Help:Gadget-ImageAnnotator

The English Wikipedia is running
 * Version 2.3b

of this gadget.

ImageAnnotator is a JavaScript extension of the MediaWiki user interface, allowing users to place comments onto images shown on file description pages, similar to the "photo notes" on Flickr. This works on all image files for which the MediaWiki software displays a preview image on the file description page, i.e., PNG, JPG, GIF, and SVG files.

This is an experimental installation of this feature for evaluation purposes. Users interested in trying out this feature can enable it, for the time being, by adding the line to their monobook.js, vector.js, or other skin-specific user script file.

Experimental evaluation installation
If the evaluation is successful, the feature may be turned into a gadget, such that it could be enabled via Special:Preferences→Gadgets, or it could even be enabled by default for everyone, like it is at the Commons. On the other hand, the feature might be removed completely if it isn't deemed appropriate or useful for the English Wikipedia.

At this stage, the feature has been made available such that interested parties can experiment with it and gain experience, in order to facilitate subsequent discussions about whether to use this at all, and if so, how it should be configured.

The current evaluation configuration is rather restrictive:
 * The feature is active only in the "File:" namespace, and on user subpages (i.e., "User:Foo/subpage").
 * Only autoconfirmed users may add/modify/remove image annotations.
 * Inline display of annotations on thumbnails in articles is done only for files that are stored locally here at the English Wikipedia. For files from the Commons, only a little indication icon is shown. (Note that per the first bullet, "articles" is restricted to user subpages for now anyway.)
 * There is no "personal sandbox creator" yet, like it exists at the Commons. If you want to experiment, start out by putting " &#x7B;&#x7B;subst:ImageWithNotes|img=&#x5B;&#x5B;File:Little Rock pano.jpg|800px&#x5D;&#x5D;&#x7D;&#x7D; " (without the quotes) on a subpage in your user space. Once you get the feeling of this, you might consider adding a (sensible!) note on a real image, and then adding a thumbnail to your personal test page.
 * The feature is not yet set up as a gadget; it must be enabled by modifying one's own user script file as described above.
 * The interface exists so far only in English.

Note that currently image annotations can be added or modified only at the file description page where the file actually resides. For files from the Commons, you can view the annotations here at the local file description page (e.g., File:Spelterini Blüemlisalp.jpg), but they can be edited only at the Commons. For files that actually are stored here at the English Wikipedia, you can add/modify/remove image annotations at the file description page.

Inline-displays of image annotations are just views, to edit the notes, visit the file description page.

Edits made through ImageAnnotator are normal edits to the file description page. They can be reverted, undone, or watched just like any other edit.

Documentation
For further documentation, please see Help:Gadget-ImageAnnotator at the Commons. Also of interest may be the Common's guideline about using this feature.

Problems?
The main developer of this feature is User:Lupo. If you experience any bugs or other problems, or have suggestions for improvements, please leave a note on Help talk:Gadget-ImageAnnotator.


 * Note: I have not yet set up any filters for recent changes to tag image note edits. If anyone wants to do so: the filters at the Commons worked simply by using a regexp match on the (automatic) edit summaries, as defined at MediaWiki:ImageAnnotatorEditSummaries. Note, however, that the Commons disabled the filter catching all note edits pretty quickly because it matched too many edits. Lupo 11:16, 8 March 2010 (UTC)