DokuWiki allows plugins to provide custom edit forms for their syntax elements. First, you need to mark a DIV element in the XHTML output as editable, second you have to provide an editor for your content.

The XHTML renderer provides to methods for the DIV section edit marking:

• string startSectionEdit(int $bytepos_start, string $section_type, string $section_title = null)
• void finishSectionEdit(int $bytepos_end = null)

Note that finishSectionEdit assumes correctly nested edit sections. To use this methods, you will need to save your byte positions in your handle methods.

A step-by-step example for a syntax plugin:

syntax.php

    function render($format, &$renderer, $data) {
        $class = '';
        // Add section edit infos only in XHTML renderers which are
        // sufficiently new
        if ($format === 'xhtml' && method_exists($renderer, 'startSectionEdit')) {
            // FIXME: Insert plugin name here as section type
            // If this section has a distinguishable name, you may add it to
            // the method call as well
            $class = $renderer->startSectionEdit($data['bytepos_start'],
                                                 'plugin_exampleplugin');
        }
        $renderer->doc .= '<div class="' . $class . '">';
 
        // FIXME: Put your content here
 
        $renderer->doc .= '</div>';
        // Add section edit infos only in XHTML renderers which are
        // sufficiently new
        if ($format === 'xhtml' &&
            method_exists($renderer, 'finishSectionEdit')) {
            $renderer->finishSectionEdit($data['bytepos_end']);
        }
    }

You may have noticed that I used $data['bytepos_start'] and $data['bytepos_end'] which your handler has to provide:

syntax.php

    function handle($match, $state, $pos, &$handler) {
        $data = array();
 
        // FIXME: Do your handling
 
        return $data + array('bytepos_start' => $pos,
                             'bytepos_end'   => $pos + strlen($match));
    }

If you did not provide a special section name in the startSectionEdit call, you must hook the HTML_SECEDIT_BUTTON event providing a general-purpose name:

action.php

    function register(&$controller) {
        $controller->register_hook('HTML_SECEDIT_BUTTON', 'BEFORE', $this, '_editbutton');
    }
 
    function _editbutton(&$event, $param) {
        // FIXME: Insert plugin name
        if ($event->data['target'] !== 'plugin_exampleplugin') {
            return;
        }
 
        // FIXME: Add lang field to your lang files
        $event->data['name'] = $this->getLang('sectioneditname');
    }

Now your users will get a special edit button for your syntax elements. You will probably want to style it:

style.css

/* FIXME: Insert plugin name here */
div.dokuwiki div.editbutton_plugin_exampleplugin {
 
}
 
/* FIXME: Insert plugin name here */
div.dokuwiki div.editbutton_plugin_exampleplugin form input.button {
 
}

Now there is a nice button, but still no form – the users have to use the plain wikitext editor!

For this step, we need to hook HTML_EDIT_FORMSELECTION in an action plugin.

action.php

    function register(&$controller) {
        $controller->register_hook('HTML_SECEDIT_BUTTON', 'BEFORE', $this, '_editbutton');
        $controller->register_hook('HTML_EDIT_FORMSELECTION', 'BEFORE', $this, '_editform');
    }
 
    function _editform(&$event, $param) {
        global $TEXT;
        // FIXME: Insert plugin name
        if ($event->data['target'] !== 'plugin_exampleplugin') {
            // Not an edit for exampleplugin
            return;
        }
        $event->preventDefault();
 
        // FIXME: Remove this if you want the default edit intro
        unset($event->data['intro_locale']);
 
        // FIXME: Remove this if you want a media manager link
        // You will probably want a media link if you want a normal toolbar
        $event->data['media_manager'] = false;
 
        // FIXME: Create the lang files edit_intro.txt
        echo $this->locale_xhtml('edit_intro');
 
        // FIXME: Add real edit form
        $attr = array();
        if (!$event->data['wr']) $attr['readonly'] = 'readonly';
        $event->data['form']->addElement(form_makeWikiText($TEXT, $attr));
    }

The form you provided here has to be rendered into wiki text again on POST.

action.php

    function register(&$controller) {
        $controller->register_hook('HTML_SECEDIT_BUTTON', 'BEFORE', $this, '_editbutton');
        $controller->register_hook('HTML_EDIT_FORMSELECTION', 'BEFORE', $this, '_editform');
        $controller->register_hook('ACTION_ACT_PREPROCESS', 'BEFORE', $this, '_editpost');
    }
 
    function _handle_edit_post($event) {
        // FIXME: Insert the name of a form field you use
        if (!isset($_POST['some_of_the_form_fields_you_use'])) {
            return;
        }
        global $TEXT;
 
        // FIXME: Create wikitext from post
        $TEXT = magic_form_to_wiki_function();
    }