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Beta Features are a way for you to test new features on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia sites before they are released for everyone.Go toyour preferences to enable Beta Features for yourself; remember, enabling features works on a per-site basis.
Please let us know what you think of this program onthis discussion page.
The primary purpose of Beta Features is to allow for Wikimedia designers and engineers (from the Wikimedia Foundation and community alike) to roll out technical improvements in an environment where large numbers of users can test, give feedback, and use these features in real-world settings. The secondary purpose of Beta Features is to provide a path so that helpful, well-designed gadgets and other community code can be integrated into core after vetting, testing, and reviewing by Wikimedia Design and Engineering.
The code to provide features like this is in an extension,BetaFeatures. Beta Features' preferences are available in aPreferences tab, accessible via the personal bar at the top of the page for all logged-in users.
Right now, users can:
To use either function, users should select the appropriate checkbox, then click “Save”, which will save their Beta Features preferences (like with other preferences). Every now and then new features are made available to users, as outlined atBeta Features/Roadmap.
Here are the current beta features which we are testing with this system:
These features are only available on some wikis:
These features are beta features on some wikis while enabled for everyone on all others:
We invite Wikimedia product teams and community volunteers who want to test out new features, or significant changes to existing features, to do so through this project.
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Do you want to create your own Beta Feature? Great!James is happy to help guide you.
First, you should check that your code meets the following basic requirements:
If you're happy your code meets these requirements, you should write-up your proposal on theNew Features proposal page.As part of creating the Beta Feature, you will be asked forsome text copy and an image to represent your feature in the user interface; the Design and Product teams can help you with this.
The appearance of the “Beta features” tab in Preferences is purposefully different, to both inspire interest and propose a departure from the standard layout and complexity of the existing user preferences.
Here is a screenshot of the “Beta features” preferences tab:
