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EDIT <Enter>
The EDIT menu interface displays, showing the Select File to Edit dialog box. The current drive and directory shows in the Files field. The Files window displays a list of the files in the current directory, and the Dir and Drives window displays the subdirectories and the available drives.
EDIT has on-line help available; press <F1> to use it, or select the <Help> button.
There are three ways you can select a file to open within EDIT.
1. Type the filename, including the path if the file is in a different directory, in the File field. To open the file, press <Enter>, or use the mouse to point to the <OK> button and click to select it, or press <Tab> three times to highlight the <OK> button and press <Enter> to select it.
NOTE: If the filename you enter does not exist, EDIT recognizes this and prompts you to choose whether or not to create the file. Select <OK> if you want to create the file. Select <Cancel> if you do not want to create the file. EDIT returns you to the Open File dialog box.
2. Move to the Dir and Drives window using the mouse or <Tab> key. Select a drive or directory by scrolling through the list, using the <up-cursor> and <down-cursor> keys until you reach the drive or directory you require. Note that as you scroll through the list, the entry in the File field changes to reflect which directory or drive is highlighted in the window.
Press <Shift><Tab> to move back to the Files window. Scroll through the list of files until you find the file you wish to open. Note that the filename in the File field changes as you scroll through the list. Once the correct filename appears in the File field, select <OK> using the mouse, or by pressing <Tab> twice and then <Enter>.
NOTE: If you type EDIT at the system prompt followed by the path, if needed, and name of a file, EDIT opens that file directly, and does not display the Open File dialog box. If the file does not exist, EDIT prompts you to choose whether or not the file is created. Select <OK> to create it, or <Cancel> to edit a different file.
3. If the file already exists, move the mouse pointer to the filename you want in the list of files and double-click the mouse button.
Notice that as you type, at the bottom of the screen, EDIT displays how many characters and columns you are entering, for example:
Chr=108 Col=3
This tells you the current position of the cursor. The directory path and filename are also displayed at the bottom of the screen.
There is a scroll bar at the right side of the EDIT screen. Move the mouse pointer over the scroll bar slider and drag the slider up and down to move through the file.
When you enter text in insert mode, existing text moves to the right as you type.
To switch to overwrite mode, press <Ins> or <Ctrl> V. In overwrite mode, if you position the cursor at the point where the new text is to start and begin typing, any existing text is overwritten.
To switch to insert mode again, press <Ins> or <Ctrl> V again.
NOTE: Remember that if ins is at the bottom of the screen, you are in insert mode. If ovr is displayed, you are in overwrite mode.
At the top of the screen is the menu bar. To open a menu, use the mouse to point to the menu name and click on it, or press <Alt> and the initial letter of the menu name. To choose an option from the menu, use the mouse to point to the option and click on it, or move the highlight bar over the option using the <up-cursor> and
You can select menu options that are followed by <Alt><character> by pressing the <Alt> key and the given character without opening the menu first.
Moving the Cursor
You can move the cursor around your file in steps of one character, one word, or one page, or you can jump directly to the start or end of the file. To Move the Cursor One Character
NOTE: On some keyboards the four keys D, S, E, and X form an approximate diamond shape on your keyboard, sometimes called the "cursor-control diamond." The position of these keys may help you to remember what they do.
To Move the Cursor to the Start or End of a Line
Either type in the name of the file you want to insert, or select it from the Files window, and press <OK>. The file is inserted at the cursor. The remaining text is moved down to accommodate the new text.
If you press <Delete> or <Ctrl> G repeatedly, characters will continue to be deleted until you reach the end of the file.
If you press <Backspace> or <Ctrl> H repeatedly, characters continue to be deleted until you reach the beginning of the file.
If you press <Delete> at the end of a line, you delete the invisible "newline" character and bring up the next line. Similarly, pressing <Backspace> or <Ctrl> H at the beginning of a line moves that line up to the end of the previous line.
NOTE: If you want to delete more than one character, it is usually quicker to use one of the key combinations described in the following sections.
NOTE: On some keyboards, the keys G, H, T and Y (for deleting characters, words and lines) are next to each other and form an approximate square. You may find this helps you to remember these commands.
You can also use the mouse to mark a block of text. Move the mouse pointer to where you want the block to start and drag the mouse to where you want the block to end.
Either enter the name of the file where the text is to be stored in the File field or select a path, if needed, and filename from the list in the Files window, and select <OK>. The file is created and the block of marked text is written to it. If the file already exists, you are asked:
File already exists, overwrite?
Select <OK> to overwrite the file, <Cancel> if you want to keep the file as it is. If you select <Cancel>, no action is taken; open the Block menu, and select Write to file... or press <Ctrl> KW again and enter a different filename.
NOTE: When a block of text is hidden, you cannot copy, move or delete it.
If you want to save your work and start work on a different file, then open the File menu and select Open... or press <Alt> O. The Select File to Edit dialog box displays. Either type the name of the new file, or select an existing file from the Files window.
Using Markers
You can insert markers that act as "bookmarks" in a text file. The maximum number of markers you can insert is 10. Once a marker is placed at a particular point in the text, a simple key combination returns you to that point in the text. Inserting a Marker
To insert a marker in the text, move the cursor to where you want to place the marker. Press <Ctrl><F1> to set the first marker. You can also set the marker by pressing <Ctrl> K<1> where <1> is on the numeric keypad. To set subsequent markers, press <Ctrl><Fn>, or <Ctrl> K<n>, where <Fn> is the next function key up to <F10>, and <n> is the next number on the numeric keypad up to <0>. Moving to a Preset Marker
To return to a marker already set in the text, press <Alt><Fn> where <Fn> is the function key you used to set the marker, or press
<Ctrl> Q<n> where <n> is the number on the numeric keypad you used to set the marker. Searching for and Replacing Strings of Text
You can search for strings of text in EDIT, and replace them with another string. Searching for a String of Text
To search for a string of text, press <Alt> S to open the Search menu and select the Search for string option, or press <Ctrl> QF. The Search dialog box displays. Enter the string which you wish to find in the Search string field.
Press <OK> to start the search.
The Search and Replace dialog box displays. Enter the text string in the Search string field and the replacement text string in the Replacement string field.
The options listed previously are also available in this dialog box as well as the following:
If you have made changes to a file EDIT prompts you to choose whether to save the changes or not. Select <Yes> to save the changes and exit from EDIT, or <No> to abandon the changes and exit. Select <Cancel> if you do not want to exit from EDIT.
You can also press <Ctrl> KX to exit EDIT and save changes, or
When you save your edited file, the working copy is stored on the disk and is given the name of the original file. The old file becomes an EDIT backup file with the extension .BAK.
Example
If you open the file MYTEXT.DOC and edit it, when you save the file the following happens:
If you accidentally deleted the file MYTEXT.DOC, you could revert to the .BAK file by typing:
COPY MYTEXT.BAK MYTEXT.DOC <Enter>
To prevent any filename conflicts, EDIT does not allow you to edit files with the extension .BAK.
Before you start editing a file, make sure that there is enough free space on the disk to store both the original file with the .BAK extension, and the edited version of the file.
EDIT /D <Enter>