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Edit for DOS 3.3 and ealier

bettablue

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I've been searching for a replacement ANSI text editor for earlier versions of DOS. Most of what I see are programs like Edit173, Editor, Editen, and others, but what I really want is a simple text editor, like edit.exe with the same basic functions. The main issue for me is that using Edlin is a real pain in the you know what.

During my search, I ran into a couple of threads here in the forums where members have written their own replacement programs for the earlier versions. As an example: Mem.exe. which was written by one of our regulars (I believe it was Chuck). The program was only 41 Bytes in size. That little program is a perfect example of what I'm looking for.

I also seem to have been told that I can replace, or add an edit command to my version of DOS, but along with the command, I had to include a specific version of BASIC? While I'm not adverse to doing that, I would prefer a small stand alone program that will allow me to edit some of the ANSI test files, such as the autoexec.bat, and config.sys.

Has anyone done anything similar for the edit command? If so, can you point me to a thread or resource?

Thanks in advance.
 
During my search, I ran into a couple of threads here in the forums where members have written their own replacement programs for the earlier versions. As an example: Mem.exe. which was written by one of our regulars (I believe it was Chuck). The program was only 41 Bytes in size. That little program is a perfect example of what I'm looking for.

Could you provide a link to the thread or site where this little program may be found?
 
I use Sled. It's pretty different from edit, but in good ways, in my opinion. Although, I do pine for a version of vi that runs at a usable speed on an XT.

BTW, it's 17K. Small enough?
 
A nice oldie is Simon--it's a combination popup multitool that includes a decent editor. I also have my own editor, which isn't very large at all.
 
Thomas:

Not exactly small, really not even close, but the IBM mainframe editor clone SPF/PC version 1.00 or version 1.8 worked with the earlier versions of Dos. A lot of guys used it because they were very familar with ISPF on the mainframe.
 
Borland's Turbo Pascal Editor Toolbox included as a sample a simple text editor that emulated WordStar with SAA style dropdown menus. If you TP3 or TP4, you might already have it.
 
I use Sled. It's pretty different from edit, but in good ways, in my opinion. Although, I do pine for a version of vi that runs at a usable speed on an XT.
I'll second this recommendation. Small, fast, and reasonably full-featured - also supports Hercules video with a larger screen than default!

EDIT works just fine on 3.3 (though yes, you do have to include QBASIC,) but it's a bit balky on the kind of systems you're likely to be running 3.3 on. The FreeDOS EDIT clone is also compatible, but is if anything even slower :/
 
I've been searching for a replacement ANSI text editor for earlier versions of DOS. Most of what I see are programs like Edit173, Editor, Editen, and others, but what I really want is a simple text editor, like edit.exe with the same basic functions. The main issue for me is that using Edlin is a real pain in the you know what.

I know, going through the 1000 choices on Simtel is a bit of a pain. It does bring a smirk to my face though because it really shows up the huge lack of editors in the Linux/Unix world. DOS rulz! - certainly when it comes to choice and variety of editors.

That said, I have probably gone through most of the choices out there - having spent countless evenings scouring the net (and before that BBSs) and downloading anything which looked promising. To me it is important that an editor is small. Except in a few cases where it is simply not possible, I expect all OS and functional programs (with file storage space) to fit comfortably on a single 360K floppy. Anything else makes me sweat and itchy all over. :) Minimal computing is, after all, the real draw with DOS. Loading resources to the max is what I do with *nix.

TED - from PCmag is probably the winner for easy of use. At 3K it has cut/paste and a few other functions on a single function key menu. I've written essays, and countless letters and e-mails using this. The worst characteristic is that it has an end-of-file marker.

TER - is the new TED and is actually quite sophisticated, but is up to 4K. I've started to switch though, because I'm tired of that EOF. The key strokes are also comfortable, with things like Alt-X to save and exit. It's actually amazing how much pain and bother can be avoided by using those keys which are under the fingers, rather than the function keys which require a reach that involves arm and neck muscles. I'd like to save my energy for where it's actually needed - and computers isn't it.

FM - For direct editing of binary files, such as is required to configure some DOS programs, I like to use a visual hex editor rather than the traditional DEBUG. Not being a programmer, I find it adds a little confidence. So, for that I use an editor called FM which is a little over 9K.

Q - I concur with others in that the ultimate editor is probably Qedit (now Semware). I've used it for years and am particularly fond of the paragraph reformatting (Alt-B) and the ability to edit many files simultaneously. Q is about 48K, depending on the version, so all that functionality doesn't come cheap.

I've put the first three in a zip for you here: http://cgs.coalmont.net/littleed.zip

NE - Oh, and if you want a full functioning GUI editor for DOS, I recommend NE (no Edlin ever) which is free and has an excellent spell check. It does require more than one file though. That always irks me, but I guess it can't be helped if you want a speller. So, you'll need about 670K for that one. I always recommend NE for people who have no compunction about size and like the whole GUI thing. In fact it's probably the best choice for anybody who isn't as stuck up as I am. ;) NE actually has lots of plusses - one of which is that it doesn't require a mouse. So, here is that, if anybody wants it: http://cgs.coalmont.net/ne.zip
 
This will be against the popular opinion and certainly more ram hungry slower apps but Word Perfect and Wordstar also came out in the early 80s. Not sure of the requirements though. They were obviously geared more towards writing documents with formatting macros though and less for speed of opening a file and making minor modifications. Apparently Microsoft Works came out much later although I recall other editors before then just not the names. IBM I thought had one they wanted folks to use, I'm seeing references to "IBM Personal Editor" but I'm not finding links to what it looked like.

An edit looking program also seems to be tedit.exe.
 
I've been searching for a replacement ANSI text editor for earlier versions of DOS. Most of what I see are programs like Edit173, Editor, Editen, and others, but what I really want is a simple text editor, like edit.exe with the same basic functions. The main issue for me is that using Edlin is a real pain in the you know what.

During my search, I ran into a couple of threads here in the forums where members have written their own replacement programs for the earlier versions. As an example: Mem.exe. which was written by one of our regulars (I believe it was Chuck). The program was only 41 Bytes in size. That little program is a perfect example of what I'm looking for.

I also seem to have been told that I can replace, or add an edit command to my version of DOS, but along with the command, I had to include a specific version of BASIC? While I'm not adverse to doing that, I would prefer a small stand alone program that will allow me to edit some of the ANSI test files, such as the autoexec.bat, and config.sys.

Has anyone done anything similar for the edit command? If so, can you point me to a thread or resource?

Thanks in advance.

Did you really mean ANSI or did you mean ASCII? The two mean different things.

Edlin, PE, TED, etc. are examples of ASCII editors - they edit straight text.

ANSI editing allows you to use ANSI escape codes. "TheDraw" is an example of an ANSI editor.

So which did you mean? I am assuming that you mean ASCII, and other people are giving you examples of ASCII editors. Not ANSI editors.
 
Did you really mean ANSI or did you mean ASCII?
I noticed he said that, but then it looks like he went on to describe an ASCII editor.

I've found TED quite handy for ANSI, since the F6 button allows repeated paste, which is suitable for taking blocks of ANSI code and repeating it, as well as repeating line drawing and other characters as needed. That said, there are several ANSI editors on this page: http://ftp.sunet.se/pub/simtelnet/msdos/editor/ I haven't tried them though.
Code:
adraw120.zip  B   77399  970227  AcidDraw v1.20: ANSI Editor for DOS
ansipc10.zip  B   61058  910304  ANSI graphics editor w/extensive mouse support
paintpro.zip  B  110910  971124  ANSI graphics editor, many facilities/mouse
 
Yes, I did mean ascii. But for some reason, in the library of programs I located a while ago, I have a file folder called ANSI, with some windows based test editoes in it. When I posted the question, I got them turned around, but yes, I did mean ASCII.

Thanks mbbrutman for allowing me to clear that up.

Did you really mean ANSI or did you mean ASCII? The two mean different things.

Edlin, PE, TED, etc. are examples of ASCII editors - they edit straight text.

ANSI editing allows you to use ANSI escape codes. "TheDraw" is an example of an ANSI editor.

So which did you mean? I am assuming that you mean ASCII, and other people are giving you examples of ASCII editors. Not ANSI editors.
 
I have XTREE Gold installed, But, I'm also considering one more. Norton Commander keeps popping up in my mind and I have had so many people recommend it that I want to try them both before making a commitment and adding it to my autoexec.bat file for automatically starting when I boot the computer.

Thanks though. I'll look at that too.



bettablue - I know you have XtreeGold installed - that has a built in text editor too btw.
 
Norton Commander keeps popping up in my mind and I have had so many people recommend it that I want to try them both before making a commitment and adding it to my autoexec.bat file for automatically starting when I boot the computer.
I find the command line much faster and easier, but if you like a file manager program, then I don't think that Norton is known for particularly elegant code. The popularity is probably more because of the marketing and general availability. Anyway, why not try DOS Commander? You may like it. :) Get it here.
 
If you want an editor to be at your fingertips at all times, don't forget that Borland Sidekick had one buried in it, not to mention a calculator, appointment calendar, terminal emulator and a few other things, all in a pop-up.
 
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