diff --git a/lib/scripts/edit.js b/lib/scripts/edit.js
index eeca27353c3cddf2174ff0895f311753b1b536f9..9437aa14e512a43fe2d70b190e0f07c844ab5dad 100644
--- a/lib/scripts/edit.js
+++ b/lib/scripts/edit.js
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ var locktimer = new locktimer_class();
         // refresh every minute only
         if(now.getTime() - locktimer.lasttime.getTime() > 30*1000){ //FIXME decide on time
             var params = 'call=lock&id='+encodeURIComponent(locktimer.pageid);
-            if(locktimer.draft){
+            if(locktimer.draft && dwform.elements.wikitext){
                 var dwform = $('dw__editform');
                 params += '&prefix='+encodeURIComponent(dwform.elements.prefix.value);
                 params += '&wikitext='+encodeURIComponent(dwform.elements.wikitext.value);