Skin:Vector

---

MediaWiki skins manual - category

Vector Release status: stable
Composer	mediawiki/vector-skin
License	GPLv2+
Download	Download snapshot (Git master) Git [?]: repo summary browse file tree (GitHub) commit history code review
Example	https://en.wikipedia.org/
Parameters $wgVectorUseSimpleSearch, $wgVectorUseIconWatch
Translate the Vector skin if it is available at translatewiki.net
Check usage and version matrix;
Issues:	Open tasks · Report a bug

Wikimedia engineering activityWikimedia Engineering

Vector

A skin based on Monobook, with a variety of usability improvements

Group:	Features
Start:	2009
Team:	Trevor Parscal
Management:	Terry Chay

Vector is a skin for MediaWiki which became default on 2010-05-13 (MediaWiki 1.17, git #2833b07a), succeeding 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 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 (Extension:Vector). The extension has since been merged into the skin itself.

Installation

• Download and place the file(s) in a directory called Vector in your skins/ folder.
• Add the following code at the bottom of your LocalSettings.php:

wfLoadSkin( 'Vector' );
$wgVectorUseSimpleSearch = true;
$wgVectorUseIconWatch = true;

• Y Done - Navigate to Special:Version on your wiki to verify that the skin is successfully installed.

To users running MediaWiki 1.24 or earlier:

The instructions above describe the new way of installing skins using wfLoadSkin(), since MediaWiki 1.25. If you need to install this skin in earlier versions, instead of wfLoadSkin( 'Vector' );, you need to use:

require_once "$IP/skins/Vector/Vector.php";

(To run an skin on an earlier release, you may need to download the version of it tagged for that release from Special:SkinDistributor.)

Configuration options

wgVectorUseSimpleSearch

• Search form look.
  • true = use an icon search button
  • false = use Go & Search buttons

$wgVectorUseSimpleSearch = true;

wgVectorUseIconWatch

• Watch and unwatch as an icon rather than a link.
  • true = use an icon watch/unwatch button
  • false = use watch/unwatch text link

$wgVectorUseIconWatch = true;

wgVectorResponsive

• Experimental setting to make Vector slightly more responsive. Not ready for production purposes and false by default.
  • true = Use responsiveness to improve usability in narrow viewports
  • false = No responsiveness

$wgVectorResponsive = false;

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 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 CollapsibleVector extension

Note

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

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

See also

• Skin:MonoBook - MediaWiki's previous default skin
• Skin:Modern - A previous (failed) attempt at replacing MonoBook with something more modern
• Skin:SlateSkin:Slate
• Skin:MetrolookSkin:Metrolook