VisualEditor

The VisualEditor project aims to create a reliable rich-text editor for MediaWiki. It is being developed so it can be used as a MediaWiki extension, using the Parsoid project to supply HTML+RDFa.

It is currently deployed to a test namespace of this wiki; more information about this test deployment can be found on [//blog.wikimedia.org/2012/06/21/help-us-shape-wikimedias-prototype-visual-editor Wikimedia's blog], the FAQs, and [ VisualEditor:Welcome] or [ VisualEditor:Test]. Please note that the test deployment only works with the Vector skin.

Rationale
The decline in new contributor growth is the single most serious challenge facing the Wikimedia movement in the year 2011. Removing the avoidable technical impediments associated with Wikimedia's editing interface is a necessary pre-condition for increasing the number of Wikimedia contributors.

Timeline
Some level of exploration was done in 2010 by the Wikipedia Usability Initiative.

The 2011 product whitepaper published by the Wikimedia Foundation's strategic product team identified rich-text editing as one of the "Great Movement Projects". Work subsequently started in May 2011.

The 2011-12 Wikimedia annual plan, released July 2011, states a goal for the Visual Editor: "First opt-in user-facing production usage by December 2011, and first small wiki default deployment by June 2012".

The 2012-13 Engineering Goals document sets a timeline for VisualEditor's development and deployment up to the end of June 2013.

Additional documents

 * User requirements:
 * Specifications:
 * /Software design/
 * /Bidirectional text requirements/
 * /WikiDom Specification/
 * /Interaction_inventory/
 * Test plan:
 * Documentation plan:
 * User interface design docs:
 * Schedule:
 * /Task management/
 * /Todo list/
 * /Todo later list (items for working on after June 2012 release)
 * Release management plan:
 * Communications plan:
 * Status updates
 * Feedback page for developer prototype