“Search” likewise allows searching for text selected in some other window. Some nice touches for programmers allow you to select the line number in an error listing from a compiler shown in an X window, then go to NEdit and locate that like number with just a CTRL-E. After a while you get over punching ESC constantly, and at that point you might remap the key to something useful. Vi users will appreciate that the ESC key mostly does nothing. Undo-redo extends to the beginning of session, even through file saves.
Regular expression support includes full egrep regular expressions, though find and replace are the only actions available on regular expression matches.
Windows may be split, and multiple windows may be opened into different files. Vertical and horizontal Motif scrollbars are present. The syntax highlighting, and also a more complete macro capability, are targeted for release early in 1997.Ĭtags are supported. There is a working prototype of this, with continuous incremental re-parsing, on the fly. The user who is accustomed to syntax highlighting won’t find it here, though Mark Edel informs me dynamic syntax highlighting is a frequently requested feature. This and other customizations were accomplished using only the information available from the help button, however, without resorting at all to the man page. The default key bindings under Linux required some tinkering to get them to where I wanted them, with the Backspace key deleting to the left of the cursor, the Delete key deleting right, and the Insert key toggling between insert and overstrike modes. Release 4.0.2 may be out by the time this article reaches press, with some bug fixes and perhaps one or two new features. It is possible the problems I’ve observed originate with the Motif to which my copy was linked. These problems have not been severe or frequent enough to prevent me from making daily use of NEdit for some months now, in preference to several other more stable but less usable editors. I’ve had several segmentation violations while running it, and the file selection box sometimes loses its state entirely during a long run with many files open, requiring exit and restart before it becomes useful again. NEdit is a work in progress and appears to have some memory allocation problems. This provides the handiest way to delete blocks of selected text, using the backspace key. These mouse-based capabilities alone save me perhaps 80% of the keystrokes I’d use in vi for similar text manipulation tasks.Īs is customary under Motif, if you select some text, then begin typing, the typed entry replaces the selected text. The varieties of secondary selection are great for moving sentences around in a paragraph, re-ordering the clauses of a C language switch statement, or inserting text from one editor window to another. If there is a primary selection at this time, the secondary selection replaces it or, if you hold ALT when you release the selection mouse button, it is exchanged with the primary selection. The position of the SHIFT key chooses move or copy. This provides some very nice features.ĭragging mouse Button 2 or Button 3 (depending on your flavor of Motif) underlines text when you release, the underlined text is moved or copied to the location of the I-beam cursor. Motif secondary selection is present also, in both linear and rectangular flavors. This saves me a great deal of time when filing bug reports and writing release notes. Linear selection is supported by an xterm, so you may paste text such as command line dialogues, listings of files, and so on, from an xterm directly into a NEdit window. In fact, you can convert between linear and rectangular regions while working with them, just by pressing or releasing the CTRL button. Most things you can do with rectangular regions also work with linear regions, which start some place in a line and incorporate all intervening text until some place in another line. Likewise, when you move a rectangular region, you can move it as far to the right as you like. Unlike some other editors, rectangular regions are not bound on the right by the shortest line in the region.