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Help:Change conflict

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A change conflict happens when two people change the same page at the same time. To understand what a change conflict is about, have a look at the following situation:
  • Alan clicks on "Change" to make changes to a page.
  • Jane clicks on "Change" on the same page while Alan is making changes to the page.
  • Alan finishes making his changes and clicks on "Save page". The page saves the changes made by Alan while Jane is still making her changes.
  • Jane finishes making his changes and clicks on "Save page". As Alan has already saved the changes to the same section that the both of them have changed, the software is unable to merge Jane's changes. Jane then gets a "change conflict" page to allow her to manually add her changes into the page.

Manually fixing the change conflict may be quite annoying, but please respect the changes that the other person has made to the page.

Layout of the change conflict page

When you are given the change conflict page, you will see two edit boxes. In the above example, the top edit box will show the version that Alan has saved whereas the changes that Jane has made will appear in the bottom edit box. A side-by-side comparison of the differences between the two will be shown between the two edit boxes to help you understand which parts need to be fixed.

Only the text in the top edit box will be saved when clicking on the "Save page" button. The changes made in the bottom edit box will be deleted when you leave the editing page.

Jane can continue to made additional changes to the top edit box if needed, just like how she would when changing any page.

Resolving a change conflict

If Alan has made small changes whereas Jane made large changes, it is easier for Jane to just merge the changes made by Alan into hers and vice versa. However, it is important to remember that the text in the top edit box will be saved. All changes should thus be made in the top edit box to be saved.

However, if both Alan and Jane have made large changes, Jane would have to manually merge her changes into the saved version of the page. She will have to decide which version is better and save it. Jane should not just copy her version and use it over Alan's work, but rather respect the work that Alan has submitted.

It is also good to leave a note on the talk page of the editor to let them know that a change conflict has happened and some of their changes were overwritten.

Preventing change conflicts

A change conflict can be quite annoying and time-consuming to resolve. However, there are ways to avoid encountering them:

  1. Regularly save your work. Avoid making large changes at once to reduce the chance of getting a change conflict, which can be quite difficult to resolve when two people make large changes at the same time.
  2. Change one section at a time. This makes it easier for the software to merge your changes in even if another person has changed the same page at the same time.
  3. Add a note at the top of the page to let other users know that you are changing a page over a long period of time. This allows them to know that you are changing the page and will not change it at the same time. Remove the note once you are done.
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A change conflict happens when two people change the same page at the same time. To understand what a change conflict is about, have a look at the following situation:

  • Alan clicks on "Change" to make changes to a page.
  • Jane clicks on "Change" on the same page while Alan is making changes to the page.
  • Alan finishes making his changes and clicks on "Save page". The page saves the changes made by Alan while Jane is still making her changes.
  • Jane finishes making his changes and clicks on "Save page". As Alan has already saved the changes to the same section that the both of them have changed, the software is unable to merge Jane's changes. Jane then gets a "change conflict" page to allow her to manually add her changes into the page.

Manually fixing the change conflict may be quite annoying, but please respect the changes that the other person has made to the page.

Layout of the change conflict page

When you are given the change conflict page, you will see two edit boxes. In the above example, the top edit box will show the version that Alan has saved whereas the changes that Jane has made will appear in the bottom edit box. A side-by-side comparison of the differences between the two will be shown between the two edit boxes to help you understand which parts need to be fixed.

Only the text in the top edit box will be saved when clicking on the "Save page" button. The changes made in the bottom edit box will be deleted when you leave the editing page.

Jane can continue to made additional changes to the top edit box if needed, just like how she would when changing any page.

Resolving a change conflict

If Alan has made small changes whereas Jane made large changes, it is easier for Jane to just merge the changes made by Alan into hers and vice versa. However, it is important to remember that the text in the top edit box will be saved. All changes should thus be made in the top edit box to be saved.

However, if both Alan and Jane have made large changes, Jane would have to manually merge her changes into the saved version of the page. She will have to decide which version is better and save it. Jane should not just copy her version and use it over Alan's work, but rather respect the work that Alan has submitted.

It is also good to leave a note on the talk page of the editor to let them know that a change conflict has happened and some of their changes were overwritten.

Preventing change conflicts

A change conflict can be quite annoying and time-consuming to resolve. However, there are ways to avoid encountering them:

  1. Regularly save your work. Avoid making large changes at once to reduce the chance of getting a change conflict, which can be quite difficult to resolve when two people make large changes at the same time.
  2. Change one section at a time. This makes it easier for the software to merge your changes in even if another person has changed the same page at the same time.
  3. Add a note at the top of the page to let other users know that you are changing a page over a long period of time. This allows them to know that you are changing the page and will not change it at the same time. Remove the note once you are done.
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