Wiktionary:Tutorial (Editing)
Front page · Editing · Formatting · Wiktionary links · Related site links · Further reading · Discussion rooms · Keep in mind · Registration · Namespaces · Wrap-up
Editing pages
We'll start with the most basic wiki feature of all: Edit. Every wiki page (with the exception of a very few protected pages) has a link at the top that says "Edit". This link lets you do exactly what it says – edit the page you're looking at. Sites such as these where anyone can edit anything are known as wikis.
Try it! In a new window, open this page's sandbox, and then click the "Edit" link. You'll see the source code for that page. Write anything you want, or just say hello. Then save it by clicking on the Save page button under the edit window, or by pressing Ctrl-S or Alt-S on your keyboard (these shortcuts don't work for all keyboard configurations) and see what you've done. There is more detail at Help:How to edit a page. You might want to open this in a new window, too, so you can carry on with the tutorial.
Whenever you want to experiment without worry, you can always do it in the Wiktionary:Sandbox.
Show preview
An important feature to start using now is Show preview, which allows you to see what the page will look like after your edit, even before you save. Try making an edit in the sandbox, then clicking the "Show preview" button. We all make mistakes, and this lets you catch them immediately. If you make a habit of using "Show preview" before saving, you'll save yourself and other editors some trouble.
This is especially important if you think you may be making other edits on the page. It is a good idea to just save once, to keep the page history uncluttered. Saving less often is also a way of avoiding edit conflicts. However, when you change large amounts of text you might consider doing this in successive steps (e.g. one definition/translation at a time) so that others can follow your edits more easily.
Minor edits
If you are logged in as a registered user, you can mark an edit as minor by checking the appropriate box before you save. This is used to show others that your edit is not something substantive. There's no strict guideline on when to do this, but certainly spelling corrections and minor format changes like adding a space or a wikilink are minor edits. In other words, changing the presentation is generally minor, but changing the content is not. When in doubt, don't mark the box. For a more detailed discussion, see Help:Minor edit.
Edit summary
Before you hit "Save page", it is considered good practice to enter a very brief summary of your change(s) in the Edit summary box between the edit window and the Save and Preview buttons. It can be quite terse; for example if you just enter "typo", people will know you made a minor spelling or punctuation correction, or some other small change.
When you're done playing around in the sandbox, click this link to move to the next page of the tutorial.