Help:Editing preferences

An overview of the options shown on the "Editing" tab of Special:Preferences.

Rows and Columns
This section allows you to input the exact dimensions of the text box where you edit page text - the number of text rows and character columns shown.

The "columns" box is overridden if you select "Edit box has full width".

Enable section editing via [edit] links
Enabled by default. This adds [edit] links on the right side of the page, opposite section titles. Clicking on this will bring you to a section editing page, allowing you to edit everything under that heading until the next equivalent header (e.g. from an h2 to the next h2, including all h3, h4, etc., headings in between).

Enable section editing by right clicking on section titles (JavaScript)
Disabled by default. This adds the ability to right click on section headings, bringing up the same section editing page as described above. Requires Javascript to be enabled.

Edit pages on double click (JavaScript)
Disabled by default. With this enabled, this will allow you to double click anywhere on an article to edit it. Requires Javascript to be enabled.

Edit box has full width
This makes the edit box use the full width of the browser.

Show edit toolbar (JavaScript)
Enabled by default. Shown just above the edit box, this is a small collection of edit tools, involved with inserting specific text into the edit area.

Show preview on first edit (see help)
Disabled by default. When pressing the edit button or otherwise following a link to an edit page, show not only the edit box but also the rendered page, just like after pressing "Show preview": This is especially useful when viewing a template, because even just viewing, not editing, typically requires both. Switch this off to see and/or edit the wikitext of a page for which rendering is slow or even timing out. This option can be overridden by  /   URL parameter.

Show preview before edit box
Enabled by default. When ticked, the preview will be displayed above the edit box when you click the "Show preview" button while editing a page.

Mark all edits minor by default
Disabled by default. Does what it says on the tin! You an still unmark edits as minor on the edit page.

Use external editor by default
See wikipedia:Wikipedia:Text editor support.

Use external diff by default
See wikipedia:Wikipedia:Text editor support.

Prompt me when entering a blank edit summary
Disabled by default. When ticked, the editor will display a warning message when no edit summary is added to the edit summary box, after the "Save page" button is pressed.

Do not show editing tips
See Help:Edit Page Enhancements.

Do not show link suggest
See Help:Link Suggest.

Enable similar articles suggestions
See Help:EditSimilar.