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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by John of Reading (talk | contribs) at 13:31, 22 September 2010 (→‎A bad interaction between AWB and Citation Bot 1: we seem to have consensus). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

AutoWikiBrowser 6.3.1.1

Feel free to download a SVN snapshot

Before you post

Do you want to ... Please use
Report a bug in AWB? Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Bugs
Report an incorrectly fixed typo? Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Typos
Request a feature for a future version of AWB? Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Feature requests
Request approval to use AWB? Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/CheckPage
Ask a question about AWB or ask for help? This page

Frequently asked questions

  • When I start it up I get one of the following errors:
    • "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.", or
    • "To run this application, you must first install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework..."
    This error means your computer does not have the .NET framework version 2 installed properly. You can choose from various versions for download here, or you can run Microsoft Update and select version 2 of the .Net framework from the "Optional Updates" section, if you want the choice made for you.
  • Does AWB run on Linux or Mac?
AWB runs reasonably under Wine. See details here
AWB might also run under Mono. See here for a status report of AWB vs Mono v2.6.
A native version, PyAutoWikiBrowser (screenshots here), based on Python, is being developed separately for Unix-like systems.
  • Does AWB work on other projects/languages?
    Many WikiMedia projects and languages are supported, see the "User and project preferences" option in the general menu. Other languages will be added on request, though at the moment the interface is always in English. You are also able to use AWB with third-party wikis: Options > Preferences > Site, you can change the wiki there. The wiki must support the Bot API required by AWB. This means that it should have latest HEAD version of MediaWiki or something close to that. The wmf-deployment branch is also recommended, as this is what is currently live on WMF sites.
  • AWB puts stubs after categories, though categories are always rendered the last by MediaWiki?
    According to WP:STUB#Categorizing stubs, By convention this is placed at the end of the article, after the External links section, any navigation templates, and the category tags, so that the stub category will appear last. If your wiki uses other order, please let us know here.
  • I don't like or use Internet Explorer; please use Firefox instead.
    AWB does not use Internet Explorer per se. It does, however, use the same web browser control (MSHTML) as Internet Explorer; the equivalent Firefox component does not provide the needed functionality.
  • How do I open the page in another browser if I can't use the one in AWB?
    Right click on the edit box in the bottom right side of your screen. Select "Open page in browser".
  • How do I edit a page that doesn't exist?
    Uncheck "Ignore non existing pages" in the "Skip articles" box.
  • How do I skip certain articles?
    Use the "Skip if contains" and "Skip if doesn't contain" on the "Skip" tab
  • Can't you leave up a "stable" version, so I don't have to download new versions?
    It is important to keep people up to date with the latest versions, because their use of the software doesn't just affect them, but the whole of Wikipedia. As any bugs that remain will be trivial; hopefully releases won't be too frequent.
  • How can I stop AWB clicking when it changes pages?
    This is a Windows sound theme setting. This page explains how to turn off the clicking sound.
    Alternatively, delete the following key from the Windows registry:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Current
  • AWB randomly crashes upon page load on my system, and I always use a browser other than Internet Explorer when using Wikipedia.'
    You may have installed custom scripts incompatible with IE. Wrap the contents of your monobook.js into conditional:
               //Detect IE5.5+
               if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE")==-1)
               {
                   // Previous contents go here
                   ....
               }
  • I get Just In Time Debugger Messages when loading AWB/loading pages
    In Internet Explorer, go to Tools --> Options --> Advanced. Make sure 'Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer)' and 'Disable Script Debugging (Other)' Are both checked. Press apply and close.
  • When I do a clean install of AutoWikiBrowser the application seems to find old setting data somewhere. I'd like to do a really clean install. Any ideas?
    Clean up your registry and remove the folder "C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Local Settings\Application Data\AutoWikiBrowser" (Windows XP) or "C:\Users\user name\AppData\Local\AutoWikiBrowser\" (Windows 7). Note that the application data folder may be hidden.
  • AWB prompts that there a newer version but won't update
    Check you AWBUpdater version. Current version is 2.0.0.7. If you have an older version, you have to download the latest AWB version and make a clean install.

Discussion

This talk page is automatically archived by MiszaBot I. Any sections older than 7 days are automatically archived to Wikipedia talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Archive 20. Sections without timestamps are not archived.

Is there a category that prevents AWB edits?

It keeps messing up tables by removing spaces between sources causing the ref columns to become a mess. It also rearranges the refs, making it difficult to figure out what refs are for what when there aren't any quotes in the refs. -- Jeandré, 2010-09-14t16:02z

Try {{bots|deny=AWB}}. –xenotalk 16:04, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Many thanks. -- Jeandré, 2010-09-14t16:24z
Can you tell in which page happens that? -- Magioladitis (talk) 16:20, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
[1] -- Jeandré, 2010-09-14t16:24z
They show fine to me in both version. I presume it depends on the screen resolution. -- Magioladitis (talk) 16:35, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Nothing related to screen resolution, user just doesn't like lack of spaces between consecutive refs in table. Rjwilmsi 21:00, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
They look fine to me (Opera, if it matters). What is the problem supposed to be? Mr Stephen (talk) 21:06, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I don't see the difference. The page looks like crap either way.—Chowbok ☠ 21:56, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

We should not prevent bot edits in a page if there isn't a good reason to do so. -- Magioladitis (talk) 21:39, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

On the other hand, is there any consensus outside AWB for the edits in question? If not, the rest of Wikipedia might start deciding that is a good reason. Art LaPella (talk) 22:07, 14 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

You've got new message window in AWB

Is counterproductive, IMO: it is almost hidden on 1024x768 displays and blocks AWB operation. Suggest disabling (or improving) this feature. Materialscientist (talk) 05:40, 15 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The idea is to block AWB operation because the message may concern edits made with AWB. -- Magioladitis (talk) 07:14, 15 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I understand the idea, but its implementation is not correct, as any message effectively blocks AWB. Blocks, because AWB does not provide an easy way to read the message; its asks "default browser", which message is (i) invisible on 1024x768 screen, and (ii) breaks if default browser is misconfigured. Further, a talk page attack (4chan, for example, which do occur) effectively blocks AWB, but it does not (and should not) block WP editing. Materialscientist (talk) 07:20, 15 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You apparently have an older version of AWB. We have now simplified the box to a single button "View" which is accessible by only pressing enter. Please download a snapshot or wait a couple of weeks for the new release. -- Magioladitis (talk) 08:06, 15 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Changing floruit fl. in templates

I think I have come across a problem:

I am updating {{DNB Cite}} using AWB I noticed that there is a problem with the alteration it makes to fl. within the template. This is apparently not a new problem because Rich Farmbrough fell foul of it with this edit back in April. The problem is that templates such as {{DNB Cite}} wrap the parameter passed into them up in square brackets, so add more brackets breaks the wrapping. I think it will affect any template that creates a link to a sister project such as {{catholic}} and {{1911}}.

  • {{1911}}
    • without the mod  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Packe, Christopher (fl. 1796". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
    • with the mod  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Packe, Christopher (fl. 1796|Packe, Christopher (fl. 1796]]". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Also it can also affect the cite templates when the url= field is set:

-- PBS (talk) 06:26, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, I'll disable the fix for pages using the {{1911}} template. Rjwilmsi 07:29, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
 Done rev 7134 Disabled within templates. Rjwilmsi 09:03, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Could someone update the SVN please

I was wondering if it would be possible for someone to update the SVN. Its currently up to 7130something and the one thats posted is 7069. --Kumioko (talk) 12:47, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I 'll tell Reedy. I hope we have a new release till the end of month. -- Magioladitis (talk) 13:10, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. --Kumioko (talk) 13:11, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Done —Reedy 09:51, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

HTML Scraper?

In the Make List window, what are the sources "HTML Scraper" and "HTML Scraper (Advanced Regex)" supposed to do? I looked at the user manual, but there are no descriptions next to these options. Thanks! GoingBatty (talk) 17:28, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

They get articles from HTML pages such as some of the WP:CHECKWIKI error-specific reports. Rjwilmsi 18:39, 16 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

A bad interaction between AWB and Citation Bot 1

User:Citation bot 1 likes to add "[[Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats]]" into the body of a reference (Example). This seems messy to me, but I guess the intention is that whoever fixes the reference will also remove the category. When AWB comes along it wants to move the category to the bottom of the page, where it will surely get forgotten. Any ideas? -- John of Reading (talk) 15:58, 19 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe change the bot so that it adds a template that adds the category instead of doing it directly? Svick (talk) 16:07, 19 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with that. Categories separated from the other categories doesn't sound a good idea. -- Magioladitis (talk) 21:12, 19 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Adding categories like Citation bot is doing is a horrible idea. If inconsistent references is something that we want editors to worry about (not clear to me as it is so pervasive) I would agree that adding a template that implicitly adds the category is a MUCH better idea. Jason Quinn (talk) 07:54, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
To minimize the potential for bugs, I want to restrict the activities of the bot to the content of reference templates themselves. Within this framework, let me know when you have determined the optimal behaviour of the bot and I will implement it. Martin (Smith609 – Talk) (Citation bot maintainer) 16:22, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Assuming that User:Citation bot 1 does need to track certain articles that it has edited, we seem to be agreed that a template call would be much better than the existing category call. The template definition could then place the article into the category. I'd be interested to know who or what is making use of the tracking category, though. Also, given a templated solution there would be no need for the category, since a "what links here" of the template would do the same job.
If no-one diagrees with this in the next 24 hours, I'll alert the bot owner -- John of Reading (talk) 13:31, 22 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

fixing page range dashes using AWB

I noticed that AWB is replacing "-" with "–" in page ranges. Would not "–" be better than the explicit character? Jason Quinn (talk) 07:50, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I think it's better as the Unicode character, this follows the documentation at WP:DASH etc. Rjwilmsi 09:06, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Maybe you are right. Has this changed something in the last year or so? I seem to remember that "–" was preferred at some point. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly. Jason Quinn (talk) 11:02, 21 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
You might be remembering this. I don't know if any consensus has been demonstrated. Art LaPella (talk) 23:58, 21 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Trouble with preview

Today I've been having trouble with the preview function. If I edit a page and then press the preview button, It says "Previewing" in the status line and then it says "Restarting" and starts counting down. When the count down is complete the page is reloaded. No preview window appears.

It was working fine yesterday. Since the problem started I have tried removing and reinstalling AWB, cleaning the register, using a fresh default.xml file, etc. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can get things working correctly again? –droll [chat] 07:28, 22 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. I'm using version 5.0.3.0 on XP with .NET 2.0. Internet Explorer version is 8.0 –droll [chat] 07:36, 22 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I saw this happen yesterday as well. I was using 5.0.3.1 on XP. LilHelpa (talk) 10:12, 22 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Reedy said there's a problem with the API which means the API preview function has been disabled (temporarily I suppose). Rjwilmsi 11:35, 22 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Yup, the API functions we use to generate the HTML and such to display previews was disabled yesterday (due to some abuse which cause the servers major problems), and as such, there are a few things that are broken now. It should be the minority (editing, list building etc still work). It is indeed temporary. Roan is looking at the issue hopefully soon, and as such, it shouldn't be a problem for too long. —Reedy 12:27, 22 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
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