Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2010-09-06/Dispatches

Broadly defined, a tool is any implement designed to make a process simpler, more efficient, or easier, adding extra functionality in the process. On Wikipedia, tools for editing articles run in various ways; some are attached to the standard edit toolbar (which may need to be activated in the Preferences), some to the sidebar, some are bots, and others run on the Toolserver. Some are completely independent of Wikipedia and run on their own, separate sites. However, they all have something in common: they were designed and built by competent coders to make editing easier and faster.

User scripts consist of JavaScript code that runs in your browser, adding functionality to Wikipedia's standard user interface. They range from extra links to extensive editing platforms. Never copy scripts into your skin.js page; instead use  which keeps scripts updated with bug fixes and enhancements. Compatibility varies with skin and browser, with Internet Explorer being problematic. A more extensive script list is at WikiProject User scripts/Scripts.

RefToolbar 2.0


The RefToolbar 2.0 is one of the most popular Wikipedia tools. The improved second version adds an extra drop-down menu, "Cite," at the end of your toolbar. This allows you to insert any of the four main citation templates: Cite web, Cite news, Cite book, and Cite journal. Just as useful are its "Named references" insertion button and its error check. This saves you from memorizing all of the citation parameters, which can be simply inserted into the template.
 * Author : Mr.Z-man
 * Placement : Adds an extra drop down-menu to your toolbar.
 * Demo : [ Try it in Wikipedia:Sandbox]
 * Installation : Two ways: (i) Go to Special:Preferences, click on the tab "Gadgets," check the box for refToolbar, and hit the Save button; or (ii) go to Special:MyPage/skin.js, and insert the text

Editrefs
Editrefs searches an article for every instance of  tags and displays them in convenient individual text boxes for easy editing. This makes checking that reference fields are filled out, making sure they are standardized, and other general reference checks easier and simpler to do.


 * Author : Dr pda
 * Placement : Adds "Edit references" to the side bar. Note: Only displayed when editing the page.
 * Demo : Paste  into your browser's address bar while editing the article of interest.
 * Installation : Add  to your Special:MyPage/skin.js page

Reflinks
Reflinks adds titles to bare references, taken from the HTML element of the linked Web page. For example,

becomes

The tool is available in two modes: interactive and automatic. In interactive mode, assumptions made upon expanding references are presented for review, while the automatic mode tags titles with  comments for possible later review by humans. It also supports the Cite web template, filling out other fields besides the title, such as the access date.


 * Author : Dispenser and NicDumZ

DOI bot
When given an article name and the requesting user's name, this toolserver bot crosschecks Internet databases to add DOIs (character strings identifying online papers) and PMIDs (for PubMed-indexed life science and biomedical papers) you may have missed while preparing an article, and then the Citation bot automatically adds the values to the article.


 * Author: Smith609

Checklinks
Checklinks checks all of the outgoing links on a page and ensures that they work. A table is displayed giving the status of each. It is an efficient way to check an article for dead and broken links. WebCite and Wayback Machine integration allows easy fixing from within the tool.


 * Author: Dispenser

Hotcat


Hotcat allows the placement of categories on a page from a "hot" list. It adds icons (&minus;) and (±) onto the page's Category bar. Clicking on these icons allows you to quickly delete, edit, or add categories to a page. As you type in a word, the tool displays a list of categories starting with those letters; for example, typing in "Shield" will give you Shield volcanoes, Shield bugs, and Shields. Press the button and the tool will automatically edit in the category for you, saving you from having to search out the category yourself.
 * Author : TheDJ
 * Placement : Adds text buttons to the category tab at the bottom of the page.
 * Demo : [ Try it in Wikipedia:Sandbox]
 * Installation : Add  to your Special:MyPage/skin.js page, or go to Special:Preferences, check its box under "Gadgets", and click "Save".

Prosesize
Prosesize measures the amount of "readable prose" in an article. Installing the tool adds a "Page size" link to the sidebar; pressing this highlights the readable prose on the page and displays the total size, in both kilobytes (kB) and number of words. This is useful for determining whether a long article should be split or condensed, or whether an article meets the criteria for the Did you know? section of the Main Page.
 * Author : Dr pda
 * Placement : Adds a "Page size" link to the Wikipedia side bar.
 * Demo : Paste  into your browser address bar while viewing the article of interest.
 * Installation : Add  to your Special:MyPage/skin.js page

DYKcheck


DYKcheck is similar to Prosesize, except it has more features, also checking expansion dates, article creation, and other parameters. It can be used by editors reviewing suggestions to help assess articles for Did you know.
 * Author : Shubinator
 * Placement : Adds a "DYK check" blue link to the Wikipedia side bar.
 * Demo : Paste  into your browser address bar while viewing the article of interest.
 * Installation : Add  to your Special:MyPage/skin.js page.