Topic on VisualEditor/Feedback

Issues: Multiple usability issues with the media settings dialog

2
Summary by Whatamidoing (WMF)
197.218.90.168 (talkcontribs)

Steps to reproduce

  1. Go to Project:Sandbox
  2. Click edit (make sure this leads to visualeditor)
  3. Click insert in toolbar
  4. Click the Media button
  5. Enter a file name that isn't an image such as audio, video (e.g. "Mozart Symphony 36 KV 425 Linz 4.oga")
  6. Click the audio or media item in the list
  7. Click advanced

Expected

  • "Change media" button
  • "Media type" heading
  • "Media dimensions /size" heading

Custom image size input boxes

  • Ability to input audio dimensions

Make full size button working

  • Actually make the audio the default size

Border

  • Choosing this option and applying the changes sets a border

Actual

  • "change image" button
  • "image type" heading
  • "image size" heading

Custom image size input boxes

  • Can't actually set audio dimensions, as each time the text is entered it is removed by the input box (this is possible to set using wikitext)

Make full size button

  • Button doesn't seem to do anything

Border

  • Issues
    • This changes the location of the image to the left hand side
    • Hides the border
    • Hides the caption
    • Makes it hard to actually spot where the audio is
    • Seems to change the "audio" dimensions to 0x0 px

Proposed solutions

  • Review the whole interface, and make changes to emphasize that this tool supports media, and not only images.
  • Basic Image type - this doesn't seem like it would work with audio, and it isn't entirely clear what it does when confronted with other media
  • Custom image type input boxes - enable the inputboxes and allow entry
  • "Full size" - seems to have been designed entirely for images, although it could be reset the audio dimensions to default
  • "Border" - this seems to quite simply be a very strange bug. It should just set the border if possible with audio
  • Change labels to reflect that it works with media not only images.

Notes: It seems more like it was initially designed just for images and later changed to also work for other media, yet those changes didn't take into account the different media types. It is actually pretty confusing, and a usability issue, when one is inserting non-images and the dialog keeps making notes about image type, image size, and so forth.

Elitre (WMF) (talkcontribs)

Thanks for these notes. Is there a particular reason why you won't also post them on Phabricator, where devs can see them?