Soft As It Gets - Frequently Asked Questions

ED for Windows

Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the ED for Windows FAQ. Our aim here is to answer questions which are commonly asked, and may not yet be covered in other documentation. Please check the FAQ and our Forums before contacting us for support.

Click here for the Version 3.80 FAQ

Version 4 FAQ

How do I...?

Q. The new Toolbars are terrific, but how do I change the width of a combo box?
Q. Can I change the File|Open History list to Details view?
Q. How do I create a new Project in the current Workspace?
Q. How do I set up a Toolbar button to run a compiler?
Q. How do I add error tracking support for my compiler?

Why do I ...?

Q. Why do I get an error about Drive K when I save a file?
Q. Why do I get an error ED Extension Language auto-compilation failed. Trg_PostSave.c not found?
Q. Why do I sometimes see the Workspace window open and close when I'm using the mouse wheel?
Q. Why does ED connect to the Internet when it starts?

Why doesn't ...?

Q. ED become fully licensed when I enter my license details?
Q. Delete delete the text I have selected?

I'm moving from V3.80 to V4 and want to know ...?

Q. What has happened to File Extension Setup?
Q. Where is Search|Find all Occurrences?
Q. Where is the Function List dialog?
Q. Does ED now work with Samba and files on Unix computers?
Q. How are dates formatted in Version 4?
Q. Are multiple files per window supported in Version 4?
Q. Can I use my current Language Dictionary files with Version 4?
Q. Can I use my current Compiler setups, Colour Schemes etc. with Version 4?
Q. What has happened to User Defined Languages?

If you didn't find the answer here then make sure you check our Forums.

How do I ... ?

Q. The new Toolbars are terrific, especially the Combo and Listbox buttons, but how do I change the width of a combo box?

A. Yes, right click on a Toolbar and select Customize Toolbar from the menu or select View|Toolbars|Customize Toolbar. Next, click on the Combo box you want to resize and then drag the right hand end of the combo until it is the size you want. Finally Close the Toolbar Customization dialog.

Q. Can I change the File|Open History list to Details view?

A. Not currently, however their are other quicker ways to access the File History list.

Use the drop down arrow on the File|Open Toolbar button.
Right click on the 'filename' area on the Status Bar.
Right click on the blank window area which surrounds text windows when they aren't maximized.
Set up a File|Open Toolbar button with a Combo box instead of the drop down list or change the current button. Right click on the File|Open button and select Customize Button, then change its List Type to Combo.
On the bottom of the File menu.

Q. How do I create a new Project in the current Workspace?

A. Right click on the "Workspace" item at the top of the Tree and select 'Create New Project in Workspace...' from the menu.

Q. How do I set up a Toolbar button to run compiler?

A. You can assign an entry from the K_BuildListAll Combo box list to a button as follows:

Use View|Toolbars|Build to open the Build Toolbar if it isn't already open.
Select the program you want to use from the Combo box which lists all available programs. Then use Ctrl+c to copy its name to the clipboard.
Use View|Toolbars|Customize Toolbar, and select the Commands tab.
Select Build from the Categories list, and then drag the Build List All button from the Commands list on to the toolbar you want to use.
Right click on this new toolbar button and select Button Commands from the context menu.
Click slowly on the List Type column and change the selection to (Button Only).
Then click slowly in the 'Parameters' column to go into edit mode and Paste (Ctrl+v) the text from step 1.
Click on the Button Appearance tab and change the Tooltip text so that it describes what this new button does.
And finally close the Toolbar Customization dialogs.

You can of course set up any number of buttons like this to run different compilers etc.

Q. How do I add error tracking support for my compiler?

A. If Error tracking isn't currently available for your Compiler you can add it. This is much easier in ED V4 than in previous releases. At present you need to manually edit the EDBuildSetup file outside of ED, however this will be configurable within a dialog in ED in a future release. If you would like to do it yourself here are some pointers. Run ED V4 at least once in order to create the EDBuildSetup.(your initials) file in the CONFIG directory.

Open the EDBuildSetup.(your initials) file in Notepad or some other editor. Each line has three parts.

Error Track Name.
Regular Expression used to find an error and extract its line number.
RE to search the line found on 2 and extract the filename.

The Regular Expressions (RE's) use the ED V4 Dialect. Each RE has a tagged expression {} which is used to extract the relevant information. The easiest way to write the RE's is to do it in ED. If you have copied the RE's from a previous version of ED they will most likely need to be updated to use the V4 RE Dialect. See the Help for details.

Start ED V4 and run your compiler to get some errors into the ED Build Window. Then in the Build window Right click, choose Select All, then Copy. Paste this into an empty text file, then use Search|Find to write each of the two RE's. The > button to the right of 'Find what' lets you choose various RE operators. And the on line help provides complete RE details. If you append a /1 to the RE you will see exactly what gets matched by the tagged expressed.

When you have the two RE's working, add a new line at the end of the EDBuildSetup file (in Notepad) and add the three fields to it, separated by a Tab character. Close ED, save the file in Notepad, restart ED and select the new Error Track Type in the Build Setup Details dialog. When you get this working please email us either the line you add or the EDBuildSetup file so we can incorporate it into a future release.

Why do ... ?

Q. Why do I get an error about Drive K when I save a file?
Q. Why do I get an error ED Extension Language auto-compilation failed. Trg_PostSave.c not found?

A. ED V4.02, B2.21 incorrectly included a file named Trg_PostSave.ces and installed this in the ED directory. Unless you know what this is for, then close ED and delete it. See the Extension Language Web Forums for further information about using this program, which enables file mirroring. This item applies to both questions.

Q. Why do I sometimes see the Workspace window open and close when I'm using the mouse wheel?

A. You are actually clicking the middle mouse button as you scroll the wheel. The middle button is configured as follows:

Middle click - Toggles the Workspace window
Ctrl+Middle click - Toggles the Output window
Shift+Middle click - Toggles the Find window
Altl+Middle click - Toggles Full screen mode

This is now fully configurable. See 4.02, Build 1.7 Release notes for details.

Q. Why does ED connect to the Internet when it starts?

A. ED checks our Web server to see if a newer version of ED is available and if so it informs you. Absolutely no information of any kind is sent from your PC to our server so there is no reason whatsoever to be concerned about your privacy. All that happens is a small file gets downloaded which identifies the current ED release. If you don't want to be automatically informed about new releases you can turn this feature off using Options|Configuration|Session Info|Internet Version Check. Note that you do not need to be connected to the Internet to use ED.

Why doesn't ... ?

Q. ED become fully licensed when I enter my license details?

A. The most common cause for this is the Your Name field does not match what is specified in the license details. You must copy and paste all three license items as explained in the license email.

Also check that the date and time is set correctly on your computer.

License keys have a limited time in which they can be used to activate a copy of ED, so if ED stays in Free Trial mode you may need to contact us for a new license key. Help|About will tell you if the license key can no longer be used.

Q. Delete, delete the text I have selected?

A. The behaviour of Delete with a Selection has been changed in V4 to take into account the setting for Options|Configuration|Behaviour|Typing replaces selection. If it is Off, then text selected using Selection|Character/Column/Line will not be deleted, and instead the current character will be deleted. If the text is selected with the mouse or Shift+movement keys it will be deleted. Edit|Cut will always delete the selection.

I'm moving from V3.80 to V4 and want to know ...?

Q. What has happened to File Extension Setup?

A. This is now Options|Style Sheet Setup and provides a broader and more flexible document configuration system. See the on line help for further information.

Q. Where is Search|Find all Occurrences?

A. This is now Search|Find in Files and is much enhanced over previous releases.

Q. Where is the Function List dialog?

A. The Function List is on a drop down combo box on the Navigate Toolbar. You can use Toolbar customisation to add it to any toolbar. The Workspace Class View displays every function, class, struct, subroutine etc., in each of the projects which are open. This comes from the new V4 Source Database which is kept up to date automatically while you're editing.

Q. Does ED now work with Samba and files on Unix computers?

A. Yes. Testing so far shows the various problems associated with Samba in earlier releases of ED have now been resolved.

Q. How are dates formatted in Version 4?

A. V4 uses your Control Panel|Regional Settings|Date settings. Templates, Last Change Stamp and Replacement strings can also use custom date and time formatting starting with V4.01, B1.35. See the Release notes for further information.

Q. Are multiple files per window supported in Version 4?

A. The concept of multiple files per window dates back to the early days of PC editors, which had limited windowing capabilities. Most people find this a confusing concept and it adds complexity to the ED code and the use of ED. For these reasons we have decided to remove multiple files per window in Version 4. Using multiple windows, split windows and the same file in multiple windows should meet all of your needs.

Q. Can I use my current Language Dictionary files with Version 4?

A. Yes. Copy all of the lang_*.iii (where iii=your initials) files except lang_edk.iii, from your current CONFIG directory to the new V4 CONFIG directory. In the new V4 CONFIG directory delete all of the lang$*.iii files. Then start V4 and all of your old files will work.

Q. Can I use my current Compiler setups, Colour Schemes etc. with Version 4?

A. Yes. In the new V4 CONFIG directory delete the EDConfig.iii (where iii=your initials) file. Then copy edbuffer.iii from your current CONFIG directory to the new V4 CONFIG directory. Finally start V4 and your previous settings will be available.

Q. What has happened to User Defined Languages?

A. V4 replaces User Defined languages with Languages Flavours. This enables you to have variations or flavours based on the same base language. In Options|Language|Setup select the Language you want to use, then right click and select Copy Language. You can edit the flavour name by left clicking on it as you do to rename a file in Windows Explorer or using the right click context menu. Then click OK to close Language Setup. Next go into Options|Style Sheet Setup, right click and create a New Style Sheet. Enter the extension(s) to associate with this Style Sheet in the Extensions column. And in the Language Combo select the Language+Flavour created above. You can then copy the words from your User Defined dictionary into this new one.

Version 3.80 FAQ

How do I...?

Q. If the language I use isn't among the many that ED supports how do I use it?
Q. How do I search for the next occurrence of the current word without using the Find dialog?
Q. How do I cancel a lengthy search?
Q. How do I access the results of Find All Occurrences?
Q. How do I work on different parts of the current file at the same time?
Q. How do I add a new File Type in File|Open?
Q. How do I get templates to expand without changing case?
Q. My computer crashed and I've lost all of my colors, compilers etc. - how do I fix this?
Q. How do I open multiple files in File|Open?
Q. How do I highlight the matching opening bracket when I type a closing bracket?

Why do I ...?

Q. Why do I sometimes get black square blobs when printing?
Q. Why do all of my files appear in only one window?
Q. Why do I sometimes get errors accessing files on my Unix server?

Why doesn't ...?

Q. Why don't I see any output when I use Tool|Programs to run a compiler?
Q. Why doesn't a directory item become selected when I click on it in Make Function Tags|Edit Tag Definition?
Q. Why doesn't ED select all the characters in a word when I double click on it?
Q. Why doesn't my Macro work?
Q. Why doesn't Smartype always work as expected?
Q. Why don't I see the arguments within brackets when a template expands?

How do I ... ?

Q. If the language I use isn't among the many that ED supports how do I use it?

A. Starting with Version 3.80 you can define new languages from scratch. See Options|Language Setup and the Help topic K_LANG_SETUP.

Q. How do I search for the next occurrence of the current word without using the Find dialog?

A. Press F7 then Ctrl+L See the Help Topic K_SRCH_AGN for more information.

Q. How do I cancel a lengthy search?

A. Press Ctrl+Break

Q. How do I access the results of Find All Occurrences?

A. They are saved in srch_all.iii (iii=your initials) in the CONFIG directory.

Q. How do I work on different parts of the current file at the same time?

A. Use Window|New or Buffer|Attach.

Q. How do I add a new File Type in File|Open?

A. In the File Type combo box simply type in a description, followed by one or more wildcard filenames enclosed in parenthesis, and then press Enter. Press F1 or Help in 'File Type' for more information.

Q. How do I get templates to expand without changing case?

A. Use $c in the expansion. See Template Creation in the Help for details.

Q. My computer crashed and I've lost all of my colors, compilers etc. - how do I fix this?

A. ED stores this and other configuration information in edbuffer.iii (iii=your initials) in the ED4W\CONFIG directory. We recommend you regularly backup all files in the CONFIG directory, enabling you to simply restore from the backup if a problem occurs. If you don't have any backups then copy the master edbuffer.xxx file to edbuffer.iii

Q. How do I open multiple files in File|Open?

A. Because of various technical constraints you can't do this at present. However the Right button File History menus and ED's Function tagging are often quicker alternatives. Version 4 addresses this issue.

Q. How do I highlight the matching opening bracket when I type a closing bracket?

A. ED's code completion automatically adds the appropriate closing bracket for you and highlights the opening bracket. Escape or Macro|Template performs this code completion.

Why do ... ?

Q. Why do I sometimes get black square blobs when printing?

A. If the character being printed does not map to a printable character in the selected fonts character set, often a black square blob is printed. This is the font's representation of the character. This will most likely occur with Tabs or other control characters. If Print|Appearance|Expand Tabs and Expand Control Characters are on, you should get the result you expect.

Q. Why do all of my files appear in only one window?

A. Check that Options|Configuration|Display|One file/window is on. This option is also in the File|Open dialog. Close all files and then reopen them as required.

Q. Why do I sometimes get errors accessing files on my Unix server?

A. On NT4 ED currently has problems with Samba and some other similar products. Version 4 addresses this issue.

Why doesn't ... ?

Q. Why don't I see any output when I use Tool|Programs to run a compiler?

A. Check for eansi.sys or a similar old ANSI driver in config.sys and remove it. On Windows NT try the "Access is Denied" checkbox, both checked and unchecked. This is on the Program Details dialog.

Q. Why doesn't a directory item become selected when I click on it in Make Function Tags|Edit Tag Definition?

A. You must click on the text to make a selection, not the bitmap.

Q. Why doesn't ED select all the characters in a word when I double click on it?

A. The Options|File Extension Setup|...|Templates and Word Wrap|Word delimiters settings control this. Note that word delimiters are also used for next/previous word.

Q. Why doesn't my Macro work?

A1) Macros recorded using menu selections will not work. Instead you must use the keystroke defined for the particular command. e.g. Use Ctrl+g to goto a line, not Goto|Line or Alt+gl.
A2) Macros recorded using shift+cursor key text selection won't work. Instead use Ctrl+m to perform stream selection.

Q. Why doesn't Smartype always work as expected?

A. Smartype looks backwards in the file a predefined number of lines (300). Any matches beyond this point will not be found. Also if smartype finds an exact match it won't do anything.

Q. Why don't I see the arguments within brackets when a template expands?

A. In Options|File Extension Setup|...|Language & Indenting|Options check 'Expand Function templates'.


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