Skin:Vector

Vector is a man-skins>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Skins|skin for MediaWiki which became default on 2010-05-13 (MediaWiki 1.17, ), succeeding monobook>Skin:MonoBook|MonoBook. Wikimedia Foundation rolled out Vector on all its wikis in 2010, having created it in 2009 as part of the work done by the usability>Special:MyLanguage/Wikipedia Usability Initiative|Wikipedia Usability Initiative.

Vector provides a number of usability improvements over its predecessor. It was the first skin to separate the flat level content_actions into the categorized content_navigation.

At the beginning the basic functionality was included in the core skin, while some of Vector's special features were handled by a separate extension (ext-vector>Special:MyLanguage/Extension:Vector|Extension:Vector). The extension has since been merged into the skin itself.

wgVectorUseSimpleSearch

 * Search form look.


 * true = use an icon search button


 * false = use Go & Search buttons

wgVectorUseIconWatch

 * Watch and unwatch as an icon rather than a link.


 * true = use an icon watch/unwatch button


 * false = use watch/unwatch text link

wgVectorResponsive

 * Experimental setting to make Vector slightly more responsive. Not actively being tested or used in production (yet) but relatively stable and false by default.
 * true = Use responsiveness to improve usability in narrow viewports
 * false = No responsiveness

Features

 * Basic features of the Vector skin
 * Reduced clutter, primarily by reducing the number of lines on screen
 * More prominent placement of the search portal
 * Visual separation of the content-action and namespace links, the former of which being divided into view tabs and action menu items
 * Automatic increase/decrease of margins throughout the user interface based on browser size
 * Use of a star icon for watch and unwatch actions


 * Added features of the ext-vector>Special:MyLanguage/Extension:Vector|Vector extension (some of these features have later been merged into the Vector skin or into the MediaWiki Core or have been removed)
 * Simplified search portal, including suggestions
 * Collapsible navigation portals
 * Alert when leaving an edit page without saving
 * Automatic hiding of tabs that do not fit on screen


 * Experimental Vector extension features
 * Simplified footer content
 * Search box expands on focus
 * Section edit links are moved to be directly next to heading instead of on the right, and use an icon


 * CollapsibleNav support via ext-collapsiblevector>Special:MyLanguage/Extension:CollapsibleVector|CollapsibleVector extension

Note
The collapsible navigation portals are now provided by the  extension which will have to be installed additionally.

Another skin that follows vector is a more modern version of vector please visit Apex.