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Text File | 1994-01-28 | 49.4 KB | 1,227 lines

EdIt! (tm) version 1.1 by Steve Yates This text and program are Copyright (C) 1993-94 by Steven M. Yates All Rights Reserved Worldwide EdIt! v1.1 Page i ------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents Table Of Contents...................................... i Disclaimer & License Agreement........................ ii Distribution Information............................. iii Definition of Shareware.............................. iii Installation & Quick Start............................. 1 Product Description.................................... 1 Why Should I Register?................................. 2 Ordering Information ................................. 2 Configuration File..................................... 3 Command Line Operation................................. 3 Command Line Options.............................. 3 Command Line Parsing.............................. 4 Editing A File......................................... 5 Key Bindings...................................... 6 Selecting Text.................................... 7 Menus And Dialog Boxes................................. 7 Overview.......................................... 7 File Menu......................................... 8 Edit Menu........................................ 10 Search Menu...................................... 10 Format Menu...................................... 11 Window Menu...................................... 12 Tools Menu....................................... 13 EdIt! Menu....................................... 14 Help Menu........................................ 14 Technical Notes & Troubleshooting..................... 15 Reformatting..................................... 15 TSRs ............................................ 15 How To Contact The Author ............................ 16 EdIt! v1.1 Page ii ------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: USE OF THIS SOFTWARE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THE FOLLOWING DISCLAIMER & LICENSE AGREEMENT ! DISCLAIMER ========== Users of EdIt! must accept this disclaimer of warranty: EdIt! IS SUPPLIED 'AS IS.' STEVE YATES (AUTHOR) DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND OF FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. THE AUTHOR ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES) FOR ANY REASON WHICH MAY RESULT FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE EdIt!. ALL RISKS ARE ASSUMED BY THE USERS OF THIS SOFTWARE. LICENSE AGREEMENT ================= Read the following terms and conditions carefully. Use of this product constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions and your agreement to follow them. STEVE YATES (AUTHOR) GRANTS YOU, THE END USER, A NONEXCLUSIVE PERSONAL LICENSE TO USE THIS SOFTWARE FOR A PERIOD UP TO 30 DAYS IN ORDER TO EVALUATE ITS SUITABILITY TO YOUR NEEDS. AFTER THE EVALUATION PERIOD YOU MUST EITHER REGISTER WITH THE AUTHOR OR CEASE USING THE SOFTWARE. YOU MAY USE THE SOFTWARE ON A SINGLE PERSONAL COMPUTER SYSTEM AND MAKE AS MANY COPIES AS NEEDED FOR BACKUP AND ARCHIVAL. YOU MAY ALSO DISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE, UNMODIFIED AND IN ITS ENTIRETY, TO OTHERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN EVALUATING THE SOFTWARE AS PER THE FOLLOWING DISTRIBUTION LICENSE. YOU MAY NOT MODIFY, ALTER, TRANSLATE, DISASSEMBLE, DECOMPILE, OR LEASE THE SOFTWARE OR THIS MANUAL. THIS LICENSE IS EFFECTIVE UNTIL TERMINATED. YOU MAY TERMINATE IT AT ANY TIME BY DESTROYING THE SOFTWARE. IT WILL ALSO TERMINATE IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY WITH ANY TERM OR CONDITION OF THIS AGREEMENT. YOU AGREE UPON SUCH TERMINATION TO DESTROY THE SOFTWARE. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. EdIt! is a "Shareware" program (see note below) and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share this evaluation copy with your friends, but you may not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using EdIt! and continue to use EdIt! after a 30-day trial period, you must register with the author. EdIt! v1.1 Page iii ------------------------------------------------------------ The $20 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book, i.e., this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is NO POSSIBILITY of it being used at one location while it is being used at another, just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Volume discounts and site-licensing information is available in the Ordering Information section on page 2. You are encouraged to pass an evaluation copy of EdIt! along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they continue to use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest 1.x version of EdIt!, along with the other registration benefits outlined on page 2. DISTRIBUTION LICENSE AND INFORMATION ==================================== You are hereby granted a limited license to freely distribute the evaluation version of EdIt!, subject to the following terms and conditions. Any other use, distribution or representation of EdIt! is expressly forbidden without the express written consent of the author. (1) EdIt!, its documentation, and accompanying files may not be altered under any circumstances, and must be distributed as a complete unit. Please contact the author for information on obtaining a complete copy of the latest version for evaluation and distribution if yours is incomplete or has been modified. (2) Under no circumstances must the purchaser or receiver of the software be given the impression that he/she is buying or receiving a license to use the software itself, but merely an evaluation copy. (3) Any disputes concerning this software shall be resolved subject to the applicable laws of the United States of America and the State of Illinois. (4) Failure to abide by these provisions constitutes violation of U.S. federal copyright laws, and will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible. DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE ======================= First, let's consider what Shareware is not. Shareware is NOT "free" or "public domain" software, it is EdIt! v1.1 Page iv ------------------------------------------------------------ a type of distribution method designed to lower costs for everyone involved. Any fee that you may have paid to obtain this or any Shareware program from a disk vendor, computer bulletin board service, user group, or retailer was to cover their cost of getting the program to you. Shareware is paid for by registering with the author. Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it; some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality (in both cases there are good programs and bad ones!). The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Again, Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it is commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try the software *before* you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee: if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. Without product registrations, however, programmers receive no compensation for their work and thereby are not encouraged to continue developing software. They have trusted you by providing a full-featured product, and they expect you to reciprocate that trust. EdIt! v1.1 Page 1 ------------------------------------------------------------ INSTALLATION & QUICK START ========================== Please see the ED-READ.ME file for a list of exactly which files should be included in this archive. If it is missing, your copy of EdIt! is incomplete or has been altered. To install EdIt!, you only need to copy all the files included in this archive to a directory that is on your PATH (type PATH at the DOS prompt to display your PATH; to find out more about your PATH statement, consult your DOS manual). This way, EdIt! can be run from any directory or disk drive. That's it! For those of you who prefer a "quickie" approach to new software, type ED /? at the DOS prompt for a one-page command summary, or ED to jump right into the program. It is my hope that EdIt! is easy enough to learn without reading this manual. JUST WHAT IS EdIt!, ANYWAY? =========================== EdIt! is a small, fast replacement for the editor from DOS 5.0 and later (and the infamous EDLIN from earlier DOS versions!) with the following features and benefits (and many more): * Potentially save hours updating files across LANs * LANtastic network support (NET USE, NET, NET_MGR) * Ability to open multiple files and groups of files from the command line (wildcards allowed) * Windowed interface (written in Borland's Turbo Vision) * Mouse support * Small size -- 129k total! (approx. 1/3 that of DOS's EDIT & QBASIC combination, 1/4 the size of Boxer 5.0, and 1/10 the size of VED 3.31!) * Fast; written in Turbo Pascal and assembler, not BASIC * Does not require QBASIC.EXE to run, as does DOS's EDIT * Wordwrap * Paragraph and document reformatting * Variable right margin & tab stop settings * Auto-indent mode * Text can be centered * Ability to jump to specific line numbers and "preset" locations in documents * Undo * Search & replace * Clipboard (cut, copy and paste) EdIt! v1.1 Page 2 ------------------------------------------------------------ WHY SHOULD I REGISTER? ====================== There are several registration incentives. First and foremost, you will know that you are doing the right (and legal!) thing by paying for the software you use. When you register, you will also receive: * The latest 1.x version of EdIt!, encoded with your name and serial number. * Registered version of EdIt! is approx. 2.5kb smaller * A discount on future versions (half price or less) * Your version can be optimized for '286+ computers (see note on page 3) * No "reminder" screens * Notification of the release of new versions * When upgrading, newer versions of EdIt! will read old EDIT!.CFG files. I would like to ask that if you decide not to register and discontinue using EdIt!, please send me a postcard or e-mail letting me know why, so that I may implement your suggestions in future versions. ORDERING INFORMATION ==================== To order EdIt!, please use the ordering form. To print this form, simply choose "Print Registration Form..." from the Help menu. Mail the registration form to the following address (please do not try to call, as I will not be there): Steve Yates 279 Main Street Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-5353 Pricing for EdIt! is as follows. These prices will be good for all 1.x releases of EdIt!. All prices are in U.S. Dollars, so please make all checks out in this currency. Please note that there is a surcharge of $5.00 for all checks drawn on banks outside the U.S. and Canada, to help offset my added cost (note that it probably will take longer for these checks to clear). Please add $2.00 shipping to all orders, and allow 3 weeks for delivery. Number of Users Price Per Copy --------------- -------------- 1 $ 20.00 2 18.00 up to 5 16.00 up to 10 14.00 up to 25 12.00 site license (unlimited) 400.00 EdIt! v1.1 Page 3 ------------------------------------------------------------ Registered users have the option of receiving a version compiled for 80286 processors. This version will run slightly faster on the 80286 and above family of processors, and is slightly smaller. However, it will NOT run on 8086 or 8088 machines (mostly early IBM PCs and clones). If you are not sure which type of machine you have, or will be using EdIt! in various locations or on a network, do *not* choose this option. CONFIGURATION FILE ================== Upon startup, EdIt! will search for its EDIT!.CFG file. EdIt! looks first for an environment variable called EDIT! to point it to the proper directory (SET EDIT!=C:\). This is done to facilitate multiple configurations--on a network, for example. If the EDIT! variable is not found, EdIt! looks in the the current directory, then the directory where EDIT!.EXE is located, then in order through the user's PATH statement. If no config file is found, EdIt! will still run, but revert to its default configuration (the same as the first time you ran EdIt!). Similarly, if a corrupted EDIT!.CFG (or one created by a different version of EdIt!) is found, EdIt! will display its pathname, warn the user to remove it, and revert to its default configuration. EDIT!.CFG will be saved in the directory given by the EDIT! environment variable if none is found. COMMAND LINE OPERATION ====================== Command Line Options -------------------- There are nine command line options, or switches, for EdIt!, which may be used in any order and may be either upper or lower case. The only exception is the one to display the help screen, "/?", which must be placed first (as in "ED -?"). Options must be prefixed with a "-" or "/", with a space between options. The rest of the options are: /S: On startup, opens \AUTOEXEC.BAT and \CONFIG.SYS in the root directory of the default drive (the default is the current drive, unless specified otherwise using the /D option, below). (Typing a backslash ("\") before any file or directory name as indicated above indicates that the pathname begins in the root directory of the drive; i.e., \UTIL\ED.EXE is the same as C:\UTIL\ED.EXE, assuming you are on drive C:) EdIt! v1.1 Page 4 ------------------------------------------------------------ /W: On startup, opens \AUTOEXEC.BAT, \CONFIG.SYS, \[Your_Windows_Dir]\WIN.INI and \[Your_Windows_Dir]\SYSTEM.INI. EdIt! reads its EDIT!.CFG file upon startup to learn what you have set as your Windows directory (in EdIt!, select Tools|Configuration... to set this directory). /[#]: On startup, opens the four files specified in the specified file group (#1, #2, #3, or #4). In EdIt!, select Tools|Configuration... to set these filenames (see Tools|Configuration, below, for more information). /Dd: Changes the default drive to drive "d". The default drive is the current drive unless otherwise specified by this option. This is true both for the above command line options and for their equivalents in the program (see the EdIt! menu). EdIt! attempts to make sure your choice of drives is valid by accessing the NUL file in the root directory. With this option, users can set each drive letter to a different server, for example, to easily update files across a network with the file groups discussed above. /V: Starts EdIt! in 43/50-line mode, if available on the user's computer. /M: Starts EdIt! in Monochrome/grayscale mode, instead of color mode. Useful when the user has a grayscale monitor and a color video adapter. Command Line Parsing -------------------- Upon startup, EdIt! first checks to see if the first command line option (if present) is "/?". If so, it displays the help screen and quits. If not, the program checks to see if a default drive was specified using the "/Dd" option, and validates it (see Command Line Options). If two or more "/D"s are specified on one line, EdIt! will end up using the last one to set the default drive. At this time, EdIt! also checks for the "/V" option on the command line. Next, EdIt! will process the command line in order from left to right, opening any valid filenames found and/or processing any command line options. Remember, wildcards are perfectly OK! EdIt! will not open any executable files (EXE/COM) or archive files (ZIP/ARJ/ARC/ PAK/ZOO/LZH), as they (along with any binary file) will probably be corrupted if modified and Saved by EdIt!. This is also to allow better use of the command line "ED *.*" in a directory with these files. EdIt! v1.1 Page 5 ------------------------------------------------------------ Finally, EdIt! will cascade all open windows on the desktop for easy selection. Note that after eighteen windows are open there is no more space in which to cascade them; in this event, the remaining windows are opened full screen (memory permitting, of course). EDITING A FILE ============== Key Bindings ------------ In general, there are two "rules" to EdIt!'s hotkeys. First, there are at least two keys for almost everything. Second, if you know of a hotkey combination, try it--it probably works (if it doesn't, let me know about it...if enough people ask, I will change it in future versions). I have tried to make the key choices as logical as possible, and every menu option has its hotkey displayed. Keys are bound to some of the traditional WordStar key bindings, although a few changes had to be made (the block and cut/copy/paste commands come to mind). On the next page is a list of the key bindings in EdIt!: EdIt! v1.1 Page 6 ------------------------------------------------------------ Control+ Command Control-K + Command -------- --------- ----------- --------- A Set tab stops # Set place marker B Reformat paragraph B Start select C Copy C Paste D Reformat document D Save E Center text F SaveAs F Find H Hide selection G Find again K Copy H Backspace S Save I Toggle autoindent T Select word L Jump to line number Y Cut M Set right margin X Save & close file N Insert line P Insert page break Control-J + Command R Replace ----------- --------- T Delete word # Jump to marker U Undo V Paste Control-S + Command W Toggle wordwrap ----------- --------- X Cut # Set place marker Y Delete line Left Left one word Control-Q + Command Right Right one word ----------- --------- Home Top of page # Jump to marker End Bottom of page A Replace PgUp Start of document C End of document PgDn End of document D End of line BkSpace Delete to line start F Find Delete Clear H Del to line start I Toggle AutoIndent L Undo R Start of document S Start of line U Reformat document Y Del to line end EdIt! v1.1 Page 7 ------------------------------------------------------------ Selecting Text -------------- The selection can be started by holding down the shift key with any of the cursor movement commands, or via the mouse. For those of you familiar with WordStar's block commands, they are simulated by copying the information to and from the clipboard. For example, ^K^B will begin selecting text. ^K^K will copy the text to the clipboard. ^K^C will paste the contents from the clipboard to the editor. This simulates, quite closely, the keystrokes to do the same thing using WordStar bindings. If text is inserted into the editor, either through a key press or pasting from the clipboard, the contents of the selection are replaced by the inserted text. If there is no selection, the text is inserted at the cursor position. MENUS AND DIALOG BOXES ====================== Overview -------- The menu bar, as well as elements in dialog boxes, may be selected quickly by simultaneously pressing ALT and the highlighted letter of the menu you wish to use. Menu choices may be selected by pressing the highlighted letter or by using the arrow keys. Those menu choices that have hot keys have them listed (in general, those hot keys having to do with file or global/system operations use the ALT key, while text and formatting hot keys use the CTRL key). The F10 key will also activate the menu bar. In EdIt!'s dialog boxes, the default button is highlighted, and will be pressed upon hitting Enter in the dialog. In most cases, the default is the OK button. As is true throughout EdIt!, highlighted text in dialog boxes will be replaced upon typing. Pressing Escape will always clear and cancel the dialog box. The presence of an arrow next to an input line indicates a history list for that line, which can be accessed by pressing it with the mouse or pressing the down arrow. The history list stores the previous entries for that line during the current execution of EdIt! (it is not stored between sessions). For consistency, all references to menus will be made using vertical bars, i.e., File|Open indicates the Open choice under the File menu. EdIt! v1.1 Page 8 ------------------------------------------------------------ FILE MENU: File|Open --------- This dialog may be opened by the ALT-O hot key, the menu choice, or the "Alt-O:Open" option on the status line using the mouse. The directory list will display all files in the directory using the "*.*" mask. This mask may be changed temporarily by changing the "Name" line in the dialog and pressing Enter. The default button is the OK button, and the lower portion of the dialog displays the current directory and file information for the highlighted file. You may switch drives by typing the drive letter (or drive and pathname, if you wish) in the "Name" field. Note that any files to be opened must be less than 65520 bytes in size. After TABbing to the "Files" pane, typing the first letters of a filename in lower case will "speed search" to that file. Upper case speed searches to directory names. The BackSpace key will search for the first filename matching the remaining letters. File|Save --------- Saves the file in the active window. File|Save As... --------------- Works just like the File|Open dialog, above. File|Save All ------------- Saves all open files. File|Close ---------- Closes the file in the active window, prompting the user to save any changes. This item may be chosen by the ALT-C hot key, the menu choice, or the "Alt-C:Close" option on the status line using the mouse. File|Close All -------------- Closes all open files. EdIt! v1.1 Page 9 ------------------------------------------------------------ File|Change Dir... ------------------ This dialog changes the current directory used for opening and saving files, to avoid having to repeatedly change directories in the File|Open and File|Save As dialogs. While this dialog's buttons may not be immediately obvious, it will be easier to understand once you know what each button/element does. The "Directory Name" input line allows the user to type in the directory. The "Directory Tree" allows the user to manually select the desired directory using the mouse or keyboard; "Drives" displays a list of available drives. The "Chdir" button changes to the highlighted directory, while the "OK" button confirms that choice and exits the dialog (double-clicking the mouse in the Directory Tree has the same effect as the "Chdir" button). "Revert" changes the "Directory Tree" back to the way it was when the dialog was first opened. File|Print ---------- This dialog prints either the whole file or a highlighted section to the selected port. An error will occur if an attempt is made to print to a port that does not exist; however port redirection should be no problem. If the printer does not respond, Turbo Vision generates an internal error marked by a red band across the bottom of the screen. If this occurs, press "Enter" to continue, or "Esc" to exit. Note that EdIt! does not format the output in any way, merely sending the ASCII text to the printer directly. There is an option to send a form feed after printing, which is the default. File|DOS Shell -------------- This choice will shell to DOS using whichever command processor is present on your COMSPEC environment variable (if you don't know what this is, don't worry about it). If you start getting out-of-memory errors when running programs this may be an indication you have shelled to DOS from within another program. 4DOS users also note that 4DOS initally requires more memory (on the order of 80-90 KB free) to shell to DOS than does COMMAND.COM. File|Exit ---------- Closes all windows, prompting to save changes, then exits the program. This command may be executed via the ALT-X hot key, the menu choice, or the "Alt-X:Exit" option on the status line using the mouse. EdIt! v1.1 Page 10 ------------------------------------------------------------ EDIT MENU: Edit|Undo --------- "Undo" will only undo all operations done between cursor movements, so as soon as the cursor moves (by the cursor keys, etc.), the edits performed are considered "accepted" and all undo information is lost. Note that this feature cannot undo wordwrap-related operations. Edit|Cut / Copy / Paste / Clear ------------------------------- EdIt! uses both the DOS/Windows 3.0 standard of SHIFT-DELETE, CTRL-INSERT, and SHIFT-INSERT as well as the Windows 3.1/Macintosh standard of CTRL-X, CTRL-C, and CTRL-V for the Cut, Copy, and Paste hot keys, respectively. The easiest way to think of Edit|Clear is as "delete," or "cutting without copying to the clipboard." Edit|Show Clipboard ------------------- The clipboard contains the last block of text cut or copied to it. This choice is present in case the user wishes to paste only part of what was Cut or Copied, or wishes to recover text previously Cut out of the file. Remember that the text in the clipboard must be highlighted for Pasting to occur. SEARCH MENU: Search|Find / Replace / Find Again ---------------------------------- The "Find" and "Replace" dialog boxes will search for (and replace) a text string, starting at the beginning of the document or from the current cursor position. "Find Again" will continue searching for last searched-for string from the current cursor position. To execute a search-and-delete leave the "New Text" input line blank, and found text will in effect be replaced with nothing. Search|Set Jump Marker / Jump To Marker --------------------------------------- These commands allow the user to invisibly select 10 "preset" locations or place markers within a document, then later Jump To them. This feature provides an easy way to jump back and forth between sections of a document. EdIt! v1.1 Page 11 ------------------------------------------------------------ FORMAT MENU: Format|Toggle WordWrap ---------------------- Toggles the wordwrap feature for the active window on and off. The default is off; its status is indicated by a "W" in the lower left-hand corner. The wordwrap feature depends on the current location of the cursor, meaning that while typing the "wrap" takes place when the cursor reaches the right margin. Format|Toggle AutoIndent ------------------------ Toggles the autoindent feature for the active window on and off. The default is off; its status is indicated by an "A" in the lower left-hand corner. When in AutoIndent mode, paragraph reformatting will end at the first blank line (see Format|Reformat Paragraph, below). Format|Center Text ------------------ Centers the current line with respect to the document's current right margin setting. Wordwrap does not have to be on. Format|Insert Page Break ------------------------ Inserts a page break (form feed) control character (an ASCII #12 decimal, #0C hex) at the current cursor location. This will not print, but will send a form feed to the printer. Format|Set Tab Stops -------------------- Brings up the tab settings dialog. The x's indicate the location of the stops, i.e., the first stop is in column six, so from the left margin upon hitting TAB the cursor moves five spaces and stops in column six. To move the tab stop locations, just change the location of the x's. Format|Set Right Margin ----------------------- Allows the user to define the right margin for the active window, which is used for the wordwrap, centering, and reformatting features. The default right margin is 76. EdIt! v1.1 Page 12 ------------------------------------------------------------ Format|Reformat Paragraph ------------------------- Reformats the current paragraph to fit to the right margin, starting from the line the cursor is on. The "current paragraph" is considered to end at the first line beginning with a tab or space character, or the first blank line. Note that it is easy to indent blocks of text by indenting the first line and turning on the AutoIndent feature before reformatting that paragraph; however, the use of AutoIndent mode automatically causes EdIt! to default to having the "current paragraph" end only at the first blank line. Reformatting will work even if WordWrap is off at the time. It will not work, however, if the first word on the line is beyond the right margin. (see "Technichal Notes/Troubleshooting," below) Format|Reformat Document ------------------------ Reformats the document paragraph by paragraph as above, optionally starting from the current line. WINDOW MENU: Window|Size/Move ---------------- Allows the user to move the active window via the arrow keys, and also allows resizing of the window by holding down SHIFT and using the arrow, HOME, END, PageUp, and PageDown keys. Press Enter to "drop" the window. Window|Zoom ----------- Toggles the active window between full screen and the current size, or whatever size at which the window was originally opened. Window|Tile ----------- Tiles all open windows, allowing as much as possible of each window to show, i.e., if four windows are open, each would receive a fourth of the screen. After 12 or so windows are open, some begin to overlap due to the minimum window size requirements. Window|Cascade -------------- Stacks the windows, allowing the title bar and left border of each to be seen. The active window at the time of the cascade is placed on top. EdIt! v1.1 Page 13 ------------------------------------------------------------ Window|Next / Previous ---------------------- Switches to the next/previous window. Window|Close / Close All ------------------------ See "File|Close" and "File|Close All". TOOLS MENU Tools|Toggle 43/50-Line Video ----------------------------- Toggles between 25-line and 43/50-line video mode for EGA and VGA displays. Has no effect on other displays. Tools|Toggle Monochrome Video ----------------------------- Toggles between color and monochrome/grayscale video mode. Useful if the user has a grayscale monitor and color video card. Tools|Configuration ------------------- This dialog allows the user to choose which files will be used as Group files, as well as the path in which EdIt! should find the WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files. You can use these groupings to open up to four files at once. It is OK to specify drive letters in the input lines, and filenames from each group may be left blank. Groups 1 and 2 have four files each already in order to provide an example. I had originally intended EdIt! for use by my father's consulting firm, Integrated Technical Solutions, which is an Artisoft LANtastic Five-Star Dealer, so the filenames for Group 1 are the ones they usually use. AUTOLAN.BAT is called from AUTOEXEC.BAT to start the network, the next two are for "small" servers and print servers, respectively, and STARTNET.BAT loads the network drivers. Group 2's filenames are for the configuration files on my computer. Filenames within the groups may be left blank. The "Make Backup Files on Save" option makes a backup of the file being saved if a previous version exists on disk already, adding .BAK as the file extension. "Save Desktop File On Exit" optionally saves the file EDIT!.DSK first in the directory given by the EDIT! environment variable, or the current directory if none exists. EdIt! will reload this desktop only if this option is checked. The desktop file consists of all open files, their positions, and the state of the 43/50 line video mode. EdIt! v1.1 Page 14 ------------------------------------------------------------ The configuration file, whose pathname is in the dialog's title, is saved when the OK button or any of the Group buttons are pressed. Tools|Default Drive ------------------- Allows the user to select a default drive for the commands in the EdIt! menu (see "Command Line Options (/Dd)"). Additionally, the user has the option of assigning a drive letter to a LANtastic network resource. EdIt! does this by executing the following two commands: NET/NOERROR UNUSE [driveletter]: NET USE [driveletter]: [resource path name] LANtastic resource pathnames take the form of "\\[server_name]\[resource_name]", as in "\\HOST1\C-DRIVE". Note that the NET.EXE file, usually found in the \LANTASTI directory, must be in your PATH statement in order to use the NET USE command. Tools|Run Net... ---------------- Runs the LANtastic program NET.EXE. EdIt! assumes it is in a directory on the user's PATH. Tools|Run Net Manager... ------------------------ Runs the LANtastic program NET_MGR.EXE. EdIt! assumes it is in a directory on the user's PATH. EdIt! MENU: EdIt!|System Files / Windows Files / File Group [#] --------------------------------------------------- Works the same as the "/S," "/W," and "/[#]" command line options, respectively (see "Command Line Options"). HELP MENU: Help|About ---------- Displays version, copyright, serial number, and registration information, as well as the number of days this evaluation copy of EdIt! has been in use. EdIt! v1.1 Page 15 ------------------------------------------------------------ Help|Open EDIT!.DOC ------------------- Opens EDIT!.DOC if it is located in the directory given by the EDIT! environment variable, the current directory, or the same directory as either the ED.EXE file or the EDIT!.CFG file. Help|Registration Info... ------------------------- Displays a dialog containing a short description of shareware along with an option to open this EDIT!.DOC file, as in Help|Open EDIT!.DOC. Help|Print Registration Form... ------------------------------- Opens a dialog to print the registration form for EdIt!, which is formatted just like this document (59 lines per page, 60 characters wide plus a 10 character margin). Technichal Notes/Troubleshooting ================================ Reformatting ------------ There is a known bug in EdIt! that when the user is editing "large" files (over 30k or so) and is near the end of the document, formatting may not continue to the end of the "current paragraph," or may continue beyond the end of the paragraph. I had delayed the release of EdIt! to look for the bug, but decided that since the program's intent is to be used on batch files and small to medium text files, this would probably not pose much of a problem. TSRs ---- EdIt! should work with most TSRs, although there are bound to be a few exceptions. One appears to be a file named CALC.COM dated 6-1-88 at 12:00, a resident calculator. This TSR causes the machine to hang when popped up over EdIt!. Some TSRs may "trap" certain keys and prevent them from working, such as Close-Up v4.01's Customer program. Norton's SmartCan has an interesting problem with EdIt!--occasionally the computer will beep twice when running EdIt!, usually when first loading or printing. This is SmartCan beeping, I am told, to indicate a problem deleting a file. Since EdIt! does not delete any files during these operations, I do not have a solution. If you find any other conflicts, please let me know. EdIt! v1.1 Page 16 ------------------------------------------------------------ HOW TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR ========================= While I am not averse to talking to customers, my present situation makes this a bit difficult. I am a college student (Pepperdine U.), which unfortunately prevents me from having a permanent phone number. I would be more than happy to provide support via the following channels: INTERNET: My address is "syates@pepperdine.edu", BUT (!) I am only here until I graduate, so please only leave messages here until 4/10/94. I probably will not get messages left for me after that date, but I check my mail virtually every day when I'm there. After 4/10/94, you can also send mail to either steveyates@delphi.com or 71551.2257@compuserve.com (but note the periods for Compuserve!). DELPHI: My username is STEVEYATES, and you can leave me e-mail or post a note in the PC Forum. COMPUSERVE: My Compuserve ID is 71551,2257. One way that's guaranteed to work (well, OK, maybe not) is the US Mail, but again, please do not try to call since I will not be there: Steve Yates 279 Main Street Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-5353 Thank you for evaluating EdIt! -End of Document-