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Revision as of 17:18, 28 October 2008 editCkatz (talk | contribs)Administrators82,941 edits →Using the tool for inconsequential/minor edits: Oppose← Previous edit Latest revision as of 02:24, 8 January 2025 edit undoBD2412 (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, IP block exemptions, Administrators2,454,428 edits →Should have limitation on certain parameters of templates: I would like the AWB window (top image) to look more like the Misplaced Pages edit window (bottom image) 
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{{AWB}}
This is the discussion page for the AutoWikiBrowser (AWB) project. It is also the place to discuss using the AWB program (for help, questions, or general inquiries about AWB). Specific guidelines on where to make particular reports or requests are provided in the ''']''' section below. Before asking a question, please refer to the '''read the ]''' below.

{{archive box| {{archive box|auto=yes|search=yes|bot=lowercase sigmabot III|age=30}}
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{{User:HBC Archive Indexerbot/OptIn|target=Misplaced Pages talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Archive index|mask=Misplaced Pages talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Archive <#>|leading_zeros=0|indexhere=yes}} {{User:HBC Archive Indexerbot/OptIn|target=Misplaced Pages talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Archive index|mask=Misplaced Pages talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Archive <#>|leading_zeros=0|indexhere=yes}}
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= Before you post = = Before you post =
{| class=wikitable {| class=wikitable
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! Do you want to ... !! Please use ! Do you want to ... !! Please use
|- |-
| Report a bug or request a feature in AWB? || before . You do not need to create another account there; just log in with your global Wikimedia account. ] on how to report bugs and request features on Phabricator.
| Report a bug in AWB? || ]
{{collapse top|1=Report a bug}}
Try to report bugs in the {{em|current}} version of the software. Update to the most recent version and check to make sure your bug has not already been reported on Phabricator. See for advice on how to write bug reports.

Before posting anything related to non-], verify that the site is running a ''recent version'' of MediaWiki with enabled ]. Older versions of MediaWiki or without the Bot API are <em style="color:red;">not supported</em>. Be sure to mention the ''exact'' URL of your wiki.
{{collapse bottom}}
{{collapse top|Request a feature details}}
Please use the feature request button to submit new feature requests. This format helps the developers track and manage requests efficiently. Before submitting, take a moment to search the archives—both and —to see if a similar request has already been discussed.​
{{collapse bottom}}
|- |-
| Report an incorrectly fixed typo? || ] | Report an incorrectly fixed typo? || ]
|- |-
| Request a feature for the next version of AWB? || ] | Request approval to use AWB? || ]
|-
| Request approval to use AWB? || ]
|- |-
| Ask a question about AWB or ask for help? || This page | Ask a question about AWB or ask for help? || This page
|}<!-- ] 00:55, 4 April 2114 (UTC) -->
|}


= Frequently asked questions = = Frequently asked questions =
{{anchor|FAQ}}<!-- ] 00:55, 4 April 2114 (UTC) -->
*''When I start it up I get one of the following errors:
{{collapse top|title=Frequently asked questions}}
**''"The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application.", or
{{Misplaced Pages talk:AutoWikiBrowser/FAQ}}
**''"To run this application, you must first install one of the following versions of the .NET Framework..."''
{{collapse bottom}}
*:This error means your computer does not have the .NET framework version 2 installed properly. You can choose from various versions for download , or you can run ] and select version 2 of the .Net framework from the "Optional Updates" section, if you want the choice made for you.
*When I try to update to the new version 4.0, the updater freezes halfway through.
*:There is a bug in the version 3.9 updater. If you encounter this problem, uninstall AWB, and then re-install the .

*''Does AWB run on Linux or Mac?''
*:Not yet.
*:*A ] has been filed
*:*AWB does not yet start in Wine with ] 1.9 or native Microsoft .NET 2.0. (Wine 0.9.59, AWB 4.3.1.0.)
*:*Please note that problems with AWB on Wine/Mono or Wine/.NET are not reportable AWB bugs.
*:A native version, (screenshots ), based on ], is being developed 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 ] wikis, if you go to the ''General'' menu and select "User and project preferences", you can change the wiki there. The wiki must support the required by AWB. This means that it should have or something close to that.

*''What interwiki link order does AWB use?''
*:The software reads the interwiki sort order from ], which is generally mirrored to reflect the order at ].

*''AWB puts stubs after categories, though categories are always rendered the last by MediaWiki?''
*:According to ], ''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 ].

*''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 (]) 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" in the "(2) Set options" 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 Misplaced Pages. 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. explains how to turn off the clicking sound.
*:Alternatively, delete the following key from the Windows registry:
*::<code>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Explorer\Navigating\.Current</code>

*''AWB randomly crashes upon page load on my system, and I always use a browser other than Internet Explorer when using Misplaced Pages.'''
*:You may have installed custom scripts incompatible with IE. Wrap the contents of ] into conditional:
<pre>
//Detect IE5.5+
if (navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE")==-1)
{
// Previous contents go here
....
}
</pre>
*''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.

===Problems with other software===

* Modified versions of '''monobook.js''' (e.g. to utilise popups, godmode-light etc.): AWB works, but page loading can be slow. Workaround is to disable Active Scripting in Internet Explorer - see ] for more information and workaround.
** Bugs in monobook.js can cause AWB to crash or be unable to load pages. Use the same workaround, or refer to the answer in the FAQ above. If you've updated monobook.js and are experiencing problems, please verify the bug still occurs with a blank monobook.js before reporting it as an AWB bug.
* '''Misplaced Pages Skins''' other than monobook: AWB might not work with other skins due to the skins having bugs.
** Known problem in '''Cologne Blue''' skin: see and ].
* '''NoScript''' (Firefox extension) or other XSS-related extensions: some features such as "Open text in browser" may not work correctly. Workaround for NoScript: Disable the "Sanitize cross-site suspicious requests" option.


=Discussion= =Discussion=
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|}{{User:MiszaBot/config
|algo = old(7d)
|archive = Misplaced Pages talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Archive 19
}}


== AutoWikiBrowser and searching for pages with capture regex. ==
== Mono Compatibility ==


I'm looking for pages that have strings like <nowiki>]</nowiki> So I'd like to search for these with something like <nowiki>\* * *\|\1</nowiki> and while AWB does capture, it looks like that is only for internal, not for looking for them in the first place, is that something that wikipedia or AWB can do, or is this something where I need Cirrus or something else more powerful? ] (]) 22:50, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
See for current issues affecting AWB working successfully on mono.
:Not sure what you are after. You have a specific string 'like' then use a generic form of string search entry. Just plain old search is reasonably powerful. If I search for (articles only) <i>~"Alpha Phi Alpha"</i> I get 799 entries, for <i>~"Alpha Phi Alpha" insource:/\] (]) 23:57, 24 November 2024 (UTC)
:You have to put round brackets into the search string to tell the regex code what <code>\1</code> is intended to match. I began a database scan for <code><nowiki>\* * *)\|\1</nowiki></code> but quickly aborted it; there are tens of thousands of matches. Typical examples are <code><nowiki>]</nowiki></code> and <code><nowiki>]</nowiki></code>. I restricted the search to the names of Greek letters and dumped the results at ] (]) -- ] (]) 08:10, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
::Thank you both. While I expect the majority of occurances to be from a group of 9 Fraternites and Sororities, there are hundreds that are possibilities. John, that is exactly what I wanted, I expected to have to trim down some. What software is needed for that Database scan and is that something a non-admin user will have access to?] (]) 13:50, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
:::{{Re|Naraht}} I used AWB's "]". AWB normally needs ] but if you're only using it to create a list of articles, you can use it without logging in. BUT to use the database scanner, you'll need a copy of the text of Misplaced Pages on your hard drive - the file <code>enwiki-20241120-pages-articles.xml.bz2</code> is a 20 Gigabyte download from , and that has to be uncompressed to 102 Gigabytes before AWB can use it.
:::If you post search requests on this page, I or someone else with a recent database dump will probably respond. -- ] (]) 14:07, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
::::Right now, only 10 GB free on my personal hard drive. Maybe when I buy my next one. :) again thank you.] (]) 18:06, 25 November 2024 (UTC)


== Redlinks ==
Thanks


Hello.
<small>—<font face="Trebuchet MS">''']]'''</font></small> 17:01, 21 October 2008 (UTC)


I don't know if it's technically possible.
== Using the tool for inconsequential/minor edits ==


It's for the French wiki, but I think I have more help here.
Hey, I've removed the access to the tool of two users now for making excessive inconsequential edits (of ). In addition, looking at a recent BRFA, whether their task should be done at all seems to be rather debated, so I would class this as controversial use of the tool. Fyi :) ]''']''' 12:25, 23 October 2008 (UTC)


Is it possible with this tool to remove all red links on a specific page, because red links are not admissible and never will be? For example
:They only seem to be doing what ] is doing ] (]) 13:09, 23 October 2008 (UTC)


::The approval for that task was also revoked. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 13:11, 23 October 2008 (UTC) If it's possible, can I have help with the process? ] (]) 13:01, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
:I'll have to dig through the , but I don't think so... on the other hand, there's an "if template exists" function so there might be an "ifexists" in general. ] (]) 21:00, 3 December 2024 (UTC)
::There is an API that lists the pages linked from a page, and another that will report whether pages in that list exist. AWB already has a mechanism for detecting and unlinking links (the de-duplication function). So all the main pieces are in place, although it would need a new option flag if you wanted to make it happen without interaction. Still, it would be a project, and couldn't be classed as maintenance. ] (]) 22:48, 4 December 2024 (UTC)
:::Thinking about what I wrote: it should be feasible to do the edits in a Module (or possibly a Plugin). Stand by... ] (]) 15:28, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
::::Thank you. ] (]) 09:46, 6 December 2024 (UTC)
:::::Daily stand-up: a module is working on some relatively short articles. Running into an undocumented limit in a MediaWiki API. Higher-priority commitments rn. ] (]) 19:33, 6 December 2024 (UTC)
::::::]; give it a spin. But it's getting late here so I may not respond right away. ] (]) 02:35, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
:::::::If you've read it: yes, I know. I wrote it in a hurry so I'll probably be tweaking it for efficiency and robustness (and bugs :-O ). If you are interested in it, you may want to add the module to your watchlist. ] (]) 14:32, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
:::::::: Wow! You're a genius! ] (]) 14:26, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
::::::::: Thank you! And, of course, I just found a bug (a link with a ' character in it, and possibly other punctuations). Please copy and reload the module. ] (]) 21:07, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
:::::::::: Yes, I had noticed this bug. Thanks ] (]) 08:57, 11 December 2024 (UTC)


== Stub spacing ==
::: is using AWB to make the same kinds of controversial edits as the users whose AWB access was removed. ] (]) 22:52, 26 October 2008 (UTC)
{{Tracked|T382578}}
The requirement for two blank lines before stubs has now been removed. See ] — ] <sup>]</sup> 08:54, 20 December 2024 (UTC)


:Does this mean there is or will be a new version of AWB? I'm currently using version 6.3.1.1. ] (]) 22:26, 20 December 2024 (UTC)
::::Could you point which edits exactly aren't needed? For example, he changes things per MOS, and he adds diacritics, which is also a good things. ]<sup>(])</sup> 04:04, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
:: Due to (19 December 2024) changes to CSS on enwiki, output is now OK with two blank lines, one blank line or no blank line before a stub. AWB no longer ''needs'' to force two lines before a stub for enwiki. No idea about other wikis — ] <sup>]</sup> 23:50, 20 December 2024 (UTC)


== Bot saving blank pages ==
:::::I'm confused about why "Italy" was delinked in . --] 04:14, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


Since there's not much information on this that I'm aware of, I think it's important to keep track of the circumstances that this bug presents itself. Tom.Bot was running on Wikispecies nearly continuously for 2 weeks, from Dec 7 to Dec 21, after 492,026 successful saves in the same instance of AWB before it started intermittently saving blank pages, despite failing a "Skip if doesn't contain" check that I thought would help prevent this problem. Very shortly prior to that, I "Reset saved/skipped counts", which usually produces a large negative "Edits/min" value, which may or may not be related. Before restarting the AWB instance, I reran the bot on some of the blanked pages and they were not blanked again. Restarting the instance fixed the problem. &nbsp;&nbsp;<b>~</b>&nbsp;<span style="font-family:Monotype Corsiva; font-size:16px;">] (] ⋅])</span>&nbsp; 19:40, 22 December 2024 (UTC)
:::::For example, is deleting links to certain (but not all) countries, links to dates, and links to cities. These are the same kinds of deletions that other editors were doing before their AWB rights were revoked. ] (]) 06:05, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
:See also {{slink|User_talk:Primefac/Archive_21#Blanking}}, slightly different setup for skip checks. ] (]) 12:56, 23 December 2024 (UTC)


== Special:Tags ==
::::::TennisExpert (who has not had the courtesy to tell me he was posting against me here) is not happy that I've been adding diacritics, despite the fact that I've been working within the consensus agreed within WikiProject Tennis (see my talk page for a discussion on the subject), and he's therefore trying to attack me via this page. All my edits are significant and in line with the MoS. ] (]) 08:55, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


Is there a way to apply ] (e.g. <code>talk banner shell conversion</code>) to AWB edits? If so, does it consume the already-precious summary buffer? &nbsp;&nbsp;<b>~</b>&nbsp;<span style="font-family:Monotype Corsiva; font-size:16px;">] (] ⋅])</span>&nbsp; 17:04, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
:::::::Why did you delink Italy, and why did you create an "]" link to ]? --] 09:16, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


== Multiple blank lines ==
::::::::I delinked Italy in line with ]
:::::::::"Items that would be familiar to most readers of the article, such as the names of major geographic features and locations, historical events, religions, languages, and common professions"


Hi, this is related to a change I want to do on Wiktionary, is there a way by AWB to change multiple blank lines to a single blank line? Sample:
::::::::And I corrected ] because it links to the the state of Brazil by that name, but clearly what's meant in that context is the city formerly known as Bahia but now called ]. ] (]) 09:56, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
<pre>
====Synonyms====
* ]


:::::::::OK - I understand the Bahia link, and it does appear that that was correct. But why did you leave Brazil linked? Isn't it a "major geographic location"? Where does the line get drawn? Should every country be delinked, or only ]? --] 11:18, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


====Derived terms====
::::::::::Yes, I probably should have unlinked that too, though no doubt someone would have objected if I had. But this isn't the place to debate that kind of detail. ] (]) 11:31, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
* ]

</pre>
:::::::You're (]) obviously too busy doing hundreds (thousands?) of inconsequential/minor edits with AWB to check-out the facts before posting here. If you had, you would have seen that I have not objected to the diacritics you have been adding. And I have not "attacked" you. Geez. ] (]) 18:33, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
to

<pre>
::::::::This is just the kind of abuse and misrepresentation that other editors of tennis articles have had to put up with for a long time. You have a record of edit warring over diacritics and links and of refusing to accept any changes that you personally don't like, even though they're in line with the Manual of Style, while claiming it's because there's "no consensus", even though no other editor will come forward support your view. You had not even the basic courtesy to tell me you were posting against me here. Were you hoping to get me blocked without my even knowing it was being discussed? I've made tens of thousands of edits and not one of them was inconsequential, with AWB or any other way. ] (]) 20:16, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
====Synonyms====

* ]
:::::::::I am interested in your use of AWB being treated in the same way that the use of AWB by other editors to make similar edits is treated. It's as simple as that. I regret that you're treating this as discourteous or an attack. ] (]) 22:07, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

::::::::::I think the participants in this discussion should be aware that you have been reversing many of my delinkings of dates and common terms, in direct contravention of the manual of style. You are clearly determined to have things your own way regardless of consensus, and therefore your views should have no credibility in this forum. ] (]) 11:54, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

Colonies Chris is doing good work by improving the signal to noise ratio of links. There seems to be a worrying trend here. People that don't like implementation of MOS guidance are misusing the phrase 'minor and inconsequential edits'. Something cannot simultaneously be:
* inconsequential
* controversial
* too important to build into 'general fixes'
You can pick any one but you can't have two. ] (]) 10:29, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Let me say that Colonies Chris is a meticulous editor and bot-manager who has a fine track-record of fixing not just trivial links and dates, but typos, misspellings (particularly when it comes to non-English-language items) and the more subtle problems in links he encounters that would elude most editors. He is an important asset to the project and has been working away in the background for some years tightening up these aspects of articles. "Italy" should usually be delinked (see WP:CONTEXT).

I note that User:Tennis expert has had numerous squabbles with his WikiProject colleagues on the issue of diacritics and trivial linking, and has taken it upon himself to doggedly undo the good work of others and, on occasions, to confront them in uncompromising terms (ask ]).

I do not understand the seemingly aggressive approach by some sysops to the use of AWBs to assist WP's editors at large in the massive task of bringing their articles into compliance with our style guides. I would be much more comfortable if the blockings we have witnessed recently were applied as a ''last'' resort after debate and clear communication, not as a ''first''-resort expedient in the absence of any form of natural justice. <small><span class="autosigned">—Preceding ] comment added by ] (] • ]) 11:40, October 27, 2008 (UTC)</span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned -->

:If Colonies Chris is doing a typo fix (including, I suppose, adding a diacritic if the consensus is that the absence is a spelling error)) on every edit then it's not a minor and inconsequential edit. Simply delinking is considered minor and inconsequential and (under the current policy) AWB should not be used for this task. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 12:37, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

::I always unlink etc, in combination with other fixes, but I don't agree at all that this sort of unlinking is inconsequential - articles are improved for having a clutter of valueless links removed. The AWB rule against inconsequential edits quite clearly had in mind the sort of change that's merely obsessive neatness but doesn't bring any visible benefit to the article (alphabetising the categories, for example), and it's being misused to attack editors who are actively improving WP by bringing it into line with its own Manual of Style - the edits that got Lightmouse and Closedmouth into trouble are not inconsequential, they are beneficial.
::And I'll also note that one editor has accused me of acting 'nefariously' by performing spelling corrections and date unlinking in a single edit (he felt I should have done them separately). But of course, if I had, I'd now be in danger of being hauled up before the AWB police - or is this just a one-man campaign by Martinp23?. ] (]) 13:05, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

::::Sorry, I should have said "Martinp23 and his sidekick xeno". It's your opinion that unlinking dates is 'minor and inconsequential', but it's not mine, nor that of many other editors, and it clearly is not what the AWB rule had in mind. And by the way, this page ''is'' WT:AWB. ] (]) 13:20, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

:::::Yes, I was confused as to where we were, and . Anyhow, I'd appreciate if you'd ] and cut out the petty name calling. Present consensus is that these edits are considered minor/inconsequential. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 13:34, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
::::::Xeno I disagree. I don't see clear consensus of the triviality of these 'delinking' edits beyond the opinion of yourself and Martinp23. I think these edits are of consequence and value, in compliance to the style guides, so must be allowed to continue using AWB (or indeed any other way). To block users from making such edits would first require a significant change to WP:CONTEXT and WP:DATE. To have blocked users' access to AWB ''before'' this discussion was inappropriate, per Tony1's comment. Note, any concern over lack of consensus over date delinking is a MOS/WP:DATE issue, not an AWB one, and secondly AWB is not just a tool for fixing typos. ] 13:56, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
:::::::See also this recently denied BRFA: ] which has more discussion on this. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 15:34, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


====Derived terms====
*(outdetn) Xeno, can you point to evidence of this "present consensus", please? On logical grounds, it's an intriguing mystery to me. Are you sure it's not just the opinion of you and your friend Martinp23? I'd like to see this assertion fully justified and evidenced, since it's a major claim. We need to be very careful at this point that justice is seen to be done. I note that administrators are bound by a clear policy that proscribes any admin action in which the admininstrator has a personal stake. This is related to the requirement to avoid a real or apparent conflict of interest. I'd like to be assured that this policy is being observed in any case in which AWB access or usage with respect to style-guide adherence is at issue. It's a critical point. ] ] 13:59, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
* ]
:Sure, just look through the archives of this page or the numerous times that these types of edits have been discussed at AN/I (i.e. ). –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 14:10, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
</pre> ] (]) 08:11, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
:You can make a strict regex rule to replace <code>(\n\*+\]\])\s*\n\s*\n\s*\n\s*(==)</code> with <code>$1\n\n$2</code>, which will reduce 2 or more blank lines down to 1.
:You can also make a more liberal rule to replace <code>(\n\*+\]\])\s*\n\s*(==)</code> with <code>$1\n\n$2</code>, which will also expand from 0 blank lines up to 1. &nbsp;&nbsp;<b>~</b>&nbsp;<span style="font-family:Monotype Corsiva; font-size:16px;">] (] ⋅])</span>&nbsp; 09:28, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
::I think there is a simpler replacement: find <code>(\S\n)\s+(\n\S)</code> → <code>$1$2</code>. ] (]) 13:13, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
:::<s>What about ]?</s> Oh yeah, now that ] is automagic, that's probably safe. &nbsp;&nbsp;<b>~</b>&nbsp;<span style="font-family:Monotype Corsiva; font-size:16px;">] (] ⋅])</span>&nbsp; 14:40, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
::::Thank you both for your help :)) ] (]) 17:46, 1 January 2025 (UTC)


==Hatnote order==
Lots of discussion, but no evidence of consensus that delinking is trivial. If you don't agree with implementing the MOS, just say so. ] (]) 14:27, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
This afternoon, {{u|Primefac}} pointed out to me that certain edits I was making were putting the hatnotes in wrong order in a set of articles, as .
:Again, conflating the issue. Enable typo fix -> Skip if no typo fixed -> Check every edit. Or have a bot approved for this task. This is not about the MOS, this is about AWB. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 14:31, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
::Is my eyesight that poor? I'm having a great deal of difficulty in locating exactly where this "consensus" is in the link that Xeno provided just above in support of his/her assertion that there is a "present consensus". Can you point out exactly where it is on that page (or elsewhere, if you mistakenly pasted in the wrong link), and I'd be grateful. In addition, please note the official policy concerning the ] "appropriate (as guided by Misplaced Pages's policies and guidelines) warnings prior to their actions". It does not appear that appropriate communication occurred before the blocking of Lightmouse's access to the AWB facility, for example, if several people here are still flumoxed by the lack of logic in the assertion that some edits in question are "inconsequential" (or aren't—my head is spinning). The lack of communication and the fog surrounding the claimed "present consensus" suggests that actions are being justified on the hop, although I'm quite ready to be convinced otherwise. ] ] 14:57, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
:::Consensus has existed for quite some time that minor and inconsequential edits should not be the sole purpose of one's AWB edits. Your line of reasoning however, seems to center around the characterization of date delinking as a minor and inconsequential edit. While I see this as self-evident, perhaps you do not? A straw poll, then? –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 15:29, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


Think is, I was running a similar task last night, and and other similar edits came out OK. And the only thing I've changed between now and then is uploaded a new list of articles. I've changed none of the AWB settings I was using.
The whole purpose of AWB is to support small edits. The 'minor and inconsequential' edits rule was put there to avoid server burden for edits that are not noticeable like removing double spaces. It wasn't put there to permit one editor to stop another editor from carrying out good work. That is just abuse of power. ] (]) 14:51, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


Any idea what might be causing the discrepancy? --<span style="font-family:Old English Text MT">]</span><sup>]</sup><sub>]</sub> 17:42, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
*Sorry, one more point: I'm most concerned to see that when placing Lightmouse on a list of "blacklisted unsernames", User:Martinp23 has used the term "ban" rather than "block", which carries a quite different meaning and appears to be inconsistent with the remainder of the edit summary ("ban lightmouse, for now"). I wonder whether this can be explained. ] ] 15:04, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
**While I don't want to speak for Martinp23, I believe the reason was because Lightmouse had his access removed, did not address the issue for the removal, and then quietly re-requested access without seeking approval from the person who removed his access (then continued to make the "minor/inconsequential" edits presently under discussion). Thus, I gather he was placed on the banlist to prevent this from re-occuring. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 15:27, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
::::Was this explained and discussed with LM or anyone else at the time? It seems like an arbitrary process in which such decisions could be wide open to abuse. The communication issue is just one. ] ] 15:48, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
::It is clear that a number of people here do not see ''any'' logic in this assertion. Indeed, my reading of what has been going on suggests that the charge has been trumped up on the basis of a pre-existing rule that was not created for anything like this purpose. It is important that this issue be resolved without delay—I'd have thought pure logic and a reading of the intent of the "inconsequential" rule would be enough to dispell such use of it; otherwise, it will be possible using this precedent at a whim to classify as "inconsequential" a large range of edits that spare editors the manual labour of complying with the style guides. It's clearly open to abuse. ] ] 15:38, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


:Do you think that AWB itself is changing the order of these hatnotes? Could you include the regex you're using to add the {{tl|Use mdy dates}} template? ] (]) 18:59, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
:::As suggested above perhaps the next step would be a straw poll to determine if this date delinking is something that is or is not covered under the minor/inconsequential edit umbrella. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 15:50, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
::{{ping|Kiwipete}} Apologies, I've been out all day. Came home and did a little tinkering to see if I could isolate more of the issue before I came here.
::To answer your question: I simply put "<nowiki>{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}</nowiki>" into the "Append/Prepend text" window, marked "Prepend", and checked the box "Sort metadata after". In every instance over the past few days where I have checked and double-checked, that has been sufficient. (To answer your other question: AWB wasn't changing the order of anything. Rather, in it's properly sorting the metadata ''after'' introducing the new hatnote. In , it is ''not''. It is inserting the hatnote and moving on. (A module might fix this, and I haven't had the time to experiment with it today.))
::HOWEVER: I found the issue ''again'' on another television article from another batch: see .
::The two incorrect articles are about television seasons, and I'm wondering if the problem has something to do with the <nowiki>{{italictitle}}</nowiki> template and its siblings. That's the only common denominator I can think of.
::(And please excuse any lack of clarity in my response here - I am ''severely'' non-technological, and consequently it's a minor miracle that I've gotten as far as I have in targeting this issue.) --<span style="font-family:Old English Text MT">]</span><sup>]</sup><sub>]</sub> 07:17, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
:Why did you add a blank line between <code><nowiki>{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}</nowiki></code> & <code><nowiki>{{Infobox Arizona Legislature</nowiki></code> ? &nbsp;&nbsp;<b>~</b>&nbsp;<span style="font-family:Monotype Corsiva; font-size:16px;">] (] ⋅])</span>&nbsp; 20:41, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
::{{ping|Tom.Reding}} Wrong "newlines" setting, sorry. --<span style="font-family:Old English Text MT">]</span><sup>]</sup><sub>]</sub> 07:10, 5 January 2025 (UTC)


== Should have limitation on certain parameters of templates ==
'''Yes, date unlinking is of consequence'''
#'''date/common term delinking is of consequence''', so is a valid use of AWB on its own. ] 21:10, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
# <font color="amaranth">]</font>''''' <sup><font color="green">]</font></sup>'''''<sub><font color="purple">]</font></sub> 00:45, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
# ] (]) 10:57, 28 October 2008 (UTC) Date delinking is a valid use of AWB.
# Yes, date and common term delinking are consequential and beneficial uses of AWB. ] (]) 11:49, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
#The delinking of dates, other chronological terms, and common terms that most English-speakers are likely to be familiar with is of great consequence, since it significantly improves the workings of our wikilink facility through reducing the dilution of high-value links. The task appears to be ideally suited to AWB application, and it is proper that editors be spared the manual labour of complying with such important requirements of the style guides. ] ] 13:12, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
#Looking at the examples given of "inconsequential" edits (removing whitespace etc. – all things that would be barely noticeable to readers of articles), delinking certainly doesn't seem to fall into that category.--] (]) 14:58, 28 October 2008 (UTC)


AWB should have restriction on certain parameters of citation templates. see this ]. It has put a space after comma at url parameter and causes ]. It's ok to have AWB on title parameter of citation templates.––]<sup>(])(])</sup> 18:01, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
'''No, date unlinking is an inconsequential edit'''
:Also consider this ].––]<sup>(])(])</sup> 18:08, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
#''If there is consensus'' for date unlinking it should only be done during other more necessary edits such as typo fixing. –<font face="Verdana">] (])</font> 12:27, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
::{{Re|KEmel49}} AWB is very configurable and is used for different tasks by different editors. Problems with AWB edits should be raised first with the editor making them.
#Date delinking should be done only with other, more substantial edits, whether using AWB or not. Don't clog up watchlists with edits that are trivial. --] | ] 14:58, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
::{{Ping|BD2412}} Do your regular expressions have something to stop them editing URLs? I tack <code><nowiki>(?<!https?://\<\>]*)</nowiki></code> on to the end of some of mine, and that works 99% of the time. -- ] (]) 18:56, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
#There is no reason to use AWB for trivial matters such as the removal of date links alone. --''']'''''<small><sup>]</sup><sub>]</sub></small>'' 17:18, 28 October 2008 (UTC)
::: I generally just eyeball it. 99% of the time, there are just one or two clear errors on the page. What would actually help more would be for the changes to show up more prominently in the AWB edit window. Give me a few minutes and I'll mock up a concept. ] ] 19:23, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
:::: Okay, that was more than a few minutes, but I would like the AWB window (top image) to look more like the Misplaced Pages edit window (bottom image):


]
== Additions to AWB suggestions ==


]
Don't know if this is the place for proposals (please educate me), but here goes anyway: I believe consecutive wikilinks, which should be avoided per ], should be added to the AWB suggestions. <span style="font-family:lucida sans, console;">''''']'''''</span> 10:34, 25 October 2008 (UTC)
:You're welcome to add feature requests on the ] page. Please make it clear what you want, provide examples and link to Misplaced Pages manual/policy pages supporting the concept. Thanks ] 10:47, 25 October 2008 (UTC)


:::: In fact, what would be ideal would be for the entire URL to be highlighted in the AWB window when an edit was changing its structure, and/or for AWB to have an alert for that in the alert window. ] ] 21:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
== Is it possible to get a list of pages that appear in multiple subcategories? ==


== Can't save at all ==
I would like a list of pages that appear in at least two subcategories of ], like ] (which is in ], ], and ]). I know that I can recurse one level to get a full list of articles, and any repeated ones will be in more than one, but is there any way to pull out those repeated ones? --] 03:59, 27 October 2008 (UTC)


When I try to save any edits with AWB, it justs says "Saving", then "Restarting in 10", waits 10 seconds and re-scans the same page. No edits are made, and nothing appears in the log. Every time I click save, the wait increases by five seconds. ] <sub>]</sub> 19:39, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
== Determine whether typo fixing enabled in external module? ==
:None of your edits appear to show an AWB tag so has it ever worked for you? ] (]) 21:50, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
::No, I have just been given permission recently, but I am on the checkpage.
::Maybe it's something silly I'm doing wrong, as I'm a complete beginner in this program.
::Any help much appreciated.
::] <sub>]</sub> 06:33, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
:::It ''was'' something silly indeed. I had not given my bot password sufficient permissions {{facepalm}}.
:::My issue is {{solved}}
:::Thanks!
:::] <sub>]</sub> 06:42, 5 January 2025 (UTC)


==Wheel arrangement==
For an enhancement to my external module I'd like to be able to know whether 'enable typo fixing' is checked in AWB. Is there a method I can call to get the answer? If no I will raise a feature request. Thanks ] 13:59, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
was flagged up as an error, see edit summary of following edit. ] (]) 20:56, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
:Redrose64 pinged me on a couple of these as well, however they are hard to spot against various other edits. Perhaps the regex could be rejected if the article contains the string 'locomotive' or similar? ] (]) 00:39, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
::As that's from typo fixing, I suggest the issue is raised ]. ] 09:40, 7 January 2025 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 02:24, 8 January 2025

AutoWikiBrowser 6.3.1.1

Start a new discussion

This is the discussion page for the AutoWikiBrowser (AWB) project. It is also the place to discuss using the AWB program (for help, questions, or general inquiries about AWB). Specific guidelines on where to make particular reports or requests are provided in the § Before you post section below. Before asking a question, please refer to the read the § Frequently asked questions below.

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This page has archives. Sections older than 30 days may be automatically archived by Lowercase sigmabot III.

Before you post

Do you want to ... Please use
Report a bug or request a feature in AWB? Check reported bugs on Phabricator before filing a new bug report. You do not need to create another account there; just log in with your global Wikimedia account. See this MediaWiki wiki page on how to report bugs and request features on Phabricator.
Report a bug

Try to report bugs in the current version of the software. Update to the most recent version and check to make sure your bug has not already been reported on Phabricator. See How to Report Bugs Effectively for advice on how to write bug reports.

Before posting anything related to non-Wikimedia Foundation wikis, verify that the site is running a recent version of MediaWiki with enabled Bot API. Older versions of MediaWiki or without the Bot API are not supported. Be sure to mention the exact URL of your wiki.

Request a feature details

Please use the feature request button to submit new feature requests. This format helps the developers track and manage requests efficiently. Before submitting, take a moment to search the archives—both on-wiki and on Phabricator—to see if a similar request has already been discussed.​

Report an incorrectly fixed typo? Misplaced Pages talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Typos
Request approval to use AWB? Misplaced Pages:Requests for permissions/AutoWikiBrowser
Ask a question about AWB or ask for help? This page

Frequently asked questions

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 Windows 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?
  • Does AWB work on other projects and 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.
  • Under Windows Vista (and newer), AWB is using wrong font size, which results in clipped text and lost buttons and options, (see example here). How to fix it?Tracked in Phabricator
    Task T103506
    • Solution #1: Go to "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Display" and switch resizing of the fonts to 100%.
    • Solution #2: Right click on AutoWikiBrowser.exe --> Properties -> Compatibility (tab) --> enable the "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" option or for Windows 10, if available, select System (Enhanced).
  • AWB puts stubs after categories, though categories are always rendered the last by MediaWiki?
    According to WP:STUB#Categorizing stubs, by convention they are 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 another 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 Misplaced Pages. 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 Misplaced Pages.
    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.
  • Why does AWB run very, very slowly if I try to make changes in the edit window on larger pages, especially pages with long lists or tables?
    If running on Windows, exit the Speech Recognition software that is built into some versions of Windows; don't just turn it 'Off', you must 'Exit' the software if you have started up Speech Recognition.
  • 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 is a newer version but won't update
    Check the version number of your AWBUpdater.exe. The current version is 2.4.0.0. If you have an older version, you have to download the latest AWB version and make a clean install.
  • Which .NET Framework version do I have?
    You can find your .NET Framework version in Help → About box.
  • Where are the default settings stored?
    • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Application Data\AutoWikiBrowser
    • Windows Vista onwards: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\AutoWikiBrowser\Default.xml
  • I cannot copy text from the diff window using the Control+C keyboard shortcut.
    You must have Microsoft.mshtml.dll available for AWB to use for this functionality to work. You can try downloading the file (there are a number of third-party websites offering DLL file downloads) and putting it in the same folder as AutoWikiBrowser.exe. This is reported not to work for all users, presumably due to .NET Framework problems.
  • Is there any way to set AWB to not use https? (GFW blocks 443 port)
    In preferences, set project to "custom". Set the left box to http. In the webpage box, type en.wikipedia.org/w/ (English Misplaced Pages) or zh.wikipedia.org/w/ (Chinese Misplaced Pages). Note that leaving off the /w/ will result in a "root element missing" error.
  • How do I login to AWB with accounts enabled with two-factor authentication?
    You should use a bot password. Despite the name, they aren't just for bots. See Misplaced Pages:Using AWB with 2FA.

Discussion

AutoWikiBrowser and searching for pages with capture regex.

I'm looking for pages that have strings like ] So I'd like to search for these with something like \* * *\|\1 and while AWB does capture, it looks like that is only for internal, not for looking for them in the first place, is that something that wikipedia or AWB can do, or is this something where I need Cirrus or something else more powerful? Naraht (talk) 22:50, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

Not sure what you are after. You have a specific string 'like' then use a generic form of string search entry. Just plain old search is reasonably powerful. If I search for (articles only) ~"Alpha Phi Alpha" I get 799 entries, for ~"Alpha Phi Alpha" insource:/\
You have to put round brackets into the search string to tell the regex code what \1 is intended to match. I began a database scan for \* * *)\|\1 but quickly aborted it; there are tens of thousands of matches. Typical examples are ] and ]. I restricted the search to the names of Greek letters and dumped the results at User:John of Reading/X2 (permalink) -- John of Reading (talk) 08:10, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
Thank you both. While I expect the majority of occurances to be from a group of 9 Fraternites and Sororities, there are hundreds that are possibilities. John, that is exactly what I wanted, I expected to have to trim down some. What software is needed for that Database scan and is that something a non-admin user will have access to?Naraht (talk) 13:50, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
@Naraht: I used AWB's "Database Scanner". AWB normally needs this permission but if you're only using it to create a list of articles, you can use it without logging in. BUT to use the database scanner, you'll need a copy of the text of Misplaced Pages on your hard drive - the file enwiki-20241120-pages-articles.xml.bz2 is a 20 Gigabyte download from partway down this page, and that has to be uncompressed to 102 Gigabytes before AWB can use it.
If you post search requests on this page, I or someone else with a recent database dump will probably respond. -- John of Reading (talk) 14:07, 25 November 2024 (UTC)
Right now, only 10 GB free on my personal hard drive. Maybe when I buy my next one. :) again thank you.Naraht (talk) 18:06, 25 November 2024 (UTC)

Redlinks

Hello.

I don't know if it's technically possible.

It's for the French wiki, but I think I have more help here.

Is it possible with this tool to remove all red links on a specific page, because red links are not admissible and never will be? For example here

If it's possible, can I have help with the process? Bordurie (talk) 13:01, 2 December 2024 (UTC)

I'll have to dig through the code, but I don't think so... on the other hand, there's an "if template exists" function so there might be an "ifexists" in general. Primefac (talk) 21:00, 3 December 2024 (UTC)
There is an API that lists the pages linked from a page, and another that will report whether pages in that list exist. AWB already has a mechanism for detecting and unlinking links (the de-duplication function). So all the main pieces are in place, although it would need a new option flag if you wanted to make it happen without interaction. Still, it would be a project, and couldn't be classed as maintenance. David Brooks (talk) 22:48, 4 December 2024 (UTC)
Thinking about what I wrote: it should be feasible to do the edits in a Module (or possibly a Plugin). Stand by... David Brooks (talk) 15:28, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
Thank you. Bordurie (talk) 09:46, 6 December 2024 (UTC)
Daily stand-up: a module is working on some relatively short articles. Running into an undocumented limit in a MediaWiki API. Higher-priority commitments rn. David Brooks (talk) 19:33, 6 December 2024 (UTC)
User:DavidBrooks/UndoRelinksModule; give it a spin. But it's getting late here so I may not respond right away. David Brooks (talk) 02:35, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
If you've read it: yes, I know. I wrote it in a hurry so I'll probably be tweaking it for efficiency and robustness (and bugs :-O ). If you are interested in it, you may want to add the module to your watchlist. David Brooks (talk) 14:32, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
Wow! You're a genius! It works! Bordurie (talk) 14:26, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
Thank you! And, of course, I just found a bug (a link with a ' character in it, and possibly other punctuations). Please copy and reload the module. David Brooks (talk) 21:07, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
Yes, I had noticed this bug. Thanks Bordurie (talk) 08:57, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

Stub spacing

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T382578

The requirement for two blank lines before stubs has now been removed. See WP:STUBSPACING — GhostInTheMachine 08:54, 20 December 2024 (UTC)

Does this mean there is or will be a new version of AWB? I'm currently using version 6.3.1.1. Kiwipete (talk) 22:26, 20 December 2024 (UTC)
Due to (19 December 2024) changes to CSS on enwiki, output is now OK with two blank lines, one blank line or no blank line before a stub. AWB no longer needs to force two lines before a stub for enwiki. No idea about other wikis — GhostInTheMachine 23:50, 20 December 2024 (UTC)

Bot saving blank pages

Since there's not much information on this that I'm aware of, I think it's important to keep track of the circumstances that this bug presents itself. Tom.Bot was running on Wikispecies nearly continuously for 2 weeks, from Dec 7 to Dec 21, after 492,026 successful saves in the same instance of AWB before it started intermittently saving blank pages, despite failing a "Skip if doesn't contain" check that I thought would help prevent this problem. Very shortly prior to that, I "Reset saved/skipped counts", which usually produces a large negative "Edits/min" value, which may or may not be related. Before restarting the AWB instance, I reran the bot on some of the blanked pages and they were not blanked again. Restarting the instance fixed the problem.   ~ Tom.Reding (talk ⋅dgaf)  19:40, 22 December 2024 (UTC)

See also User talk:Primefac/Archive 21 § Blanking, slightly different setup for skip checks. Primefac (talk) 12:56, 23 December 2024 (UTC)

Special:Tags

Is there a way to apply Special:Tags (e.g. talk banner shell conversion) to AWB edits? If so, does it consume the already-precious summary buffer?   ~ Tom.Reding (talk ⋅dgaf)  17:04, 28 December 2024 (UTC)

Multiple blank lines

Hi, this is related to a change I want to do on Wiktionary, is there a way by AWB to change multiple blank lines to a single blank line? Sample: 

====Synonyms====
* ]
====Derived terms====
* ]

to 

====Synonyms====
* ]
====Derived terms====
* ]

Svartava (talk) 08:11, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

You can make a strict regex rule to replace (\n\*+\]\])\s*\n\s*\n\s*\n\s*(==) with $1\n\n$2, which will reduce 2 or more blank lines down to 1.
You can also make a more liberal rule to replace (\n\*+\]\])\s*\n\s*(==) with $1\n\n$2, which will also expand from 0 blank lines up to 1.   ~ Tom.Reding (talk ⋅dgaf)  09:28, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
I think there is a simpler replacement: find (\S\n)\s+(\n\S) → $1$2. Primefac (talk) 13:13, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
What about WP:STUBSPACING? Oh yeah, now that WP:STUBSPACING is automagic, that's probably safe.   ~ Tom.Reding (talk ⋅dgaf)  14:40, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
Thank you both for your help :)) Svartava (talk) 17:46, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Hatnote order

This afternoon, Primefac pointed out to me that certain edits I was making were putting the hatnotes in wrong order in a set of articles, as here.

Think is, I was running a similar task last night, and this and other similar edits came out OK. And the only thing I've changed between now and then is uploaded a new list of articles. I've changed none of the AWB settings I was using.

Any idea what might be causing the discrepancy? --Ser Amantio di NicolaoLo dicono a Signa. 17:42, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

Do you think that AWB itself is changing the order of these hatnotes? Could you include the regex you're using to add the {{Use mdy dates}} template? Kiwipete (talk) 18:59, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
@Kiwipete: Apologies, I've been out all day. Came home and did a little tinkering to see if I could isolate more of the issue before I came here.
To answer your question: I simply put "{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}" into the "Append/Prepend text" window, marked "Prepend", and checked the box "Sort metadata after". In every instance over the past few days where I have checked and double-checked, that has been sufficient. (To answer your other question: AWB wasn't changing the order of anything. Rather, in this instance it's properly sorting the metadata after introducing the new hatnote. In this instance, it is not. It is inserting the hatnote and moving on. (A module might fix this, and I haven't had the time to experiment with it today.))
HOWEVER: I found the issue again on another television article from another batch: see here.
The two incorrect articles are about television seasons, and I'm wondering if the problem has something to do with the {{italictitle}} template and its siblings. That's the only common denominator I can think of.
(And please excuse any lack of clarity in my response here - I am severely non-technological, and consequently it's a minor miracle that I've gotten as far as I have in targeting this issue.) --Ser Amantio di NicolaoLo dicono a Signa. 07:17, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
Why did you add a blank line between {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} & {{Infobox Arizona Legislature here?   ~ Tom.Reding (talk ⋅dgaf)  20:41, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
@Tom.Reding: Wrong "newlines" setting, sorry. --Ser Amantio di NicolaoLo dicono a Signa. 07:10, 5 January 2025 (UTC)

Should have limitation on certain parameters of templates

AWB should have restriction on certain parameters of citation templates. see this diff. It has put a space after comma at url parameter and causes CS1 error. It's ok to have AWB on title parameter of citation templates.––kemel49 18:01, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

Also consider this diff.––kemel49 18:08, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
@KEmel49: AWB is very configurable and is used for different tasks by different editors. Problems with AWB edits should be raised first with the editor making them.
@BD2412: Do your regular expressions have something to stop them editing URLs? I tack (?<!https?://\<\>]*) on to the end of some of mine, and that works 99% of the time. -- John of Reading (talk) 18:56, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
I generally just eyeball it. 99% of the time, there are just one or two clear errors on the page. What would actually help more would be for the changes to show up more prominently in the AWB edit window. Give me a few minutes and I'll mock up a concept. BD2412 T 19:23, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
Okay, that was more than a few minutes, but I would like the AWB window (top image) to look more like the Misplaced Pages edit window (bottom image):

In fact, what would be ideal would be for the entire URL to be highlighted in the AWB window when an edit was changing its structure, and/or for AWB to have an alert for that in the alert window. BD2412 T 21:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

Can't save at all

When I try to save any edits with AWB, it justs says "Saving", then "Restarting in 10", waits 10 seconds and re-scans the same page. No edits are made, and nothing appears in the log. Every time I click save, the wait increases by five seconds. Milo8505 (talk) 19:39, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

None of your edits appear to show an AWB tag so has it ever worked for you? Neils51 (talk) 21:50, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
No, I have just been given permission recently, but I am on the checkpage.
Maybe it's something silly I'm doing wrong, as I'm a complete beginner in this program.
Any help much appreciated.
Milo8505 (talk) 06:33, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
It was something silly indeed. I had not given my bot password sufficient permissions Facepalm Facepalm .
My issue is Resolved
Thanks!
Milo8505 (talk) 06:42, 5 January 2025 (UTC)

Wheel arrangement

This edit was flagged up as an error, see edit summary of following edit. John (talk) 20:56, 4 January 2025 (UTC)

Redrose64 pinged me on a couple of these as well, however they are hard to spot against various other edits. Perhaps the regex could be rejected if the article contains the string 'locomotive' or similar? Neils51 (talk) 00:39, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
As that's from typo fixing, I suggest the issue is raised on typos talk page. Rjwilmsi 09:40, 7 January 2025 (UTC)