"Show edit toolbar" preference is confusing
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Description

There are two preferences when WikiEditor is installed:

Show edit toolbar (requires JavaScript)
Enable enhanced editing toolbar

The first option is not related to WikiEditor and it is only relevant to the classic toolbar. However, regular editors don't know that the new one is called "WikiEditor" or that it is enhanced. This preference has practically no effect if "Enable enhanced editing toolbar" is checked. A user may want to disable the toolbar, so he will uncheck "Show edit toolbar", but the WikiEditor will stay. That is very confusing.

I would envision something different:

A checkbox saying "Show edit toolbar (requires JavaScript)". Should be checked by default.
- If WikiEditor is installed, then it will have radio buttons or a dropdown for selecting the kind of toolbar the user wants: classic or modern.

There are other possibilities, such as:

showing the classic toolbar with Monobook and the new one with Vector.
retiring the classic toolbar entirely.

Implementing this should be fairly easy, but i suppose that a decision from usability people is needed.

Details

Reference: bz30795

Subject	Repo	Branch	Lines +/-
Re-label preference now that the 2006 wikitext editor doesn't exist	mediawiki/extensions/WikiEditor	master	+5 -2
Remove old "bulletin board style toolbar" from core	mediawiki/core	REL1_32	+34 -555
Remove old "bulletin board style toolbar" from core	mediawiki/core	master	+34 -555

Customize query in gerrit

Title	Reference	Author	Source Branch	Dest Branch
Bug: T327950	repos/commtech/autosuggest-sitelink!29	s-mukuti	T327950	main
T327951	repos/commtech/autosuggest-sitelink!27	s-mukuti	T327951	main
Avoid nesting div in span in radio button label	repos/commtech/autosuggest-sitelink!23	samwilson	nested-div	main

Customize query in GitLab

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		Status	Subtype	Assigned	Task
		Resolved		Jdforrester-WMF	T19653 Classic edit toolbar & edit tools (tracking)
		Resolved		Jdforrester-WMF	T32795 "Show edit toolbar" preference is confusing

Event Timeline

• bzimport raised the priority of this task from to Medium.Nov 21 2014, 11:48 PM

• bzimport added projects: WikiEditor, Design.

• bzimport set Reference to bz30795.

• bzimport added a subscriber: Unknown Object (MLST).

Amire80 created this task.Sep 7 2011, 8:02 AM

See also bug 19786.

I confirm that disabling "Show edit toolbar (requires JavaScript)" on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing
doesn't remove the toolbar if "Enable enhanced editing toolbar" is enabled. This also happens after the fix for another bug:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?diff=603293838&oldid=603166167

I like the idea of having something like

Show edit toolbar: (x) Classic ( ) Modern ( ) Modern with wizards for inserting links, tables as well as the search and replace function

"Show edit toolbar" indeed only determines if the edit toolbar old style is included in the html. BTW, we should at the very least move that out of the HTML, so we no longer have to complicate the EditPage on the HTML level.

(In reply to Derk-Jan Hartman from comment #3)

BTW, we should at the very least move that out of the
HTML, so we no longer have to complicate the EditPage on the HTML level.

Bug 28856?

In T32795#344752, @He7d3r wrote:
SNIP<<

I like the idea of having something like
[x] Show edit toolbar:
    [x] Classic
    [ ] Modern
       [ ] Modern with wizards for inserting links, tables as well as the search and replace function

Agreed. Making the User preferences for editor something like that makes far more sense -- not only for improved "overall" clarity's sake -- but could go a long way towards nailing down many other specific issues if it was implemented as the 'first step' in a series a steps that follow.

[x] Show edit toolbar:
     [ ] Classic
     [x] WikiEditor
          [x] WikiEditor enhanced with wizards and dialogs
              (for inserting links, tables as well as a search and replace function)

That way, you can set the 2nd level in the above list to be either Classsic or WikiEditor but not both at once. The 3rd enhanced level would then only be an option to the User: if, and only if, WikiEditor was selected at the 2nd level first.

Finally, add VisualEditor to the mix and its plain to see why an approach like this makes complete sense.

GOIII merged a task: T24461: Dialogs preference should depend on toolbar preference somehow.Nov 30 2014, 9:18 PM

GOIII added a subscriber: • bzimport.

He7d3r mentioned this in T72431: WikiEditor loads in different places in the Page namespace depending upon which user preferences are selected.Mar 10 2015, 6:51 PM

He7d3r mentioned this in T30856: Remove classic edit toolbar from core.Mar 10 2015, 6:59 PM

Adding MediaWiki-General-or-Unknown project since the messages are in the mediawiki core.

Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald TranscriptDec 13 2015, 7:53 PM

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Nemo_bis added a project: OKR-Work.Mar 13 2016, 10:14 AM

RandomDSdevel subscribed.Aug 31 2016, 8:25 PM

Jdforrester-WMF edited projects, added MediaWiki-Page-editing, Contributors-Team; removed OKR-Work.May 5 2017, 11:57 PM

EddieGP removed a project: MediaWiki-General.Apr 22 2018, 11:52 PM

Krinkle updated the task description. (Show Details)Apr 25 2018, 9:38 PM

Krinkle removed a subscriber: • wikibugs-l-list.

Platonides subscribed.Apr 25 2018, 11:55 PM

• Whatamidoing-WMF mentioned this in T202921: Re-design the Editing preferences to make it easier to pick the editing environment that you want to use.Aug 27 2018, 7:21 PM

Change 317079 merged by jenkins-bot:
[mediawiki/core@master] Remove old "bulletin board style toolbar" from core

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/317079

ReleaseTaggerBot added a project: MW-1.33-notes (1.33.0-wmf.2; 2018-10-30).Oct 24 2018, 6:00 AM

Classic edit toolbar is now gone, but I think this is still confusing. There is now a preference called "Enable enhanced editing toolbar", but with no mention of a non-enhanced toolbar anywhere.

In T32795#4692870, @matmarex wrote:

Classic edit toolbar is now gone, but I think this is still confusing. There is now a preference called "Enable enhanced editing toolbar", but with no mention of a non-enhanced toolbar anywhere.

Yes, next step (tomorrow) is to re-label that preference.

Change 469777 had a related patch set uploaded (by Jforrester; owner: Jforrester):
[mediawiki/core@REL1_32] Remove old "bulletin board style toolbar" from core

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/469777

gerritbot added a project: Patch-For-Review.Oct 25 2018, 9:14 PM

Change 469782 had a related patch set uploaded (by Jforrester; owner: Jforrester):
[mediawiki/extensions/WikiEditor@master] Re-label preference now that the 2006 wikitext editor doesn't exist

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/469782

Change 469777 merged by jenkins-bot:
[mediawiki/core@REL1_32] Remove old "bulletin board style toolbar" from core

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/469777

Change 469782 merged by jenkins-bot:
[mediawiki/extensions/WikiEditor@master] Re-label preference now that the 2006 wikitext editor doesn't exist

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/469782