CoLab Possible Extensions

MPDL  The migration information about plug-ins are out of date!

A list of all MediaWiki extensions can be found here.

A list of Mediawiki extensions currently in use on Colab (R.1.16.x) can be found here

This extension allows Users to make a personal selection of Pages to be organised as a Collection. Collections may be:
 * further processed and structured as chapters
 * stored and distributed
 * export as PDF/XML/ODF


 * I've looked at this extension during the upgrade to MW 1.20.3. In theory, I like the idea a lot. In this particular context, the extension appears to be something of a foot-in-the-door for a print-on-demand publisher (pediapress.com). So this particular implementation doesn't look like a good idea to me --Bourke 10:21, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

DeletePagePermanently
This extension allows the permanent deletion of Pages in Namespaces in the database, without leaving any traces. Pages and sub-categories can be deleted automatically. The extension adds a new tab, with which pages may be permanently deleted from the DB. -> the Extension is in Beta-Status.


 * We definitely(!) need a mechanism to remove pages from colab. This is however an extremely dangerous ways of doing it, without processes around it to gather feedback before the page is moved/migrated/deleted.   --Bourke 10:32, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

The EmailtoWiki Extension allows sending emails to the Wiki (Colab) which are then automatically imported into articles. All emails attachments will automatically be uploaded and linked at the end of the email. The title of the article (the imported email) can be changed after import


 * I think this is a bad idea. We've already got 3,500 pages, many of them not maintained, The very last thing we need to do is make it easier to create new pages, that are then forgotten about. The extension is also technically complex. --Bourke 10:36, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

FileCheck
FileCheck ist eine MediaWiki-Erweiterung, die automatisch doppelte Dateien im Upload erkennt. Filecheck is a MW-Extension, that automatically detects duplicate names in an upload.
 * No. As per the extension page, this function is now in the core Mediawiki software. --Bourke 10:41, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

This extension allows the embedding of Google Search in a MediaWiki. In addition a google searchbox can be added on the mainpage, so that the existing mediawiki search remains available.

One can look at this extension externally and test it


 * Agree completely with the arguments (exception, if I search on colab, I only want colab results). In test currently is, which does much the same thing, but presents both Google and Mediawiki search results in one page. I'm quite open to argument, which one is better. --Bourke 11:01, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure). This communication protocol is used in the World Wide Web to make data immune to being read by anyone connected to the network, over which the packets travel. HTTPS is the only form of encryption, that can be added without extra software on all internet-capable computers. The HttpsLogin Extension would in other words allow a safe login to Colab


 * I'm in favour of more secure work in Colab, of course. This does however open a "can of worms". The extension would also need to handle password change and other such functions, and it doesn't appear to handle that well at the moment. It also does make Colab less easily accessible.


 * comments welcome. Currently not planned for the 1.20.3 upgrade --Bourke 11:17, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

The JIRA Extension is used to embed lists or tickets into Mediawikis (Colab). This saves time-consuming and error-prone typing.
 * Very good idea in principle. Unfortunately, the extension hasn't been maintained since 2007, was written to Jira 3.1, and according to its talk page only works with Internet Explorer. I recommend just using a link to jira instead. --Bourke 11:35, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

As in the JIRA-Extension, the JIRA_Ticket extension allows the easy integration of Jira Tickets in a MediaWiki Article. The Ticket-Status, priority and number are output as a URL to allow access to the underlying ticket


 * Again, the extension code is not well-maintained. While I do very much like the idea of tight integration of wikis and ticketing systems (something that is in fact already achieved in some MPDL projects like VLIB via the Trac Software) I think this is something that management, not System-Administration, needs to give some direction on. We currently have:
 * 2 different wiki implementations (Mediawiki for Colab and Scipwiki - the releases vary, Trac for various projects)
 * Two different ticketing implementations (Jira for Collections and F&E projects, Trac for Information Provision projects)
 * One source-code management implementation (subversion), but held in two separate repositories due to technical differences in file access requirements.


 * In my view, MPDL could either:
 * Standardise on Atlassian Software and migrate colab, scipwiki, Trac-wikis to Atlassian Confluence and trac-tickets to JIRA. The tight integration of Trac with subversion repositories would however be lost in this approach. This would be time-consuming.
 * Standardise on trac software and migrate colab and scipwiki to trac. this would also be time-consuming.
 * Be pragmatic and stay with our current heterogeneous environment, and simply use URLs to link from one environment into another. This is not time-consuming, but it's not very integrated either.
 * ("my two cents" - as the americans say. --Bourke 11:54, 30 April 2013 (CEST))

Successor and more stable version of a Glossary Plugin.Extensions to the abbreviations / acronyms and their definitions can be defined on a wiki page. The definition is then displayed when the cursor is over the abbreviation


 * We currently use the Glossary Extension to maintain a not-very-up-to-date Glossary. Will be used in the 1.20.3 upgrade. (And it would be kind of nice if people would use it - I'll document it via mailing-lists.--Bourke 13:08, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

This Extension automatically detects mobile clients with the help of values in HTTP_USER_AGENT. The User Interface is changed to display the page on a smartphone, and the standard User Interface can have its display changed as desired. -> At the moment not available in a stable version.


 * It still isn't available as a stable version (last edits on the talk-page from the maintainer are from 2009). However, there are a few sites out there that show further work in this area without the need for a separate Extension.


 * Mediawiki gallery of user styles See particularly simple_iPhone and WPtouch and links from there.


 * A brief test on an android smartphone shows colab displaying, but there's a lot of zooming and flicking around the page necessary.


 * To summarise: Feedback from smartphone users is requested. Please compare the experience of using colab on a smartphone with the "user experience" of using Wikipedia (which does use a modified skin for mobile users) on a smartphone. Which do you prefer? --Bourke 13:02, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

This extension shows pages in multiple given categories. As standard users can give up to five categories and exclude up to three categories. The maximum number of variables can be easily changed in sourcecode. Dropdown lists makes the selection of subcategories easier. This plugin allows a more targeted and bounded search. -> perhaps as an alternative to Googlesearch, as no external system needs to access colab (therefore: no security risk).


 * The plugin is maintained up to 2012, and has a version for MW 1.18.x. I like this idea a lot. Adding it to the test matrix. Particularly for the case where one doesn't know a good key-word to search on, searching via categories will be useful. And also - it encourages the users to keep categories up-to-date. --Bourke 13:35, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

This extension generated PDF's from individuals pages or collections.
 * This, like Extension:Collection, is another extension from pediapress.com. I don't like adding commercial entry points into an opensource Wiki. Comments welcome, however. If the demand is there, we can test it, of course. --Bourke 11:22, 30 April 2013 (CEST)

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Diese Erweiterung ermöglicht das Chatten mit anderen Wiki-Usern (online) in Echtzeit. This extension allows chatting between wiki-users online in real-time.
 * not enough resources to support social-media, in my opinion. Sorry, no. --Bourke 13:51, 30 April 2013 (CEST)