The Sinclair QL Forum

I am writing some code now - and I would love a better editor.
ED works - but is pretty basic and has no copy / paste, cannot split or concatenate lines etc.
I read about QED - and downloaded 2 versions - 1.02 from Dillwin's site and 2.0 from github.
I cannot load a file in either of them.
version 1.02 - start QED with the file name as parameter and it always considers it a new file. if it really is a new file, it creates it - i can edit it and save it. If it is an existing file it does not create it, nor loads it.
version 2.0 - load file has a bug - if i enter the file name as 'mdv2_fileX_bas' it then tries to open 'mdv1_mdv2_fileX_bas'
if i try to load a file that is on mdv1_ (entering only it's name, without drive)it loads it, it lists it on a screen for a second then it disappears - and the cursor overlaps the first line of the editor (the one with file name and other info)
The configuration program does not work on QL or QEmulator - as it uses some SMSQ/E functions.

So - what editor do you recommend ?

Hi,
If you are using Qemulator, why not try NOTEPAD++ ?
Steve Poole.

I am using Notepadd++ on pc +Qemulator - but i am looking for an editor for the QL.
When the QL will be totally ready (with ram extension an SD storage) I would like to use it !

Andrew,

the choice of editors depends a bit on the state of expansion your QL is in and also a lot on your personal preferences.

For low-end QLs with original CPUs and occasional use, I would recommend the editor that comes with the GST Macro Assembler or other GST languages (available from Dilwyn's site). It is optimized for low memory situations and will run even on unexpanded QLs.

If you like and use the Pointer Environment, QD (Jochen Merz, apparently still commercial) is by far the best editor for that environment. QD is probably the most "modern" editor for the QL. Starting up the PE and QD from floppy disk, however, can be a pain.

If you are familiar with emacs for other platforms, it is also available for the QL - It is not the fastest thing to use, but has a bunch of features and even supports syntax highlighting.

If you want feature-richness, and are fine with remembering a lot of commands, The Editor (DP, now free), is probably the thing to use - It is fast enough compiled SuperBASIC, but a monster of a program memory-wise (It is probably the largest superBASIC program you can build - with line numbers from 1-32767 in steps of one, it is hard to imagine you can build something bigger..., but has a huge amount of features (column mode, even word processing functions, quick find and search,...). Even if written in compiled SuperBASIC, its speed is still impressive. The learning curve, however, might be a bit steep (even if basic commands are somewhat close to ED)

And the last one is my favorite for plain QLs: MasterSpy. Completely written in assembly, it has all the features you might want from an editor, it is fast (especially scrolling and screen updates) and easy to use, as it supports both a command line and popup menus.

On all larger machines I have (Q68, Q40, QXL, and QPC), I tend to use QD, because it is so easy to use. On QLs with suitable memory expansions, I use MasterSpy.

All the mentioned programs except QD can be had from Dilwyn's site.
http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/editview/index.html

Tobias

I always liked The Editor and MasterSpy (both of which are available on Dilwyn's Sinclair QL Homepage).

Thank you for the answers ! I will download The Editor and Master Spy and see which one suits me better !

I've been using QED for many, many years and I've not heard of the issue that you are seeing. When it first starts, it will query for a file name. If I type it in, it will read it and allow me to edit. Perhaps there is an issue with the location of the file that you are trying to edit. Could you be entering "FLP1_" when you should be entering "WIN1_"?

Once in QED, you can have it read a file from the command line. Hit F3 to get the command line and the enter "r/win1_file_txt/". If the editor can't find the file, it will let you know.

Hi Andrew,

Andrew wrote:I am writing some code now - and I would love a better editor.
ED works - but is pretty basic and has no copy / paste, cannot split or concatenate lines etc.
I read about QED - and downloaded 2 versions - 1.02 from Dillwin's site and 2.0 from github.
I cannot load a file in either of them.
version 1.02 - start QED with the file name as parameter and it always considers it a new file. if it really is a new file, it creates it - i can edit it and save it. If it is an existing file it does not create it, nor loads it.
version 2.0 - load file has a bug - if i enter the file name as 'mdv2_fileX_bas' it then tries to open 'mdv1_mdv2_fileX_bas'
if i try to load a file that is on mdv1_ (entering only it's name, without drive)it loads it, it lists it on a screen for a second then it disappears - and the cursor overlaps the first line of the editor (the one with file name and other info)
The configuration program does not work on QL or QEmulator - as it uses some SMSQ/E functions.

I am the author of QED and the file load problem doesn't sound familiar to me. It looks like QED has trouble loading a file from mdv2_ - have you mapped Qemulator's MDV2 device to a Windows directory or .WIN/.MDV file correctly? (the .WIN/.MDV file option only works with the registered version of Qemulator).
As for the window problem in v2; it looks like the binary posted on GitHub has a default window configured which is too large for plain QDOS - I'll post a corrected version asap.

regards, Jan.

janbredenbeek wrote: As for the window problem in v2; it looks like the binary posted on GitHub has a default window configured which is too large for plain QDOS - I'll post a corrected version asap.

Fixed default window size now - it was too big for 512x256! Still need to fix QEDCONFIG_BAS though - or maybe I should move to standard CONFIG blocks...

regards, Jan.

For general text editing, I tend to use the S_Edit editor by Ralf Reköndt, also available on the Editors and Viewers page http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/editview/index.html on my site. It's available in two versions, one for high colour systems (sedit63 on the site) and the other for QLs without enhanced displays. It's not pointer driven, but works well enough on pointer systems.

While it's not the most advanced editor in the world, S_Edit is very easy to use, menu driven so no command lines etc to remember.