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Volume Number: | 2 | |
Issue Number: | 2 | |
Column Tag: | Ask Prof. Mac |
Readers Technical Questions
By Steve Brecher, Software Supply, MacTutor Contributing Editor
Prof. Mac depends on your technical questions for inspiration each month. If you have programming problems in your latest project, or are just curious, send your questions to Prof. Mac and let him research your problem.
PICTs from MacDraw
Q. Mike LePage would like to know if a MacDraw PICT file is really a QuickDraw picture; more generally, he asks how to get a MacDraw picture into a PICT resource that his application can use.
A. I really don't know what file format MacDraw uses; its PICT format sure doesn't look like a QuickDraw picture to me, but it may have such pictures buried within it. At any rate, a good way to get a PICT resource from a MacDraw document is to paste the drawing into the Scrapbook; it will be a PICT resource in the Scrapbook file, which can then be moved to your application using Copy/Paste within ResEdit. [Note: ResEdit is available on source code disk #6 for this issue of MacTutor. -Ed.]
Drawing Partial Pictures
Q. Mike LePage also asks, "Suppose I have a giant picture, but want to display only part of it in a window and not have it all scaled down into the window, with the rest able to be scrolled into view. Is there a way of setting the bounds rectangle without creating a bit image of the whole picture first?"
A. What I'd do is pass a bounds rectangle to DrawPicture that was as large as the whole picture. The drawing will be clipped to the window's rectangle, so only the part of the picture that is in the window will actually be drawn, and it will not be scaled down. To scroll, use ScrollRect, and draw the picture again with the boundsrect moved by the size of the scroll.
Simple FilterProc
Q. Mike LePage's third question is, "I have a FilterProc for a modal dialog 'About' box. I don't want any buttons or other controls, so the function will just check for a mousedown and return True on that condition only." Mike wants to know how to code such a FilterProc in assembler.
A. I'd suggest that such a function also return True if Return or Enter is pressed. So, that's the way I've coded it in Figure 1.
Figure 1
; ; Function MyFilter(theDialog: DialogPtr; ;VAR theEvent: EventRecord; ;VAR itemHit: INTEGER): BOOLEAN; ; ; ModalDialog filterProc which returns True if the event is a ; mousedown or Return or Enter key. ; IncludeSysEqu.D ; ; ASCII codes CR Equ 13 Enter Equ 3 ; ; A6 offsets-- OldA6 Set 0 RtnAddr Set OldA6+4 itemHit Set RtnAddr+4 theEventSet itemHit+4 theDialog Set theEvent+4 Result Set theDialog+4 ; MyFilter: Link A6,#0 ;set up stack frame Move.L theEvent(A6),A0 ;A0 := addr of event record Cmp #MButDwnEvt,(A0) ;mousedown? ;(note evtCode offset = 0) ; remove following 6 instructions if key events not to be tested Beq.S @0;yes Cmp #KeyDwnEvt,(A0);key down? Bne.S @0;no Cmp.B #CR,evtMessage+3(A0);Return? Beq.S @0;yes Cmp.B #Enter,evtMessage+3(A0) ;Enter? @0 Seq Result(A6) ;set result Unlk A6 Move.L (SP)+,A0 ;return address Lea Result-itemHit(SP),SP ;pop arguments Jmp (A0);return
Resources Potpourri
Q. Pascal M. Giordano has a lot of questions about resources, so many that it would take too much space to list them all. So, in this case I'll provide only some answers without the questions!
A. OpenResFile is used to open a resource file and make the resources in it available to your application, typically via GetResource. When your application is launched, its resource fork is automatically opened. So, you only need to use OpenResFile to get at resources in a file other than your application. Some developers like to maintain their non-code resources in a separate resource file while they're working on the program, because code changes are much more frequent than resource changes. Hence, they must use OpenResFile to make those resources available. When the program is ready for release, the resources are included in the application file and the call to OpenResFile is removed. My own approach is to have a separate resource file, but to include the resources in my application file each time I link a test version. This requires a linker which will directly include resources, such as Consulair's Link or Signature Software's McAssembly; MDS Link won't do this (it will only include resources that are in .REL format). That way, I can create or change my resources directly using ResEdit or ReEdit, without a separate resource compiler step.
I very rarely use RMaker. The current version of ResEdit is quite good for creating and editing many kinds of standard resources. I use ReEdit primarily for editing text items in DITLs, since it provides a bigger editing box than ResEdit does for such items. RMaker is a resource compiler that translates textual descriptions of resources into actual resources. In olden days it was the only way to create resources; but as ResEdit matures in its long march to completion it becomes a better and better replacement for RMaker. [Resources can also be coded in assembler and assembled and linked under MDS, as previously mentioned. There is also some new software showing up that allows dialogs and windows to be "designed" on screen with the mouse and then automatically translated into RMaker text file format. A lot more work is needed in this area. -Ed.]
"Signature" is the name for the 4-byte code associated with an application. "Creator" is the name for the analogous code associated with a document. Usually, they are the same code, serving to link the document with it's creating application. Often, "Creator" is used in the sense of "Signature," as when one speaks of "the application's Type and Creator codes."
A BNDL resource is required in any application that is to have a custom icon displayed by the Finder, or in any that creates documents that need to be associated with the application (so that opening the document automatically launches the application).
Building an Editor
Q. Dr. K. Desikachary is developing a multilingual editor to process Indian Languages. He has several questions; again, I'll just imply the questions in my responses.
A. MacWrite file formats are documented in Apple's Technical Notes #11 (MacWrite 2.2) and #12 (MacWrite 4.5). The Technical notes are available by subscription at $20/yr from Apple Computer, 20525 Mariani Ave MS 3-T, Cupertino CA 95014.
I haven't seen any documentation of Microsoft Word file formats.
As far as I know, Apple's Core Edit package is the only text editor building-block available. (Dr. Desikachary would like to find an editing package that he could build on that doesn't have Core Edit's limit of 100 font/style changes in a document.) I haven't seen Core Edit, but I wonder if the limit could be increased by changes to the code. Any reader who can be of help on this may contact Dr. Desikachary at 13 McGregor St., Pinawa, MB ROE 1L0, Canada.
Finding All Files
Q. Bob Perez, author of VMCO (Visual/Vocal MAUG Conferencing program), wants to know how to find a file on an HFS-formatted volume, no matter in what directory the file may be.
A. The FCensus routine in Figure 2 can be used to do this. However, rather than search for a given file, it supplies information about each file, one at a time, to a routine that you supply. If you're looking for a specific file, your routine, when it recognizes a match, can tell FCensus to quit by returning True.
Note, however, that on an HFS volume there can be more than one file having the same name but in different directories. So, searching for a file on an HFS volume and stopping the search when you find the first instance of "the" file is a risky thing to do. Maybe the user really wants you to use another version of the file, with the same name, that's in another directory.
We use the new HFS routine _GetCatInfo, which is like _GetFileInfo except that it returns information for directories as well as files. The parameter block that it returns for files is the same as the GetFileInfo parameter block, except that it's longer -- it has extra information appended to it. (Purists note: GetCatInfo's ioTrap field in the parameter block header is different from GetFileInfo's.)
Figure 2
; ; FCensus -- HFS/MFS file census routine; provides info on each file ; on a volume, whether MFS or HFS. If HFS volume, provides info on each file ; in each directory. ; ; Procedure FCensus(vRefNum: integer; DirID: longint; Inspector: ProcPtr); ; ; vRefNum ;volume reference number (or drive number) of volume. ; DirID ;ID of directory in which to begin search; pass 2 for root directory. ; The designated directory and all directories below it in the tree will ;be canvassed. Value passed is immaterial for HFS volumes. ; Inspector ;The address of a caller-supplied function: ;MyInspector(ParamBlock: ParmBlkPtr; DirID: longint): boolean; ;ParamBlock is the address of a GetFileInfo parameter block for a ;file on the volume. DirID is the ID of the file's directory (if the ;volume is an MFS volume, DirID is whatever was passed to FCensus). ;If the Inspector function returns True, FCensus will return ;immediately; otherwise FCensus will continue canvassing (continue ;to call MyInspector) until all files have been processed. ;NOTE: after FCensus returns neither the parameter block, nor the ;the filename string pointed to by its ioFileName parameter, exists. ; ; The census is depth-first, i.e., directories within directory X are ; canvassed before other directories within X's parent directory. Within a ; directory, files are accessed in alphabetic order; then directories within ; that directory are accessed in reverse alphabetic order. IncludeMacTraps.D IncludeSysEqu.D IncludeSysErr.Txt ; ; not provided in pre-HFS SysEqu/MacTraps: ; ioDirID Equ 48 ioHFQElSize Equ $6C ioDirFlgEqu 4 FSFCBLenEqu $3F6 ;addr of sys global, positive if HFS running .Trap _HFSDispatch $A260 Macro _GetCatInfo = MoveQ #9,D0 ;selector _HFSDispatch | ; A6 offsets-- OldA6 Set 0 RtnAddr Set OldA6+4 Inspec Set RtnAddr+4 DirID Set Inspec+4 vRefNum Set DirID+4 ArgsSz Set vRefNum+2-Inspec ; ParmBlk Set OldA6-ioHFQElSize ;local parameter block NameStr Set ParmBlk-256 ;local filename string buffer Index Set NameStr-2;index in current directory FCensus: Link A6,#Index Clr.L -(SP) ;sentinel for end of DirID list NextDir: Clr Index(A6) ;init index NextFile: Lea ParmBlk(A6),A0 ;pointer to param block Move vRefNum(A6),ioVRefNum(A0) Move.L DirID(A6),ioDirID(A0) Lea NameStr(A6),A1 Move.L A1,ioFileName(A0) AddQ #1,Index(A6) ;bump index for _GetCat/FileInfo Move Index(A6),ioFDirIndex(A0) Tst FSFCBLen ;HFS running? Bmi.S @0 _GetCatInfo;yes Bra.S @1 @0 _GetFileInfo ;no @1 Beq.SNodeKind ;no error Cmp #fnfErr,D0 ;end of current directory? Bne.S FCExit ;no, an unexpected problem Move.L (SP)+,DirID(A6) ;ID of dir to search next Bne.S NextDir ;go look at first file/dir in new dir Bra.S FCExit ;no more directories, all done NodeKind: Btst #ioDirFlg,ioFlAttrib(A0) ;is this a directory or a file? Beq.S CallInspec ;a file Move.L ioDirID(A0),-(SP) ;a directory, push on search list Bra.S NextFile ;and loop back CallInspec: Clr -(SP) ;space for user function result Pea ParmBlk(A6); param block ptr to user func. Move.L DirID(A6),-(SP) ;pass DirID Move.L Inspec(A6),A0;address of user function Jsr (A0);call user function Tst.B (SP)+ ;user wants us to quit now? Beq.S NextFile ;no, keep going FCExit: Unlk A6 Move.L (SP)+,A0 ;return addr Lea ArgsSz(SP),SP;pop arguments Jmp (A0);return
"SetSound" Code Bumming
Some CompuServe MAUG members were asking for a desk accessory that would let them change the Mac's sound volume with less memory overhead than required by the Control Panel. Sysop Bill Steinberg obliged by whipping out a "SetSound" DA. This was Bill's first DA, so he started with Bill Bond's and Chris Allen's DA Shell from the October, 1985 issue of MacUser magazine, and added the SetSound functional guts. When he'd finished, he asked me if I'd like a copy of his source code (Bill has always been generous about sharing source code with me). I said sure, and, knowing that small size was one of the objects of this exercise, asked him if he'd like me to see if I could further reduce its size. He thought it'd be tough to take much code out of it without changing its functionality -- so much so that he bet me a dinner that I couldn't reduce it by 50 bytes. It was originally a little less than 1K, so that was about 5%.
As I watched the code go by at 1200 baud while I was downloading it, I wasn't confident about winning the bet -- until I saw the 256-byte statically-allocated string buffer at the end. I knew then that just by allocating that dynamically, on the stack, I could win a free dinner. But I thought Bill might object to such a simple maneuver as the sole basis for determining who picked up the dinner tab. After all, moving the buffer from the DRVR resource to the stack didn't really reduce the total memory requirements of using the DA. So I got to work and massaged the code, taking out a word here, a few words there. The end result was 414 bytes smaller than the original. Of course it's a little obscure in places -- the inevitable result of optimizing ("bumming") code as much as possible.
The original version is shown in Figure 3a, and the space-optimized version in Figure 3b. Comparison of the two might provide some useful tips to students of assembly language -- especially in light of the fact that Bill's original version was competently coded, rather than a begining programmer's strawman. Thanks to Bill for being a good sport, for his permission to reprint the code, and for his wide-ranging knowledge of good restaurants.
Figure 3a
;----------------------------------------------------------------------- ; SetSound DA (original version) ; Copyright 1985 William P. Steinberg -- reprinted by permission. ; ; SetSound is a small (<1K) DA that sets default sound volume ;----------------------------------------------------------------------- Resource 'DRVR' 31 'SetSound' IncludeMacTraps.D IncludeSysEqu.D IncludeQuickEqu.D IncludeToolEqu.D IncludeSysErr.D .TRAP _CntrLi $A204 ; _Control,Immed GoodByeKiss EQU -1 TRUE EQU 1 FALSE EQU 0 DAStart: DC.W $4400 ; Flags/descriptor ; (lock in memory, can ; respond Control calls) DC.W 0 ; Tick Count DC.W 328 ; Event mask ; (will handle: keydown, ; update and activate) DC.W 0 ; Menu ID DC.W DAOpen -DAStart ; Offset to open routine DC.W DAPrime -DAStart ; Offset to prime routine DC.W DAControl-DAStart ; Offset to control rout. DC.W DAStatus -DAStart ; Offset to status rout. DC.W DAClose -DAStart ; Offset to close routine DC.B 8 ; Desk Accesory title DC.B 'SetSound' ; ( Optional - helps .ALIGN 2 ; identify DA in heap. ; DA appears in Apple ; menu using the ; name of DRVR.) DAOpen: MOVEM.LA0-A6/D0-D7,-(SP) ; Save registers MOVE.L A1,A4 ; Put DCE pointer in A4 PEA SavePort ; Save Grafport _GetPort TST.L dCtlWindow(A4) ; Does window exist ? BNE.S GoodOpen ; yes, DA already open LEA DAStart,A0 ; Get handle to the DA _RecoverHandle MOVE.L A0,-(SP) ; Get information on DA PEA DriverID ; DA id PEA DriverType ; DA type = 'DRVR' PEA DriverName ; DA name _GetResInfo SUB.L #4,SP ; Make room for result CLR.L -(SP) ; WindowRecord on heap PEA WindowRect ; address of wind rect PEA DriverName ; address of wind title MOVE.B #FALSE,-(SP) ; Make it invisibler now MOVE.W #noGrowDocProc,-(SP) ; Push window def id MOVE.L #-1,-(SP); Window in front MOVE.B #TRUE,-(SP); Give it a goaway box CLR.L -(SP) ; Window ref value _NewWindow ; Create the window MOVE.L (SP)+,D0 ; Get the window pointer LEA MyWindow,A0; Save window pointer MOVE.L D0,(A0) ; Was window created ? BEQ.S BadOpen MOVE.L MyWindow,A0; Set windowKind field to ; the DA RefNum MOVE.W dCtlRefNum(A4),windowKind(A0) ;Put window MOVE.L MyWindow,dCtlWindow(A4) ; ptr in the DCE GoodOpen: MOVE.L SavePort,-(SP) ; Restore Grafport _SetPort MOVEM.L(SP)+,A0-A6/D0-D7 ; Restore registers CLR.W D0; Return code RTS BadOpen: MOVE.L SavePort,-(SP) ; Restore Grafport _SetPort MOVEM.L(SP)+,A0-A6/D0-D7 ; Restore registers MOVE.W #-1,D0 ; Return code RTS DAClose: MOVEM.LA0-A6/D0-D7,-(SP) ; Save registers MOVE.L A1,A4 ; Device Ctrl Entry in A4 PEA SavePort ; Save Grafport _GetPort CloseDA: CLR.L -(SP) ; Get front window ptr _FrontWindow MOVE.l (SP)+,D0 DAClose1: TST.L D0; any more windows ? BEQ.S DAClose3 CMP.L MyWindow,D0; Is this our window ? BEQ.S DAClose2 MOVE.L D0,A0 MOVE.L nextWindow(A0),D0 ; Get next wind in chain BRA.S DAClose1 DAClose2: MOVE.L MyWindow,-(SP) ; Throw away window _DisposWindow CLR.L dCtlWindow(A4) ; Window gone, tell DCE DAClose3: MOVE.L SavePort,-(SP) ; Restore Grafport _SetPort MOVEM.L(SP)+,A0-A6/D0-D7 ; Restore registers CLR.W D0; Return code RTS DAControl: MOVEM.LA0-A6/D0-D7,-(SP) ; Save registers MOVE.L A0,A3 ; ptr to parm block in A3 MOVE.L A1,A4 ; pointer to DCE in A4 PEA SavePort ; Save Grafport _GetPort MOVE.L MyWindow,-(SP) ; Make mywindow _SetPort ; the Grafport ; A3 points to the parameter block which tells us what we ; need to do and supplies us with the data to carry it out. MOVE csCode(A3),D0 CMP.W #GoodByeKiss,D0 ; "GoodByeKiss" msg BEQ.S CloseDA CMP.W #accEvent,D0 ; Event msg, Sys. Evt. BNE.S CTLReturn CTLEvent: MOVE.L csParam(A3),A2 MOVE.W evtNum(A2),D0 CMP.W #keyDwnEvt,D0; Keydown event BEQ.S EVTkeyDown CMP.W #updatEvt,D0 ; Update event BEQ EVTupdateEvt CMP.W #activateEvt,D0 ; Activate event BEQ.S EVTactivateEvt CTLReturn: MOVE.L SavePort,-(SP) ; Restore Grafport _SetPort MOVEM.L(SP)+,A0-A6/D0-D7 ; Restore registers CLR.W D0; Return code MOVE.L JIODone,-(SP); Goto IODone RTS EVTactivateEvt: MOVE.W EvtMeta(A2),D0 BTST #activeFlag,D0 BEQ.S CTLReturn LEA ActivePend,A0 ST(A0) BRA.S CTLReturn EVTkeyDown: CLR.L D2 MOVE.B evtMessage+3(A2),D2 CMP.B #'0',D2 BLT.S @2 CMP.B #'7',D2 BGT.S @2 SUB.B #'0',D2 ANDI.B #7,D2 ANDI.B #$F8,SpVolCtl OR.B D2,SpVolCtl MOVEQ #7,D0 @1 CLR.L-(SP) DBRA D0,@1 MOVE.L SP,A0 MOVE.W #$FFFC,24(A0) MOVE.W #2,26(A0) MOVE.W D2,28(A0) _CntrLi ADD #32,SP LEA SysParam,A0 MOVEQ #-1,D0 _WriteParam MOVE.L MyWindow,-(SP) _SetPort PEA NumberRect _InValRect MOVE.W #3,-(SP) ; Beep on update _SysBeep ;at current level @2 BRA CTLReturn EVTupdateEvt: MOVE.L MyWindow,-(SP) ; Update MyWindow _SetPort MOVE.L MyWindow,-(SP) ; BeginUpdate(MyWindow) _BeginUpdate MOVE.L MyWindow,A0 PEA portRect(A0) _EraseRect MOVE.W #' ',-(SP) _DrawChar MOVEQ #-1,D0 MOVE D0,-(SP) _SetFontLock MOVE.L #20<<16!10,-(SP) _MoveTo MOVE.W #sysFont,-(SP) _TextFont MOVE.W #'©',-(SP) MOVE.W #applFont,-(SP) _TextFont PEA String1 _DrawString MOVE.L #35<<16!19,-(SP) _MoveTo PEA String2 _DrawString MOVE.L #50<<16!27,-(SP) _MoveTo PEA String3 _DrawString CLR.W D0 MOVE.B SpVolCtl,D0 AND.B #%00000111,D0; Mask all but low 3 bits ADD.B #'0',D0 ; Convert to ASCII MOVE.W D0,-(SP) _DrawChar MOVE.L #65<<16!37,-(SP) _MoveTo PEA String4 _DrawString MOVE.L MyWindow,-(SP) ; EndUpdate(MyWindow) _EndUpdate CLR -(SP) _SetFontLock LEA ActivePend,A0 TST.B (A0) BEQ.S @1 MOVE.W #3,-(SP) _SysBeep LEA ActivePend,A0 CLR.B (A0) @1 BRA CTLReturn ; Prime and Status are not used by Desk Accesories. ; These are included "just in case". DAPrime: DAStatus: CLR.W D0; Return code RTS SavePort: DC.L 0 ; Application's Grafport MyWindow: DC.L 0 ; DA window pointer DriverID: DC.W 0 ; DA resource id DriverType: DC.L 0 ; DA resource type DriverName: DCB.B256,0 ; DA resource name WindowRect: DC.W 40,2,115,213 ; DA window rectangle NumberRect: DC.W 38,175,50,190 ; DA number rect. ;for invalrect ActivePend: DC.B 0 String1:DC.B28,'1985 by William P. Steinberg' String2:DC.B28,'Vers 1.0 - Free Distribution' String3:DC.B23,'Current Volume Level = ' String4:DC.B21,'Enter New Level (0-7)' END
Product Briefs from Ms. Elaine E.
My trusty (if somewhat disorganized) assistant, Ms. Elaine E., has returned from a trip outside the cave with reports on some products of interest to developers...
MacExpress
MacExpress is a "generic application" which provides many powerful facilities for handling events, windows, and the desktop. Conceptually, it's a core application program that you customize. It handles all the chores of event processing, menu selections, window manipulation, etc. that are not specific to your application; you provide the code that's application-specific. It's supplied as a set of library routines for a variety of development systems (MDS, Mac C, TML Pascal, etc.) Note that these are not merely utility routines that you call for occasional services; an applicatiion built using MacExpress would, by virtue of that fact, necessarily invoke many of its fundamental event- and window-handling routines. Logically (but not physically) speaking, it's as if you begin your work with the MacExpress code already constituting the core of your application. Physically, your code consists of calls to MacExpress routines that are brought in at link time (plus, of course, your application-specific code).
For example, MacExpress automatically handles window movement, resizing, scrolling, splitting into panes; you have to worry only about what gets drawn in the windows. Similarly with menus: MacExpress handles command selection and desk accessories; you worry only about the code that implements the application-specific menu commands.
MacExpress also provides automatic facilities for handling icons on the desktop (Finder-style). You can associate icons with, e.g., windows (documents) and/or desk accessories. MacExpress will take care of handling the icons graphically (dragging them, "shadowing" them, rearranging them with a clean-up command); you specify what happens when a user opens an icon or sets it aside.
I haven't actually developed an application using MacExpress, but I've spent some time examining the documentation, demos, and sample source files that come with it. I'd seriously consider using it for a window-oriented application. (Lately, my nose has been buried in device drivers and such.) MacExpress author Al Whipple appears to have a sincere commitment to supporting the product.
ALSoft, Inc.
P.O. Box 927
Spring, TX 77383-0927 (713) 353-4090
$495 (demo version, $50, applicable to purchase)
$100/yr per application you distribute (unlimited copies)
McAssembly
McAssembly is a new assembly-language development system for the Macintosh. It consists of a two-pass assembler and linker (integrated into one application file), and a separate debugger (Macsbug-style, i.e., TTY line-oriented).
The assembler has some nice features: dummy data sections to facilitate record offset definitions; based variables, so that explicit register references need not be coded; alphanumeric local labels; decent listings (ever looked at an MDS Asm listing? --yuk) with optional cross-reference; built-in resource compiler -- the assembler knows about the formats of the commonly-used resources. Conversion of MDS Asm source files to McAssembly format is pretty straightforward.
The linker can directly include resource files (created, e.g., with ResEdit). McAssembly's .Rel file format is not compatible with anything else, but a utility is provided to convert its .Rel files to MDS format.
Equivalents for the Software Supplement equate and trap definition files are provided, as are .Rel files (in McAssembly format) corresponding to the Supplement Appletalk, Printer, etc., object files.
On paper, I like it better than MDS Asm (I've never been a fan of MDS Asm). Next time I start a new assembly project, I plan to give it a real tryout. It's been used to assemble itself and the TMON User Area (which uses every trick in the book), so I figure it's reasonably well-tested. Author Dave McWherter is responsive to enhancement suggestions.
Signature Software
2151 Brown Ave.
Bensalem, PA 19020 (215) 639-8764
$89.95
QUED
QUED is a programmer's text editor. After I bought it, I stopped using MDS Edit (and arranged to have Software Supply, i.e., me, become a dealer for QUED -- note, therefore, my financial interest in telling you about QUED).
QUED is memory-based -- the file(s) you edit must fit into memory. It will open as many files (windows) as will fit; I've had more than 30 windows open at once. Windows can be automatically arranged in a tile fashion (neat rows and columns) or stacked in the more usual manner. Each window can be horizontally and/or vertically split into independently-scrollable panes. The top two windows can be scrolled synchronously (scroll bar of either one controls both).
QUED can be told to automatically save your work every N keystrokes, and/or to save to two different disks (called the "RAMdisk" option). It will display unclosed parentheses as you're entering code, where "parentheses" are user-defined program structure elements (begin end, { }, etc.) or string or comment delimeters; or it will check the whole file for unbalanced parentheses. It has a user-editable Transfer menu. You can move the cursor and/or delete by characters, words, and lines without using the mouse. Double-click a window's title bar to enlarge it to full-screen; double-click again to restore it to its former size. QUED will print in background (spooled) mode. You can append to as well as replace the contents of the Clipboard, and exchange selected text with the Clipboard. Search/replacement can apply to multiple files, and Undo really undoes. It's compatible with MDS Edit file font, font size and tab-setting resources, and works with MDS Exec.
I like it. I use it. I sell it. The publisher is a good guy and is committed to support and enhancements.
Paragon Courseware
4954 Sun Valley Road
Del Mar, CA 92014 (619) 481-1477
$65 (+CA tax) + $2 shipping, credit cards accepted
or
Software Supply
4618 E. Sixth St.
Long Beach, CA 90814 (213) 434-3723
$65 (+CA tax), no shipping charge, checks only
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