C.P.Briscoe-Smith

Using ZEdit

Here's a brief rundown on the features (such as they are) of ZEdit version 0.0.

When you start ZEdit, you'll get a blank document to work on. Don't worry about the splash box; it'll go away as soon as you hit a key.

The Z machine has very limited keyboard-reading capabilities, so that it can sope with the most limited keyboard available. Because of this, we can't use control or alternate keys to indicate commands; so we use the backslash. In a future version it will be possible to change this on-the-fly.

To load in a file, type "\L" and enter the filename. The method of filename entry depends on your interpreter. If the file loads successfully, it'll appear on the screen. If not, you will receive no messages about it.

Saving the file is equally simple: "\S" and enter a filename. There is no error checking done here, either. You can quit instantly by typing "\Q" whether or not you've made changes to the file.

You can move around the file with the arrow keys, type text to insert it, press backspace to delete characters, and generally, well, edit. Since the Z machine cannot read the tab character from the keyboard, you can generate a tab by pressing "\T".

There are a couple of special effects available: type "\N" to toggle "visible newlines" on and off, or "\I" to do the same for "visible tabs". What fun. Here's an indication of the effect these two have:

Well, that's about all there is to say about ZEdit as yet. I hope you find it useful.

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Last modified: Mon Nov 3 16:23:22 1997