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Text File | 1991-11-28 | 24KB | 611 lines

                                   Chapter 9.

                          The X-DOS Full Screen Editor


          Included with X-DOS is ED, a full screen text editor. This is
          ideal for creating and editing AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files
          and other batch files used by X-DOS. Because of its advanced
          features, however, it can be used for much more complicated tasks
          usually requiring the use of a separate word processor. With
          features such as automatic line wrap, the ability to set left and
          write margins, justification of text and manipulation of blocks
          of text, ED is perfect for writing and editing all kinds of text
          files. Also, because it creates pure ASCII files, files created
          in Ed can easily be downloaded into any other word processor or
          text editor.

          ED was briefly introduced in Chapter 6., The X-DOS Command
          Reference, and in this chapter we explain all the features of ED
          in more detail.


































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     RUNNING ED

          To start ED, simply type ED at the DOS prompt. The full syntax of
          the ED command is:

                          ED [d:][path][filename] [/W]

          Where:      d:path is the drive and path to a file you want to
                      load into ED.

                      filename is the name of a file to load into ED.
                      /W enables ED to edit files in ⌐Wordstar format¬.

     The Structure of ED

          ED is based on a menu interface which makes it very easy to use.
          ED is a full-screen editor that always displays a large amount of
          text on the screen and has the ability to manipulate this text in
          blocks.  These are strong features that will save time and make
          it much less demanding to use than a line editor.

          When running ED, you are placed in the editing-mode where text is
          entered or altered by input from the keyboard.  The combination
          of the menu interface and the hot keys add powerful editing
          facilities.  If you are a first-time user the menu interface can
          be utilized right away.  When you have acquired a better
          understanding of the features in ED, all the menu commands can be
          accessed faster by using hot keys.  In addition to saving time,
          the hot keys also incorporate block editing facilities and other
          powerful features, not accessible from the menu interface.

     Options for Starting ED

          There are several commands available to ED from the DOS prompt.
          By invoking ED with the optional /W switch, files in Wordstar
          format can be edited in ED.  This is done by stripping all
          control characters from the file before it is displayed on the
          screen. If you have a Wordstar format file called TEXT.WS which
          you want to edit in ED, you should type the following command at
          the DOS command line:

                                 ED TEXT.WS /W

          The SET ED= command gives you a range of possibilities to
          customize ED for your particular needs.  ED recognizes five
          switches with the SET ED= command.  These are W (Wordwrap), T
          (Tab), I (Indent), L (Left Margin), and R (Right Margin).
          The SET command could look something like this:

                             SET ED=W,T5,I5,L5,R75

          This SET command would put ED into wordwrap mode, set the space




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          between the tabs to 5, indent every paragraph 5 spaces, set the
          left margin to 5, and set the right margin to 75.  Normally you
          will have a preferred setting for ED.  If you use the SET ED=
          command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, your settings will always be
          selected when booting your computer.  It is not necessary to use
          all the switches in the SET command.  Do not use spaces between
          any of the parameters with the SET ED= command.  You can also use
          the X-DOS installation program to install these settings in your
          AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

     The Status Line

          The bottom line on the screen always functions as a status line.
          The status line displays basic information that is very useful
          when editing text; especially larger text files.
          The name of the file currently being edited or created, is
          displayed with the complete path.  If a name is not specified at
          startup, ED will display ⌐new file¬ until the file is saved under
          another name.

          [I/C/N/W]
          This set of square brackets contains important information on the
          current status of the keyboard.  The following information is
          displayed:

               I    Insert mode is active
               C    CapsLock is active
               N    NumLock is active
               W    Wordwrap at the end of the line

          [I/ / / ]
          When the I switch is ON, the Insert mode is in effect. In Insert
          mode, all text after the cursor is pushed to the right when new
          text is entered. If the I switch is OFF, ED is in Overwrite mode
          and overwrites text to the right of the cursor.  To toggle this
          switch ON or OFF, press the <> key on your keyboard.

          [ /C/ / ]
          When the C switch is ON, the <> key is in effect.  Thus, all
          letters will be entered in upper-case, unless the <> key is
          pressed, in which case they will be in lower-case.

          [ / /N/ ]
          When the N switch is ON, the <> key is in effect, which means
          that the keypad can be used to enter digits.

          [ / / /W]
          When the W switch is ON, ED is in wordwrap mode.  When the cursor
          reaches the right margin (default right margin is column 78), ED
          automatically wraps the text to the next line.  Toggle the
          wordwrap mode ON or OFF with the W hot key.





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          F10=Menu
          A reminder that the main menu is activated by pressing the <>
          function key.

          Line: n
          Shows the line number where the cursor is at, counting from the
          start of the file.

          Col.: m
          Shows the number of the column where the cursor is at.

     The Menu Interface

          To ease the use of ED, the command has a menu interface.  Most
          items in the menu are used for manipulation of text files.  To
          access the main menu from the editing screen press the <>
          function key.

          Use the <> and <> arrow keys to move between the different menu
          items or a mouse if you have one installed.  To select an item,
          highlight your choice and press <>.  You can also use the
          highlighted quick keys to select a menu item.  Most of the main
          menu items prompts you with a sub-menu so you to define the
          action to take place.  If, for instance, you choose the Load File
          menu, you will be prompted with a sub-menu, asking you to enter
          the name of the file.  To leave the main menu without choosing
          any options, press the <> key.  Everywhere in the menu system,
          choices are made by pressing the <> key.  The <> key always
          brings you one level back in the menus. Following is a
          description on each of the main menu options.  You can get help
          on any of the main menu items by pressing the <> function key
          when a menu item is highlighted.

          Load File
          If you choose Load File from the main menu (see below), you are
          prompted for the name of the file to load into ED.
          Type the name of an already existing file to edit this file or
          write the name of a non-existing file to create a new file with
          that particular name.  If you want to edit a file that does not
          reside in the default directory, you have to specify the complete
          path for that file, like this:

                             C:\DIFFDIR\MYTEXT.DOC

          If you try to load a file that does not reside in the default
          directory without specifying a pathname, ED assumes that you want
          to create a new file with the specified name.  If you are not
          sure that the file you want to edit is in the default directory,
          you can use the Directory menu item from the main menu to find
          the file.

          Write File




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          The function of this menu is to save your text file onto a
          diskette or hard disk. It is always recommended that you save
          your file often during text editing to prevent loss of data due
          to system crash or power failure.  If you are editing a file that
          you previously loaded into ED with the Load File item or from the
          command line, ED will display the name of the file and you only
          need to press <> to save it to the disk(ette).  If you are
          creating a new file, ED prompts you for a filename like this:

          New File
          By choosing this menu item from the main menu, you clear all text
          currently residing in ED.  Use this command very carefully, since
          it will erase any data you already have in ED.  ED has a built-in
          safe guard which will prompt you to save any unsaved data when
          you choose this menu item.  If you have not saved the text in ED
          before issuing this command, you must acknowledge that you want
          to start a new text file, without first saving the old file.

          Search Pattern
          In larger text files it is quite easy to forget where a
          particular part of text is located.  The Search Pattern menu item
          prompts you with an entry box in which you can specify a string
          of text up to 20 characters long as a search pattern.  You must
          enter a word or part of a word which you know is included in the
          text you are looking for.

          The search pattern you specify can be any part of a word but it
          cannot include any spaces.  Therefore, it is not possible to
          specify a search pattern consisting of more than one word.
          The search pattern is case-sensitive so you will have to enter
          the search pattern exactly as it appears in the text.  You also
          have to tell ED which way to search.  This is done in the second
          entry of the Search Pattern entry box.  Type 'D' to search down
          (read forward) in the text file from your current cursor position
          or type 'U' to search up (read backwards).  You can tell ED
          exactly how may occurrences of the specified search pattern to
          skip before stopping on a matching text pattern.  This is done in
          the Occurrence entry of the Search Pattern entry box.  You can
          use the S hot key to continue the search each time ED has found a
          matching string.

          Change Pattern
          The function of this menu item is quite similar to that of the
          Search Pattern menu item.  In addition to finding a particular
          string, the Change Pattern menu item also lets you specify a
          replacement string.  This enables you to change a word all the
          way through a text file without missing any occurrences if you
          specify a `*' in the How many (*) entry.  The search is case-
          sensitive.

          Go to Line
          This menu item lets you specify a line number where you want to




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          position the cursor.  This is a fast and efficient way to get
          around in large text files.
          If you specify a line number larger than the existing number of
          lines, ED gives the error message ⌐Wrong line number¬ and lets
          you specify a new line number.

          Insert File
          This menu item lets you combine multiple text files into one
          file.  You will be prompted to type the name of the file you want
          to insert.  ED places the inserted file at the current cursor
          position, automatically moving all text after the current cursor
          position to the end of the inserted file.  This allows you to
          insert other text files anywhere in your text file just by moving
          the cursor to the position where you want the new text to be
          inserted and select the Insert File menu item.

          Directory
          If you choose this menu item from the main menu, ED will display
          a list of all the files in the default directory.  If the default
          directory holds more files than is displayed in the directory
          list, you can use the arrow keys and the <> and <> keys to scroll
          back and forth in the list.

          Print
          This command lets you print all or part of the text file you are
          currently editing.  When you select the Print menu item you are
          prompted with an entry box.

          By default ED assumes that you want to print the entire document
          and has therefore already filled out the first two entries of the
          Print File entry box with the first and the last line of your
          document.  By specifying different values in the From line and To
          line entries, you can make ED print only part of a text file.
          The entry Page Break (Y/N) breaks the text file into pages of 60
          lines if you input a 'Y' here.  The last entry, With header
          (Y/N), gives you the option to have a header printed on the top
          of each printed page of your text file (the default is without a
          header).  The header looks similar to the following:
          FILENAME : myfile.doc DATE : 02/23/90  TIME : 17:01:11  PAGE:1

          Exit
          This is the option to choose if you want to leave ED.  If unsaved
          text still resides in ED, you will be prompted with a menu from
          which you can choose to go back to ED, exit without saving, or
          write the file (save it) before exiting ED.

          Gateway to DOS
          This menu item lets you leave ED temporarily to run a X-DOS
          command or to run another program while still keeping ED in
          memory.  Whatever text you had in ED before using the Gateway to
          DOS menu item will still be there when you return to ED.  You can
          return to ED by typing 'EXIT' at the command line followed by




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          pressing the <> key.

          Help on Editor
          This menu item displays all of the editing facilities available
          in ED together with the associated hot keys.  The windows of
          commands can be paged through one by one using the <> and <> keys
          on your keyboard.

     Block Commands

          ED has five commands for manipulating blocks of text.  These
          commands are invoked by the use of hot keys.

          Mark Block
          Place the cursor at the beginning or at the end of the block of
          text that you want to mark and press <>M to define the beginning
          of the marked text.  Use the <> and <> arrow keys and the <> and
          <> keys to expand the block of marked text.  The marked text will
          become highlighted.  Once you have highlighted the text you want
          to manipulate, use one of the three block commands <>B, <>Q, <>R
          or <>J.  If you decide not to perform any actions on the block of
          text you have marked, press the <>M hot key again to unmark the
          text.

          Copy Block to Paste Board (<>B)
          This command copies the marked block of text and stores it in an
          area of memory called the Paste Board.  This command is ideal for
          making copies of the same text for use in different places of
          your document.

          Delete Block to Paste Board )<>Q)
          This command deletes the marked block of text and stores it in
          the paste board.  This command is an easy way to move text around
          in a text file.

          Insert Paste Board Contents (<>R
          This command places the contents of the paste board at the
          current cursor position in your text file.  You can perform this
          operation as many times as you want.  It is important to note
          that only one block of text is kept in the paste board at any
          time.

          Justify Block (<>J)
          This command right-justifies a paragraph of marked text by
          inserting spaces between words in each line.  This gives your
          text a nice, even look.  It is suggested that you justify only
          one paragraph at a time, to avoid unintentional justification.

     Margins and Wordwrap

          Besides right justification, ED also gives you the capability to
          set the right and left margins from within the text file.  The




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          default margin settings are displayed by two triangle marks at
          the bottom of the screen, pointing up just above the status line.
          These margins can be set with the SET ED= command at the command
          line.  If you type in text without changing the default margin or
          wordwrap settings, the text will start in column 0 and will
          continue across the page until you press <>.  To make the text
          wrap around to the next line, you must enable the wordwrap
          function.  To do this from within ED, press the W hot key.

          The default right margin for the wordwrap function is column 78
          if no margin settings are defined. You can set the margins with
          the SET command or from within ED by using the L hot key to set
          the left margin and the R hot key to set the right margin.  To
          set the margins from within ED, place the cursor in the column
          you want to set as the left margin and press L and then place the
          cursor in the column you want to set as the right margin and
          press R.

          The <>J command (Justify Block) will right justify a marked
          paragraph of text within the specified margins.

     Delete/Undelete Functions

          Delete until End of Line (<>E)
          By issuing this command you delete all text from the current
          cursor position until the end of the line.

          Delete Current Line  (<>D)
          This command deletes the entire line in which the cursor is
          located.

          Undelete Line  (<>U)
          If you accidentally delete a line with the Delete Current Line
          (<>D) command, you can use Undelete Line command to undo the
          deletion.  ED remembers the most recent deleted line.  This
          command, together with the Delete Current Line command, can be
          used to move lines in your text file.

     Quick Command Reference

          All editing commands can be accessed directly by a single
          keystroke or by the use of the <> or  key in combination with
          another key.  To use the <>/ key commands, the <> or  key must be
          held down while the other key is pressed.  See the table below
          for a list of all the hot key combinations.
               <Home>         Places the cursor at the beginning of the
                              line.

               <End>          Places the cursor at the end of the line.

               <Ctrl><Home>   Places the cursor at the beginning of the
                              text file.




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               <Ctrl><End>    Places the cursor at the end of the text
                              file.

               <Ins>          Switches between Insert and Overwrite modes.

               <Del>          Deletes the character at the current cursor
                              position.

               <PgDn>         Shows the next screen of text.

               <PgUp>         Shows the previous screen of text.

               <Down>Arrow    Moves  the cursor down one line.

               <Up>Arrow      Moves the cursor up one line.

               <Left>Arrow    Moves the cursor one character left.

               <Right>Arrow   Moves the cursor one character right.

               <Backspace>    Deletes the character to the left of the
                              cursor.

               <Enter>        Adds a new line after the current line.

               <Alt>B         Copies a marked block of text to the paste
                              board.

               <Alt>C         Changes a string of text with another string
                              of text.

               <Alt>D         Deletes current line.

               <Alt>E         Deletes characters from current position to
                              end of the line.

               <Alt>G         Gateway to X-DOS.  Exits you to the command
                              line

               <Alt>H         Help on ED.  Displays summary of available
                              hot keys.

               <Alt>I         Inserts another text file at the current
                              cursor position.

               <Alt>J         Right justifies a marked block of text.

               <Alt>L         Loads a new file into ED.

               <Ctrl>L        Sets the left margin at the current cursor
                              position.




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               <Alt>M         Marks a block of text.  Use cursor keys

               <Alt>N         Starts new file. Will prompt if current file
                              not saved.

               <Alt>O         Places the cursor at a specified line number.

               <Alt>Q         Deletes a marked block of text to the paste
                              board.

               <Alt>R         Inserts text in paste board at the current
                              cursor position.

               <Ctrl>R        Sets the right margin at the current cursor
                              position.

               <Alt>S         Searches the text file for a specified string
                              of text.

               <Ctrl>S        Searches for the next occurrence of a text
                              string.

               <Alt>U         Undeletes text deleted with the <Alt>D hot
                              key.

               <Alt>V         Displays the contents of the default
                              directory.
                              You can select a file to load or insert into
                              an existing text file by pressing <Alt> on
                              any one of the displayed files and then press
                              <Alt>L or <Alt>I.

               <Alt>W         Writes the current text file to the disk.

               <Ctrl>W        Toggles wordwrap mode ON or OFF.

               <Alt>X         Exits ED.


















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