Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/TwoColumns

Status: beta test on Firefox

This user script displays wikipedia pages in 2 columns. It is particularly useful with wide screens, or for speed reading. It may slow down the display of pages on older PCs.

How to use it

In most cases, the following steps will activate the script for you:

make sure you are logged in. The script is available only to logged in users
open this page and start editing it
insert the following line : importScript('Wikipedia:WikiProject_User_scripts/Scripts/TwoColumns.js', 'en');
save your edit
hold down the Ctrl key, and press F5

To verify proper activation, open speed reading : this icon will show in the top right corner of your screen. Click it, and each section will be displayed in 2 columns. If not, you can find more detailed installation instructions here

If you like the script, share the good news. Add a user box to our user page by inserting the following line in it:

{{userscripts|* [[Wikipedia:WikiProject User scripts/Scripts/TwoColumns|TwoColumns]]}}

Users

Click here for a list of users of this script.

Known issues

Copper is properly displayed the first time it is viewed on Firefox 3.0.3, but is only partially displayed after a refresh (F5). It works OK on Firefox 2. (--> Seems like a bug of Firefox 3.0.3) Workaround: type ctrl-F5 to reload the page.

Fixed issues

Contributors

User:Pcarbonn

Technical notes

Layout rules:

Apply only to wikipedia content pages
First, group the contiguous paragraphs to be displayed in 2 columns:

The following content is excluded from a group, and are thus its borders: section headers, tables, scripts, pre-formatted text, and multi-columns paragraphs
image(s) at the end of a section are added to the group of the next section (to avoid large white spaces)

Then, divide the group in screenfull pieces

if the group is too small, display it in only 1 column
each piece cannot have a surface bigger than a screenfull, and its image(s) cannot have a height bigger than the screen height

Then, display each piece in 2 columns

bring all the images a the beginning of the piece (to avoid large white spaces)
if it's not the first piece, add a horizontal line to separate it from the previous piece

Test pages