VisualEditor/Single edit tab
The single edit tab project simplifies the user interface for most editors by giving them only one edit tab, rather than the current two. Clicking on the Edit tab will open the editing system that the contributor prefers.
The visual editor is a rich-text editor that is used to edit Wikipedia and other sites. Since 2013, these editing systems have been accessed by displaying two edit tabs on each Wikipedia article or other wiki page. With the single edit tab enabled, it is possible to use either the visual editor or the wikitext editor to change most pages.
Requirements
You must have access to the visual editor to see the four options listed below or to set your preferences for one of them. You will not see these options if any of the following are true:
- You have disabled access to the visual editor in your account's preferences.
- You are using the mobile website.
- Your current computer or web browser does not support the visual editor (for example, because JavaScript is disabled).
- You are logged out while editing a wiki that does not give IP ("anonymous") editors direct access to the visual editor (this includes the English Wikipedia, Meta, and most non-Wikipedia sister projects).
Choosing your preferences
You can set or change these preferences at any time, by going to Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-editing and choosing the option you want from the dropdown menu.
The available options will be:
- Remember my last editor
- Always give me the visual editor if possible
- Always give me the source editor
- Show me both editor tabs
To understand which editor will be called, look at the screenshots below:
- tab
Editcalls the VisualEditor to work in wysiwyg mode. - tab
Edit sourcecalls the editor of wikitext and displays the file source code as raw text (advanced users).
Editors can also be invoked at the page or section level using their corresponding tabs.
What it will look like if you're logged in
Logged-in editors can choose whether they want one or two tabs dedicated to page edition, and if they choose to have one, what clicking on that tab will do.
| Do you want this? | Or this? |
|---|---|
| Single Edit tab – Goes where you want! | Two Edit tabs – Choose each time! |
| For page edition with VisualEditor (last used): | For page edition with both editors: |
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| For page edition with wikitext editor (last used): | |
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| For section edition with VisualEditor (last used): | For section edition with both editors: |
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| For section edition with wikitext editor (last used): | |
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Choose one of the following:
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Then choose:
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What it will look like if you're logged out
Logged-out editors (also called "IP editors") will always see one Edit tab at the top of the page:
For section editing, they will always see one Edit button:
On some wikis, logged-out editors will start in the visual editor, unless they have switched. At other wikis, logged-out editors will start in the wikitext editor, unless they have switched. The system will remember if editors switch to the other editing system (until cookies are cleared). For future edits, the Edit tab will lead to whichever editing system the logged-out editor used last.
If logged-out editors at that wiki begin in the visual editor, then the Welcome screen will offer them the immediate option to switch to the wikitext editor.
They can also switch to the wikitext editor after opening the page in the visual editor, by clicking the [[ ]] icon in the toolbar.
If logged-out editors at that wiki begin in the wikitext editor, then they will not see a Welcome screen or have an opportunity to choose the visual editor first. Instead, the wikitext editor will open. Editors may have an option to switch to the visual editor after starting in the wikitext editor, by clicking the pencil icon in the corner of the wikitext toolbar.
How to use both
All editors have access to the wikitext editor, and all users of the visual editor can click the [[ ]] button in the toolbar to switch to wikitext at any time.
If you have access to the visual editor, then you can switch between the visual and wikitext editors without saving and exiting first. This is convenient if you want to use the other editing system for a change that is easier in the other editor, such as deleting a column from a table (easier in the visual editor) or changing the name of a template (easier in the wikitext editor).
See Help:VisualEditor/User guide for more information.