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Help panel: Allow editors to add frequently consulted help pages to their Help Panel
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Description

User story & summary:

As an editor, I want to add help pages I access frequently to my help panel, because then I can quickly access them when editing.

Background & research:

This task addresses a key editor pain point: the inconvenience of searching for help pages repeatedly. By integrating a favorites feature within the help panel, editors can reduce friction in their workflow.

"Sometimes when editing I wish I had Wikipedia's help at hand and having favorites within the editor would make it easier for me." - Community Wish: Favorites from my help pages in sidebar

Questions:
  • Is there a maximum number of help pages an editor can add to their list? (Consider UI design constraints and performance implications.)
  • Should we consider reusing some of the existing mobile app's Reading list building functionality? Are there other features or APIs that could be reused to simplify development?
  • Will this functionality apply only to the local wiki's help namespace, or should it include cross-wiki help pages?
  • Should we introduce a short onboarding flow to help editors discover this feature?
Design Considerations
  • Align the design with the existing editor's help panel UI to maintain consistency.
  • Ensure the favorites list is easy to manage (e.g., adding/removing entries).
  • Provide visual indicators for pages already added to the favorites list.
  • Design for scalability—account for editors who may add a large number of pages.
Acceptance Criteria:

Given I have the editor help panel enabled in my Preferences,
When I am viewing a page in the Help namespace,
Then I have the ability to add it to my personal help panel "favorites",
And I have the ability to remove it from my personal help panel "favorites"

Given I have the editor help panel enabled in my Preferences,
When I access the Help panel,
Then I can see the Help pages I have added to my personal help panel

Event Timeline

Restricted Application added a subscriber: Aklapper. · View Herald Transcript

This task was created to help facilitate the discussion and estimation of this wish: Favorites from my help pages in sidebar.

Below are some considerations regarding the effort and feasibility of implementation:

  • Displaying the Favorites List: Displaying a list of favorites within the Help Panel is relatively straightforward from an implementation perspective. However, creating designs that seamlessly integrate this feature into the existing interface would still be necessary.
  • Building and Editing the Favorites List: Developing functionality to create and manage a personalized list introduces greater complexity. While the Mobile App's Reader list logic could be a useful starting point, there is currently no mechanism to update or manage such a list through the web interface.
  • Alternative Approaches: One possible workaround is enabling users to build and edit their favorites list from within the Preferences interface. However, this approach has significant downsides, including poor discoverability and added complexity in navigating Preferences.
  • User Experience Considerations: The UI for favoriting a help document must strike a careful balance. It should be easy to find for those who want to use it, yet unobtrusive to users who do not care about this feature. Ensuring that the feature does not contribute to UI clutter is essential to avoid alienating non-interested users.
  • Limited Reach of the Help Panel: It is worth noting that many experienced and intermediate editors do not have the Help Panel enabled. This feature, as currently scoped, would primarily benefit newer account holders and those who are opted into using the Help Panel.

Recommendation:
While this feature addresses a clear user need, I recommend deferring its implementation until we have the capability to build web-based Reader lists. Doing so would allow us to approach this task in a more robust and maintainable way. At this time, the effort required to implement the feature in a sustainable manner may not justify its potential impact, especially given its limited audience.