Extension:JSBreadCrumbs

MediaWiki extensions manual - list

JSBreadCrumbs Release status: stable
Implementation	Skin
Description	Adds a trail of breadcrumbs below the tab bar.
Author(s)	Ryan Lane (Ryan lanetalk)
Last version	0.5 (2010-07-08)
MediaWiki	1.16+
Database changes	no
License	GPL
Download	Download snapshot (Git master) Git [?]: repo summary tree code changes
Parameters $wgDefaultUserOptions $wgJSBreadCrumbsSeparator $wgJSBreadCrumbsCookiePath
Hooks used BeforePageDisplay MakeGlobalVariablesScript GetPreferences
Check usage and version matrix

The JSBreadCrumbs extension is a simple extension that adds a jQuery-based Javascript file and a CSS file to your wiki's output that will add a trail of navigation breadcrumbs below the navigation tabs. The idea is for a simpler history than your back button that only tracks navigation inside of the wiki. Unlike the browser's back button, it will only track GET requests, not POSTs, and will remove duplicate entries from the list.

Requirements

• MediaWiki 1.16+
• The Vector skin, as it is the only one that includes jQuery
  • Specifically the UsabilityInitiative extension version of Vector, as it has the jquery cookie library

Installation

Add the following to the end of LocalSettings.php:

require_once("$IP/extensions/JSBreadCrumbs/JSBreadCrumbs.php");

Configuration

Like most MediaWiki configuration, you can set these options by adding changes to the bottom of LocalSettings.php.

Defaults shown below:

// Set bread crumbs enabled for users by default
// Required if you want anonymous users to get bread crumbs
// Default: false
$wgDefaultUserOptions['jsbreadcrumbs-showcrumbs'] = true;
 
// Number of breadcrumbs to display by default
// Default: 5
$wgDefaultUserOptions['jsbreadcrumbs-numberofcrumbs'] = 5;
 
// Whether or not to show the site name before bread crumb links
// Useful when using wiki farms, where the wikis share the same cookie path
// Default: false
$wgDefaultUserOptions['jsbreadcrumbs-showsite'] = false;
 
// Separator to display
// This option is localized, and should be changed at translatewiki.net
// if you are wanting it changed for your language. Otherwise, if you
// don't like the separator symbol, you can override it with this setting.
// Some characters should be entered as HTML entities to ensure they show
// up correctly on all browsers. Reference for them is here: 
// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_XML_and_HTML_character_entity_references
// Default: →
$wgJSBreadCrumbsSeparator = "→";
 
// Cookie path for breadcrumbs
// Default is "/", which will cause the breadcrumbs to cross
// wikis for wikis on the same domain. If you prefer the breadcrumbs
// to be unique per wiki, set this to your wiki's directory. For instance,
// if you had http://example.org/wiki and http://example.org/sandbox, you'd
// want to set this to "/wiki/" in that wiki's LocalSettings.php.
$wgJSBreadCrumbsCookiePath = "/";

Using as a Gadget instead of as an extension

Since this extension simply adds a Javascript and CSS file, it can easily be added as a gadget, if your wiki is using the Extension:Gadgets extension. To do so, take the JavaScript, and add it as a gadget; then take the CSS and add it to MediaWiki:Vector.css.

Roadmap

0.6

• nothing yet

Changelog

0.5

• Changed the display of site names to (sitename) from sitename: to make a visual difference between project namespace, and site name

0.4

• Added different site name support (when breadcrumbs are enabled on wiki farma, and they share the same cookie path)
• Added support for preferences
  • Users can enable/disable bread crumbs
  • Users can enable/disable prepending sitename on titles
  • Users can set the number of bread crumbs to display
• Delete cookies on log out
• Removed some global preferences (replaced with default user options)
• Fixed localization issue with namespaces
• Only output Javascript/CSS when using the Vector skin

0.3

• Display wgTitle instead of wgPage to avoid url encoded titles
• Fix issue where wgJSBreadCrumbsMaxCrumbs + 1 number of bread crumbs were shown instead wgJSBreadCrumbsMaxCrumbs
• Strip empty title and url when it exists
• Change the output of the leading description to look like "Leading description:" instead of "Leading description " + wgJSBreadCrumbsSeparator, to make it more clear that it isn't part of the history.
• Change the character used to split and join in cookies to '|' since it is illegal in urls and page titles, and therefore is guaranteed to work, unlike using the user overridable separator
• Make addResources in JSBreadCrumbs.hooks.php public and static to get rid of php warning

0.2

• Allow the separator character to be localized
• Add preceding string to the breadcrumbs to describe their purpose on initial page load

0.1

• Initial commit