An edit conflict is a computer problem that may occur when multiple editors edit the same file and cannot merge without losing part or all of their edit. The conflict occurs when an editor gets a copy of a shared document file, changes the copy and attempts to save the changes to the original file, which has been altered by another editor after the copy was obtained.

Resolution

The simplest way to resolve an edit conflict is to ignore intervening edits and overwrite the current file. This may lead to a substantial loss of information, and alternative methods are often employed to resolve or prevent conflicts: * Manual resolution, where the editor determines which version to retain and may manually incorporate edits into the current version of the file. * Store

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

s or file comparisons of each edit, so there are the previous versions of the file can still be accessed once the original is overwritten. *

File locking File locking is a mechanism that restricts access to a computer file, or to a region of a file, by allowing only one user or process to modify or delete it at a specific time, and preventing reading of the file while it's being modified or delet ...

, which limits the file to one editor at a time to prevent edit conflicts. Computer writer Gary B. Shelly notes that many

wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...

systems "will block the contributor who is attempting to edit the page from being able to do so until the contributor currently editing the page saves changes or remains idle on the page for an extended period of time." * Merge, by determining if the edits are in unrelated parts of the file and combining without user intervention.

Occurrences

The problem is encountered on heavily edited articles in

s (frequency higher in articles related to a current event or person), distributed data systems (e.g.,

Google Sites Google Sites is a structured wiki and web page creation tool included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The service includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google For ...

), and

revision control system Version control (also known as revision control, source control, and source code management) is the software engineering practice of controlling, organizing, and tracking different versions in history of computer files; primarily source code ...

s not using

file locking File locking is a mechanism that restricts access to a computer file, or to a region of a file, by allowing only one user or process to modify or delete it at a specific time, and preventing reading of the file while it's being modified or delet ...

,Michael Antonovich (2010).
''Office and SharePoint 2010 User's Guide: Integrating SharePoint''
p. 321 (752 pages), quote: "Edit conflict on a list linked to SharePoint". as well as other high-traffic pages. If a significant amount of new text is involved, the editor who receives an "edit conflict" error message can cut and paste the new text into a word processor or similar program for further editing, or can paste that text directly into a newer version of the target document. Simple copyediting can be done directly on the newer version, and then saved.

References

{{reflist Wiki concepts Version control

Resolution

Occurrences

See also

References