May we please have a PREVIEW button for question/answer/comment G2G boxes?

Question

Many times I have had to edit due to a simpe typo error or a misspelled word. If correction is not made immidiately the message edited (X) minutes ago by (myself) is displayed.

Has this happened anyone else?

Comments

I'm a terrible typist, many many errors, This happens almost every post.

Red Line (correction) doesn't work, either.

---

I love this idea!  Thanks for suggesting it Ruben.  I could catch a lot of errors before I "add comment/answer".

---

This made me remember a conversation a friend and i had a few months back. We're both the same age, about to be 45. We each took one typing class in our lives when we were in 8th grade in 1985. We "learned" on 20 yr old IBM typewriters and our typing teacher was so old that he lost a leg in the Battle of Bulge in WWII and was passing time to retirement. Needless to say we didn't learn to type.

---

I too make lots of mistakes, (typos etc) when I post here. I think I edited one Profile of the week question half a dozen times. I've just come to consider the "Add" button as a preview. Add then read the post, then edit. I don't let the 'edited by me' 2 minutes ago bother me.

---

I think the idea's fantastic.  I know we all should be more careful without our keystrokes and check our G2G questions accurately before we "add" the questions.  We all slip up from  time to time, so a question posting preview button might make things run a little more smoothly.  Particularly, with numbers, we need to check to see if we miskeyed a digit or two.  Number inversions like typing 54 for a 45 are very common, let alone dealing with name variants.  Why type "Khan" when the name is "Kahn"? 

When do you think it wikitree will implement it?

---

Never is when I think WikiTree will implement it, David!

The G2G software is a "canned" application, meaning that WikiTree simply uses it.  I don't believe the source code is available to WikiTree, so they can't modify it.

Despite my being such a wet blanket on this, I agree with everyone who seems to think it would be a very good thing to have … just don't expect it to ever happen, though.

Answer 1

Agree!! I would also benefit from this change. The formatting shorthand that I am used to using in WikiTree profiles is not the same as the html formatting used in the comment boxes. When I think I'm being so helpful by including tidy [[WikiName-1|Bob WikiName]] references to WikiTree profiles or photos or other helpful [website.com websites], instead I end up with a headache of messy ugly formatting.

A preview button would help to catch these mistakes before they're posted.

Answer 2

Great idea. I'm dyslexic and and it would be so wonderful.

Answer 3

I too am a terrible typist. The edit option can be used to meet this need.  I post a comment in G2G and save it.  Reviewing I often find errors and simply edit it

Answer 4

I know this is old, but there's another important reason for having Preview functionality - you need to always test every link you create.  Currently, you can create links, but cannot test them, until after you save.

Having worked on Wikis for quite awhile, I have 2 rules for editing - always preview and proofread before saving, and always test every new link before saving.  It certainly doesn't guarantee perfect work, but it does limit the repair work, and confusion for others because of broken URL's and typos and missed words that change the meaning.

But I suspect that Preview capability may not be available with the underlying software.

Comments

Rob, I just added a comment to the original question, so I wanted to let you know because I don't think you'll get notice of any comments other than the thread that starts with your answer.