README.TXT ZapEdit 1.0 (c) Cleveland Associates 1991 Welcome to ZapEdit! ZapEdit is an editor for Microsoft Windows programmers. ZapEdit allows programmers to write MS Windows programs in C (or any other language) and compile and debug them without ever leaving the Windows environment. It was designed by a programmer who got tired of constantly switching to DOS to edit program files or to run the make utility. Everything can be done from within ZapEdit, including compiling the program, running it, and invoking the debugger. ZapEdit also has several nice features including a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) which allows the programmer to open several files at once and cut and paste at will. /************************************************************* ZapEdit is shareware, which means that you can use it, copy it, and give it away to anyone you like. If you use ZapEdit and like it, you are encouraged to register your copy for $25. When you register you will receive our sincere thanks, a manual, and the next release of the program. We plan to add several fancy new features in the very near future. For $100 you will receive the source code and will be able to modify it to include any features you like. Please do not sell the program or use it in a commercial enviroment without registering it. Please send your questions, comments, and registration fees to: Cleveland Associates 623 Surf Street, #2W Chicago, Illinois 60657 Cleveland Associates is a consulting and programming firm that can provide assistance in Windows and C-language applications development. ******************************************************************/ ZapEdit works much like any other Windows application -- it has menus, dialog boxes, the works. Most of the control keys are Common User Access (CUA) compliant. While those of us who grew up on WordStar find the adjustment to different editing keys a little hard to take, this interface is logical, consistent, and does make editing go much quicker. If you really would like to reconfigure some keys, you can order the source code and modify it very easily. Adding new control keys is a snap. Most of the menu options are similar to the ones in the Windows Notepad application. I have included some brief notes on them and on some general tips for faster editing: FILE MENU New -- New does not clear an old document on the screen; it simply opens a new window and names it "Untitled". To clear an old document, double click on its system box in the upper left-hand corner. Open -- You can open new windows quickly and easily by using the F2 key. Press F2 to open the "Open" dialog and Tab to the listbox of files. No need for your hands to leave the keyboard for the mouse. Save, Save As -- These apply to the current window only. You can save files selectively. Print, Print Setup -- Standard menu options. Print uses the default font for your printer. It does not acknowledge any screen fonts that you may be using (see below for info on fonts). Short Menus, Exit, About ZapEdit -- Standard menu options. EDIT MENU Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Select All -- These options work like they do in any Windows application. You can insert blocks of text from the disk by using F2-Open, Select All, Cut, switch back to your old window, and Paste. The next version of the program will have a faster method for this operation. You can write blocks to disk by Selecting text, opening a New window, Pasting it, and doing a Save As. All cutting and pasting is done into the Windows clipboard so you can transfer text back and forth with other applications as well. WordWrap -- Applies only to the current window. Toggle it on and off. Fonts -- You can select the font and size that you prefer to use when editing. Some fonts are easier to read than the system font -- Courier is a good choice. Courier also has the advantage that it is a fixed-pitch font, which means that you can use it to make sure that your columns line up evenly. Variable-pitch fonts leave jagged columns. Your choice of font and size is saved in the WIN.INI file and comes up automatically the next time that you run the program. When you set a font it applies to all windows -- it is not possible (in this version) to have different fonts in different windows. SEARCH MENU Find, Next, Previous -- Standard search functions. To do a search-and-replace, type your replacement string into a window and cut it into the clipboard. Run the search, and everytime an occurence is found press Shift-Insert to replace the text. Note that the search routine starts at the caret position, not at the beginning of the file or at the mouse pointer position. RUN MENU The Run Menu allows you to run, compile, and debug applications with a single keystroke. To use this feature, you must first select the Run Setup option and type in some command lines. Typical command lines are: Run Command String: c:\myprogram\myprogram.exe parameter1 parameter2 Make Command String: make c:\myprogram\myprogram Debug Command String: cvw c:\myprogram\myprogram.exe These commands should be typed just as you would type them on the DOS command line. When in doubt, precede all filenames with the full path. These lines are saved in WIN.INI and are loaded automatically when you run ZapEdit. Each of these commands are executed as child processes without disrupting anything that is going on in ZapEdit. ZapEdit will automatically save the current window to disk when you select Make, but will not move the cursor or otherwise affect the current file. This fact makes it possible to make and run your program using only two keystrokes without losing your editing place. Make.exe is a DOS program whose execution is controlled by its .PIF file. If you are running on a 80286 machine or lower, Make will force Windows to blank the screen and shell out to DOS. If you are running on a 80386 or higher, you have the option of creating a .PIF file for Make that will redirect Make's output to a window. Use the PIF editor that comes with Windows to create .PIF files. When the make program is finished executing control will be returned to ZapEdit. Sometimes you will want to pause Make when it is finished so that you can read any error messages before they disappear. To do this, create a batch file (MAKEIT.BAT) with the following lines: make c:\myprogram\myprogram pause and enter "makeit.bat" on the make command line in Run Setup. Be sure to include the .bat extension because Windows assumes that all executables end with .exe unless otherwise specified. If you have multiple windows open when you run make, be sure to save any of them that will be used during compiling or linking. ZapEdit automatically saves only the current window. Make will use the old versions of the files still on disk if they aren't saved. FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS It is likely that the next version of ZapEdit will include most of these enhancements: Capacity to handle larger files Display for current line and column A better search and replace Auto indenting for code blocks One-key access to the SDK online reference Custom tabs Please mail any suggestions or requests to Cleveland Associates at the address above. Happy Computing!