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┌───────────────────────────────────────┐ │ * * * * E88 TEXT EDITOR * * * * │ │ --- Release P1.00 Documentation --- │ └───────────────────────────────────────┘ The E88 text editor was written primarily to be used as an alternative to the DOS supplied EDLIN line editor program. This editor is intended to be a fast, compact, and easy to use screen editor for editing or creating program source code. It is not a word processor and is not nearly as comp- plicated to learn or use. * EQUIPMENT REQUIRMENTS * Computers supported: E88 supports the I.B.M. PC/XT and all true compatibles. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating systems: E88 is compatible with all versions of MS/PC DOS . -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keyboard: The keyboard is BIOS supported which implies that it will function normally according to the machine BIOS the program is used with. The Alt- numeric keypad entry method is in effect if supported by the BIOS. This method allows the user to enter any ASCII code by holding the [Alt] key and typing in the ASCII code number on the numeric keypad. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Video display: E88 supports both the color graphics and monochrome display adapters. This editor drives these display adapters directly, which results in very high speed display control. This feature may cause problems when run on machines that are not I.B.M. display compatible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disk control: All disk functions are controlled through standard MS-DOS function calls. The DOS pathname/file handle protocol of versions 2.00 and later are not supported from within this program however. This fact allows the program to run under all versions of DOS, but requires that the user do all necessary directory path setup before running the program. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- File type: E88 provides standard ASCII input and output. This is the file type required by most assemblers and compilers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Printer: The printer output from E88 is standard ASCII text which should be acceptable to all printers. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * USING E88 * Filenames: Standard DOS notation is acceptable .(Pathnames are not supported) note: .ASM is the default extension on the title screen example: C:MYPROG.TXT <ENTER> would load MYPROG.TXT from drive C: example: MYPROG <ENTER> would load MYPROG.ASM from the default drive -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * THE EDIT SCREEN * Top line imformation: FILENAME LINE COL FREE MODE COM KEY:[F1] current │ text │ cursor │ 80 char. │ current mode │ just a reminder file │ line# │ column │ lines free│ EDIT etc. │ for command modes Note: An @ symbol represents that the default drive will be used for disk accesses. example: @:MYPROG.ASM in upper left corner of screen on top line. Note: The indicated line number represents the current line that the cursor resides on IN THE FILE being edited. A line consist of a screen line. example: ---> this is supposed to represent text on the screen ok ---> text text text text text text more text etc... on an o ---> new line of text across screen starts at arrow on left represents 3 lines of the text file - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The rest of the screen: The remainder of the screen contains the text file that is being edited and also contains a ---> or nothing or the word FREE in the first five columns of the screen on each line. An arrow ---> means that this is the beginning of a new line. If the first five columns are blank the line is an extension of the previous line .There is no limit on line lenth. It is the user's responsibility to insure that the lenth does not exceed that which is acceptable to the assembler or compiler the text file is to be used with. The word FREE in the left 5 columns indicates that this line is avaialible but not in use. The appearance of the first line marked FREE is the physical end of file. Although it is possible to type on these free lines any text present on these lines will not be saved on disk. This feature will allow the user to make notes on these lines if desired, although these notes will not be saved or reloaded. Note: Extended lines are counted as a line when refering to E88's line number or free lines remaining imformation. They are however saved to disk as being one complete line of text. example: ---> this represents a line of text on the E88 editor screen which is extended ( notice no arrow ) into this line * 2 lines to E88 but only one long line to the disk file -------------------------------------------------------------------------- * PROGRAM CONTROL * The E88 editor simulates a long scroll of text which can be moved very quickly. The following is an overview of how this control is obtained. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The numeric keypad: The numeric keypad provides standard cursor as well as screen control. [Up] [Dn] [Lt] [Rt] The four arrow keys provide cursor control as expected but also provide screen control. Whenever a cursor movement would cause the cursor to be positioned off the top or bottom of the screen an automatic screen scroll will occur. This includes end wrap for the left and right arrows as well as simply holding the up and down arrow keys to force a scroll. [Pg Up] [Pg Dn] The page up and page down keys will cause an immediate 24 line scroll to the preceeding or following page of text. [Home] [End] The home and end keys will cause a 1 line scroll up and down. [Ctrl] [Home] The key combination of [Ctrl] [Home] will home the cursor. [Ctrl] [End] This combination will place the cursor at the end of the current line. [Ins] Toggles the editor into and out of insert character mode. (more later) [Del] Deletes the character at current cursor position. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The function keys: The function keys provide access to the command modes as well as some screen and edit features as well. [F1] F1 calls the main command menu window discussed in detail later. [F2] F2 calls the printer !? Make sure the printer is on (if it isn't E88 will wait until it is). Place the cursor on the line where the print- out is to start and press [F2]. The printer will print lines and the cursor will move and the screen will scroll until any key is pressed or the end of file is reached. The cursor indicates the line currently being printed. Termination of the print will restore the screen and cursor to their previous positions. [F3] [F4] [F5] [F6] [F7] [F8] F3 through F8 are called pagers. Pressing these keys will cause the text to scroll instantly to a page that has been preset by the user. To preset the page for each key, simply scroll to the desired page, hold the shift key down, and press F3 to F8. That key is then set to the displayed page and will return to that point from anywhere in the text. These keys will remain set until reset, which can be done as often as necessary. [F9] F9 will insert a line into the text directly above the line that the cursor is on when the key is pressed. [F10] F10 does nothing by itself. This is the delete line key. Since this key could do some serious damage if it were inadvertently pressed, the user must press a key combination in order to delete a line. Hold the [Alt] key and press [F10] to delete the current line. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some other keys: [ENTER] The enter key is used much as it is with any other editor. When typing in text, hitting [ENTER] will cause the cursor to move to the start of the next line, inserting a line if it is at the end of file. [ENTER] also resets the tabs and records in memory the current text screen. Their is one difference with this editor to many others including the Microsoft BASIC program editor. It is NOT necessary to press [ENTER] to insure that your screen changes have been preserved. The program logic automatically detects a screen change and records the new screen. This prevents the old BASIC problem of forgetting to press enter and having to re-type a change. [Tab]....located below escape in upper left on the I.B.M. keyboard The tab key tabs the cursor to the user preset tabs. [Shift]*[Tab] This key combination of shift and the tab key will set a tab on the screen. E88 supports 20 tab positions which can be set to function in almost any maner the user desires. To set the tabs: (1.) Press [ENTER] (this clears the tab count) (2.) Move the cursor to the desired tab position. (3.) Hold down a shift key and press the tab key. (4.) Tab 1 is now set and the next tab is ready to be set. (5.) Repeat this procedure until the speaker beeps if desired. NOTES on the tab function : 1. The speaker will beep when the 20th tab is set. When the speaker beeps this indicates that the count is about to start over at the first tab. The tab function on both tabbing and setting the tabs is a rollover procedure. When the last tab is reached then the program will start over with the first tab again. There is no beep during normal tabbing, the beep occurs only when setting the tabs. 2. The tabs can be set in any order desired. The cursor does not have to tab from left to right. For example 38,24,36,5,10,15,38,24,36,71,∙∙∙ is a perfectly legal tab setup. The default tab setup is a repeating sequence of 5,15,25,45,5,15,25,45,5,15,25,45 and so on. 3. Any tab can be set at any time. Simply clear the tab count by pressing [ENTER]. Tab the cursor normally with the tab key while counting the number of tabs. When the desired tab is reached, position the cursor on the proper column and perform step 3 above. 4. The tab setup is saved within the setup file E88SETUP.DEF which is discussed later in the command mode section. To save the tab setup the user must go into setup mode. (See command mode option "E.") [Ins] More on the insert key. The insert and delete character keys work exactly like they do in the BASIC program editor. The insert key toggles on and off. Insert mode is indicated by a "fat" cursor. When insert is enabled characaters will be inserted into the line at the current cursor position while all characters to the right are moved and wrapped around to the next line if necessary. The editor will also insert an extension onto the line if needed. The insert mode is toggled off with any screen or cursor movement. Alphanumeric keys: Type as usual. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- * COMMAND MODES * Pressing function key [F1] will call E88's command window. The command mode will allow the user to save,backup,or exit from editing, as well as setup the editor defaults. The following imformation is provided to serve as a guide to the command mode functions. COMMANDS: [Esc] The escape key will return to edit mode. (A.) END the edit and save this file This option will save the file to the drive and filename displayed in the upper left corner of the screen. The program will return to DOS when the save is complete. (B.) BACKUP (create filename.bak) This option will create a backup file using the displayed filename (as above) but with the extension of BAK. This option can be used as often as necessary during the edit to insure that a loss of power or other unthinkable event would not cause a loss of data. Note that no backup file is automatically produced as with EDLIN. (C.) CHANGE filename (for saving) This option allows the user to save a file under a different name. This is useful in cases where a standard format is used to set up a source file. The user can load the standard file, change the name, and save the edited file without affecting the standard load file. This option can also be used to change the target disk drive. (D.) HELP This option provides a quick reference to most of the key functions as well as some very important program imformation. (E.) SETUP (set default parameters) This option allows the user to setup the program default parameters. When this option is selected a setup window will replace the command window. This window will present the user with a number of keys which will change the program parameters. If the user so desires the setup will be saved to the default drive in a file named E88SETUP.DEF. E88 searches for this file when it is executed and if found configures itself to the specified parameters. If this file is not found then E88 uses it's internal defaults. The file, E88SETUP.DEF, can only be created from the setup window. A NOTE ABOUT COLOR SELECTION : Each time a color select key is pressed the color will change on the screen in the sequence of black, blue, green, cyan, red, magenta, Yell- ow and white. Foreground and border colors will provide 16 increments of this sequence with the last 8 increments being the high intensity color set. Background colors increment 8 times. When the sequence is complete it repeats. When using E88 on a monochrome display adapter it will be necessary for the user to press the setup keys many times to effect a change. This is due to the limited number of attributes that the adapter is capable of displaying. The border color select option is also not available when using a monochrome adapter. (F.) QUIT * RETURN TO DOS * NO SAVE This option terminates the editor and returns control to DOS. The file is NOT saved. WARNING: There is no second chance!! When this key is hit it's all over. This program is for programmers not button pushers. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** I.B.M., I.B.M. PC, I.B.M. XT and PC DOS are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation Microsoft, Microsoft BASIC, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation (C.) Copyright 1985 E.D. Wooten Jr. West Point, Mississippi 39773 NOTE: The author accepts NO LIABILITY whatsoever involving the use of this program. Although I have done extensive testing and debugging of this program to insure that it will not cause any problems to end users it should be noted that this is public domain software and that the use, reproduction, and distribution is beyond my control. In short:...... * USE AT YOUR OWN RISK * Emery D. Wooten Jr. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%> THE <%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%> END <%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% s program to insure that it will not cause any problems to end users it sho