1. Overview | Contents | 3. The Menus of the Editor

Chapter 2 The Editor

  Starting the Editor

  The Program Windows

  Keyboard Assignment
           The keyboard assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF The keyboard assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF.Omikron

  Special Characters, Abbreviations & Name Completion
           Special characters
           Abbreviations
           Automatic name completion

  The Dialog Windows

  The Built-in Screen Saver  

Starting the Editor

The editor can be started in different ways:

1. Double-click on the icon of the Omikron Basic.
2. Select the icon with the mouse and then choose 'Open' in the finder menu.
3. With the mouse drag a *.BAS file onto the Omikron Basic icon.
In this case, the editor will first be started and the file *.BAS is loaded automatically and simultaneously.

If less than 4 MB of memory is available on the computer, Omikron Basic might issue the following message: "Program Cannot Be Started Due to Lack of Memory." In this case, the file NEWOMBAS.INF should be deleted or renamed. The program then starts with a minimum configuration. If even this is not sufficient, the only thing that will help is the installation of additional RAM. When the program is started for the first time, a dialog box will appear where the program has to be registered using the name of the user name and the registration number from the diskette.

The Program Windows

The BASIC programs to be processed are managed by the editor in separate windows. The name of the respective program is listed in the title bar. If a program is modified, the editor indicates this with an '*' before the name in the title bar of the window. After saving the program, the '*' is of course removed again.

In the information bar of a program window, the cursor position is indicated as well as the program size and the amount of memory for storage, which are reserved for this program and is thus still available. A mouse click on the readout 'Y=...' has the same effect as the menu option 'Go To.' A dialog window opens, into which the jump target can be entered. If a syntax error occurs during input, the input line is marked in red and/or gray on monochrome monitors and a message appears on the information bar, which gives further details about the error. Functions, which affect the program code in windows, always influence only the uppermost window.

Keyboard Assignment

Two *.INF files are located on the diskette, each with different shortcuts for the cursor and menu controls: The file NEWOMBAS.INF contains a keyboard assignment as it is customary for the Apple computer, while the assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF.Omikron is known from the ATARI version. While the editor starts, it always searches for a file with the name NEWOMBAS.INF. Renaming this file gives the user the opportunity to load the file of his or her choice. It is also possible to load the file later from within the dialog 'Preferences'.

Keyboard Assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF  

Ctrl+Cursor left	Cursor one page to the left
Ctrl+Cursor right	Cursor one page to the right
Cmd+Cursor above	Cursor one page up
Cmd+Cursor below	Cursor one page down
Cmd+Cursor left	Cursor to beginning of line
Cmd+Cursor right	Cursor to end of line
Beginning	Cursor to program start
End	Cursor to end of program
Return	Insert a line below
Shift+Return	Insert a line above
Ctrl+Return	Split line
Ctrl+Delete	Delete rest of line
Shift+Delete	Delete cursor line
Alt+Delete	Delete cursor line, rest moves up
TAB	To the next tab
Ctrl+A	Enter special character
F1	Preselection key for ASCII+64
F2	Preselection key for ASCII+128
Ctrl+Insert	Switch between insert and replace mode
F15 (Undo)	Reconstruct old text
F13 (Help)	Call up help text
Ctrl+TAB	Set indent pointer
F11	Continue after colon
F12	Continue next line
Ctrl+1...0	Set marker 1 to 10
Alt+1...0	Jump to marker 1 to 10

Keyboard Assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF.Omikron:  

Ctrl+Cursor left	Cursor one page to the left
Ctrl+Cursor right	Cursor one page to the right
Ctrl+Cursor above	Cursor one page up
Ctrl+Cursor below	Cursor one page down
Shift+Cursor is left	Cursor at the beginning of line
Shift+Cursor is right	Cursor to end of line
Home	Cursor to program start
Shift+Home	Cursor to end of program
Return	A line below may insert
Shift+Return	Insert a line above
Ctrl+Return	Split line
Ctrl+Delete	Delete rest of the line
Shift+Delete	Delete cursor line
Alt+Delete	Delete cursor line, rest moves up
TAB	To the next tab
Ctrl+A	Enter special character
F1	Preselection key for ASCII+64
F2	Preselection key for ASCII+128
Ctrl+Insert	Switch between insert and replace mode
F15(Undo)	Reconstruct old text
F13(Help)	Call on help text
Ctrl+TAB	Set indent pointer
Ctrl+1...0	Set marker 1 to 10
Alt+1...0	Jump to marker 1 to 10

Note: The keyboard assignment can be adjusted as desired with Set Shortcuts.

Special Characters, Abbreviations, and Automatic Name Completion

Special Characters:
If special characters are to be added to the editor, which normally would trigger some sort of function, this can be achieved by first pressing [Ctrl]+[A]. The special character, which is entered afterwards, will then not be interpreted as a shortcut but represented in the editor instead. 

Abbreviations:
BASIC commands can also be abbreviated with a point. If the abbreviation is unambiguous, the command with the lowest token code is selected.

Automatic Name Completion:
Those users who like to work with long variable names can save him- or herself a lot of typing time from hereon. For this purpose, the keys [0 to 9],[*],[-], and [+] on the numeric keypad in connection with the [Ctrl] key or the combination [Shift]+[TAB] are used. For example, instead of typing in "Customers_Addresses_Amount"the user now only enters "Customers" and then presses [Ctrl]+[*] or [Shift]+[TAB]. The editor then searches in the variable table for entries that begin with "Customer". If the editor finds an entry, the complete name is represented on the screen. If the name is incorrect, that is, it actually reads "Customer_No"it is possible to cause the editor to display the next suggestion by once more pressing [Ctrl]+[*] and/or [Shift]+[TAB] or [Ctrl]+[+]. With [Ctrl]+[-] the user can search the variable table backwards. The key combinations [Ctrl]+[0 to 9] have the same functions as [Ctrl]+[*] and/or [Shift]+[TAB], except that one can determine the dimension of the variable to be located via the digit.

The Dialog Windows

Dialogs are all represented in windows. The dialog windows can be moved with the Title bar. If the entries are not absolutely necessary for the further program execution, the dialogs can be left at any time by mouse clicking in another window. The dialog windows can remain opened while working with the program.

The following exit buttons can also be accessed via the keyboard:
"OK" = [Return] : The function is carried out. The box remains on the screen (only if modeless).
"OK & Close" = [Enter] : The function is carried out. The box is removed.
"Exit" =[Esc] : The box is removed without first carrying out the function.

Otherwise, all keys can be used for editing just like in the program window.
Special feature in the case of the 'Replace Text' and 'Rename Token': The text in the upper line is copied to the lower one using [Ctrl]+[I].

Note: The keyboard assignment can be adjusted as desired with Set Shortcuts.

The Built-in Screen Saver

Since most of the screen savers do produce pretty pictures or patterns but also place unnecessary stress on the computer and monitor (at least use energy), Omikron Basic features a sleep corner. If the mouse cursor is moved to the left bottom corner and left there for at least 0.5 seconds, the screen turns dark and Omikron Basic enters into a holding loop. The computer is not awakened with an alarm clock but by simply moving the mouse cursor out of the corner. The computer is not blocked during the holding loop, so that the program can continue with its computations although the monitor is dark.