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************************ Multi-Edit 4.93 ************************** >>>>> MOVE/RESIZE WINDOWS Moving and resizing windows with the keyboard has changed. We have adopted the BORLAND approach, where the arrow keys move the window around, and the SHIFTed arrow keys change the size. Also, note how it has changed visually. >>>>> YET ANOTHER CONVERSION Changes in the MECOM menu and a fix to the printer driver menu have necessitated running the macro 490_492B. This will convert any version 4.90 or above to 4.92b. Be sure 490_492B.DAT is in your ME directory. >>>>> GLOBAL VARIABLES We have established, as a standard, that global variables names that start with a "!" will NOT be saved or restored by the RESTORE feature of Multi-Edit. >>>>> COMMUNICATIONS MODULE The MECOM menu has been revamped to be more consistant with the main editor menu. >>>>> PRINT CODE MENUS The attributes menu in the format codes menu will now "pull down". The related printer driver setup menu now has the field titles, which were missing. >>>>> DB WIERDNESS Found and fixed some bugs with mysteriously deleted menu items. Those who reported bugs, please thouroughly check and verify that we got them all. >>>>> MISC BUGS Filenames selected via the DOS shell while in a file load prompt are now added to the history list. Macro smart indent was improved. The explosions flag does not get turned back on from going into other installation menus. Exiting with modified unnamed files will now show you the file as you are prompted for a name. >>>>> ALTERNATE SEARCH AND REPLACE INTERFACE A means of substituting the search and replace data entry screen has been provided. If you set the following global string in your STARTUP macro: set_global_Str('@SRCH_INTR_MACRO!','QSRCHIN'); The macro name defined will be run instead. The macro in the above example has been included. If you want to play around with this, be sure to note the way we get and set the special global strings and return_int. >>>>> MOUSE BLOCK OPERATIONS We've come up with an easy, elegant solution to utilizing all 3 block types with the mouse. To change the type of block that is to be marked with the mouse, simply select the type of block you want to mark (just like you would start marking a block) from the function keys, the menu, or click on the fkey labels. Then start marking the block with your mouse. Then next time you mark a block with the mouse, the same style block will be used. Note that the current mouse block style ONLY CHANGES WHEN THE MOUSE IS USED TO MARK THE INITIAL BLOCK. If the mouse is currently set to mark in stream mode, and you hit <F7> to start a line block and then use your cursor keys and mark the block, the next time you go to use the mouse to mark a block, it will still mark in stream mode. We tried just having the mouse always mark in the last block style used, and it wasn't what we wanted. We feel that mouses block style should be seperated from what you do with the keyboard. This is all much more confusing to explain then to use (that seems to be true of a mouse in general). Give it a try. NOTE: You can set the default mouse block style by set the global integer '@LAST_BLOCK_TYPE' to 1 for Line, 2 for Columnar or 3 for Stream. If the global is not defined, then Multi-Edit defaults to Stream. >>>>> COLUMNAR BLOCK OPERATIONS I've made a fix for those of you with problems about the way columnar block moves work. Hope it takes care of it. >>>>> DOS SHELL - QUICK FILE VIEWER <ShftF6> will pull up the file that the cursor is on into a pop up - readonly window and let you view it. >>>>> Print Formatter Fixed a couple of bugs and added a way to define default values to several of the page setup parameters: If you define(preferably in STARTUP), the global variable: Global_Str('@FPRINT_DEFAULT@') The following parameters, if present, will replace the hard coded defaults: /PL= Page length /LM= Left margin /RM= Right margin /TM= Top margin /BM= Bottom margin /HM= Header margin /FM= Footer margin /LS= Line spacing /FF= Form feeds >>>>> File attribute viewer/editor The DOS shell now has a means to view/change file attributes. Just move your cursor to the desired file and press <ShftF7>. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.92a ************************** >>>>> PVCS Support A bug has been fixed with PVCS support that prevented the comments from being saved. Also, automatic installation has been added to PVCS. When you install the PVCS module from the Module Installation menu, or run the macro PVCS^PVCSInstall, your STARTUP.SRC will be modified and recompiled. >>>>> TLIB Support Several bugs have been fixed. Support for the LIBEXT library extension override has been added. The global string '!TLIB_PARMS!' may contain '/LIBEXT=ext'. Works exactly like the LibExt configuration parameter documented in TLIB. Also, automatic installation has been added to TLIB. When you install the TLIB module from the Module Installation menu, or run the macro TLIB^TLIBInstall, your STARTUP.SRC will be modified and recompiled. >>>>> SEARCH AND REPLACE A "Replace first occurrance only" option has been added to Search and Replace. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.91 *************************** >>>>> BUG FIXES A number of bugs have been fixed. >>>>> NEW SEARCH AND REPLACE INTERFACE We updated the search/search and replace user interface. We feel it is significantly easier to understand. >>>>> POP TO TOP On several variable length menus, the most recently used choice will move to the top of the list. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.90 *************************** This is the last BETA version (other than bug fix updates). The HELP files are not quite done yet, but we will put them on the board as they are updated. We will have BETA releases of the printed manuals out soon. >>>> NEW CONVERSION MACROS If you are going from 406 to 490, there is a conversion macro called 406_490. All you need to do is make sure 406_490.DAT resides in your subdirectory, then run 406_490. Allthough it probably won't be of much use to most of our beta sites, since you've probably already got the beta version configured as you like, we now have a 4.0 to 5.0 conversion macro called 400_500. This is the conversion we will be shipping with the 5.0 release. We would appreciate it if you would at least try it once. To use: Be sure the following 4.00 files exist in a directory separate from the beta version: INIT.SRC including any user specific versions KEYMAP.ME " " " " " PRINTERS.ME INITCOM.ME if your 4.0 is professional PHONELST.ME " " " " " Be sure the file 400_500.DAT resides in the beta ME directory. Run the macro 400_500 from the beta directory. >>>> CHANGE TO WINDOW MENU Some of you are really going to HATE this: We changed "Create window" to "Open window" and "Delete window" to "Close window". This was done to maintain consistancy with SAA/Windows/PM. If you absolutely can not live with this, we left the old code commented out in MEUTIL3^WINDMENU so that you can change it back. >>>> HELP FILE FORMAT Ok, we've eliminated .HLC files and .NDX files and now have a single compiled file called .HLX. You compile a help file with the new help compiler HELPCMPX and you can decompile with HELPDCX. You may use the old HELPDCMP to decompile your current help files and use HELPCMPX to recompile them. You can delete all your .NDX files. >>>> KEY LABELING IN MENUS Notice the key labeling in the main menus. It changes dynamically as you change your key layout. If you are using your old keymap, you will have to run the 406_490 conversion macro for this to work (see above). >>>> OTHER MOUSE ADDITIONS WINDOW MENU - If you click on the window letter in the upper left corder of the window, the WINDOW menu will pop down, allowing you quick access to window operations. ZOOM - If you click on the little arrow in the upper right corner, ZOOM will take effect. >>>> MOUSE SUPPORT A minor change to mouse support: When you use your keyboard, the mouse cursor will disappear until the next time the mouse is used. Also(sorry guys), we will no longer be able to support the old mouse mode (MOUSE_MODE := 1). >>>> SEARCH AND REPLACE There was a bug when searching in a stream block that would find text outside the block. This has been fixed. Also, we added a new feature. If you are at the prompt in a search and replace, and you hit <CtrlN>, it will bypass all further prompting and search and replace to the end of the file. >>>> BLOCK MATH Block math has full support for imbedded commas. If a comma is found in any of the numbers to be added up, the result will contain commas in the right places. >>>> NEW KEYSTROKE MACRO MANAGER The way we deal with keystroke macros has been completely revamped. Once you record a keystroke macro (via <AltF10>), you will be immediately placed inside the keystroke macro list, the keystroke you just recorded will be added to it, and you will be presented with a data entry screen much like the one for keymapping. You should then enter at least a description for your own benefit, and a keystroke to assign the macro to. You also can choose "Edit keystrokes" and you will be able to modify the individual keystrokes in that macro. Once you are ready to save, just exit the data screen, and you will be at the main keystroke macro menu, where you will see the macro you just created, plus any you may have previously defined. You may edit any of them via <F3> or you may even run any of them by highlighting the desired one and pressing <ENTER>. Once you leave this menu, either by pressing <ESC> or running one via <ENTER>, all the keystroke macros currently in the list which have keystrokes assigned to them are loaded into memory. Likewise, when you bring up ME from DOS, whatever is in the list will be loaded. No more messing with converting the keystroke macro to macro source code, compiling, loading every time before you use it! If you still wish to convert a keystroke macro to macro source code(i.e. a KEY_IN statement), you will now need to run the macro SETUP^BUILDKEY either via the macro prompt, adding it to the keymap, or adding it to the user menu. BUILDKEY will work exactly as save keystroke macro did before. >>>> MECOM BUG FIXES A bug was fixed in MECOM that, if you selected the setup screen via a keystroke, then selected save settings, the box would remain on the screen. In order to take advantage of the fix, you will have to verify that the keymap keystroke assignment for the macro COM_SETUP_MENU has in its parameter field /BK=1. Also, we fixed 2 bugs which caused the com window box border to dissappear. >>>> WINDOW LIST Kevin, I think I've got all the bugs fixed. >>>> PRINT FORMATTER A significant mod was made to enhance laser printer compatibility. You'll notice that a line feed character appears at the beginning of most lines in the .PRT file. This is normal. >>>> SWITCHING INDENT STYLES If you switch indent styles on the fly, the indent will reset to column 1. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.06a *************************** >>>> CONVERSION There have been some minor changes to the headers in MECONFIG.DB. We will have an automatic converter up in a day or two. It won't cause any major trouble to use your current MECONFIG.DB, however a couple of new features are reliant on the headers to EXT.DB and USER.DB. You can hand merge this if you want. >>>> DIRECTORY TREE A graphic directory tree has been added to the Directory Shell. It is currently assigned to <ShftF10>. You can pop it up and select a new directory to display. One of the nice features about it is the ability start moving the cursor and using it BEFORE it actually finishes building the tree. It can take quite a while to build a tree of a good sized hard drive, so we added this "multitasking" to allow the building of the tree to occur in the background. The tree will only be built the first time you bring it up. >>>> ADDITION TO USER DEFINABLE MENU The ability to simply specify a text file to be edited has been added to the User menu. Useful for often edited files (like note or project files). >>>> NEW HELP STUFF We have incorporated Dan Hughes modifications, with some modifications of our own, into Multi-Edit. Thanks Dan! Please see MEHELP.DOC for information on the new features. ALSO: We have updated the help to allow for a full search path to be specified for help files. The search path is stored in global_str('@HELP_PATH@'). It may contain the metacommand <ME_PATH> (which will be expanded out to the current Multi-Edit path). By default, the help files will be searched for in the Multi-Edit directory and in <ME_PATH>\HELP. ALSO: The help system will compare the time/date stamp of .HLC and .HLP files. The one with the most recent time/date will be used. ALSO: We have added a PASTE capability to the help system. Select PASTE<F4>, then: With a mouse: Move the mouse cursor to the starting location and press the left mouse button. While holding the button, move the mouse to the ending location (this will highlight a block on the screen). Release the mouse button and a CONFIRM prompt will appear. With the cursor keys: Move the cursor to the starting location and hit ENTER. Then move the cursor to the ending location and hit ENTER again. A CONFIRM prompt will appear. For both: The CONFIRM prompt allows you either copy the marked text into the cut-and-paste buffer, or cancel the operation. Once the text has been put into the paste buffer, you may retrieve it with the "Copy From Paste Buffer" operation, which is available from the BLOCK-cut and Paste menu or <GreyENTER>. This marking and pasting may actually be accomplished from any Multi-Edit mode or screen, by executing the macro MEHELP^ScreenMrk. It is not limited to the help system. >>>> CONDENSED MODE We determined that our practice of saving the condensed mode global variables during INSTALL was causing some undesirable side effects. For this reason, INSTALL will no longer save them. If you wish to configure defaults for Condensed mode, here is a list of the globals that you can put in your STARTUP macro: Global_Int('CONDENSE_MODE') If 0, use cutoff column. If 1, use search expression. Global_Int('CUTOFF_COL') If using cutoff column, this will be the column position. Global_Str('CONDENSE_SEARCH') If using search expression, this will be the search expression used. Global_Str('CONDENSE_SWITCHES') If using search expression, this will be the search switches. The only ones that will be used are X and I. If you really want to get fancy, you could create a post-load macro for each extension and put these globals in there and have language specific Condensed modes. >>>> NEW LIST OF UNASSIGNED KEYS A new macro has been written to list all unassigned keys: Name: UNASSKEY Parameters: /MODE= The ME mode to check. Legal values are 0(EDIT),1(DOS_SHELL), and 3(TERM). Anything out of range will default to 0. /ALPHA= Enables inclusion of alphanumeric keys(Scan codes 32-126) in the list. This would very rarely be desired. Check it out! >>>> NEW SEARCH AND REPLACE SWITCH A "C" switch has been added to search and replace (it is ignored with search only). What it does is specify that after a replace, the cursor is placed at the place it was after the find, but before the replace, IF you have it set up with the P or N switch. This was necessary to allow you to search for and delete all blank lines in a file. I'm sure other uses will crop up. This also gives you the potential power to get search and replace into a continuous loop. There is a simple safeguard built in. If the search and replace expressions are identical, the "C" switch is ignored. This by no means is a catch all. Parental discretion is advised. >>>> RESTORE Restore now clears the SETUP_CHANGED flag so it won't continually bug you about that. >>>> PRINT FORMATTER A small bug with headers and footers was fixed. >>>> MINOR COMPILE MOD The window that contains MEERR.TMP now gets a window letter. >>>> HELP FILE WEIRDNESS We have been unable to duplicate this alleged bug with corrupt help files and the changing of the help file time and date. We suspect that it may be due to the recent change in the index file format. Please get and use the latest HELPCMP and HELPDCMP to generate compatible HLC and NDX files. If you have HLC files now, use HELPDCMP first, then recompile with HELPDCMP. DO NOT use INDEXGEN.EXE. Not only is it unnecessary (HELPCMP automatically generates index files), the index format it creates is obsolete. >>>> DB FIX There was a problem with allowing a delete on a menu that said NO ITEMS IN MENU. I believe this has been the culprit of several reported bugs in the variable length menus, like the MECOM phone dial list and compile menus. >>>> SWITCH WINDOW LIST Switch window list will no longer allow you to delete a window if only one remains in the list. I believe all reported bugs are fixed. Let us know if they are not. >>>> SCROLL BAR DRAG RACING You can hold down the mouse button while on the scroll bar indicator and drag it to any position on the scroll bar and it will move to that position in the file! >>>> COM MODULE Added the display of time/date on the MECOM status line. Fixed some bugs including Y-Zmodem batch problems, and the message editor will now wait 1 second between lines sent for incoming characters to echo. DTR and RTS: There were some problems with support for DTR and RTS that have been fixed. As a result, you may find the need to get into the Com-port-settings menu and re-configure the DTR and RTS support. NEW HANGUP CONFIGURATION: In the Modem setup menu, you now have two methods for hanging up the phone: Send hangup command. This works like the old way and is the default. Simply sends the modem hangup string you configured to the com port. Drop DTR. This will drop the DTR line for 200 milliseconds. Most hays compatible modems will hang up via this method. It is slightly faster, and you won't see the echo of the hangup string on the screen. On the subject of DTR: There has been a modification which, if you exit MECOM without closing the com port, an XOFF character is sent to the com port, and, if the connection type is direct and not modem, DTR is dropped. This, in most cases, should prevent the remote from sending any characters while you are outside MECOM. The assumption is that you intend to re-enter MECOM sometime later, and you wouldn't want to loose anything while you were gone. The reason behind not dropping DTR in the case of a modem connection is so that you can temporarily exit while on line with a BBS, etc. and not have to worry about it hanging up on you. Upon re-entry, and XON character is issued, and the DTR is restored to whatever state you configured. >>>> PRINT MENU New stuff has been done to the print menu. There is a number of copies to print field, which will cause ME to print that amount of copies, with a form feed in between, whenever print file or print block is invoked. Another new field is line numbering, which, if toggled to ON, will add line numbering to each line as it is printed. Also, network compatibility has been enhanced. >>>> AUTOMATIC KEYMAP CONFLICT CHECKING We've added a feature which, after you have changed a key assignment in the keymap, automatically checks to see if that key is assigned to anything else for that mode and warns you. You are still free to ignore the warning, however. >>>> NEW STYLE SWITCH WINDOW In addition to what is already in place for switching windows, there is a new window switching macro called WINDOW^ADJACENT_WIN. Works with split windows (split as many times as you wish). What is does is intelligently prompts for a direction of an adjacent window to switch to and then does it. Check it out and see what you think. You'll probably want to add it to your key map. >>>> DO IT YOURSELF BUG FIX TO COMMOD: Get into the communications module. Press <PgUp>. Be sure your cursor is on ASCII. Press <F3>. Change the command line field from COMUTIL^COM_ASCII_XFER to MECOM^COM_ASCII_UP. Then, back out. >>>> AUTOSAVE and GENERAL PURPOSE TIMERS Autosave has been modified to allow you to save files at x seconds of keyboard inactivity, every x seconds (absolute) or both. To do this, we have provided a general purpose timer capability in the macro language. The following macro language operations are now provided (NOTE: all time values are in 18.2 hundredths of a second): Last_Keypress_Time {integer function} Returns last time value that a key was pressed. Last_Event_Time {integer function} Returns the last time a timer event was triggered. System_Timer {integer function} Returns the current system time (in 18.2 hundredths of a second). Set_Timer_Event( macro_cmd, time_interval, mode ) {integer function} Assigns a macro command line to a specified time interval. "mode" sets the Multi-Edit mode that the event may be triggered in, ($FF=all). RETURNS a handle to the event, or 0 if an error occurred. The handle MUST be used to delete the event. Kill_Timer_Event( event_handle ) {integer procedure} Removes the specified timer event. Note, if the event is executing at the time (i.e. you try to delete the event from within itself), then the deletion will fail. As a result of these changes, we have added the following to the AUTOSAVE setup under EDIT SETTINGS under INSTALL: You can define both a "keyboard inactivity" autosave, and an "absolute" autosave. For each method, you can configure whether or not you want the editor status saved (STATUS.ME) as well as all changed files. NOTE: The macro variable AUTOSAVE will no longer be supported. >>>> RESTORE If you set the global integer '@RESTORE_USE_ME_PATH' to TRUE(1) then Multi-Edit will save STATUS.ME to the Multi-Edit directory instead of the current directory. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.05a *************************** 12-21-89 08:46am >>>> COM MODULE I had hoped that we would have YMODEM and XMODEM-1K in by now, but we are just not quite there. Hopefully next beta release... >>>> REGULAR EXPRESSIONS The operation of the closure expressions * and + has been modified so that the may be placed at the end of a search string (without having a trailing character). For example: "help *" would match "help" followed by (and including) 0 or more spaces up to a non space or end of line. "help +" would work like "help *" except that AT LEAST ONE space must follow "help". >>>> SEARCH AND REPLACE USER INTERFACE We've bowed to your requests, and made the order of the SEARCH/SEARCH and REPLACE prompts configurable. Global_Str( '@SEARCH_ORDER' ) is used to set the order on the screen of the search parameters. /SR=n Search prompt /RP=n Replace prompt /GO=n [START SEARCH] prompt /SW=n Switches prompt Default is '/SR=1/RP=2/GO=3/SW=4'. To change the order so that the [START SEARCH] prompt appears last, use the following line: Set_Global_Str('@SEARCH_ORDER', '/SR=1/RP=2/SW=3/GO=4' ); The Replace prompt is automatically removed, and the order is updated for a regular SEARCH. ALSO: We've separated the SEARCH/SEARCH and REPLACE user interface into another macro called SRCHINTR (in MEUTIL2). This makes it easy to replace the macro all together, with out having to modify MEUTIL2 at all. To do this, you would put the following into your STARTUP.SRC: Load_Macro_File( 'MEUTIL2' ); {Load in the old interface} Load_Macro_File( 'SRCHINTR' ); {Load new interface over the old one} >>>> SPELL CHECKER ADDITION We've added a feature to the spell checker that allows you to spell check ONLY text that is enclosed by single or double quotes. Great for spell checking your source code. >>>> INQ_KEY MACRO FUNCTION The INQ_KEY macro function has changed significantly. The new definition is as follows: INQ_KEY( key1, key2, mode, str_var ) integer function PARAMETERS: key1 and key2 are the keycode. mode is the Multi-Edit mode (0 = Edit, Dos shell = 1, Terminal = 3). str_var is a user string variable where the name of the macro or keystroke global is to be returned. RETURNS: 0 = No key assignment 1 = Macro assignment 2 = Keystroke macro assignment > 255 = Lower BYTE (int AND $FF) is the Multi-Edit function #. >>>> "FROM" CONSTANTS IN MACRO DEFINITIONS $MACRO TEST TO <Alt0> FROM 82; The above line is now legal. The FROM value must be >= 0 and <= 255. Current FROM modes are: 0 = Edit mode 1 = Dos Directory Shell 3 = Com module 5 = Prompt. 255 = ALL modes >>>> DesqView Support Under Desqview, Multi-Edit will now free up more of its idle time to other tasks running in the background. Thanks Kevin. >>>> EMS SUPPORT We've expanded the EMS_CONFIG variable. It works as follows: Bit 0 1 = Store macro code in EMS Bit 1 1 = Store Spell Check buffers in EMS We will probably add more options later. Under normal circumstances, you would not want macros or spell check buffers stored in EMS, as there is a little bit of performance overhead. However, for optimal memory use (if you need to get Multi-Edit to run in as little memory as possible), you may want to use these options. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.04c *************************** 12-06-89 02:39pm >>>> COMBINING DB FILES, CONVERTING TO NEW VERSION We've made it possible for more than one DB file to reside in the same file. This has allowed us to combine the following files into one file call MECONFIG.DB: USER.DB KMAPLST.DB PRN_DEV.DB LANGUAGE.DB EXT.DB PGM.DB *.PGM Also, the following comm module files are combined into MECOM.DB: INITCOM.ME PHONELST.DB DOWNLOAD.DB UPLOAD.DB There is a conversion macro you must run to get your DB files combined and to convert some of the headers. It's called 403_404.MAC. To use it, you must first be sure that all of the .DB files plus INITCOM.ME and all .PGM files from version 4.03 are in the ME directory. Also, for network users, you must be sure that the XXX.USR directories and their contents exist. Then, run the macro 403_404. What will happen is that the macro will merge the appropriate files according to the lists contained in MECONFIG.MRG and MECOM.MRG. Then, all DB files contained in MECONFIG.DB and MECOM.DB will have their headers updated, based on the headers contained in MECONFIG.HDR and MECOM.HDR. The macro will automatically go through the ME directory and all .USR subdirectories. Once the conversion is complete, and you have verified that it worked correctly, you may delete all of the files listed above, plus you may delete *.MRG and *.HDR >>>> EMS SUPPORT We have now re-written the EMS support into assembly, so it is quite a bit faster. Also, macros may be loaded into and executed out of EMS. This should not be necessary in most cases, and it is better to just use EMS for text. However, if you are, for example, running under Desq-View, and want Multi-Edit to work well in as little memory as possible, then you would want macros to be stored in EMS. To do this, you must set the new system variable EMS_CONFIG to 1. You can then run Multi-Edit in a 300K Desq-View and it will work almost as if you were running in 500K (as long as you have sufficient EMS that is). >>>> NEW MECOM STUFF We've added two new features: A message editor/sender. Creates a window to edit a message to send directly to the com port. Really nice for BBS systems whose E-Mail systems aren't very user friendly. Allows spell checking and search and replace! A file/log viewer. Allows viewing/editing of any file while in MECOM. If the log is active, allows temporary suspension of the log while viewing/editing. The log viewer can serve as the ultimate scroll back buffer. The following things have been fixed since 4.03b: The auto redial now hangs up immediately after receiving one of the user configurable modem no connect responses(like BUSY, NO CARRIER, etc.). >>>> HELP FILE DIRECTORY If you move all of your .HLP, .HLC and .NDX files into a subdirectory of the Multi-Edit directory, call HELP (i.e \ME\HELP) the help system will find them. This makes the Multi-Edit directory quite a bit cleaner. >>>> WINDOW NAMES We have changed the way alphabetic names are given to windows (A,B,C..). Instead of the names directly corresponding to the window's order in the window list, they are now assigned to a window specific variable called WINDOW_NAME. WINDOW_NAME may be up to 4 characters long. This was done in order to provide for having INVISIBLE windows that do not show up in the WINDOW LIST without having the WINDOW LIST skip letters. Bit 7 of WINDOW_ATTR controls a windows INVISIBLE status. The macro WINDOW^SetWindowNames has been provided to automatically go through all windows and set their names, skipping any that have bit 7 of WINDOW_ATTR set. >>>> WINDOW LIST CONFIGURATION If you want your window list to function similar to the "old" way(i.e. selection via typing the window letter), place the following statement in STARTUP: Set_Global_Int('@WINDOW_LIST_MODE@',1); This will cause the window letter to be displayed in column 1 and the file name to follow, which will allow the incremental search to find the window letter. Note that this will merely move the highlight bar. You'll have to hit <ENTER> to actually go to that window. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.03a *************************** >>>> EMS SUPPORT This version supports storage of file and undo data in Expanded Memory. This means that if you have a meg of EMS, you can edit a 700K file without disk swapping. I don't have everything fine tuned the way I want it yet, but it seems to work quite well anyway. We will be storing other data in EMS (such as macro variables, global variables, etc) in the near future. You may configure the maximum amount of EMS that Multi-Edit may use for data storage from the Install menu. If you find that you have any problems with the EMS support (as it is very young) you can always turn it off by setting the amount to 0. >>>> KEYMAP INSTALLATION We've added a feature to keymapping that allows you to select your keymap from a list. You can also edit the list to create new keymaps. >>>> SHELLING TO DOS The global string '@SHELL_TO_DOS_CMD' may be used to change the command line used to shell out to dos (<AltF3>). The default setting is: '<COMSPEC> /E:1000 /c <ME_PATH>DOSPROMPT' Note the use of the metacommands <COMSPEC> and <ME_PATH> >>>> DOS SHELL Mouse support is about finished in the DOS SHELL. The following mouse operations are available: A. Holding the left mouse button down on any corner allows you to resize the DIRECTORY window. B. Holding the left mouse button down on the top border (outside of the directory name) allows you to move the window. C. Clicking the mouse cursor on a portion of the directory name (in the top border of the window) will bring up a directory of the section pointed to. Easier to do than explain. For example, if the name in the top border of the window is "C:\TEST\WOW\*.*", then clicking the mouse cursor anywhere on "TEST" will bring up a directory listing of "C:\TEST\*.*". Clicking the mouse cursor anywhere on "C:\" will bring up the root directory ("C:\*.*"). D. You may move the directory highlight bar to any file by clicking the mouse cursor on it. IF you hold the mouse cursor down, the mouse takes control of the directory highlight bar. E. To load a file, execute a program, or change to a subdirectory: click the mouse cursor a second time on the highlighted file. Size_Dir( x1, y1, x2, y2, row_offset ); row_offset has been added to the Size_Dir command. This sets the number of lines between the top of the window and the start of the directory list (i.e. where the drive letters are supposed to go.) Redraw_Dir; The integer parameter that used to be passed to the Redraw_Dir has been removed. >>>> DB FILE CHANGE If you are copying over the following DB files from 4.02a, you will need to replace their headers: PHONELST.DB LANGUAGE.DB DEFAULT.PGM PGM.DB EXT.DB Each of the above files has a matching .HDR file included with this version. To replace the headers: 1. Line block mark from line 1 to and including the line that contains: ****START**** 2. Delete the block. 3. Insert the entire contents of the matching .HDR file in place of the deleted block. >>>> COM MODULE This version contains many bug fixes to the com module. To mention a few: The bug that caused shelling to DSZ to change 43 or 50 line modes to 25 lines has been fixed. Several bugs with the interpretation of ANSI escape sequences were fixed. Also, there are new logon macros for WBBS, Compuserve, RBBS and PCBOARD. To take advantage of any of these, you will need to fill in the newly created fields in the appropriate phone dialing list for First name, last name, and password. Yes, those are now phone number specific. In the case of Compuserve, put your user id for the first name and nothing in last name. Then, under the MACRO TO RUN field for the phone number place the appropriate macro name: All log on macros assume you are already registered with the BBS in question. RBBS - COMUTIL^COM_LOG_RBBS COMPUSERVE - COMUTIL^COM_LOG_COMPU WBBS - COMUTIL^COM_LOG_WBBS COM_LOG_WBBS has two special optional parameters: /MSG=1 - Will automatically capture all your messages to the file WBBS.LOG. /MAIL=1 - Same as above with all e-mail addressed to you. /LOGOFF=1 - Will automatically log off at the conclusion of the macro. These options can allow you to log on, get all your mail and messages, then log off... All without touching the keyboard. Try it out. New mouse interface for Communications module: You can now use the bottom status line as a mouse menu as follows. Click on: │ <F1> = HELP │ and you will get help. │ <F2> = MENU │ and you will get the MECOM menu. │ COM1 19200 8 N 1 │ and you will get the port setup screen. │ LOG CLOSED │ and you will get the log open/close menu. │ ANSI │ and you will get the terminal emulation menu. One gotcha about using the mouse with MECOM: If you attempt to use the mouse on a port that shares an interrupt with MECOM, the mouse will not work. An example is mouse on com1 and MECOM on com3. A possible solution is that some com port and modem cords have configurable interrupt jumpers. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.02a *************************** >>>> TLIB The global strings for TLIB support have changed. Please see the included STARTUP.SRC and TLIB.SRC. >>>> MOUSE SUPPORT Then new mouse support is just about finished. >>>> FILE LOCKING The "changing a filename leaves the original file read only" has been fixed. >>>> COUNTRY DEPENDANT TIME AND DATE FORMATS Multi-Edit now gets the time and date formats from DOS. The date and time formats may be set in your CONFIG.SYS file via the COUNTRY command. >>>> CHANGING A FILE NAME The "re-Name file" selection in the "File" menu has be changed to "Information about current file". This entry pops up a data entry box that allows you to change the file's name AND its LOCKED/READONLY status. >>>> COLUMNAR BLOCK MOVES There are now two modes for columnar block moves. One where the original block is replaced by spaces, the other where the block is actually deleted from the text. You may set the desired mode from the INSTALL - EDIT SETTINGS menu. >>>> WORD WRAP There have been a bunch of changes to word wrap and reformat. Please check them out carefully. I think you will find them to be much faster. The macro command WORD_WRAP_LINE has been changed. Two parameters are now passed to it. WORD_WRAP_LINE( EOP, RETURN_CURSOR ); EOP is an True/False integer that tells the word wrap routine whether or not to wrap all the way to the end of the paragraph. RETURN_CURSOR is a TRUE/FALSE integer that tells the word wrap routine whether or not to return the cursor to its original position, or just leave it at the end of the wrap. ************************ Multi-Edit 4.01Pd *************************** >>>> YET ANOTHER FORMAT CHANGE Minor conversion, run the macro FROM401C to convert. Needed to support the mods to filename extension specific swapping parameters. >>>> FILENAME EXTENSION SPECIFIC SWAPPING PARAMETERS Each compiler/program setup may contain it's own swapping parameter. These parameters include: Swap method (EMS/DISK/etc.) Memory required for program. The "Memory required" parameter is new. It allows you to set the amount of memory a program will need. This allows Multi-Edit to swap out just enough of itself to fulfill the requirements, thus improving performance. For example, a macro compile should never require more than about 100K of memory. So setting the memory requirement to 150k gives us a little slack, and speeds things up by quite a bit. Setting the parameter to 0 will cause Multi-Edit to swap ALL of itself out. >>>> MACRO CONSOLIDATION Due to the ever increasing number of macros, we have combined several macro files together. They are as follows: USERIN.MAC DB.MAC >>> USERIN.MAC MEUTIL2.MAC FS.MAC >>> MEUTIL2.MAC MEUTIL3.MAC USER.MAC >>> MEUTIL3.MAC SETUP.MAC KEYCODE.MAC >>> SETUP.MAC TEXT.MAC WRAP.MAC MARK.MAC >>> TEXT.MAC >>>> HYPERTEXT HELP - FILE COMPRESSION/COMPILING The hypertext help system now supports a compiled and compressed format. The utility HELPCMP.EXE will compile, compress and index a help file, generating a .HLC and a .NDX file. The utility HELPDCMP.EXE will expand a .HLC file into a text file. The Multi-Edit help system will automatically check for the existence of a .HLC file and use it instead of a .HLP file. USAGE: HELPCMP <filename> HELPDCMP <filename> <output_filename> >>>> Polytron PVCS and Burton Systems TLIB support. The macro source files PVCS.SRC and TLIB.SRC contain our version control software support. Try it out, give us your feed back. Both macro packages (plus minor mods to the macro LDFILES) will automatically look for library(TLIB) or log(PVCS) files if the original source file (specified in a load file prompt) was not found. The macros will then ask if the user wants the file checked out of the library. Multi-Edit will track all files checked out, and upon exiting Multi-Edit, ask the user if he wants the files checked back in. >>>> INIT_DB CONVERTER Bugs have been fixed in the INIT_DB converter. Should work much better now. >>>> NETWORK SUPPORT In order to support the new filename extension setup on networks each individual USER_ID will be given its own subdirectory under the Multi-Edit subdirectory. This is where the extension, language and program DB files will be stored. If the user directory does not exist, then it is created. If a DB file is not found in the directory, then it will be looked for in the Multi-Edit directory. If it exists, then it is copied into the user subdirectory. The user subdirectories are named with a .USR extension. >>>> MOUSE SUPPORT Mouse support has been polished some more. Full support has been finished in the Calculator, ASCII table, Macro Debugger, Communications module, condense display. Basically, everything has been converted except the DOS shell. We are doing a complete re-write of the DOS shell. You can also now modify window sizes by clicking on any of a windows corners. In addition, you can move a window by clicking on it's upper border. ************************** Multi-Edit 4.01Pc **************************** >>>> FILE FORMAT CHANGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have made a significant change to the way filename extension setup, keymap and printer setup works. All of the filename extension specific setup stuff, keymapping and printer setups are now stored in DB compatible files. We have supplied a macro (INIT_DB) that will convert your current INIT.SRC file to the new format, create the necessary DB files, and compile INIT.SRC. To use it, simply start Multi-Edit, hit Run_Macro (<F8>), and execute INIT_DB; OR just type "ME /R INIT_DB" at the dos command line. It will also split your INIT.MAC into two files: INIT.MAC and KEYMAP.MAC. We made this change for several reasons: A. It allows us to use our DB format as a standard format all through Multi-Edit. B. It reduced the code size of SETUP immensely. C. General memory usage is reduce by not storing ALL of the filename extension setups in memory all of the time. D. It allows us much more versatility in adding features for manipulation and organization of configurations. E. We wanted to. NOTE: We will be keeping our conversion macro up to date with all format changes that might be made, so that you will be able to easily transfer your current configuration. >>>>> INSTALL MENU In conjunction with the file format changes, we have made significant changes to INSTALL. Besides the layout changes, it is also more intelligent than before. It will NOT prompt you to save settings unless you have changed something. In addition, if you try to exit Multi-Edit and you have changed your configuration, you will be asked if you want the configuration save. >>>> MACRO SOURCE Much of the macro source is included with this beta release. WARNING: Much of it is extremely subject to change, particularly new stuff like mouse support and the MEHELP macro. These source files are provided so that you can stay up to date with your changes, and so that you can see how the new stuff is being done. >>>> MOUSE SUPPORT <<<< We have completely redone mouse support... It now works basically like the Windows/Macintosh/Presentation Manager standard. You have a free floating mouse cursor that is used to make selections, position the cursor, etc. The following things need to be noted: 0. CLICK - The term "click" always refers to the LEFT mouse button, unless stated otherwise. 1. The MAIN MENU - Simply click the left mouse button anywhere on the status line or the message line to pop up the main menu. 2. FUNCTION KEYS - You can click the mouse on a function key label to invoke that operation. Works with Shift-Ctrl-Alt combinations also. 3. WINDOWS - You can switch to a window by simply pointing at it and clicking. To resize a window, hold the mouse button down on the upper left or lower right hand corner (on the window border) of the window. 4. SCROLLING A TEXT WINDOW - Click the up and down arrows (at the right side of the window) to scroll a window. Holding the button down will cause continuous scrolling. To page up or down through a file, click the left mouse button before or after the position indicator on the scroll bar. To move directly to the approximate position on the scroll bar, click the RIGHT mouse button on that position. 5. TEXT CURSOR - To gain control of the regular cursor while editing, simply point at desired position in the window, and hold down the RIGHT mouse button. The text cursor will follow the mouse movement (just like it used to) until the button is released. The left mouse button does the same thing, except that hold it marks a stream of text block. 6. SCROLL-BAR MENUS - All of the variable menus now use the scroll-bar method. To highlight an item in the menu, click the mouse on it once. To select that item, click again. 7. THE OLD WAY - You can actually switch back to the old method of mouse support. Simply add the following line to your STARTUP macro: MOUSE_MODE := 1; The default window size was changed so that the scroll bar would be visible. To make the default window size like it used to (with the left and right borders off the screen) add the following lines to your startup macro: MIN_WINDOW_COL := 0; MAX_WINDOW_COL := SCREEN_WIDTH + 1; SIZE_WINDOW( MIN_WINDOW_COL, MIN_WINDOW_ROW, MAX_WINDOW_COL, MAX_WINDOW_ROW ); 8. DOS SHELL, CALCULATOR, ASCII TABLE, CONDENSE - We haven't finished converting these to the new mouse system. 9. The macro STATSET3 changes the screen layout to provide a menu bar at the top of the screen. Layout B (in our default configuration) uses this macro. >>>> THE HYPERTEXT HELP SYSTEM We have converted much of the hypertext help system into the macro language. This is contained in the macro MEHELP. This was done to obtain more versatility, and to allow people to write there own extensions to the help system. We aren't really done, we've just done a basic conversion and added the new mouse support. The source code to MEHELP and the documentation to the new help functions will be available soon. The macro function RETRIEVE_HELP has been removed. Replace it with a call to MEHELP. Here is the macro source header to MEHELP: {*******************************MULTI-EDIT MACRO****************************** Name: MEHELP Description: The Multi-Edit Help system Parameters: /X=n X coordinate /Y=n Y coordinate /W=n Width /L=n Length /F=n Filename /LK=n Index (C) Copyright 1989 by American Cybernetics, Inc. ******************************************************************************} >>>> HELP FILES The help files have NOT yet been updated for all of the new stuff. >>> CODE SIZE Although the ME.EXE file has grown a couple of K in this beta, very soon it will actually be several K smaller then the 4.00 release version. Just didn't want anybody to be alarmed by thinking that Multi-Edit was slowly increasing in size. >>>> MULTI-EDIT MACRO LANGUAGE SPECIFIC SUPPORT We have redone the smart indenting to be more intelligent. Template editing has been completely redone. ELSIF support has been added to everything. 07/19/89 09:18am >>>> DEFAULT DIRECTORIES The default directory entry in Filename Extension Setup may now contain more than one path. It's done exactly the same as the dos PATH environment variable: Just separate the paths with a ';'. For example: C:\;C:\ME;C:\C If you want the default directory for NEW files to be in the current directory, no matter what the default directories are, simple put a ';' as the first character in the default directory path. For example: ;C:\;C:\ME;C:\C 07/13/89 12:00pm >>>> V_COL and GOTO_V_COL In some of the macros, you may see that C_COL and GOTO_COL have been replaced with V_COL and GOTO_V_COL. For the standard Multi-Edit, which most of you have, there is no difference. V_COL and GOTO_V_COL are used to maintain compatibility with a special version of Multi-Edit. For now, ignore them. >>>> USER MENU From the "OTHER" menu you can now select the USER MENU. This is a user definable and modifiable menu that allows you to setup programs and macros to be run. 07/10/89 11:20am >>>> MACRO LANGUAGE ELSIF has been added to the macro language. For example: {If extended key code then...} IF key1 = 0 THEN IF key2 = 72 THEN {UP arrow key} UP; ELSIF key2 = 80 THEN {DOWN arrow key} DOWN; ELSIF key2 = 77 THEN {RIGHT arrow key} RIGHT; ELSIF key2 = 75 THEN {LEFT arrow key} LEFT; ELSE Make_Message( 'Key not used.' ); END; END; >>>> MACRO DEBUGGER A bug with the macro debugger has been fixed. The macro debugger used to mess up when it couldn't find a map file for a macro. 07/05/89 11:09am >>>> SHELLING TO DOS This version will swap itself almost COMPLETELY (except for about 2K) out to EMS or disk or BOTH upon shelling to dos or compiling. You can set up the method to be used from the Install->Use EMS memory selection. You can even specify the maximum amount of EMS to use. Soon this will be able to be filename specific also. THIS SHOULD ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR LARGE-COMPILE AND THE MEC.BAT FILE!!!! (NOTE: No we didn't use the code from Dr. Dobb's. We had already started this from scratch).