When a device is selected, its associated configurations will be listed; you can then review and edit configs. The included editing functions will format the configuration but will not attempt to determine the syntax of the commands or whether the commands are applicable within the configuration. For example, an enterprise-class product might pick up an incorrectly defined Cisco Systems ACL, but basic configuration products aren't going to know bad IOS syntax from the International Organization of Standards.
All configuration products have edit features that attempt to format configurations in an organized, easy-to-read manner. They also will display multiple versions or different configuration files side by side, highlighting the variations. Enterprise products take this one step further, knowing that a particular file is a subsequent version of another configuration file: The edit program will show highlighted passages as added and/or deleted, further defining what has changed between the two versions.
If you're worried about others being able to edit and change your configurations (and who isn't?), most basic configuration programs apply access controls limiting who can read and write configurations on a per-device basis.
Some enterprise-class configuration products attempt to provide syntax checks and even wizards to automate the creation of accurate configurations; but this isn't so for basic configuration products. Why? The fly in the syntax-checking ointment is that not all vendors use the same syntax. For that matter, some who shall remain nameless (Cisco) don't have consistent syntax from one product to the next. This means the configuration-management vendor has to understand the peculiarities of each vendor, product, model and OS version.
This situation is made more difficult when you consider that in enterprise-configuration products, load balancers, firewalls, VPN concentrators and sometimes Unix systems are part of the management mix. Inexpensive configuration-management products aren't going to have this kind of breadth. But don't think that without syntax checking, there's no point in using configuration products--the value lies in the consistent editing, scheduling and controlling of configurations.
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