Contributors/Projects/Columns for references

At the request of Wikipedia editors, a new feature is being added to MediaWiki. Long lists of references (created with  tags; they are also called citations or footnotes at some wikis) will automatically be displayed in columns. The number of columns will be determined by the width of each reader's screen. This will improve accessibility and make it easier for most people to read the references, especially on narrow or very wide screens. Short lists of references will not be affected.

Use the normal   tag on any page with many references to see this feature on any wiki where the feature has been enabled. If you do not want columns used on that page, then use this wikitext code instead:   instead.

Schedule
The server-side software will change on the normal deployment train during the week of 14 March 2017. However, the effect will not normally be visible until it is manually enabled for your particular wiki. WMF-hosted wikis that want this feature working locally can request a config change to enable it.

After the software is deployed, but before it is enabled on your wiki, you can manually invoke the feature on individual pages by using this wikitext code:   instead of the plain    tag or a local template.

Interaction with local templates
Some Wikipedias have been using local templates such as to create columns or add other formatting. These templates should be updated (or their use deprecated as redundant) before this change is manually enabled at your local wiki.

If you want to improve accessibility
Consider defining the default behavior for the template as being the default behavior for the  tag and deprecating or removing parameters that define a fixed number of columns, regardless of screen size.

If you want no changes to the template's current behavior
will automatically wrap the list in . Any list with more than 10 references will also get the class . In this mode, the references list is automatically split over multiple columns based on the available space on the screen. E.g. on narrow screens 1 or 2 columns, on wider screens 2 or 3. Given that this happens automatically, it is no longer necessary for editors to manually enable/disable the columns mode of a template.

Remember also that other customisations for the references list are best applied directly to the   CSS selector in your wikis' MediaWiki:Common.css. Many wikis customise the font-size this way, for example. (No need to manually code it through a template). In case a DIV wrapper is needed for certain styles, the   CSS selector will apply to all references lists produced by   regardless of whether the columns were dynamically activated.

Requesting this feature
To request that this feature be enabled at your local wiki, please file a Phabricator task. Alternatively, leave a message on the talk page. Please include a link to any local discussions or relevant templates in your requests.