Category : Miscellaneous Language Source Code
Archive   : PRO-ED12.ZIP
Filename : PRO-ED.DOC

The Pro-Ed Editor From Circle Software
Version 1.2


The Pro-Ed Editor is a full-featured text editor designed for
programmers. It features windows, bookmarks, search and replace, and
you can edit two files simultaneously. Assembly language programmers
can assemble, link, and convert EXE files to COM files without leaving
the editor environment. If an assembler error occurs, the cursor is
moved to the offending line and the error message is displayed across
the bottom of the screen.

Version 1.2 corrects a several minor bugs, adds an overwrite
text-entry mode, adds automatic indentation, and a function called
super tab.

You should have three files as follows:

README Instructions on how to get started
PRO-ED.DOC This documentation file
P.COM The Pro-Ed editor

REGISTRATION
The Pro-Ed editor is a shareware product. The author depends on
your support to continue producing useful programs. If this program
is useful to you, please register.

Send $20 to register as a user. You will be notified of updates
and given limited support, if needed, by mail.

Send $30 to register and receive a disk with the latest version
of the program which includes a minimal macro capability. This also
entitles you to one free update.

Circle Software
P. O. Box 7954
Clearwater, FL 33615-7954

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Pro-Ed is what you might call a full-screen line editor. You have
complete freedom of cursor movement as in most word processors, but
many of its functions, both internal and those apparent to the user,
are line oriented.

File size is limited to 65 kbytes. I could easily have designed
Pro-Ed to handle larger files, but only at the expense of speed. Many
operations, such as Search and finding line numbers, are affected by
the file size. Furthermore, it is good programming practice to work
with small, functional modules.

You can load a file by naming it on the command line as in

P TESTFILE.ASM

or with the load command, Alt-F9. You can specify drive and path along
with the file name up to a total length of 30 characters. However, a
file that you intend to assemble must be in the current directory.
See the section on assembly below.

To save a file, press F9. Pro-Ed will display the file name in
the prompt area of the message bar and wait for your response. If you
want to change the file name, use the Backspace key to delete the old
name and then enter the new one. If the old name is ok, just press
Return.

There is no limit to the line length Pro-Ed can handle. However,
you can only display the first 80 characters. Pro-Ed was designed
primarily to edit source files in which there is no need to have
longer lines. If you happen create a longer line, by inserting a
section for example, the characters will not be lost. Simply move the
cursor to the appropriate spot and press Return to make two lines out
of the one long one.

You can use Pro-Ed to preview, but not edit, most word-processor
files. The lines will disappear off the right side of the screen, but
you can read the first 80 characters in each paragraph to quickly
review the contents of the file.

The Pro-Ed Editor is only about 11000 bytes long, but with the
various buffers the total memory requirement is nearly 200 kbytes.
There are two 65 kbyte file buffers, a 65 kbyte paste buffer, and a 2
kbyte buffer for assembler errors.

The default text-entry mode is insert; that is text will be push-
ed to the right as you enter new characters. Press Alt-I to enter the
overwrite mode. Now new text will replace existing text, except for
returns and tabs. An "O" will be displayed on the bottom line of the
screen next to the line number while you're in the overwrite mode.
Press Alt-I again to return to the insert mode.

Pro-Ed uses the first 24 lines of the screen for text display.
There are no borders or other distractions. The bottom-line message
bar displays prompts and error messages, the file name, and the line
number. You can split the screen into two horizontal windows with 11
text lines in the upper window and 12 in the lower. The message bar
for the upper window separates the two text areas.

HELP
You can display the following help screen by pressing F1.

------------------------------------------------------------
Pro-Ed Version 1.2 from Circle Software

F1 Display Help menu F2 Exit
F3 Search for string Alt-F3 Search and replace
F4 Repeat Search Alt-F4 Auto Search
F5 Open/toggle window Alt-F5 Close window
F6 Turn on marking F7 Jump to line
F8 Delete line Alt-F8 Delete to end of line
F9 Save file Alt-F9 Load file


Alt-C Assemble COM file
Alt-E Assemble EXE file
Alt-O Assemble OBJ file
Alt-F Find next error
Alt-N Next file
Alt-M Mark line
Alt-J Jump to marked line
Alt-P Print
Alt-L Print with line num
Alt-K Clear buffer
Alt-I Toggle Overwrite

Press any key to exit
-----------------------------------------------------------

CURSOR MOVEMENT
Cursor movement commands are similar to those of many word
processors. As you move the cursor vertically, Pro-Ed maintains the
column position, line length permitting. The following commands are
available:

Arrow keys Normal cursor movement
Home First character on line
End Just past the last character
Tab Advance cursor to next tab stop
Shift-Tab Super tab
Ctrl-Home First character on screen
Ctrl-End First character of last line
PgUp Scrolls up 23 lines
PgDn Scrolls down 23 lines
Ctrl-PgUp First character in file
Ctrl-PgDn Last line in file

You can also jump to a line number. Press Alt-F7, and then enter
a line number. Pro-Ed will jump to that line, displaying it at the top
of the screen. The tab interval is fixed at five spaces. The super tab
function will help programmers add comments to program lines. When you
press Shift-Tab, the cursor will skip to the end of any text present
on the line then Pro-Ed inserts tab characters until column 40 is
reached.

The auto indentation feature saves you from having to enter a tab,
or several tabs, at the beginning of a line. When you press Enter,
Pro-Ed inserts enough tabs to bring the cursor to the same column as
the first character in the preceding line.


BOOKMARKS
Bookmarks are a way of storing the screen and cursor position so
you can return to them later. Pro-Ed can store ten bookmarks for each
window. Press Alt-M and then a number key (1 - 0) to store a bookmark.
Press Alt-J and a number key to jump to a marked location. Pro-Ed
remembers both the screen position and the cursor location. When you
return to a mark, the screen will appear exactly as you left it.

INSERT AND DELETE AND MARKED TEXT
Press the Delete key to remove the character under the cursor.
The deleted character is placed in the paste buffer. To put it back,
press the Insert key. The Backspace key erases the character to the
left of the cursor, but the removed character is not saved. F8 will
delete an entire line and Alt-F8 will delete from the cursor to the
end of the line. In both cases the deleted text goes into the paste
buffer.

If you need to retain the contents of the paste buffer, be sure
to use only the Backspace key to remove text.

You can cut and paste larger blocks by marking the area you want
to remove. Press F6 to initiate marking, then use normal cursor
movements to block out the text. The marked text is displayed in
inverse video. Press Delete to remove the marked text. If you want to
copy the text to another location while maintaining the original,
press Delete, then Insert, then move the cursor to the new location
and press Insert again.

To recap, whenever you press the Delete key, the affected text, a
single character or a marked block, goes into the paste buffer where
it will remain until you delete another character or block. Only
cursor movement is permitted while Pro-Ed is in the mark mode; other
functions are inhibited. You can unmark a block without deleting it
by pressing F6 again.

SEARCH AND REPLACE
Pro-Ed has rapid search and replace capability. To search, press
F3 and enter the search string, 20 characters or less, and press
Return. The cursor moves to the first occurrence of the search string
beyond the present cursor position. If this occurs on the same screen,
only the cursor is moved; screen position is maintained. If the cursor
goes off the screen, the screen position is adjusted such that the
cursor is placed three lines from the top. This feature gives you the
best view of the context of the found string. Press F4 to find the
next occurrence.

Remember Pro-Ed only searches forward from the cursor position.
Press Control-PgUp to move the cursor to the top of the file if you
want to search the entire file.

The search function is case-sensitive. Furthermore, Pro-Ed only
looks for a match of the designated string. It doesn't care what
characters precede or follow it. In other words, if the search string
is INT, Pro-Ed will also stop on PRINT.

Auto Search gives you a quick way to find other occurrences of a
label in a source file without having to type the label name. Place
the cursor on the first character of the label and press Alt-F4. Pro-
Ed searches for the first occurrence of that label starting at the top
of the file. Pro-Ed also marks the current location with bookmark 0 so
you can easily return there. If it turns out that you were on the
first occurrence in the file, the cursor will not move. Press F4 to
find subsequent occurrences.

To replace one string with another, press Alt-F3, enter the
search string and press Return. Pro-Ed will prompt you to enter the
replace string. Pro-Ed stops on the first occurrence of the search
string and waits for a command. Your choices are (Y)es, (N)o, or
(G)lobal. If you press G the search and replace function will proceed
automatically.

Remember Pro-Ed doesn't look for whole words. If you want to
replace the label A1 with A2, make sure you don't have something like
DA1 or don't use global replacement.

MULTIPLE FILE EDITING
Pro-Ed allows you to load and edit two files at the same time.
With one file loaded, press Alt-N. A blank screen appears. Now use the
load command, Alt-F9, to load the second file. Use Alt-N to switch
back and forth between the files. Alt-K will clear the current buffer
and reset all flags and counters.

The files are completely independent. Pro-Ed saves the screen and
cursor position when you switch files and maintains separate bookmarks
for each. The search key is common. That is, if you enter a search
string while working on file one, you can search file two for the same
string without re-entering it. The paste buffer is also common. This
allows you to move text between files.

WINDOWS
Press F5 to split the screen into two horizontal windows. A
second message bar will appear to divide the screen into an 11-line
upper section and a 12-line lower section. The file you were viewing
when you pressed F5 is displayed in the upper window and the alternate
file, if you have loaded one, is displayed in the lower window. The
cursor appears in the lower window. Press F5 to toggle the cursor
between windows.

Except for the fewer number of lines displayed, all functions
perform the same as in the full screen mode. Press Alt-F5 to return to
the full screen. The file in the same window as the cursor will be
displayed.

ASSEMBLY
Pro-Ed is designed to work with the later versions of the
Microsoft Macro Assembler, the DOS linker, and EXE2BIN. Press Alt-C to
create a COM file. Pro-Ed first displays the file name, allows you to
change it if you wish, and then begins the assembly process. MASM,
LINK, and EXE2BIN are executed in sequence. The intermediate OBJ and
EXE files are deleted.

MASM, LINK, and EXE2BIN can be in any subdirectory identified in
the path command. The file you are compiling must be in the current
directory; that is, the directory you were in when you loaded Pro-Ed.

Assembler error messages are directed to a file which is read
into the error buffer. If errors occurred, Pro-Ed extracts the line
number and error message. The screen display shifts to show the line
where the error occurred and the error message is displayed in the
message bar. Edit the offending line then press Alt-F to display the
next error. If in correcting a error, you add or delete lines,
subsequent errors will not be located properly.

Pro-Ed doesn't detect or display Linker errors, but it will
display the "File cannot be converted" message sometimes displayed by
EXE2BIN.

Press Alt-E if you want to create an EXE file and Alt-O if you
want only an object file.

PRINTING
You can print the file currently displayed by pressing Alt-P.
Pro-Ed creates a five-space left-hand margin and issues a form feed
after 54 lines have been printed. If you want to print only part of a
file, mark the block you want to print, then move it to the alternate
buffer. Set your printer to start about one inch down from the top of
the page to get one inch top and bottom margins. Pro-Ed prints a page
number at the bottom of the page.

Press Alt-L to print with line numbers. The same line number
that is displayed on the screen will be printed in the left margin.

TO EXIT
To quit your editing session, press F2. If you have made any
changes to the file since the last save, you will be shown an
appropriate prompt message. Press Y to lose the changes and any other
key if you want to save them. If you do the latter, the file name will
be displayed. You can change it or simply press Return.



OTHER CIRCLE SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

JOT-IT4 - A memory-resident note pad and screen capture utility.

SPOOL - An efficient print spooler with variable buffer size.