Template talk:Current

{{Recent}} vs {{Current}} vs {{Update}}

FYI, see Template talk:Recent#Difference between this and Template:Current. --Tomchen1989 (talk) 18:45, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

I've added some explanation here Template:Current#See also. --Tomchen1989 (talk) 19:08, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

Bad category title

many files in Category:Files that need updating dont "need" updating. "need" makes it sound like they "should/must" be updated but they're not. they may be updated if there is new info, but many dont have and wont have for a long time or forever. RZuo (talk) 11:10, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

How to update the many outdated files?

Lots of files are outdated, especially many charts in Category:Our World in Data have newer charts on WMC or at source even when they're in use.

What do you think about this, do you have any ideas how to address this in an efficient way? For example ways to automatically update charts and many charts at once and/or updating file-uses along with the image update.

See also: Similarity detection and updating of already-existing images.

I've created Category:Charts with newer versions available at the source which contain some examples (also relates to @RZuo: 's thread above which I agree with) and this as well as the Category:Charts by year of latest data categories which enable finding and updating outdated charts (an issue is that charts of earlier states are also useful; maybe it could become possible to use them in WP in a way that allows switching through prior versions or to pin which version is to be used, e.g. like [[File:img.png|v=2020|Description]]). Let me know if there already is some work on that, maybe some phabricator issue(s), or some current scalable/efficient practices. Prototyperspective (talk) 13:28, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

Prototyperspective. Need a way to redirect the existing OWID SVG files on the Commons to the PNG files on the Commons. Because SVG OWID files can no longer be uploaded or updated to the Commons. That is because they have the import-font URL in the SVG file.

And even if that URL is removed before uploading, then the Commons still only sees the first font listed in the font family. And often it is not a free font that the Commons has. So the Commons substitutes a free font that often does not work well with the image.

We could always reverse the redirect direction in the event OWID SVG files can again be uploaded to the Commons. In other words make the existing OWID PNG files redirect to the SVG OWID file on the Commons. --Timeshifter (talk) 07:19, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

I don't see how that relates to the question of how they could be updated well. With that I mean for example automatically or semi-automatically and maybe as part of some routine / collaborative effort.

Also I don't see why that would be needed: SVG files are still to be preferred. SVG files can be edited so this could be removed or not? Also OWID could change that and somebody should probably ask them about that. Could you do that? Prototyperspective (talk) 23:44, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

OWID has been asked. OWID prefers fonts of its own choosing, not the lame free ones provided by the Mediawiki software.

Phabricator threads have been done. The Mediawiki developers do not support automatically removing the import-font URL from the OWID SVG files.

So the hundreds or thousands of OWID SVG files on the Commons are not being updated. The simplest solution is the one I suggested: Redirect the existing OWID SVG files on the Commons to the PNG files on the Commons.

For new files people are uploading the OWID PNG files. So there is no problem there since the SVG files can't be uploaded easily, or with good results.

But the existing OWID SVG files on the Commons are used in many articles in many languages. To substitute a PNG file for all the article uses of a single popular OWID SVG file could take hours across many language wikis. Probably with many mistakes due to the different languages used even in the wikitext image coding. I know. I have seen this.

Currently, it is not possible to redirect an SVG file to a PNG file. Mediawiki developers would need to allow this. Maybe you can ask at Phabricator. I already did my time there, and don't have the time, energy, or health for this now. --Timeshifter (talk) 02:38, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Okay good that somebody asked and thanks for your efforts and reply. I didn't know one of few particular fonts has to be used to avoid this error. If this obstructs the smooth, regular, quick updating of files, then something like accepting imports of fonts or automatically removing them should be done. Could you please link the phabricator issues? I'd like to put some additional support behind them.

For redirecting to PNG files: it seems like they differ from the SVG files. Maybe it needs a script that shows all file uses of the SVG files along with the equivalent/best-equivalent PNG for replacing the uses with the files that get updated. In any case, the best method probably would be to allow embedding interactive charts in Wikipedia and somehow import the SVG files for WMC. Prototyperspective (talk) 12:14, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

Mediawiki only allows free fonts to be used in SVG files that show on any wiki using MediaWiki. And only the free fonts in its list.

For OWID-related Phabricator threads here is "our world in data" (in quotes) search that pulls them up:

https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/search/query/63z3h6eXNRMb/#R

The developers in the Phabricator threads I participated in pooh-poohed the idea of removing the offending import-font URL in OWID SVG files. Maybe if more people ask for it they might do it. I have no idea.

The Commons page for an OWID SVG or PNG file shows all uses of the file across all languages of Wikimedia projects.

OWID always has both an SVG and a PNG file for any of their images. On the same download tab.

Automatic updating would be nice, but it would have to be the PNG files for now, unless Mediawiki removes the URL before uploading SVG files. I don't know if Mediawiki has ever done automatic updating of images.

Another problem is that Mediawiki substitutes a free font for the fonts in the font-family list in an OWID SVG file. That free font often does not fit the same, and messes up the image. Usually by extending past the edge of the image. So text is cut off. --Timeshifter (talk) 22:23, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

I wouldn’t like if MediaWiki tampered with my SVGs without asking me. However, it should be possible to create a Toolforge tool or maybe even a gadget that removes the @imports and the non-free fonts from the font lists (so that MediaWiki uses the free fonts specified by OWID rather than arbitrary ones) when asked to. It’s only a little bit less convenient than being able to upload directly, while it doesn’t come as a surprise to users, doesn’t have to be accepted by developers of MediaWiki itself, and it can be tailored down to OWID files rather than being a generic solution. —Tacsipacsi (talk) 10:06, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

That would be nice. I suggested at Phabricator that it should be an option, not a requirement, whenever the @import warning shows up during an SVG upload. So that one could OK its removal, and the upload could continue. That suggestion hasn't gone anywhere yet. Maybe if others asked for it too....

I like the non-free font removal option even more. Because I have found fonts to be even more of a problem then the @import removal.

But there are many OWID SVG files on the Commons, and having to go to Toolforge to take all these extra steps each and every time an OWID SVG image needs to be updated, will discourage most updating.

If it were an option offered during SVG uploading, and only required a checkbox, then it would work, I believe.

There may be some non-OWID SVG images that need @import and non-free fonts removed too. Any image uploaded to the Commons has to be a free image that can be altered, so there is no need to limit either the Mediawiki or Toolforge option to OWID images.

I would use the Toolforge option for some SVG images. --Timeshifter (talk) 15:52, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

If it were an option offered during SVG uploading, and only required a checkbox, then it would work, I believe.

The gadget solution (if possible) would work much like that, except that one would have to turn on the gadget once. (The warning could instruct users to do so, although this could pose issues with translation of the warning message.)

There may be some non-OWID SVG images that need @import and non-free fonts removed too. Any image uploaded to the Commons has to be a free image that can be altered, so there is no need to limit either the Mediawiki or Toolforge option to OWID images.

The problem is that while such removals are hopefully safe in OWID graphs (they look mostly the same afterwards), this is not generally true (font removal could lead to exactly the same display issues that OWID graphs currently have or even to unreadable text if a special font like Wingdings is removed, import removal to all sorts of missing styling). —Tacsipacsi (talk) 14:54, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

Maybe have both. A gadget and something at Toolforge.

So the tool would remove the @import URL and the fonts not available on Mediawiki. Then you could look at the resulting image and decide whether to upload it or not.

The gadget would be for OWID images, and it would work while uploading anytime its box is checked. So before an OWID SVG upload one would enable the gadget somehow. Then the following upload would automatically have its @import URL removed, and its non Mediawiki fonts removed. --Timeshifter (talk) 02:04, 15 April 2024 (UTC)