Talk:Wikimedia Apps/Commons

The concept of 'Upload Later'
The concept of 'Upload Later' does not make sense for the Android app, since our primary end point would be from the Gallery / Camera app. So the photo is *always* there, and you can upload them whenever you want. 'Upload Later' only made sense with our WLM app model - html5, without native access to the underlying Android intents system. It does not make sense for our Native Android app Yuvipanda (talk) 18:42, 25 January 2013 (UTC)


 * If the point is that its superfluous as the image will already be saved in the gallery then that makes sense. If its the fact that Gallery / Camera app are the entry point then I disagree. We need to have an image capture pipeline within the app itself Tfinc (talk) 18:46, 25 January 2013 (UTC)
 * It is already saved, and you can choose to share whenever you want, yes. We'll have an image capture pipeline from within the app itself, but I don't think we should aim for that in iteration 1. And even then, it can be a simple 'pause uploads' toggle in the upload queue, which counts as a good small feature, and not as a large chunk by itself. I think we should aim for iteration 1 to be a super solid version that people who already know of / use commons can use to get stuff up, and with the technical base sound, go on from there. Yuvipanda (talk) 18:52, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

Roadmap
I've only just installed the app and must hit the road soon to join a biker gang going to one of my phototarget areas, but I'll spout my uninformed reaction rather than wait for tomorrow and sober reflection. As hinted in Talk:MobileFrontend/Photo upload I am delighted with the idea that my smartphone can find a target, snap it, and send direct from the location, with relevant information already entered. The WLM Monuments app did this well, despite minor irritations. The upload button of the "Alpha Dragon" version of the WP moble site did it more completely, more slowly and with different irritations caused partly by the great ambition of automatic picture insertion. I expected using a special app in my phone would act more like the WLM map, only better integrated and without the rapid battery drain.

Instead the trend seems to be towards lesser integration. The Commons app stands separate from the Wikipedia app, which stands separate from the Mobil Site, which is the one that the superior mapping of Google Maps connects to. That means there's no simple straight path from map to article to upload process. This afternoon after leaving the gang I expect to see the little W signs on Google Maps, see whether there is already a picture or only a bad one, and go snap it. Previous methods would instantly upload the pic with relevant information like name of target (from article name), geocoordinates, a crude attempt at verbal description, and in some cases a somewhat relevant geographical or topical category or two. Instead, it seems none of this will go into Commons except where I key it in on the tiny glass keyboard. The phone knows much about what it's doing; the Commons description should be filled with such information to be checked when I bring my brain home to the big screen, fast connection and clickety keyboard. Jim.henderson (talk) 14:11, 31 January 2013 (UTC)


 * We're literally two weeks into the project, it ain't done yet. :) --brion (talk) 22:35, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Shelve Notifications for now?
I think we should wait on Echo to be rolled out before doing Notifications. Can't be done 'right' now without eating up an enormous amount of bandwidth (I'll have to literally make multiple requests for every image you contributed *ever* to be able to make this useful). Yuvipanda (talk) 12:00, 21 February 2013 (UTC)

Requested images
Will the app also connect to the database of requested images and show nearby requested images similar to "Wiki loves monuments"? --Tobias1984 (talk) 19:21, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Hello Tobias! Would be a fun exercise, and something I can investigate. Are 'requested images' databases already organized somewhere? Yuvipanda (talk) 19:26, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * I think all of the requests are handled here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requested_pictures. --Tobias1984 (talk) 19:29, 28 February 2013 (UTC)


 * There is also this page on Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Picture_requests. Maybe the app could also have a "request image" button where the user can enter the information and it then gets added to the database and added to the Commons or Wikipedia requests. --Tobias1984 (talk) 19:07, 7 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Wonderful! Some form of merging all these together into a sortof machine readable pageable way would be needed before we can use this on the app. Thoughts on how to do that? A bot perhaps? Yuvipanda (talk) 19:15, 7 March 2013 (UTC)


 * In the requested images there are sometimes links to a map with all the requests: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_requested_photographs_in_Belgium (There is a box on the right hand side of the screen where the requested images can be shown on a map). Not sure if they are generated by a bot. The commons requests look like they don't have any kind of structure, so maybe one would have to go through them one by one. Plus, some are probably duplicates from the Wikipedia requests. --Tobias1984 (talk) 21:56, 7 March 2013 (UTC)

Android requirements
Does it really need to be compatible only with Android 2.3 and up? I have tried it on 2.2 in the past and it was crashing and I had the impression that it was some bugs that would be fixed. If it can have a little more backward compatibility it will be better. 2.2 still has a 7,5% market share and I guess the drop in percentage is not because people are throwing away their old phones but because of new devices with Android are getting more share. -Geraki (talk) 15:43, 23 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Hello! The major reason that 2.2 support was dropped was because there is only one person working on it actively (me!) and ensuring compatibility with 2.2+ would be much harder than with 2.3+, since that would mean testing on 4 variants (2.2, 2.3, 4.0 phone, 4.0 tablet) than on 3. Considering the fact that even the lowest end newer devices are sold with 2.3, and cameras on 2.2 devices that aren't upgraded are poor anyway, we've decided to not support 2.2 now. If someone was super-keen on getting 2.2 support, I'd be happy to review patches. But I don't think I'll work on 2.2 support myself. I will, however, ensure proper 2.3 support for a long, long time! :) Yuvipanda (talk) 17:27, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Bugs?

 * 1) On the screens of smartphones file name mixed up for the text the download status. Is it possible move the text-label above?
 * Filed https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=47458, will be fixed next release :) Yuvipanda (talk) 16:03, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
 * 1) When downloading a file in smartphone's Task Manager is written "1 file uploading". It is necessary to add a message to TranslateWiki for localization. And the number of uploads.
 * Filed at https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=45695, will be poking appropriate people to see how this can be fixed :) Yuvipanda (talk) 16:03, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
 * 1) Is no way to remove the image from the application, which did not uploaded (Failed)--Iluvatar (talk) 12:59, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Filed as https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=47459. Thanks for the feedback! Yuvipanda (talk) 16:03, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
 * 1) Source on, Bugs at and Open Source software... Something is missing :). Sorry for my English. --Iluvatar (talk) 23:01, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Wiki Loves Monuments 2013
Will this app replace last years wiki-loves-monuments-app? I think a tab that appears for the duration of the contest would be an excellent idea. --Tobias1984 (talk) 18:50, 29 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Old app: link --Tobias1984 (talk) 18:58, 29 April 2013 (UTC)
 * It is part of the plan, but we don't have concrete information yet. Will be there in a few weeks! 122.174.104.109
 * I am always hoping that image request will some day go directly to this app. There are so many natural monuments and other things that need pictures. This app would be the perfect way of turning the whole thing into a game. Take more pictures get more points. Geo-caching is so popular, why shouldn't it work with: "Find this place, take a picture, get golden stars" :). --Tobias1984 (talk) 08:42, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

Advertising direct apk download on Android
Current announcements about the app such as or  only advertise the Play Store as a way to install the app on Android devices, which is not an option for Android users that do not have the proprietary Play Store app installed or do not have a Google account to use it. Maybe it would be relevant to also provide a direct link to the apk file for direct installation? --A3 nm (talk) 19:17, 30 April 2013 (UTC)
 * They are available at Mobile/Release history. We'll include the link in future email announcements. Apologies about the oversight! 122.174.104.109 06:52, 1 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks! That said, as there are still site notices advertising, maybe it would make sense to edit this page to add the link? (The page is protected so I can't do it myself.) --A3 nm (talk) 08:33, 1 May 2013 (UTC)

Map wishes
It's been a few months since my last comment, and a couple weeks since User:Maryana (WMF) called to interrogate me, a user who better knows the ins and outs of the local geography than of software, and she got me to thinking. The reason why I often use the Mobile Web version of Wikipedia, and seldom the Commons App, is the presence of Google Maps on my HTC EVO Android phone. On a photo expedition I see a map with W's on it, tap a few of them and for each, tap the "full article" link to see whether Wikipedia has a picture. If not, go there and snap it, and repeat to find other targets further along. The Commons app for Android has no maps showing the locations of either pictures or articles.

What would be terrific would be a map that shows both. I could spend much less time stopping by the roadside to diddle with the phone; more time going to the target and finding a good location for the shot. Optional layers could add locations for local monument articles, articles with photorequest templates, and probably others that will occur to someone. Since Google would presumably take little interest in adding several layers that would appeal only to Wikipedians, that suggests some kind of cooperation with OSM or other mapper with similar motives.

Also the upload process of Wikipedia Mobile site is easy for an article that has no picture or infobox, since the process is integrated. The integration is aimed at direct incorporation into an article, but I figure that part can await getting home to the real computer for the curation stage, with the help of information automatically put into the various picture descriptions. Something should be arranged: a new map app, or new features for mobile Web pages or for the existing mobile apps, or eventually all the above but anyway something that brings it all together in the field. Jim.henderson (talk) 01:18, 14 May 2013 (UTC)
 * +1 --Tobias1984 (talk) 18:42, 19 May 2013 (UTC)

Android App Bug - Categories are not transmitted

 * Hi, I've just used the Android Commons app to upload two images to Commons. Even though I select categories and they have a green check-mark next to them, the Categories are not transmitted to Commons and it gets flagged as Uncategorized. I have to go in and edit the file on Commons to add the categories. Using a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the Commons app appears to be "Mobile Android 1.0beta8." Brianwc (talk) 10:35, 26 May 2013 (UTC)