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Utilities 1 for DOS (text editors, text viewers) Ratings: [* fair] to [* * * * * excellent] |
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NE is a good choice as an EDIT.COM replacement. Although it can only load files smaller than 64K, it has an undo function and offers numerous formatting features.
Strengths
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Weaknesses
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download ne300b.zip. (370K)
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Pedit is an up-and-coming editor that's similar, but in many respects superior to, DOS's EDIT. From the documentation:
Features
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Known Bugs/Limitations:
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Few Windows users will probably be attracted to this editor- but anyone who's at least tried it will certainly appreciate the hard work that has been invested in the development of VDE. It is a very mature product that offers many text mode word processing features. It's quite easy to use- but if you rely on a mouse to do your work, this is not your program. Most commands are available as Word-Star key shortcuts (default mode). You can scroll and mark text with the mouse but cannot select menu items. The executable file is remarkably small for the tasks this program can perform. VDE is shareware but registration not required from individual users.
Strengths
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Weaknesses
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I glanced at an earlier version of Medit and was impressed by its looks- but unimpressed with its performance. But I'm now using the most recent update to write this review. It's a strange editor really- it has (had?) good potential- but remains an unfinished experiment. Medit is the only graphical (non-text mode) editor listed here. It is mouse and menu driven and has the feel of a Windows app.
Pluses
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Drawbacks
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I rarely change my mind about an editor- but the more I use this one the more I appreciate it's advantages over most of the freeware competition (multiple undo, easy file open dialogs) I nearly trashed it in my original review- but now I'm upping it's rating to three stars (7-9-97).
download medit151.zip (190K)
demo
Finding a freeware editor for DOS which is mouse compatible, menu driven, and handles very large files is difficult- I don't think any exist at this time (there is EDIT that comes packaged with DOS, but it lacks important features [e.g., undo]). Nearly all the freeware, CUA compliant DOS editors are similar clones derived from the same TFileEditor object included with Borland's Turbo Vision (e.g., NE) and they won't load files bigger than 64K. The only editors that suit my CUA tastes are shareware and commercial. I have recently found a demo of a commercial CUA compliant editor that is simply awesome: Multi-Edit. It is "nearly" fully functional.
Here are the features in the demo I like best:
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What's the catch?
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The Multi-Edit demo is a great promotion for this editor- they've sold me, and I'll probably purchase the real thing soon (depending on promotional offers, it runs as cheap as 130 bucks). Consider this review an "ad" of sorts.
Go to Multi-Edit download page (Demo zip file size is 650K.)
Included here are two very small text editors suitable for emergency disks, computers lacking (!) disk space, or simple text editing. Both pack many features into very tiny packages (6K<) : The Terse Editor is a classic among DOS aficionados- one of the smallest usable editors ever produced; the other (EzEdit) is not so famous, but I use it more often because I think it's more user friendly. Of course, neither of these uses a mouse or has a standard menu bar (EzEdit does have a menu-like bar). Both are driven by key commands.
Here's a feature comparison I compiled:
| Comparison Chart | Terse | EzEdit |
| Size | 4K (exactly 4 clusters on a floppy) | 5.5K |
| File loading | command line only | command line or from within program |
| Largest file editable | 65K max | I've successfully edited a 200K file |
| Max line length | unlimited | 128 columns |
| Mark/ paste | yes | yes (columns or lines) |
| Undo | yes | no |
| Search text | yes | yes |
| Replace text | yes | no |
| Online Help | F1 | initial screen, not available after file loaded |
| Other features: | Dual file editing, line drawing. Note: Backspace does not delete. |
Together they take up about 10K of disk space. So why not grab both? Terse is shareware that is free for individual use.
download
terse12.zip (Terse)
download
ezedit.zip (EzEdit)
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LIST is a text file viewer that is very popular with DOS users. LIST can view files of nearly unlimited size and possesses a plethora of options for locating and formatting displayed text. User preferences can be "cloned" (saved). LIST supports mouse navigation (needs improvement) and the "plus" version adds some file management capabilities. The LIST package is not freeware but can be used by individuals without charge.
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READ is a file viewer that has seen some major improvements over the past two years. While still not as slick or versatile as LIST, it is a very good utility and can handle files up to about 800K. Unlike LIST, there is no directory viewer; instead, filenames must be passed on the command line (workaround: use with PICK). READ is mouse compatible, and different color schemes are possible. One advantage over LIST is the easier ability to copy screen text to a file. This package also comes with READY which can handle files of unlimited size but lacks some of READ's features (e.g., no mouse). Also included is READMAKE, a program which can make any text file a self executing program (e.g., if you want to distribute a text document without worrying about an appropriate viewing application). READMAKE does not compress the self-executable file which is often significantly larger than the original text file.
download read703.zip (360K)
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Cool. ViewS is a breath of fresh air in the arena of text file viewers. It seems to have a dual personality: part arcade game and part serious application. But ViewS is a superior text file viewer. What is immediately apparent on first inspection is the smooth scrolling built into ViewS. The mouse almost acts like a joystick accelerator. Move the mouse down a little and the text starts scrolling by at a slow pace. Move the mouse a greater distance and the scrolling speed smoothly accelerates. I could write several paragraphs extolling the artistic design of this simple app- but instead I will limit myself to it's comparative strengths and weaknesses as a text file viewer. reviewed 6-11-97
Strengths:
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Weaknesses:
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LESS is like MORE- the utility that comes with DOS which allows you to page through multiple screens of output. LESS is a popular DOS port of a native UNIX program. Unlike MORE, LESS allows the user to scroll up and down the output. You can also search for text and go to specific line numbers. Many options exist. While LESS is easy to use, the syntax rules will be unfamiliar to DOS users. If you feel ready to cut your teeth on a Unix-type program, I suggest trying LESS. Less177e is a more novice-friendly clone of LESS.
Page is similar to LESS but with many fewer options. It is simpler and more user friendly. Like LESS, it allows text searching, bookmark setting. and line navigation.
As file viewers, both programs load entire file into memory and thus max file size limit appears to be dependent on available memory.
download less177e.zip
(LESS)
download
page1_4.zip (Page)
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Smooth Text Viewer is a very small (3k) text file viewer that supports smooth scrolling with a mouse. Includes a search function and displays percent of file viewed. Word wrap mode available. In my use, it doesn't appear to scroll smoothly using arrow keys. With large files, Home and End keys don't function properly. Cannot scroll beyond right margin. This app is packaged with Byte Manager but also is available as a separate download.
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(c)1997 Richard L. Green