Many paths can be taken to get to a common goal. Editing wiki pages has a number of paths too.

For the most part, following on from WardsOriginalWiki (where EditText is the method), WikiEngines have an edit function located somewhere on the pages they display. Using the function, perhaps by clicking a button or following a link, a second page appears with a form for editing the text of the page. The form has a save function, most often as a button. Depending on the implementation, you may subsequently be presented with a confirmation page, as on this wiki, or returned to the page whose text you were just editing.

Some WikiEngines, like YetAnotherWikiName, and also especially micro-engines from the ShortestWikiContest like SigWik, have the edit form displayed beneath the content on every page you view. Some PersonalWiki software, such as NoteStudio and WikiWriter, use an icon to toggle between edit mode and regular display mode on the same icon. Others such as NoteWiki offer ''ModeLess editing'', in which data is saved continuously during editing.

* Despite the appearances, this is a feature that might not necessarily seem promised to a great future. Granted, it makes creating links a breeze, but on the other hand being always on the edit mode seems to be creating other problems + there is no way to open other files. We'll have to wait till someone comes with a promising wiki featuring this always-on-the edit characteristic. We'll give a chance to the runner.

A few engines, such as ZwiKi, support keyboard shortcuts (such as Alt-E for editing and Alt-S for saving), but problems arise with different browsers, because it is hard to find a combination that is not yet used in any browser.
* In fact the Zwiki-edit-shortcut didn't work with Opera. In Mozilla, it works despite the "edit"-entry in its menubar.
** Which version of Opera? I thought version 7 onwards should support Shift+Esc+e.

Of course, simple editing in general has been at times a HolyWar... see EmacsVsVi.
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CategoryWikiEditing