Help:Extension:Media Viewer



Welcome to the help page for Media Viewer, a new multimedia browser for Wikimedia sites.

This page includes frequently asked questions about key features of this project.

What is Media Viewer?
Media Viewer is a new multimedia browser that aims to improve the viewing experience on Wikipedia, Commons and MediaWiki sites. It lets you view images in larger size, with useful information about their authors, license terms and other metadata. It also offers a number of tools for sharing, embedding and downloading media files.

This tool was developed by the Wikimedia Foundation's new multimedia team. To learn more about Media Viewer, read below or visit this product page on MediaWiki.org.

Why Media Viewer?
The purpose of this tool is to:
 * Provide a richer multimedia experience
 * Display images in larger size, right where you are
 * Reduce confusion when users click on thumbnails

Media Viewer aims to serve all users of Wikipedia, Commons and other MediaWiki sites: this includes readers and new editors, as well as advanced users. This tool was created to engage casual users with a more compelling media experience, then invite them to contribute, edit and re-use these files over time.

How can I try Media Viewer?
If Media Viewer is not yet activated by default on your Wiki:

You can now test beta version v0.2 of Media Viewer on all wikis worldwide, as part of our new Beta Features program.

To enable Media Viewer, click on the small 'Beta' link next to 'Preferences' in your personal menu. Then check the box next to 'Media Viewer' in the Beta Features section of your user preferences — and click 'Save'. You can turn off this option anytime, by reversing these steps.

For example, check out this demo page on MediaWiki.org. Let us know what you think on this discussion page. If you find any technical bugs, please [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=MediaWiki%20extensions&component=MultimediaViewer report them here on Bugzilla].

When will Media Viewer be released?
Media Viewer v0.2 is now being released worldwide, and has been deployed on most large wikis already. Global deployment should be complete by the middle of June, 2014. Note that users will have the option to turn it off if they don’t want it, as outlined below.

We have been releasing this version gradually, starting with a limited test on a few pilot sites in April 2014, followed by a wider release in May 2014. This feature will be enabled by default on all release sites, and now this full release.

For more information, check out this release plan, which is regularly updated.

How can I bypass Media Viewer?
If you need to bypass Media Viewer to access its file description page directly, simply press one of these keys when clicking on a thumbnail:
 * shift-click
 * contrl-click
 * command-click

How can I turn off this feature?
To disable Media Viewer for your account, go to your "Preferences", select the "Appearance" section, and uncheck this option under "Files":  '[  ] ’. (Note that it is being renamed to say "Enable Media Viewer", for clarity.) Once you click "Save", images will no longer open in Media Viewer for your account on that site.

Note that Media Viewer is being released gradually, as described above.

How does Media Viewer work?
When you click on a thumbnail in an article, a large version of the image is shown, for a more immersive experience. Media Viewer fills your browser window with a ‘light box view’, right over the page where you clicked.

From here, you can access a number of features:
 * view more information
 * view images in full-screen
 * browse through collections of images
 * share, embed or download an image
 * learn if an image can be re-used and what its license terms are
 * go to the file repository to edit, curate or discuss an image
 * close the Media Viewer

Read below to learn more about these features.

How can I close Media Viewer?
You can close Media Viewer in a couple different ways:
 * click on the ‘X’ button at the top right of the Media Viewer panel
 * press the ‘escape’ key on your keyboard

In some cases, you can also click on the ‘Back’ button on your browser to go back to the page where a Media Viewer image was linked.

How can I view more information?


Media Viewer shows basic information on the image you are viewing, right at the bottom of the screen. This includes the file name, the author and/or source, as well as license information.

For more information, simply scroll down to see a ‘metadata panel’ that includes more details, such as: image description, where the file is stored, who uploaded it, when it was created or uploaded, etc. (You can also click the up arrow on your keyboard to see this panel.)

If you would like even more information, click on the link to Wikimedia Commons or other file repository to view or edit its file description page.

How can I view an image in full-screen?
To see an image in full screen, click on the full screen button at the top right of the Media Viewer panel (its icon features two opposing arrows).

This will show a large image across your entire screen, not just the browser window. This full-screen view is completely uncluttered, so you can focus exclusively on the image, with no other distractions. In this mode, you only see the controls, the file name and the author/source/license if you hover over the image.

To exit full screen mode, you can click on the same button to return to the light box view — or select the close ‘X’ button to exit Media Viewer

How can I browse through a collection of images?
To browse through all the images in a collection, you can use the Next and Previous arrow buttons, which appear to the left and right of the image in Media Viewer. A collection can include all the images in an article, a gallery or a category page. You can also use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard for this feature.

How can I share an image?
To share images you find in Media Viewer, click on the ‘Use this file’ button (the curved arrow icon at the lower right corner of the screen), then click 'Share'. This will show a link to the selected image, which you can copy and paste to share it with your community. Note that for now, this link will open the image in Media Viewer on its file repository page (e.g. Commons), not on the article where you found it.

How can I embed an image on another page?


To use an image on another wiki page or on other web sites, click on the ‘Use this file’ button (the curved arrow icon at the lower right corner), then click on the 'Embed' tab. This will show the code needed to display the selected image, which you can copy and paste into your page’s code.

To add an image on a wiki page, select ‘WikiText’. To include it on a standard web page, select ‘HTML'. The required attribution and license info is included in the HTML code, along with corresponding links.

A size selector lets you pick the size that best fits your page. Note that you can also change the width or height of an image in the code itself.

Please check the license terms of a file before embedding it on a page, to confirm that this use is covered. Also, please include all required credits and links to comply with those terms.

How can I download an image?
To download an image, click on the ‘Use this file’ button (the curved arrow icon at the lower right corner of the screen), then click on the ‘Download' tab. This will let you initiate the download, using your browser’s tools. For some browsers, a size selector lets you pick the size that best fits your needs.

Please check the license terms of a file before downloading it for your use, to confirm that this use is covered. Also, please include all required credits and links to comply with those terms: these credits are included in the Embed panel, where you can copy and paste them for your purposes.

How can I tell if an image can be re-used and what its license terms are?


Many of the images you find in Media Viewer can be re-used freely, as long as you provide attribution and you comply with their license terms. For example, some images are licensed under Creative Commons terms (e.g. CC-BY or CC-BY-SA). Others are public domain or some other form of free content licensing.

To find out what these license terms mean, simply click on the license link next to the image title. In some cases, it will show you the license details in the metadata panel. In other cases, it will go to the file description page on the repository site, where you can learn more.

If an image has special licensing terms or requires special credits or permissions, a ‘view terms’ link will be added next to the image title. Clicking it will show the permissions details and special requests from the author or source.

How can I edit or discuss an image?
To edit, curate or discuss an image, you need to go to its file repository page (e.g. Wikimedia Commons). You can do this in a variety of ways:
 * if you are logged in, click on the ‘file page’ icon (a special icon at the lower right corner of the screen, typically Wikimedia Commons).
 * if you are not logged in, click on the ‘More details’ (or ‘Learn more’) link (in the right column of the metadata panel below the image).

How can I disable Media Viewer for unrelated images?
Sometimes, Media Viewer displays images that are confusing for our users. This includes metadata images (e.g. small icons, flags), which are not related to the page's topic. We invite editors to prevent these images from appearing in Media Viewer, if they are not part of the article content, by adding this "metadata" class around their image tag:

Note that this method should only be used to mark elements in articles that are considered not to be part of the proper content of the article: annotations, maintenance templates, navigation links, media controls, etc. At this time, we do not recommend using the  method to disable Media Viewer for images, as it could prevent users from accessing important attribution and license information about that image. Other methods may be available in the future to exclude images in Media Viewer.

Which platforms does Media Viewer support?
For this first release, Media Viewer now works on most modern web browsers for desktop computers: Chrome, Firefox and Safari's latest stable versions -- as well as Internet Explorer versions 9 and above. At this time, Media Viewer does not work on IE8 and below, and it is disabled for mobile devices. In future releases, we plan to provide a mobile version of Media Viewer, as well as wider browser support on desktop platforms.

Which file formats does Media Viewer support?
For this first release, Media Viewer only supports the most widely used image file formats (e.g.: JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, SVG). In future releases, we will add support for PDF, audio, video and other file formats.

How can I report a technical issue?
We welcome bug reports from our community. If you find a technical issue, please [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=MediaWiki%20extensions&component=MultimediaViewer file a bug here on Bugzilla].

However, we appreciate that Bugzilla isn't the easiest system to use; you can also post your report on this discussion page, with a screenshot and information on your browser and operating system :).

Before reporting a bug, check first that this issue is not already on [//bugzilla.wikimedia.org/buglist.cgi?resolution=---&component=MultimediaViewer this list of known bugs]. In case it’s already been fixed, you may also want to test it on this test page on MediaWiki.org -- where new features are released a week before the rest of the wikis.

How can I discuss new features for this tool?
We would like to know what you think of Media Viewer and invite you to participate on this discussion page.

Tens of thousands of users around the world helped test Media Viewer during its development. Here is an overview of the feedback they have kindly given us to help improve this tool. Many of their suggestions are now being implemented, as part of our [https://wikimedia.mingle.thoughtworks.com/projects/multimedia/cards/grid?aggregate_property%5Bcolumn%5D=story+points&aggregate_property%5Brow%5D=story+points&aggregate_type%5Bcolumn%5D=sum&aggregate_type%5Brow%5D=sum&color_by=type&filters%5B%5D=%5BType%5D%5Bis%5D%5BStory%5D&filters%5B%5D=%5BType%5D%5Bis%5D%5BBug%5D&filters%5B%5D=%5BType%5D%5Bis%5D%5BTech+debt%5D&filters%5B%5D=%5BType%5D%5Bis%5D%5BScope+Increase+%28UNPLANNED%29%5D&filters%5B%5D=%5BType%5D%5Bis%5D%5BTeam+Meetings%5D&filters%5B%5D=%5BSprint%5D%5Bis%5D%5B%28Current+sprint%29%5D&group_by%5Blane%5D=status&group_by%5Brow%5D=blocked&lanes=Ready+for+Development%2CIn+Development%2CReviewed%5C%2C+Awaiting+Improvements%2CAwaiting+Code+Review%2CReviewed%5C%2C+Awaiting+Other+Input%2CReady+for+Testing%2CIn+Testing%2CReady+for+Signoff%2CAccepted%2CIn+Analysis&style=grid&tab=Current+cycle current cycle plan].

Where can I find technical information about Media Viewer?
For more technical information about this tool, visit these two extension pages: MultimediaViewer and CommonsMetadata on MediaWiki.org.

What new features are being planned for Media Viewer?


Major feature development is now over for this first release. We are considering more features for future releases, and have prepared preliminary designs and specifications listed on this page, based on community feedback.

To prepare for our next releases, we would love to hear which of these features seem most important to you. If you have any suggestions for improving this tool, please let us know on this discussion page.