Editing Basics

Media

Brent Simpson Click on the audio link below to start the download of the audio file. Not recommended for dial-up connections! (Note: If you're using a low bandwidth connection to the Internet skip the audio message and arrange for an off line version of the multimedia files).

The wiki has been designed to make editing as simple as possible.

With the exception of a few protected pages, every page on WikiEducator can be edited if you have registered a user account.

How do I know the difference

Every page that is editable will have a link along the top of the main content area that says "edit". Pages that are locked for editing will be substituted with a "View source" tab. Don't worry about this detail now - finding your way around a wiki page will become second nature.

Tip: Remember that on WikiEducator you cannot edit a page without a valid user account. On some wiki's like Wikipedia, you can edit a page without a valid user account. However, in Wikipedia you can't create new pages without a user account. In the case of pages which are locked for editing, you can always copy the source text by clicking on the "View source" tab.

Where are the edit links

You will find the main edit link as a page tab, above the content area of a page. On pages that have subheadings, you will also find an "[edit]" link next to the heading to edit that particular subsection of the page. The edit links let you do exactly that: edit an entire page or single section within a page.

Self Assessment

If you needed to edit more than one section on a page, what would be the more efficient way to edit?

It's really up to your individual writing/reading style but the more familiar you become with editing and editing tools, you are bound to find efficiencies that work for you.

You will find the main edit link between the "discussion" and "history" tabs above and one next to each subheading. If you've missed one, don't worry. We'll point these out more clearly in the next subsection. Note that the "Edit mode" and "First Edit" links in the navigation bar above are the names of sub-pages in this tutorial and not Wiki edit links.

Editing is a unique feature of wikis. Wiki's enable people to edit web pages right from within the web page itself. In this tutorial we will look at the most basic steps required to begin editing pages on the wiki and make our first edit to a special page called the User page.