Wikipedia talk:Editing on mobile devices

Seems quite iPhone/iPad-centric

A quick read gives me the impression that this would be more appropriately titled "Editing on iOS devices." I propose either a move or a rewrite. —Frungi (talk) 09:10, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

I agree. The page should be rewritten. --GreenZeb (talk) 12:59, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

And actually all the mentioned issues or technical limitation are not valid @Frungi@GreenZeb Amiratohamy (talk) 21:41, 20 April 2022 (UTC)

Useless

This page needs to have a how-to guide, with pictures, on editing from a mobile devices. It comes in Google as the first hit on "how to edit wikipedia from a mobile device" but fails to deliver anything substantial. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 04:02, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

100% yes. The mobile version of Wikipedia doesn't allow editing.* I have a pencil icon on my phone but it literally does nothing. So I tried the desktop view (that's how I'm writing this now) and it's the most unpleasant writing experience I've ever had. The text box scrolls up, down, left, and right; so does the page itself. I'm trying to look up apps, because if I'm going to sign in to something I'd like to know who handling that login info. I just need the name of an approved app for iPhone. Android, wp7, and blackberry too. This article just meanders and prattles on about nonsense, before getting to the app section where, with atypical brevity, it says yeah there might be an app, prolly lots, some might have editing. WTF? — Preceding unsigned comment added by TheAltarbo (talk • contribs) 06:20, 30 October 2013 (UTC)

*It does now. That's how I'm editing this from my smartphone. --Thnidu (talk) 07:36, 6 May 2016 (UTC)

Okay, how can you cite info or insert images? Like how do you do it? The functionality of editing on an mobile device is completely useless. During these last two months, a series of copyright issues came sprung up, because they were no citation and one editor said that because he’s a mobile user he cannot cite the information he cited. His edits were unacceptably reversed by some admin because of them being unsourced. So can you give a answer about this? Not this effected others but myself included, so I need an real answer. DavidDunnymede (talk) 05:01, 8 September 2023 (UTC)

@DavidDunnymede, it works for me. There should be a cite button like this (the quotation marks that are selected in the image):
— Qwerfjkltalk 19:52, 8 September 2023 (UTC)

Could someone give a guide on how to access the talk/history pages when using an Android device? 87.113.127.73 (talk) 08:56, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

 Done History and talk links are at the foot of each page.--Thnidu (talk) 07:38, 6 May 2016 (UTC)

"Limitations" is outdated

The section "Limitations" has been little changed since it was introduced in July 2013. There it quite rightly bears a header that is still valid:

Parts of this Wikipedia page (those related to section) are outdated. Please update this Wikipedia page to reflect recent events or newly available information and see the track page for possible discussion on this.

The section is rife with hedges like "some" and "may". How current are these?:

• Some devices may not allow the user to see what they are typing.
• Most devices have only a clumsy copy-paste; some have none. They cannot easily place references or templates on a page.

I've done some editing of the section to bring it more up to date, but only for what I know offhand. It needs a thorough review. --Thnidu (talk) 07:34, 6 May 2016 (UTC)

@Thnidu: Three years later, it still seems to be outdated. The screenshot on this page also needs to be updated, since it was uploaded in 2011. Jarble (talk) 16:02, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

"Related articles" missing on desktop version

If you look at the article on the Space Shuttle, it contains many related articles. However, the mobile version contains three related articles (Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster, Space Shuttle external tank and Shuttle-derived Launch Vehicle).

This, on the mobile version, appears to be in some kind of footer and it is not immediately apparent how these three articles are specifically chosen, or if they can be manually set. --24.182.92.247 (talk) 22:26, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

I suspect this is an old feature, based at least in part on incoming links, and was discontinued for the standard desk screen version but kept in the mobile page. Jim.henderson (talk) 15:16, 11 June 2017 (UTC)

Limited functionality

I find it completely unacceptable that, in 2017, one does not get a fully functional mobile UI to interact with Wikipedia in the same way that one does on the desktop. For example, the UI for an article's history is basically useless, as compared to its fully functional desktop version. There is no revert button, no way to compare two revisions, etc., etc. You just get the plainest vanilla listing of the revisions (and moreover, in that extremely annoying "flat design" antipattern where you only get a few absurdly oversized boxy-looking items visible, piled one after the other, rather than a proper HTML table), with no further functionality discoverable besides seeing the immediate change from the previous revision. Have the powers that be at Wikipedia noy yet realised that, nowadays in 2017, many people no longer use a desktop, or only occasionally do so, their primary means of surfing the internet having become their smartphone or tablet? Uaxuctum (talk) 00:35, 21 August 2017 (UTC)

• Fully agree with this! Marcocapelle (talk) 07:51, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

@Uaxuctum and Marcocapelle: Much of this essay was written in 2013, so it needs to be updated. The editing help page doesn't provide any instructions for mobile device users, either. Jarble (talk) 15:59, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

• • Meanwhile it has improved a lot. Marcocapelle (talk) 08:31, 28 February 2020 (UTC)

I’d say that mobile editing still has numerous issues, either using the Wikipedia app or the Safari version of the site. It’s really frustrating. Where can these problems be addressed? TrottieTrue (talk) 16:21, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

How?

HI, @Cullen328: seems you are the right person to ask here. How is point number 2 under limitations is correct? In this age? I hesitate to remove it entirely perhaps I don't actually understand what the point means. –Ammarpad (talk) 19:01, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

Hello, Ammarpad. This essay has consistently had an overly pessimistic tone. I have made some small efforts to correct it, and I encourage you to make any changes you wish. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 19:13, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

OK, thanks. I find it very inaccurate despite recent edits by you that's why I ask. I will surely improve it –Ammarpad (talk) 19:25, 17 December 2017 (UTC)

How do I do text in bold on iPad Air 2 with iOS 11?

I need help with bolding text Weatherlover (talk) 04:22, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

You can use triple apostrophe (') marks around the text like this. ― Qwerfjkl|✉   20:03, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

Editing on iphone

So just about managed to insert a line in a table to add a film into a filmography, 1990 Brad Pitt film Too Young to Die, but no keyboard available so couldn’t add any content ! Ok on this page!?! A back button of some kind is desperately needed for newbies who end up adding accidentally a new column at the start of a table while trying to find their way around! All I can find in tutorial is a bit of text yet it mentions something about 10 mins for each; surely must be a video somewhere? Goosegogjelly (talk) 21:44, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Marking an edit as minor on mobile?

I can't use the desktop version of the site on mobile for editing where there is more than a minimal amount of text, as the line the editor indicates it is editing, and the actual line being edited, are misaligned. However neither on the mobile version of the site, or in the app, can I mark an edit as being minor. I haven't found any documentation that acknowledged this either. It remains a point of embarrassment for me that my minor edits on mobile get marked as major, because I know better but don't appear to be able to do anything about it. -Lopifalko (talk) 06:40, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

If you use the Visual Editor, it's possible to mark the edit as minor on mobile version of the site. The Wikitext editor and the apps are not supporting that yet. The issue is tracked in phab:T123694. – Ammarpad (talk) 15:35, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

Percentage of edits made on mobile vs. desktop?

Does anyone know how to obtain the percentage of edits made on mobile vs. desktop for a given period over all English Wikipedia? In other words, how popular are mobile edits becoming over time? fgnievinski (talk) 15:19, 4 January 2021 (UTC)

@Fgnievinski: Wikipedia:Quarry. ― Qwerfjkltalk 17:05, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Advanced Mobile Edits

All of my mobile edits are tagged as "Advanced mobile edit", and I don't know what this means. Qwerfjkl talk 10:30, 1 April 2021 (UTC)

I think you are using "Advanced mode", aren't you? — Ctrlwiki (talk) 00:21, 8 October 2021 (UTC)

Chunks of page missing from display on mobile

(Posted earlier at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Women in Red, reposting here as advised)

When I was using my phone earlier today I followed the banner inviting me to close the gender gap and clicked on the URL for one of our WiR projects (I think Wikipedia:WikiProject_Women_in_Red/Meetup/223), just out of curiosity to see how it worked ... but the page displayed omitted the whole "Welcome" section, and just listed the other ongoing WiR projects (sport etc) and then moved on to the redlinks lists. Not very welcoming for our potential newbie editors, many of whom are likely to use mobile. I'm using Chrome on a Samsung Galaxy A12 phone, though I think I'm sometimes using the Wikipedia app - I seem to swap unpredictably between several formats, and editing talk pages is a nightmare.

Is there some way we can fix the layout of the pages so that all new potential WiR editors get a better experience, ie can see the "Welcome" information? (I followed the same link when I started editing this session, on a laptop, and the page displayed OK. I can't reproduce either now, as the banner seems only to offer once per user/device per ... day?) PamD 16:50, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

• Now posted at Wikipedia:Village_pump_(technical)#Chunks_of_page_missing_from_display_on_mobile which seems a better venue. PamD 17:02, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Concerning the part where it says mobile users can't see talk pages

Hello. I'm new to the Wikipedia community. I opened my account sons years back, but forgot about it. Anyway, I've been acquainting myself with the rules, proper practices, and all that. I just wanted to state that the part where this article says those with smartphones can't see talk pages is incorrect. I am currently using a smartphone to type this on the mobile version of Wikipedia. Thank you. TheFaeryMuse (talk) 18:57, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

@TheFaeryMuse, are you using mobile or desktop mode (does the url contain .m. and is the link at the bottom of the page to the desktop or mobile site)? ― Qwerfjkltalk 19:57, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

@Qwerfjkl Hi. Yes the url contains .m. I don't understand your second question. TheFaeryMuse (talk) 07:32, 2 July 2022 (UTC)

Hi. Yes the url contains .m. I don't understand your second question. TheFaeryMuse (talk) 08:18, 2 July 2022 (UTC)

@TheFaeryMuse, I'd post at Wikipedia:Village pump (technical) - someone there might know more than me. ― Qwerfjkltalk 08:58, 2 July 2022 (UTC)

Thank you but I'm uncertain concerning what to post. I initially posted here to find out if anyone else could see the talk pages on mobile too, and then hopefully that would lead to someone clarifying that in the essay itself.

I'm new, so I apologize for any mistakes I've made (if any may exist). TheFaeryMuse (talk) 10:43, 2 July 2022 (UTC)

That part of the page needs to be better written. Yes, talk pages are visible on mobile devices, BUT, anything that do not belong to a particular section is invisible. For example, if you visit my talk page, you won't be able to see my "Welcome to my User Talk Page" message, neither my availability information, nor my archives. This also means that all archive navigators, Wikiproject notices and ArbCom discretionary sanctions notices on talk page are also invisible. In fact, on this very page the huge orange-ish box saying "This page is within the scope of WikiProject Wikipedia essays..." at the extreme top is invisible. Further all templates created using {{tmbox}} are invisible no matter where they are, even when under a section. For example, the huge orange-ish box at Talk:Vermont Public Radio#Requested move 25 June 2022 will be invisible on mobile devices despite it being under a section. Similarly, all edit request templates like {{edit semi-protected}} are also invisible. Hope this helps understand the situation. —CX Zoom[he/him] ^{(let's talk • {C•X})} 13:06, 2 July 2022 (UTC)

The text currently says IP editors can't see talk pages at all, so does need to be updated. I suspect the situation might have changed when the mw:Advanced Mobile Contributions (AMC) style header was made standard for all users. (Unfortunately I can't find a picture of what it used to look like.) CxZoom is right that most templates are still suppressed on mobile. (@TheFaeryMuse, not stalking you, just noticed that you had posted here after seeing your Teahouse question.) ⁓ Pelagic ( messages ) 15:11, 6 July 2022 (UTC)

Hi Pelagic and CX Zoom. Thank you very much for explaining this. I was quite confused. I guess I'll try editing on my computer. Also, I suppose this is why I'm having a hard time replying to comments in the teahouse.

Also, Pelagic, I didn't think you were stalking me. You've been very helpful, so I appreciate it. Wikipedia is a bit confusing afterall.

I hope you both have a great day. TheFaeryMuse (talk) 16:25, 7 July 2022 (UTC)

Thank You

Thank you for making this. It’s extremely informative. Cheers! StephenBryant7 (talk) 21:59, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

How to edit entire article?

When I tap the pencil icon at the very top of the article, it only lets me edit the intro section. How do I edit an article with access to all sections at once? It makes adding footnotes a pain in the ass because I have to make two separate edits in two different sections unless I switch to the desktop site, which is clunky and often laggy.

I can't find any setting that fixes this problem, nor can I find a single mention of this issue anywhere on the internet. I dunno if it applies to the visual editor because I rarely use it, but it is a problem in source mode. ThunderMite42 (talk) 20:55, 30 May 2023 (UTC)

@ThunderMite42, how does adding footnotes mean two separate edits in two different sections?
Couldn't you add a reference by changing Some text. to Some text. <ref>Footnote</ref>? — Qwerfjkltalk 06:55, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

I was using the notelist format. I had to add a note to one section and then create the notelist at the bottom of the page because one didn't previously exist. ThunderMite42 (talk) 16:47, 6 June 2023 (UTC)

@ThunderMite42, I don't think there is a way to edit the entire article with the MobileFrontend. You could try a user script, or post at WP:VPT, where someone more knowledgeable than me can help you. — Qwerfjkltalk 17:45, 6 June 2023 (UTC)

@ThunderMite42: On mobile device, clicking the edit button on top opens up the editor, with #/editor/0 on the right-most part of the url. Replace that with #/editor/all, which will open the editor with all sections (i.e. entire article) mode. —CX Zoom[he/him] ^{(let's talk • {C•X})} 18:46, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

You are seemingly the first person on the entire internet to mention this, unless Google just sucks and won't bring me the results. You'd think there'd be a menu item or setting somewhere to enable this, but for some reason there isn't. Thanks for the help. ThunderMite42 (talk) 18:59, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

I do not think this is properly documented anywhere on English Wikipedia. I found this out pretty much by trial-and-error, replaced "0" with "all" and it just worked. —CX Zoom[he/him] ^{(let's talk • {C•X})} 19:26, 15 June 2023 (UTC)

Holy shit, thank you for this. This has been bugging me for so long. Loytra (talk) 15:58, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

Mobile editing

The mobile editing is flexible and where you can edit short videos For example VN Pro APK 2402:8100:2560:C08A:8793:656E:4B26:77DB (talk) 13:48, 1 August 2023 (UTC)

How to cite or add images during editing on an iOS device

I have seen some editors, myself included, have a problem with editing an Wikipedia article on a mobile device. I have read the Wikipedia page on the matter, it didn’t had the answer I need. But the main issue is how can you write information and how to you reference or cite them? how do you insert an image? Please leave an answer. DavidDunnymede (talk) 04:54, 8 September 2023 (UTC)