Beta Features/About







Welcome to Beta Features, a new program that lets you test new features on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia sites before they are released for everyone.

The Beta Features program lets developers roll out new software in an environment where lots of users can use these features, then give feedback to help make them better. Think of it as a digital laboratory where community members can preview upcoming changes and help designers and engineers make improvements based on their suggestions.

Initial features
Here are the first beta features which we will start testing next week:


 * Media Viewer:Improve your multimedia viewing experience with this new tool. Media Viewer displays images in larger size on pages that have thumbnails. Images are shown in a nicer 'light box' overlay, and can also be viewed in full size. Discuss this feature.


 * VisualEditor:VisualEditor makes it easy to edit pages without having to learn wiki code. Beta Features will include an opt-in version of this tool on sites where it is available but not enabled by default. We're also adding new experimental features that enhance VisualEditor (see below). Discuss this feature.


 * VisualEditor Formulæ:With this opt-in feature, you can add support inside VisualEditor for creating and editing mathematical formulæ like algebra or equations on pages you're working on. Discuss this feature.


 * Typography Refresh:This beta feature makes text more readable, accessible and consistent. It updates the Vector skin to use 'serif' fonts in section headings and 'sans serif' fonts in the body copy, for a better visual experience. (This feature is now scheduled for release by November 14). Discuss this feature.

How you can help
Can you help us test Beta Features in coming days? Our first features are now available for early testing by logged-in users on MediaWiki.org -- and on TestWiki. Based on test results, we aim to release it on 7 November on Wikimedia Commons and Meta.Wikipedia.org -- then on all wikis worldwide on 21 November, 2013.

To test new features, check the items you want in the new BetaFeatures section of your user preferences — and click 'Save' (see screenshot). You can also automatically enable all new beta features as they are released or turn off any of these options at any time. To make it easier for you, a small 'Beta' link will show up next to 'Preferences' in your personal menu when this extension is released worldwide in early November.

Try out Beta Features and let us know what you think of this program on this discussion page. You can also comment on each feature's discussion page (see links above and on your Beta Features preferences page). If you find any technical bugs, please report them here. For technical documentation, visit the BetaFeatures extension page.

To discuss this project with our team after this first release, we invite you to join our IRC office hours chat on Friday, 8 November, 2013 at 10:30am PST, 18:30 UTC. After testing and improving Beta Features for a couple weeks on these three sites, we plan to release this project on on all wikis worldwide on Thursday, 21 November, 2013.

Beta Features was created by the Wikimedia Foundation's Design, Multimedia team and VisualEditor teams. These and other teams will be adding more features every few weeks, going forward. We also invite community developers to start testing their new improvements in Beta Features in coming weeks by working closely with WMF designers and engineers. To prepare a new Beta Feature, read these helpful tips, check this technical documentation and post your submission on the queue for new Beta Features.

Acknowledgements
Beta Features was brought to you by many Wikimedia Foundation team members, including: Fabrice Florin, James Forrester, Mark Holmquist, Jared Zimmerman, Jon Robson, Ed Sanders, Gergő Tisza, Bryan Davis, May Galloway, Keegan Peterzell, Maggie Dennis, Quim Gil, Erik Moeller, Howie Fung, Rob Lanphier, and Tomasz Finc, to name but a few. We're also grateful to all the community and team members who helped create this system — and look forward to many more productive collaborations in the future.

Have fun, and don't forget to let us know what you think!