I’ve had it numerous times, and wonder if other people are getting it too - that if I’m writing a reply to a thread, a notification box will pop up, saying, “This draft is being edited in another window” - even if no other such window exists.
Who is doing the editing? It makes it sound as if there is someone else who is also editing my comment at the same time that I am, even though that can’t be what it means.
This doesn’t necessarily help but…
Ah, thanks. Didn’t know we already had a thread.
The short version is this happens when your internet connection is flaky.
Just click [ignore] and keep working. It’s dumb that [ignore] Isn’t the default.
The long version is that while you are typing the browser is continuously “talking” to Discourse updating your draft on file there keystroke by keystroke. If some of those updates get lost due to flaky internet, Discourse notices the version in your browser window doesn’t match the draft on file. So it ASSUMES you’ve got two editing sessions going.
Choosing ignore says “The version in this browser window that I’m working on is the real correct current one”. Choosing the other option (I forget the label) says “Ignore what’s in this browser window and switch to the draft on file that’s missing one or more recent updates.”
So the real problem is a badly chosen message that misleads about what is actually happening.
It also happens when you open Discourse in another browser tab in the middle of replying to a post, which I sometimes do when I want to look at something else that someone has posted. Discourse then “helpfully” recreates your original uncompleted reply in the new session, and voila! – like it or not, Discourse deems that you now have two drafts in two windows.
ETA: This is actually a fairly useful feature, as long as you understand how it works. I sometimes start pecking out a reply on my tablet, and then realizing it would be much easier to just to go to a real computer, it’s quite nice that when I do, the half-composed reply is already there.
Since this is about the Discourse software itself, let’s move this to Site Feedback (from ATMB).
I’ll chime in to say I’ve seen this in both of these situations.
Usually the latter, but a couple of times when I’m on bad WiFi or where I have barely any cell signal I’ve seen it.
Either way it’s a pain in the butt.
Quite. You can have as many browser tabs / windows / devices open for reading separate or the same threads as you want, but if a thread is open for posting / editing in any tab / window / device, then all those tabs / windows / devices pointed at that thread become edits too.
Which I agree is a slight PITA; I sometimes want to refer up-thread and edit at the same time.
But it’s easy enough to minimize the reply/edit section of the tab and / or navigate within the rest of the thread while the reply/edit section is open. Perhaps not the ideal workflow, but you can scroll, seek by post #, or search within the thread while also editing a post in it. A second tab isn’t really necessary once you understand how to use all the features available within a single tab while posting / editing.