=Jamie Keene |date=2011-12-15 |access-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928193749/http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/15/2637734/wikimedia-previews-simplified-editor |archive-date=2013-09-28 }} VisualEditor was planned to be rolled out on the English-language Wikipedia for editors with registered accounts, and then for anonymous editors.{{cite web|work=Softpedia|url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wikipedia-s-Visual-Editor-To-Be-Rolled-Out-358956.shtml|title=Wikipedia's Visual Editor to Be Rolled Out|author=Gabriela Vatu|date=2013-06-06|access-date=2013-07-06|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615084714/http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wikipedia-s-Visual-Editor-To-Be-Rolled-Out-358956.shtml|archive-date=2013-06-15}} The alpha version was made available to select users in December 2012, widened to all registered users in April.{{cite web |work=The Register |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/07/wysiwyg_wikipedia_writer_lands_in_july/ |title=Wikimedia edges closer to banishing Wikitext |author=Simon Sharwood |date=2013-06-07 |access-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728204221/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/07/wysiwyg_wikipedia_writer_lands_in_july |archive-date=2013-07-28 }} It was the default editor for users logged-into the English-language Wikipedia in July 2013. It was subsequently made opt-in on the English-language Wikipedia in September 2013 due to community complaints over its stability, and implementation was buggy and had limitations (though it remained active for most non-English Wikipedias).{{cite web |title=VisualEditor |url=https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927190403/https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/VisualEditor |archive-date=2013-09-27 |website=MediaWiki}} In 2015, it completed its beta development phase and was again made available on English Wikipedia.{{Cite web |title=Wikimedia Engineering 2015 Q1 Goals |url=https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Engineering/2015-16_Q1_Goals |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024113137/https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Engineering/2015-16_Q1_Goals |archive-date=2018-10-24 |access-date=2018-10-24 |website=MediaWiki |language=en}}

=Technical=

The Wikimedia Foundation joined forces with Wikia to work on the project.{{Cite web |last=Kirkburn |date=June 3, 2014 |title=VisualEditor - the past, present and future |url=http://community.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Kirkburn/VisualEditor_-_the_past,_present_and_future |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208130311/http://community.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Kirkburn/VisualEditor_-_the_past,_present_and_future |archive-date=2015-12-08 |access-date=2015-12-02 |website=Wikia Community Central}} The implementation encountered challenges with the wiki markup language (the basis for Wikipedia articles), due to it being continuously extended over 12 years to include seldom-used rich and complex features making reproduction of the final article appearance dependent on many factors that were not easy to reproduce.{{cite web|work = h-online|url = http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/VisualEditor-launched-in-Wikipedia-1768068.html|title = VisualEditor launched in Wikipedia|author = djwm|date = 2012-12-13|access-date = 2013-07-28|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130727204159/http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/VisualEditor-launched-in-Wikipedia-1768068.html|archive-date = 2013-07-27}} The technical implementation required improvements to MediaWiki in parsing, wiki markup language, the DOM and final HTML conversion.{{cite web|work=aosabook.org|url=http://www.aosabook.org/en/mediawiki.html|title=The Architecture of Open Source Applications (Volume 2): MediaWiki|author=Sumana Harihareswara |author2=Guillaume Paumier |access-date=2013-07-27|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924202227/http://aosabook.org/en/mediawiki.html|archive-date=2013-09-24}} A necessary component is a parser server called Parsoid{{cite web|url=http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsoid|title=Parsoid|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141125005900/https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Parsoid|archive-date=2014-11-25|website=MediaWiki}} which was created to convert in both directions between wikitext and a format suitable for VisualEditor. The Wikimedia Foundation considered VisualEditor its most challenging technical project to date.

The VisualEditor MediaWiki extension is available for download by server operators and typically requires the latest version of MediaWiki, it is bundled since MediaWiki 1.35.{{Cite web|title=MediaWiki 1.35|url=https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki_1.35|access-date=2021-03-16|website=MediaWiki|language=en}}

==Online rich-text editor==

According to the VisualEditor team, the aim is "to create a reliable rich-text editor for MediaWiki", a "visual editor" which is "WYSIWYG-like".{{cite web |title=Project:VisualEditor testing/Welcome |url=https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Project:VisualEditor_testing/Welcome |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023141805/https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Project:VisualEditor_testing/Welcome |archive-date=Oct 23, 2022 |website=MediaWiki}} The implementation is split into a "core" online rich-text editor which can run independently of MediaWiki,{{cite web|url=https://github.com/wikimedia/VisualEditor|title=wikimedia/VisualEditor|website=GitHub|date=11 January 2022}} and a MediaWiki extension.{{cite web |url=https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki-extensions-VisualEditor |title=wikimedia/mediawiki-extensions-VisualEditor |website=GitHub|date=11 January 2022 }}

Response

Responses to the introduction of the VisualEditor have greatly varied, with The Economist{{'}}s L.M. calling it "the most significant change in Wikipedia's short history."

= Opposition =

Some editors expressed concerns about the rollout and bugs, with the German Wikipedia community deciding to use an opt-in model instead of an opt-out one.{{cite web |work=The Register |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/01/wikipedians_reject_wysiwyg_editor/ |title=Wikipedians say no to Jimmy's 'buggy' WYSIWYG editor |author=Andrew Orlowski |date=2013-08-01 |access-date=2013-08-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130804115056/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/01/wikipedians_reject_wysiwyg_editor |archive-date=2013-08-04 }} Irish Wikipedia administrator Oliver Moran, echoing concerns of other editors, said that users may feel belittled by the implication that "certain people" are confused by wiki markup and therefore need the VisualEditor, comparing the learning of wikitext favorably to Twitter's hashtag and @ (at sign) mention syntax.{{cite web|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/520446/the-decline-of-wikipedia/|title=The Decline of Wikipedia: Even As More People Than Ever Rely on It, Fewer People Create It|last=Simonite|first=Tom|date=October 22, 2013|work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=January 17, 2014|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20131023135648/http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/520446/the%2Ddecline%2Dof%2Dwikipedia/|archive-date=October 23, 2013}}

Three months after the rollout of the VisualEditor to the English Wikipedia, The Daily Dot reported that the Wikimedia Foundation had experienced backlash from long-time editors who deemed the editor "buggy and untested". Following discourse between the community and the foundation, Wikipedia administrator Kww overrode the foundation's rollout, making it opt-in, instead of opt-out. The Foundation did not revert the change, instead committing to further improving VisualEditor.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/wikipedia-visualeditor-kww-patch/|title=Wikipedia faces revolt over VisualEditor|work=The Daily Dot|author=Tim Sampson|date=2013-09-24|access-date=2013-09-25|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925165757/http://www.dailydot.com/news/wikipedia-visualeditor-kww-patch/|archive-date=2013-09-25}}

= Support =

Softpedia ran an article titled "Wikipedia's New VisualEditor Is the Best Update in Years and You Can Make It Better".{{cite web|author=Lucian Parfeni|date=2013-07-02|title=Wikipedia's New VisualEditor Is the Best Update in Years and You Can Make It Better|url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wikipedia-s-New-VisualEditor-Is-the-Best-Update-in-Years-and-You-Can-Make-It-Better-365072.shtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003062619/http://news.softpedia.com/news/Wikipedia-s-New-VisualEditor-Is-the-Best-Update-in-Years-and-You-Can-Make-It-Better-365072.shtml|archive-date=2013-10-03|access-date=2013-07-30|work=Softpedia}} The Register said that the update brings the foundation "a little closer to its goal of making it easier for anyone to create and edit Wikipedia articles."

=Research results=

{{Primary sources|section|date=January 2022}}

Aaron Halfaker, a research scientist at the Wikimedia Foundation, ran a controlled study on the effects of VisualEditor in May 2015. The study found that VisualEditor did not increase editor productivity, however reducing the burden upon existing editors. Editing took 18 seconds longer with VisualEditor before hitting save, and new editors were less likely to save their work. Halfaker however did ascribe these negative results as from editors testing the new system, not any real struggle.{{cite web|title=VisualEditor's effect on newly registered editors/May 2015 study|url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Research:VisualEditor%27s_effect_on_newly_registered_editors/May_2015_study&oldid=15155528|website=Wikimedia.org|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation|access-date=2 August 2016}} A previous June 2013 controlled test — when VisualEditor was less mature — showed similar neutral and negative results.{{cite web |title=Research:VisualEditor's effect on newly registered editors/June 2013 study |url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:VisualEditor%27s_effect_on_newly_registered_editors/June_2013_study |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910053238/https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:VisualEditor%27s_effect_on_newly_registered_editors/June_2013_study |archive-date=10 September 2016 |access-date=10 August 2016 |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation}}

See also

  • {{section link|List of HTML editors|WYSIWYG editors}}

Notes

{{Reflist|2|group=note}}

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

  • {{cite journal | last1 = Roth | first1 = Amy | last2 = Davis | first2 = Rochelle | last3 = Carver | first3 = Brian | year = 2013 | title = Assigning Wikipedia editing: Triangulation toward understanding university student engagement | doi = 10.5210/fm.v18i6.4340 | journal = First Monday | volume = 18| issue = 6 | doi-access = free}}
  • Florian Leander Mayer. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjcs0FE0op4C Erfolgsfaktoren von Social Media: Wie "funktionieren" Wikis?: Eine vergleichende Analyse kollaborativer Kommunikationssysteme im Internet, in Organisationen und in Gruppen]" (2013) Lit Verlag, pp. 30–32. {{ISBN|978-3643122100}}