Currently there is no way to provide autocomplete suggestions while the user is typing directly in the document. This technique is commonly used for '@' mentions:
|Phabricator (desktop)|Twitter (mobile)
|{F30299074}|{F30299140}
The lack of this feature has led to a workaround in Flow which uses an inspector triggered by an '@' sequence, but this results in a clunky user experience, and bugs such as T147408:
{F30299081}
=== Guiding principles
The design we implement should increase the likelihood of the following two things being true:
1. The username results list makes it possible for people to quickly and easily find the person they are wanting to notify.
2. The username results list makes it clear to people how to find the username of someone who is not currently shown.
Some initial r=== Requirements for an autocomplete module
* Define a sequence for launching, probably re-use//This section describes how the `ve.ui.Sequence` system, which allows for generic regex matchingfirst iteration of this feature should function.//
* The process is aborted if:- When someone types {key @} , the username completion list should show the usernames of the people who have commented in the section where the reply is being drafted.
** Escape is pressed-- The usernames in the results list will be sorted alphabetically.
** Some other configurable sequence is typed,-- Usernames will appear in the username results list exactly as they appear in the database //not// as they appear in the page. e.g.Meaning, if someone has a custom signature (read: alias) such that the username that is appended to the comments they post on talk pages [1] is different from the username that appears in the link to their user page [2], a space immediately after '@'their alias will not show up in the username results list.
-- //We will explore making it so aliases appear in the username completion list in this task: T250329.//
* If the process is aborted- The moment someone types {key @} + `any other character`, the text typed so far should be left as isusername results list will return results (read: usernames) of the registered users on the wiki that resemble the username the person invoking auto-complete has typed.
* The process is successful if:-- Meaning, the suggestion list will start returning results as soon as people start typing and the list of results will update dynamically without needing to wait for a full-word match to be made.
-- Example: Typing {key @pe} should return "**pe**ter", but not "sna**pe**"
** A result is selected us-- //We will explore implementing arrow keys + enter, or mouse clickmore robust search functionality in this task: T250334.//
** An exact match is typed e.g. `@exact- People can select a username from the username<space>` (this could be optional) results list in either of the following ways:
* If the process is successful-- Use arrow keys ({key up} or {key down}) to highlight the specific person + press {key enter} to complete selection
-- Use mouse to highlight the specific person + click to complete selection
- When you select a username from the username results list, the following will show up in the reply text input:
-- **Link:** link to selected user's user page
-- **Display text:** `@` + `selected user's username` (the display text should be the same as what is shown in the username results list.)
-- //Here is the task for exploring whether this behavior should be configurable: T250332.//
- When you select a username from the username results list for someone who **has not** yet created a user page, then a replacement can take placeir username will appear as a red link both when the comment is being drafted and when the comment is published to the talk page.
-- In `source`, e.g.people will see the red-linked username in the preview; in `visual`, format the text with a link/other annotationpeople will see it in the text input area
-- Whether or not someone has created a user page should not affect whether they receive a notification or not.
- When a comment is posted containing a valid link(s) to other user pages, or replace with a templatethose "mentioned users" should receive an "Alert" in the format described in [Help:Notifications/Types#Mentions ](https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Notifications/Types#Mentions )
- The username completion list should be dismissed and typed text remain in place when:
-- `escape` is pressed
-- {key space} is pressed immediately after typing {key @}
- People should be able to trigger a ping when they type an exact match
-- Where "exact match" means: `@exactusername<space>`
=== Open questions
- [ ] **1.** What are the different ways the in-surface picker can be initiated (typing `@`, clicking the "馃懁" in the `Visual` mode's toolbar, etc.)
- [ ] **2.** What should the username picker look like? How should it be have (e.g. how should results be populated?)?
- [x] **3.** What is going to be inserted into the page once a user is "picked" (e.g. a template //like// `{{FlowMention:NAME|NAME}}`, link to their user page `[[User:NAME|NAME]]` )
-- Per T232601#5960614, currently a link to the person being mentioned's user page is inserted. In the future, we will consider enabling wikis to customize this behavior. That work would happen in: T250332.
- [x] 4. When {key @} is typed, should the username completion list show the username of people who have commented in //other// sections on the page?
-- No. When {key @} is typed, the username completion list should show the usernames of the people who have commented in the section where the reply is being drafted. Thinking: T232601#6073976.
- [x] 5. Will you be able to ping/@-mention people who have not created user pages?
-- Yes and their username will appear as a red link. See T232601#6073962 for details.
---
1. Notice how this person's signature renders on this [talk page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Hewlett-Packard_9100A) as `拽讬驻讜讚谞讞砖 (aka kipod)`
2. Notice how the username that appears in the link to their [user page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%93%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%A9) is `拽讬驻讜讚谞讞砖`