written by
[still under construction - and so is the manual since pedit keeps evolving constantly]
NOTE. This very same manual can be found online here (HTML) and here (text). You can also download them from here (HTML) and here (text).
NOTE. If you are new to pedit, then you may want to start with the pedit Tutorial whose archived version you can find here together with other material.
Since pedit, LapTopHack, and pToolSet share components, if you use more than one of them, then they all must be of the same version, preferably the latest one.
The pedits are innovative, scriptable, keyboard/thumbboard friendly, and extraordinarily powerful text editors for Palm Powered handhelds.
Dear peditor:
Thank you for having made such an intelligent decision. In case you are one of those self-assured people who never read manuals [just like yours truly], then go ahead and experiment on your own. I know you won't regret it. On the other hand, if you want to be a savvy, intelligent, and educated customer prior to immersing yourself into the limitless features of pedit, then please set aside a few minutes of your precious time to read this [relatively speaking] short introduction to pedit.
The word pedit stands for Palm editor, and/or Paul's editor, and/or programmers' editor, and/or whatever else you prefer. It must be spelled with a lower cased p as in pedit. If you are a certified peditor, then you pronounce pedit as a 3-syllable word as in pee-edit.
By definition, a peditor is a person who installed pedit on his or her Palm computing device. A true peditor duly REGISTERS pedit. In case you happen to have a shorter than normal attention span [just like yours truly], let me repeat that a true peditor...
pedit is based on Palm Computing's built-in Memo Pad and is meant to replace it [just like DateBk made "Date Book" obsolete]. It packs a myriad highly customizable features which makes it a perfect tool for anyone using the Palm for serious text editing.
pedit also imports and exports industry standard Palm-style DOC files so that it is a perfect replacement for all Palm based text editors known to mankind.
Even casual writers will appreciate its simple but rich and efficient interface.
Due to overwhelming popular demand, the pedit family of editors consists of several applications, namely, pedit [aka pedit04], pedit32, peditPro, and peditLight.
pedit [aka pedit04] is for those peditors who want a hasslefree and super sophisticated Memo Pad replacement with 100% Memo Pad compatibility, and who don't want to be bothered and/or concerned with HotSync and DeskTop issues.
In what follows, sometimes I will refer to pedit as pedit04 since the word pedit is also used as a generic term for any member of the pedit family. If a specific feature relates to a specific pedit, then it will be emphasized.
pedit04 and pedit32 are essentially identical in practically every form and function with the exception that pedit32 breaks the infamous 4K barrier, and it works with memos of size up-to 32K [well, it is really 32K - 1, i.e., 0X7FFF, i.e., 2^15-1, i.e., 32767 bytes].
pedit32 is for those peditors who want to be able to create files which are bigger than the regular Memo Pad files are. Those peditors who want to access their pedit32 memos on the DeskTop, will have to do some additional steps involving exportation [see here too] of pedit32 memos to pedit04 or DOC files, and importation of DOC files to pedit04.
Prior to installing pedit32, you should read the section pedit04 vs pedit32 so that you would be fully aware of the subtle and not so subtle differences between the two.
peditPro is the flagship of the pedit family. It combines pedit04 and pedit32 into one convenient application whose RAM demand is more than 200K less than that of pedit04 and pedit32 combined. peditPro has two modes. If it is in pedit04 mode then it looks like pedit04, smells like pedit04, and behaves like pedit04. Similarly, if it is in pedit32 mode then it looks like pedit32, smells like pedit32, and behaves like pedit32. If I may suggest so, use peditPro and forget all the other pedits.
NOTE. Only peditPro has extensive Dynamic Input Area [DIA] support. No other flavor of pedit supports the DIA.
If your Palm is short of free RAM, then you can save approximately 100K if you use peditLight instead of pedit04. peditLight is identical to pedit04 in almost all essential editing functions. However, many of the "high end" feature of pedit04 are unavailable in peditLight. More precisely, those "high end" features are visually indicated but are functionally disabled in peditLight. For instance, all menu items starting with ! are disabled. This way, based on your editing needs, you can decide whether or not you want to upgrade to another pedit04.
pedit04 and Memo Pad can and do co-exist peacefully. Although pedit04 uses the Memo Pad database "MemoDB" with creator ID 'memo', it does not alter its structure in any way whatsoever so that the user can switch back and forth between the two with no harm done [see Clear History and Clear Preferences]. To be quite honest, once you try pedit04, you will probably never ever want to go back to Memo Pad. Still, if you wish, you may. In addition, deleting pedit04 from your hand-held device, does not remove the database MemoDB created by Memo Pad, although it will delete pedit04's own preference record and its own peditDB database. In particular, you don't need to worry about HotSync and conduit issues in conjunction with your memos since they all reside in MemoDB. The peditDB database holds the contents of your magiPad, scriptPad, and some records related to Find'n'Replace. For your protection, peditDB gets backed up by HotSync.
pedit32 and the Memo Pad can and do co-exist peacefully as well. However, pedit32 uses its own memo database which is called Memo32DB with creator ID 'pn32', and, therefore, pedit32 is almost 100% incompatible with everything imaginable which uses Memo Pad although each developer supporting the Memo Pad database can easily reconfigure her software for pedit32 support as well. Please see pedit04 vs pedit32 for more details.
If you are a Palm or pedit "newbie", and if you already feel overwhelmed by this sizeable manual, then it may be a good idea for you to visit James Seigel's, Harvey Gatlin's, Peter Grierson's, and Lee Hauser's pedit Tutorial whose archived version you can find here together with other material.
If your Palm's operating system is below 3.0 you are out of luck. I designed pedit to work with OS 3.0 and above. It was tested with all operating systems above 3.0.
There are many peditors with Visors and TRGPros [including yours truly], and there seems to be absolutely no problem with using pedit on them. I believe that pedit will work practically flawlessly on all Palms and all Palm Powered handhelds as well as long as the operating system is at least 3.0.
There are a few pedit features which are available only on Palms with operating system 3.5 and above. However, they are minor features and I seriously doubt that you will miss them.
There is one feature of pedit which I like very much and which is only available if your Palm operating system is below 3.5. Namely, you can have inverted or black buttons only if your Palm OS is below 3.5.
If I may give you some unsolicited advice, as of July 7, 2000, my choice for a Palm OS is 3.3. It is the fastest and the most bug-free [or least bug ridden]. Alas, it is a fact of life that all but the simplest computer programs have scores of bugs, and this includes the Palm OS as well.
If I may give you another unsolicited advice, as of August 25, 2000, I have been using Palm OS 3.5.2 on my Palm Vx and Palm OS 3.5.1 on my TRGPro for a couple of weeks now, and the only problem I encountered so far was that it takes longer than I wish to go to the Application Launcher.
If I may give you yet another unsolicited advice, as of January 1, 2002, I have been using Palm OS 4.0 with great success as well.
Whether or not you want another piece of advice from me, here it is. If your Palm Powered handheld is upgradable, that is, it has a flash ROM, then please do not procrastinate and upgrade it.
I must admit that even pedit may have some bugs. If you find any, please e-mail a bug report to me.
pedit was written with a 100% compliance with the Palm software developers' general guidelines. It was built with the latest version of MetroWerks' and Palm's CodeWarrior on a Power Macintosh G3.
Well, I did improve upon the standard Palm interface on several occasions. For instance, my tips dialogs are more legible then Palm's. Another example is that even my simplest dialogs can take keyboard inputs and they even react visually to such inputs.
I also introduced a number of new concepts such as buttonPanel, instantHelp, magiPad, Find'n'Replace, and so forth.
pedit was written with a 100% compliance with the Palm software developers' general guidelines.
Therefore, there are absolutely no compatibility issues whatsoever except the following.
First, the Palm OS itself is not entirely bug-free, and therefore, pedit, just like any other Palm application is at the mercy of Palm's software engineers.
Second, there are a great number of applications which themselves are not exactly bug-free and which may effect the behavior of other applications. Unfortunately, there is no way that pedit can defend itself against problems introduced into the Palm operating environment by other applications.
In particular, there are a number of HackMaster extensions which are defective.
Moreover, there are a number of defective applications which patch the OS even though they are not installed using the standard HackMaster mechanism.
Third, pedit itself is a rather complicated program, and, therefore, it also must contain a large number of bugs despite the fact that it passed tens of millions of gremlin test with various hardware and operating system configurations on the Palm OS Emulator [POSE].
pedit should work perfectly with every bug-free HackMaster extensions as long as either HackMaster or a reputable replacement is used as the HackMaster extension installer application.
As long as the HackMaster extension is bug-free and it is flash ROM certified, pedit doesn't care whether your HackMaster extension is installed into the regular RAM or the flash ROM.
Beware of applications which play tricks with your Palm's operating system.
Some users of pedit reported some problems with the following HackMaster extensions and applications: AportisDoc, ClipHack, Clipper, EVPlugBase, FindHack 3.8, GoType!'s keyboard driver, PPK's keyboard driver, TakeNote!, and TrapWeaver.
Please note that when I polled the peditors regarding the above mentioned HackMaster extensions and applications, there were quite a few who have never experienced any problem with them whatsoever.
However, for instance, if you have ClipHack and the "wrong" Palm OS [newer than 3.0], then the following procedure, as described by David Sommers, leads to a guaranteed crash which has nothing to do with pedit.
1) Open a small memo in pedit.
2) Select a small amount of text.
3) Press the "X"
button in
EditView's
buttonPanel
to cut the selected text.
4) Press the SilkScreen "MENU" button.
You have a crash with a "HwrRes.c, Line:215, Menu rsrc not found" error message.
The author of ClipHack told me on June 16, 2000, that he is working on trying to figure it out how to fix the problem.
The problem with AportisDoc and TakeNote! is that they treat DOC files differently than all the other DOC related applications.
It is somewhat unfair to accuse AportisDoc with anything since Rick Bram invented the DOC format in the first place. Nevertheless, if you use AportisDoc to read a DOC file prior to importing it to pedit, then all bets are off. In practically all cases you will not experience any problem at all. Nevertheless, there are scenarios under which the import procedure may fail.
The problem with TakeNote! is more innocent but, at the same time, it is more serious. As of July 17, 2000, when TakeNote! opens a DOC file, it modifies it in such a way that the file may no longer be interpreted by any other DOC related application in the proper way. While TakeNote! has every right to do so, it should also leave a message that it modified the DOC file so that the other DOC applications would have a chance of re-reading the DOC file prior to interpreting it. For instance, TakeNote! could [should] change the creator ID of all DOC files it modifies. This would send a clear message to the other DOC applications.
I hope that TakeNote!'s authors will take note of this very unfortunate behavior of TakeNote!, and that they will take steps to fix their program. Although I have notified them of this problem, as of July 17, 2000, TakeNote! has not been fixed yet. As soon as I get notified by the TakeNote! people that the problem has been fixed, I will update this discussion.
At this point, it must be clear to you that resolving compatibility problems is more like a subtle excursion into fine art than a rigorous scientific exercise.
SergioG told me FindHack 3.8 will crash your Palm if you use some "fancyFind" features of pedit. I verified his claim and indeed this happens since FindHack modifies the Palm OS TxtFindString() function and the modification may have been done incorrectly. I suggest that you either stop using "fancyFind" or switch to superFinderHack.
It is my understanding that the latest versions of POSE, effective with perhaps version 3.2, limit the size of the ClipBoard to a maximum of 1000 characters. This limit is hardcoded into POSE and cannot be changed. Therefore, you should never ever use POSE for serious work with either LapTopHack or pedit since POSE may truncate your text without any warning.
It is perfectly all right to test LapTopHack and pedit with POSE but please do not perform text related tasks with your essential data.
As HenkK pointed out, Textware Solutions' Fitaly and FitalyStamp have a "slide" mode which may result in some unexpected behavior, since instead of entering a letter, say, "A", sliding enters "a" first, then deletes it, and then enters "A". Hence, please read the following advice which was contributed by JohnH.
In addition to the regular "slides", Fitaly and FitalyStamp users can also assign text strings of up to 25 characters to each letter of the alphabet through a "Custom Left Slide" feature. This is perfect for starting pScripts or doing other actions in LapTopHack and pedit, if the first character of the assigned string is the appropriate "ESC" character.
Note however that by default, the lower case letter character itself is immediately sent to the current application at the pen-down motion. If that pen-down motion is turned into a slide (even a slide to simply capitalize the letter), then thelowercase letter is quickly erased and replaced by the "correct" one(s). Unfortunately, if the current application can respond to a single character (like LapTopHack and pedit do in certain cases), Fitaly cannot always retract it by deleting. The result is unexpected behavior.
The solution is to use Fitaly or FitalyStamp's Key Options menu to "Set letters at pen up". That way, nothing is sent to the application until the slide is done, at which time the correct character(s) are sent. According to the Fitaly manual, the "Set letters at pen up" option may slow Fitaly or FitalyStamp down. However, this has not been observed in actual usage.
I suggest that you use the official pedit web page which always has the most recent versions of all pedits. However, please keep reading.
NOTE. If you download pedit from Palm sites go such as Handango, I can't guarantee that you always get the latest version from them.
You can download the latest version of this very same manual as pedit_man.zip right here, or you can read pedit_man.html on-line here.
You can download pedit.zip or pedit.tgz right here.
You can download pedit32.zip or pedit32.tgz right here.
For your convenience, pedit and pedit32 are available in one combination package as well. You can download peditCombo.zip right here.
You can download peditPro.zip or peditPro.tgz right here.
You can download peditLight.zip or peditLight.tgz right here.
You can download peditFixer.zip right here. It is also included in all of the pedit packages.
If you are a Mac user, then you can download pedit.hqx, pedit32.hqx, peditPro.hqx, peditLight.hqx, and peditFixer.hqx here.
NOTE. The latest (perhaps beta) version of all pedits is here. I encourage you to install this version which is usually (but not necessarily always) quite stable, and which is always much better than the "officially" released version.
All pedits install the usual way via a HotSync job. If you are not sure how to install Palm applications, please study the manual which came with your Palm.
pedit can run both from the regular RAM and from the flash ROM as well.
It may be useful to remind you that if you already have any of the pedits installed, and if they happen to be in the flash ROM, then please move them back to your regular RAM prior to installing the newer versions.
If you are about to install peditLight then use peditFixer first to delete pedit04, and then do a normal installation job. If you delete pedit04 using Palm's built-in deletion mechanism, then you will lose your magiPad.
If you are about to install a pedit over an older version of the same pedit, then there is no need to delete your pedit prior to installing the new version. Otherwise, you will lose your corresponding pedit preferences, including your pedit registration [see the here and here].
If you are installing a new version of pedit32 over an existing pedit32, then you must not delete your current pedit32 prior to installing the new version. Otherwise, you will lose your pedit32 memos.
If you are about to install peditPro then please read the following paragraphs very carefully.
It is safe [but not recommended] to use Palm's built-in deletion mechanism to delete pedit04 prior to installing peditPro, but you will lose your magiPad if you do so. In addition, you will also lose your pedit04 preferences, including your pedit registration [see the here and here].
If you have pedit32 memos then do not delete pedit32 via Palm's built-in deletion mechanism before you install peditPro. Otherwise, you will lose your pedit32 memos. In addition, you will also lose your pedit32 preferences, including your pedit registration [see the here and here].
If this is the first time you install peditPro, please install peditPro over your existing pedit and/or pedit32. Then run peditPro and the first thing to do is to use the Total Cleaner Upper command in ListView's Options to delete pedit and/or pedit32 without deleting your pedit04 memos and/or pedit32 memos.
QUESTION. What are pedit04! [pedit04Launcher] and pedit32! [aka pedit32Launcher]?
ANSWER. Please see the truth about pedit04! and pedit32! here.
NOTE. If your current pedit is prior to version 5.43 then please delete the outdated "pedit!" [with exclamation mark and aka peditLauncher] and "pedit32!" [also with exclamation mark and aka pedit32Launcher] from your Palm prior to installing the new pedit04Launcher.prc and pedit32Launcher.prc with version numbers at least 5.43. You can use your Palm's built-in deletion mechanism for this job [see here].
QUESTION. Which flavor of pedit should I install?
ANSWER. I recommend peditPro although the truth is that all pedits are equally powerful [except perhaps peditLight] and your own editorial needs should determine which one to pick. It may be useful for you to review the differences between pedit04 and pedit32. If you can't decide, get peditPro.
WARNING. If you use version 7.xx or newer of any of the pedits, LapTopHack, or pToolSet, then all your pedits, LapTopHack, and pToolSet must be 7.xx or newer since they are not compatible with version 6.xx or older.
In addition, since pedit, LapTopHack, and pToolSet constantly exchange information, it may be necessary that they be of the same version number.
NOTE. I suggest that you keep a backup copy of your peditDB.pdb which is somewhere in your HotSync backup directory on your desktop computer since you may need it in the highly unlikely event that you decide go back to versions 6.xx of pedit, pToolSet, and LapTopHack.
NOTE. Only peditPro has extensive Dynamic Input Area [DIA] support. No other flavor of pedit supports the DIA.
Now a few words about the benefits of registering pedit.
If you shell out the registration fee, then, in return, most, but not necessarily all, future versions will be made available to you for free on pedit's web page or here. For practical purposes and for legal reasons, I reserve the right to change this policy [the latter happened when version 6.00 was released].
Please keep in mind that I will always notify the peditors Forum if there is an update [subscribe]. For some details about the peditors Forum see here.
If you wish, then we can work out a deal that I will always e-mail you the most recent updates.
Here is another excellent reason for registering pedit. If you do so, then you will never see my friendly reminders which, eventually, will make even the most stubborn conscientious objectors follow the directions in the next paragraphs.
Upon registration you will be issued a personal password which you should enter using the Register button in the About pedit window.
Please note that you are not allowed to share registered versions of pedit and/or pedit passwords with anyone, including [but not limited to] your friends, relatives, colleagues, and neighbors.
However, your immediate family members [spouses, significant others, children, and parents living in the same household under the same roof] are allowed to use your registered pedit, as long as they agree to abide by the same rules as regular registered users.
If you have not registered pedit yet, then please do so without any delay.
Registering pedit and pedit32 will set you back by $US20.00, peditCombo and peditPro by $US32.00, whereas peditLight costs $US9.00.
NOTE. Please see www.paulcomputing.com for occasional discounts, ongoing promotions, and money-saving deals.
You can always upgrade/downgrade/sidegrade from one pedit to another by contacting me. There is an upgrade fee, whereas downgrades and sidegrades are usually free.
For instance, if you are registered for peditCombo then peditPro is free for you, and vice versa, whereas, going from pedit to peditPro costs $US12.00.
If you honestly cannot afford the registration fee but you must have my Palm products anyway, then please contact me for discount rates.
PayPal is the strongly preferred, easiest, and fastest way to register pedit. Please register
at PayPal right now.
A working alternative is to mail a check for US$20.00 [pedit or pedit32] or US$32.00 [peditCombo and peditPro] or US$9.00 [peditLight] to Paul Nevai, 3346 Mansion Way, Columbus OH 43221-1573, USA. Please include your e-mail or your mailing address if you have no e-mail.
You can also register pedit at eSellerate: browse all, pedit, pedit32, peditCombo, peditPro, peditLight, peditUpgrade.
QUESTION. I am a Palm-procrastinator, and I allowed my unregistered pedit to expire. Now I realize that I can't live without pedit, and I quickly registered it. However, I am unable to start up pedit since it refuses to run. What can I do? Am I doomed for good?
ANSWER. Do not panic! You did the right thing when you registered pedit. Now wait for your password to arrive. Once you have the password, download the latest release of pedit and then go ahead and run it on your Palm. It will allow you to register it even if your trial time has run out.
First, please read the section about troubleshooting.
Second, if the advice given in the section on troubleshooting did not solve your problem, then please contact me.
Please state clearly the name of your pedit, the version number, and compilation time'n'date of your pedit, the exact name of your Palm hardware, the version number of you Palm operating system, and please describe the problem you have experienced.
NOTE. The About pedit dialog has all the information you need about your pedit.
If you live in North America, please provide your phone number, your time zone, and the times which are convenient for you. If possible, please write your phone number in the form 1-XXX-YYY-ZZZZ which makes it easier for me to process it automatically.
Please use civilized language when writing to me. Otherwise, I may not respond. In the past year I received thousands of messages and about a handful of them were abusive. The latter did not please me at all.
Please note that you can also obtain help by contacting the peditors Forum. In fact, as it turns out, the collective mind of all peditors works better than mine alone. Therefore, in most if not all cases, it makes sense to write to the peditors Forum prior to contacting me.
On the advice of JohnH, I recommend that you use the following template when contacting me.
DO: Your Name (yourname@yourisp.com) year/month/day [such as 2001/09/11] Short description of the problem such as "I start up peditPro and my Palm crashes." Application: [LapTopHack | peditPro | pedit | pedit32 | peditLight] Version: [such as 5.73] Compilation time'n'date: [11:01:43 EST on Jan 19 2002] Handheld hardware: [such as TRGPro] PalmOS version: [such as 3.5.1] Other hardware (keyboard, expansion memory, etc.): Free memory: [such as 2Mb] Other HackMaster extensions active: [such as FitalyStamp] Other OS patching applications: [such as QuickBits] Steps to reproduce: Other comments: [such as "I love your stuff"]
First, please read the section about compatibility issues.
Second, turn off all your HackMaster extensions and other OS patching applications you may have, and see if the problem goes away. If it did, then turn on your HackMaster extensions and/or OS patching applications one by one and isolate the problem.
NOTE. Unfortunately, many peditors don't realize that they are running OS patching applications and they keep insisting that pedit crashed even though they uninstalled all their HackMaster extensions. This is making life real difficult for me despite their good intentions.
EXAMPLE. Our veteran peditors, Bill, Joe, and HenkK kept insisting that pedit crashed if they used the Monaco font and the text had a ShortCut symbol in it. I kept saying that I don't see why this should happen since it made no sense to me. Finally, it dawned on me that they must be using an application which behaves like a HackMaster extension and they forgot about it. Bingo. It turned out that they all used QuickBits which patches the OS. Once they adjusted the parameters in QuickBits [they turned off "BltDrawChars"], everything was back to normal. The corollary of this story is that if you have a problem, then you also need a certain degree of ingenuity in helping me to hunt the problem down. The funny thing is that I can't even blame the QuickBits guys since I am sure they include a warning in their manuals that QuickBits may mess cause incompatibilities the system.
UPDATE. Dafydd told me on January 7, 2002, that the crash may be due to bad font specifications in the Monaco font and QuickBits may be completely innocent.
Once you identified the guilty party, please contact their technical support and explain the problem. I know from personal experience that most Palm developers provide superior support.
However, there are some exceptions. If you happen to experience the latter, then please be persistent. Being polite can't hurt you. It may help your case if you send a copy of your correspondence to the peditors Forum and to some of the Palm related newsgroups such as comp.sys.palmtops.pilot and alt.comp.sys.palmtops.pilot.
You may also try Calvin's PGHQ FAQ. Some of my own Palm knowledge comes from studying this FAQ database.
Third, use the Clear History and Clear Preferences commands in ListView's Options menu.
Fourth, run peditFixer
and try to delete some or all pedit components. Then reinstall your particular version of pedit and reenter your password.
It is always safe to delete all pedit components except MemoDB and Memo32DB which contain your pedit04 and pedit32 memos, respectively. Delete the latter only if you did a HotSync job prior to running peditFixer.
NOTE. Deleting pedit04! and pedit32! is done via Palm's built-in deletion mechanism.
EXAMPLE. Sometimes peditDB which houses magiPad and scriptPad gets corrupted. This may lead to crashes when attempting a Find'n'Replace job. If so, just copy the contents of magiPad and scriptPad to a 32K memo, use peditFixer to delete peditDB [check the "magiPad" box], and then open up your pedit and restore magiPad and scriptPad. That should fix the problem. This advice has been tried out and worked several times in the past.
WARNING. Please keep in mind that pedit04 memos and Memo Pad memos are exactly the same animals.
Next, check out the peditors Forum or write to peditors Forum since, as I mentioned it already, the collective mind of all peditors works better than mine alone.
If the problem still persists then contact pedit's Technical Support.
QUESTION. My pedit refuses to start up. When I tap on the icon, the screen looks for pedit but then returns to the launcher program I am running on my Palm. What is going on?
ANSWER. I don't have the faintest idea what is going on. This happened to three peditors only out of thousands. One of them disappeared from the pedit the scene before I could investigate it, whereas the second one, Elwood Matthews, solved the problem by deleting magiPad with peditFixer so that I never had a chance to be able to find out the reasons. I suspect that you may have a corrupted magiPad but I can't be sure until I am able to complete a case study. I told the third person what Elwood did, and I also told him to delete all the pedit preferences with peditFixer as well. It worked and I was again robbed the opportunity to investigate it.
Please check out Paolo Amoroso's peditors Forum for details [subscribe].
You can post messages to the peditors Forum here.
As I mentioned already, if you are a Palm or pedit "newbie", and if you already feel overwhelmed by this sizeable manual, then it may be a good idea for you to visit James Seigel's, Harvey Gatlin's, Peter Grierson's, and Lee Hauser's pedit Tutorial whose archived version you can find here together with other material.
Whether or not you are an "expert", you will greatly benefit from visiting peditors.com which was created by John Kershaw and is maintained by him and by a growing number of enthusiastic peditors.
The pedit Software Developer Kit [SDK] is available here.
In addition, all legitimate Palm software developers can count on my absolute and enthusiastic cooperation in providing mutual support for each others' software.
As I already mentioned it, the word pedit is used as a generic term for any member of the pedit family.
When pedit refers to the actual pedit application, then I will use the term pedit04.
In what follows, Palm refers to any Palm computing device or any clones thereof.
DeskTop refers to your computer which is used when you HotSync files. It is irrelevant whether it is a Macintosh or a PC or a Unix/Linux box. The only thing what matters is that it holds your backed up files after a HotSync operation.
When I refer to a keyboard, I mean an actual piece of hardware, and not Palm's built-in virtual keyboard.
A DOC file has nothing to do with dot.doc files which are used in the DeskTop universe in conjunction with some word processors. In the Palm universe, a DOC is a special file [or a file structure] which allows to install and view [large] text files on your Palm.
Quoting from Rob Tillotson: The Doc format is the de facto standard for large text documents on the Palm Computing Platform. It enjoys wide support in both software and content, but documentation is sparse.
I suggest that you read Rob Tillotson's The Doc Format as an introduction.
A pedit04 memo refers to a memo created by pedit04 or peditLight as opposed to a pedit32 memo which is created by pedit32. Of course, peditPro can create either of these.
WARNING. Please keep in mind that pedit04 memos and Memo Pad memos are exactly the same animals.
When I refer to a memo created by any of the pedits and in the given context it is irrelevant which pedit was the particular pedit which created it, then I use the expression pedit memo as a generic term.
Memo or text vitals refer to a snapshot of your current memo, or text in general, such as current text selection, cursor location, scroll bar position, and so forth. As pedit evolves, memo vitals get more and more sophisticated. Somne vitals even include current font and ruler selections.
When I say sister pedit, then I am referring to the other pedit. In other words, if you are running pedit or peditLight then pedit32 is the sister pedit, whereas if you run pedit32 then pedit is the sister pedit.
If you are running peditPro then the sister pedit depends on the current mode you are in.
Also, in what follows, using the original Palm terminology, I call ListView the window with title p04Memos..., and I call EditView the other one with title p04 #xxx of yyy [more or less].
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If your run pedit32 then instead of p04Memos... you will see p32Memos... and so forth.
NOTE. If your Palm Powered handheld allows to create native 32K memos in the built-in "Memo Pad" which also could be called "Memos", then the letters "p04" are replaced by "m32" such as m32Memos....
You can think of ListView as the table of contents, and of EditView where the actual editing takes place.
For our understanding of what a memo title is, please look here.
pedit is a text processor, and therefore, it does not have the formatting features of word processors such as allowing different fonts in a memo. If you expect such features then pedit may not be the right editor for you.
pedit creates text files which are 100% compatible with with all computers and all applications which use text files, whereas word processors create proprietary files which can be read by applications with special capabilities. Most word processors allow you to save your file as a plain text file but then all the formatting is lost.
On the other hand, as you will see, pedit allows you to manipulate text in ways which is way beyond the capabilities of most word processors.
It is up-to you to decide what is more important for you, and if you choose to go for a text processor, then pedit will not disappoint you.
pedit absolutely loves all external keyboards, including the Palm Portable Keyboard [aka PPK or Stowaway or Targus] and GoType!, and greatly enhances their ability to enter text.
In response to many peditorial inquiries, I want to state it clear and loud that I think both GoType! and PPK are absolutely first rate, and I consider each an engineering marvel. I endorse both of them when used with pedit. However, please keep reading...
Even though the software drivers of some of the keyboards are less than perfect and more than buggy, it is totally irrelevant as far as pedit goes, since pedit uses its own internal mechanism to utilize the keyboards. As long as the driver of your keyboard is able to recognize the letters you type on the keyboard, you are set for good. If I may suggest so, please do write to the manufacturer of your external keyboard whenever you discover a bug. Otherwise, you may never see a bug fix.
In what follows, when I refer to a keyboard, I mean an actual piece of hardware, and not Palm's built-in virtual keyboard. So please do not try to use any of our tricks on the latter.
As it turns out. even some of the third party software implemented virtual keyboards behave as if they were a piece of hardware. This is good news for pedit users although there will be no performance benefits since every function can also be accessed via menus and/or tapping at the right time in the right place.
In almost all dialogs, unless there is a text field accepting alphabetical input, all buttons and check boxes can be activated by entering the lower cased version of the first letter of their label. This is the reason for ".Cancel" and why some labels are misspelled intentionally such as "K" standing for capitalization and "Qopy" for "Copy". When there is no text field, many times even the upper cased version of that letter works.
If there is a bold framed button in a dialog, then it can be activated by your keyboard's RETURN key or by the equivalent / Graffiti character [stroke from NE to SW] or by "ESC RETURN". If there is a multi-line text field in the dialog such as the one activated by the "F" button then "RETURN" is no longer available for this purpose, and use "ESC RETURN" only. The explanation of the ESC key mechanism is an important basic concept so that please do not skip it. This default button concept is well familiar to all Macintosh and Windows users.
pedit has full GoType! keyboard support as well. If the installed keyboard driver version is at least 1.5, then all buttons can be activated by depressing the first letter of the button label while simultaneously depressing the "Command" and "Alt" keys on the GoType! keyboard.
There is similar approach if you use the Palm Portable Keyboard, although, as of July 8, 2000, the current software driver for PPK is not yet able to recognize all buttons on the screen.
Therefore, I find the ESC key approach preferable to trying to use the particular keyboard's built-in functions.
If in a dialog all the text fields are numeric only, then entering either a space or a tab character rotates the focus between the fields. In addition, if underlined letters are visible, then entering one of them makes the cursor jump to the corresponding field.
If in a dialog there is more than one text field, then entering either "ESC SPACE" or "ESC TAB" rotates the focus between the fields.
The user defined escape character ESC [the default value is the backquote character "`"] allows the peditor to activate almost any button and check box from external keyboards and/oir thumbboards and/or via Graffiti input.
It is very important to understand that in pedit's terminology ESC is NOT a hard key on your keyboard such as one labelled with Ctrl, or Alt, or Cmd or whatever, but it is an ordinary key playing the role of ESC . By default I call the backquote key "`" the ESC key although you can change it in the pedit preferences dialog to any other key.
The way it works is as follows. First you hit ESC and then the required letter. Do it consecutively and not simultaneously. Of course, this is a very familiar concept to emacs, vi, and joe users, and to others as well.
EXAMPLE. "ESC ." activates the ".Cancel" button.
EXAMPLE. "ESC h" = "ESC H" = "ESC ?" = "ESC i" = "ESC I" invokes HELP in most [but not all] dialogs even if there is no HELP button present on the current screen.
Did you notice that there is a visual confirmation when you use ESC to activate a button? Isn't that cool?
To use ESC itself as a regular character in the text, just enter ESC twice as in "``".
You can determine if a menu command has an ESC key equivalent by examining the command in the dropped down menu. All the equivalent ESC keys are listed next to the command.
NOTE. On GoType! and on almost every other standard keyboard, "`" is an ideal choice for ESC. On the Palm Portable Keyboard, I recommend using "1" or "\" for ESC, although, I must admit that neither are absolutely perfect choices from the ergonomic point of view.
NOTE. As BruceM correctly pointed it out, if you ever intend to use pScripting, then stay away from the forward slash "/" as an ESC key candidate.
In addition to
"ESC h" = "ESC H" = "ESC ?" = "ESC i" = "ESC I" = help
both ListView and EditView share the following ESC commands.
"ESC =" = drop menu
"ESC C" = menu command
"ESC F" = SilkScreen FIND
"ESC L" = BackLight
NOTE. If you have LapTopHack, then you can navigate inside all menus via keyboard and Graffiti input [see here for details].
It is crucially important to understand clearly and fully that pedit works with the built-in Memo Pad memo database which is called MemoDB with creator ID 'memo', and, therefore, pedit is 100% compatible with everything imaginable which uses Memo Pad.
On the other hand, pedit32 uses its own memo database which is called Memo32DB with creator ID 'pn32', and, therefore, pedit32 is almost 100% incompatible with everything imaginable which uses Memo Pad.
One important consideration is that pedit32 loses some of its snappiness when editing files whose size approaches 32K.
By the way, Palm's built-in SilkScreen FIND button works perfectly with pedit and so does grepHack and superFinderHack and FindHack.
Further good news is that, if you choose to install both, then pedit and pedit32 can simultaneously co-exist on your Palm. They share the same magiPad database called peditDB, but otherwise they have their own creator IDs, preferences, and so forth. So go ahead and install both pedit and pedit32.
However, if I were you, I would rather have peditPro on my Palm than pedit and pedit32, since the former saves approximately 200K is RAM real estate.
Additional good news is that, after you did a HotSync job, if you wish, you can open up your huge pedit32 memos residing in Memo32DB on your DeskTop computing device with any competent text editor such as emacs, vi, joe, BBEdit, and so forth. I leave the rest to your imagination and creativity.
Of course, you should follow this advice only if you are the kind of person who does not follow any advice anyway. On the other hand, if you want to access your pedit32 memos in a professional and elegant manner then please keep reading.
QUESTION. How can I move a large text file from my DeskTop computer into pedit or pedit32?
ANSWER. Convert your text file to DOC format using one of the many widely available utilities [see, for instance, Document Conversion Tools and Utilities at MemoWare, or MakeDoc at Aportis, PalmGear, or Handango]. Then HotSync it to your Palm. Then import it to pedit or pedit32 using the Import Doc File command in ListView's Record menu.
QUESTION. How can I move a memo [and its sister segments] from my beloved pedit or pedit32 to my DeskTop computer?
ANSWER. Open up your memo [or one of its sister segments] using the Export Memo command in EditView's Record #1 menu. Then export it to a DOC file. After your next HotSync operation, you will find your memo [as a DOC file] in the backup directory on your DeskTop computer. Now use your DOC converter to turn it into a humanly readable text file.
NOTE. Pleae check out peditDesk, a small DOS application by Jerry Skelley for extracting pedit memos from both databases MemoDB.pdb and Memo32DB.pdb, which is available at the files section of the peditors Forum. Unlike the standard Palm DeskTop software, peditDesk rejoins your segmented memos, sending them to the Windows text editor of your choice. Memos may be exported singly or in groups, by category, or all at once. The intuitive interface even resembles pedit's ListView. Features include full-screen preview of memo text, your choice of Windows text editors, and high speed "Turbo" throughput. Screen messages and command keys may be edited for use by non-English speaking peditors.
NOTE. I also recommend Jesse Jacobsen's MemoCircus which is a utility for listing and extracting memos from database files on the DeskTop. These files are found in the directory where your handheld's data is backed up, and will probably be named MemoDB.pdb and Memo32DB.pdb. A special option allows pedit's segmented memos to be treated as a single memo. MemoCircus currently uses a UNIX-style command line interface, though a graphical interface is planned for the future. According to JesseJ, some day, MemoCircus will allow adding memos to the databases, and direct-to-handheld operation via the HotSync cradle. If you have problems, questions, or suggestions concerning MemoCircus, please e-mail the author at jmatjaco@yahoo.com. By the way, MemoCircus is free software, written in Python, and should be usable on any platform where Python can be installed. To run it, you will need Python on your DeskTop computer first. More information and downloads are here.
NOTE. EXpedit is a similar Windows utility by Casper Lassenius which is currently [as of November 3, 2000] under closed testing. Hopefully, a public beta version will be available soon. In the meantime, you may peek at a screen shot at the links section of the peditors Forum. Once EXpedit becomes available, you will find it at the files section of the peditors Forum.
So far, I have received no reports whatsoever of any problems with pedit32 which were not present in pedit [with the exception of some performance degradation with large memos]. In fact, the great news is that, at least in principle, pedit and pedit32 should share the same bugs, no more and no less.
But, as we all know, even if theory and practice are the same in theory, they are definitely different in practice. [I thank the author of pedit for allowing me to include this deep thought, and Daniel D. for taking time to polish it].
NOTE. Of course, pedit is 100% bug-free. It just may have some unexpected, undocumented, and perhaps inexplicable features. [smiley]
Since there are several pedits, it is not at all simple to keep track of them. If you want to figure out which pedit is the pedit which you are running at the moment, please examine the title bar.
If the title starts with the letter p [or m], then your are in pedit04.
If the title starts with the letters .p [or .m], then your are in pedit32.
If the title starts with the letters !p [or !m] then you are in peditPro.
If the title starts with the letters :p [or :m] then you are in peditLight.
NOTE. If your Palm Powered handheld allows to create native 32K memos in the built-in "Memo Pad" which also could be called "Memos", then the letters "p04" are replaced by "m32" such as !m32Memos....
In addition, you can also find out if your current memo in EditView is a 4K or 32K memo. Just look at title bar. If the title has p04 [or m32] in it then your memo is a pedit04 memo. If the title has p32 in it then your memo is a pedit32 memo.
If you are in EditView and if you are running stats in the title bar, then look carefully at the upper right area of your Palm's screen just below the title bar. If you see a small black square [2*2 pixels], then you have a pedit32 memo. Otherwise, it's a pedit04 memo.
Similarly, if you are in ListView, look for p04 [or m32] or p32 in the title bar, and you will know which mode you are in.
These considerations are especially relevant if you are running peditPro where you can switch between pedit04 and pedit32 memos.
The peditPro package includes two tiny applications called pedit04! [aka pedit04Launcher] and pedit32! [aka pedit32Launcher]. In order to differentiate between them and the pedit/pedit32 package, they both have an exclamation mark "!" at the end of their titles.
Think of them as "aliases" for peditPro. You can use them to start up peditPro in either pedit or pedit32 mode. You can assign them to hard buttons, and to GoType! and PPK function keys as well.
I use the word alias with quotation marks since the concept of aliases is unknown in the Palm universe, at least as of July 18, 2000. It is a shame since aliases work perfectly in the Macintosh and PC environments. In unix, the concept of soft and hard links goes way beyond the concept of Mac and PC aliases.
For the technically oriented, pedit04! and pedit32! fakes soft link to peditPro, and peditPro behaves like, for instance, vi in unix. Here is a part of our /bin directory which shows the edit, ex, vedit, vi, and view are, in fact, the same application.
78088 -r-xr-xr-x 5 root 206948 Jan 5 2000 edit 78088 -r-xr-xr-x 5 root 206948 Jan 5 2000 ex 78088 -r-xr-xr-x 5 root 206948 Jan 5 2000 vedit 78088 -r-xr-xr-x 5 root 206948 Jan 5 2000 vi 78088 -r-xr-xr-x 5 root 206948 Jan 5 2000 view
Of course, here we have hard links, but they are functionally equivalent to soft links as in our /opt/local/bin
150230 lrwxrwxrwx 1 root 5 May 19 12:37 ftp -> ncftp 150224 -rwxr-xr-x 1 root 213588 May 31 07:55 ncftp
I hope that Palm will seriously consider the implementation of aliases and/or links in its upcoming OSs.
The installation of pedit04! and pedit32! is optional.
Deleting pedit04! and pedit32! is done via Palm's built-in deletion mechanism.
Start out with our About pedit dialog which can be accessed from the Options menus in both ListView and EditView.
Among others, you will see the expiration date of your particular copy of pedit. Of course, if your pedit has already expired, then a clever dialog will inform you of your next moves prior to having a chance to see the About pedit box. Please explore the Credits, Abstract, and Register buttons, and please tap i in the upper right corner.
If you have a keyboard, then you can use the first letters of the buttons.
Please use this occasion to enter your pedit password via the Register button.
Once you invoke Register, just type your password as it was given to you. Make sure that you enter the right lower/upper case letters, and that you do not add additional space or tab characters.
Before you contact me that the password did not register, please make 100% sure that you are entering the password of your particular pedit into the correct pedit, and not into another pedit. It may sound incredible, but about 5% of the registered peditors try to enter their password into the wrong pedit.
As a registered user, you will get periodic [but not at all obnoxious] friendly reminders of the expiration date but panic no more since you will have the option of continuing using your copy of pedit even if it expired, and even if it became 100% obsolete, and even if it is full of bugs. Of course, if you were smart enough to register, then you are also smart enough to make sure that you always download the freshest and practically bug free version of pedit.
Upon entering ListView or EditView you will see a row of buttons on the bottom of the screen. They constitute the ListView and EditView buttonPanels [© copyright Paul Nevai 1999-2002 & all rights reserved].
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Think of them as the instrument panel in your Palm's cockpit and that you are the pilot of your Palm.
As a default, the buttons are displayed in black. If you don't like it, then please go to the General Preference Panel and check the white buttons... box.
All buttons in the buttonPanels are tied to an ESC key to facilitate activation via keyboards.
I hope the buttonPanel concept will become standard in all Palm applications. Any interested party should contact me regarding licensing questions and the buttonPanel SDK.
The editPanel [© copyright Paul Nevai 1999-2002 & all rights reserved]
is a cluster of several buttons which allows access to the basic editing operations both by tapping the buttons on the screen or by using ESC keys.
For instance, "ESC c" copies the selected text, and "ESC g" brings up Graffiti Help.
Isn't it cool? I hope the editPanel will become standard in all Palm applications. Any interested party should contact me regarding licensing questions and the editPanel SDK.
Now let's talk for a little while about Palm's built-in FIND SilkScreen button and its interaction with pedit.
As you will see soon, I put a number of twists on the search process via Palm's built-in FIND SilkScreen button.
First, FIND can be invoked by typing "ESC F" [upper case "F"] in both ListView and EditView.
Second, FIND can find any string in your memos via pedit unlike via the built-in Memo Pad where it finds the beginnings of words only.
Third, whether you initiate the FIND process inside or outside pedit, you can add modifiers [options] to your search string to change the behavior of the search process of pedit memos.
These modifiers work whether or not you have FindHack installed in your Palm.
Effective with superFinderHack 1.21 and pedit 5.997, superFinderHack automatically disables pedit's "fancyFind" while it searches pedit so that you don't need to worry about anything. Hence, there is complete compatibility between superFinderHack and pedit. Just use superFinderHack's much more powerful searching capabilities.
In addition, effective with grepHack 1.21 and pedit 5.997, grepHack also automatically disables pedit's "fancyFind" while it searches pedit. Just use grepHack's much more powerful searching capabilities. There is one exception though. Namely, unlike superFinderHack, grepHack cannot tell pedit to search the current category.
NOTE. These modifiers will have no effect on your search of databases created by applications other than pedit. Simply put, they will not recognize these modifiers.
Here is how it works. You can add one or more of the modifiers
'@' ["at" sign or "commercial at"]
'.' [period]
'^' [caret]
'+' [plus sign]
':' [colon]
to the beginning of the search string [in an arbitrary order].
The "at" sign "@" means that your string will not be processed [successfully] by Memo Pad or any other application except for pedit so that you get no duplicate matches by both pedit and Memo Pad. By the way, there are some exceptions to this rule, so that if you happen find one, then please do not dump pedit. This option is not likely to influence the speed of your search.
The period "." means that the search in pedit is performed only in your current category. I borrowed "." from unix where it refers to the current directory [unlike in pattern matching where "." means exactly one character which is not a line terminator]. This option is likely to speed up your search.
The caret "^" means that the search in pedit is restricted to the first line of the memos. I borrowed "^" from pattern matching where it refers to the beginning [well, it's the beginning of a line and not that of a file, but it is still a good way to remember it]. This option is likely to speed up your search significantly.
By the way, many peditors like to refer to the first line of a memo as its title, so that you could say that "^" searches the table of contents.
The plus sign "+" means that the search in pedit is not case-blind, unlike the search in Memo Pad which always ignores cases. This option is likely to slow down your search significantly.
The colon ":" means that the search in pedit is no longer restricted to the beginnings of words as in Memo Pad, and partial words can be found as well. This option is likely to slow down your search significantly.
I want to emphasize that if you use either of the options "+" or ":", be prepared to be patient if you have many large memos.
Having pointed out the superiority of our implementation of "FIND" as opposed to Memo Pad, here are some examples:
"@^.pedit" finds in pedit but not in Memo Pad all memos in the current category which contain in their first line [the title] one of the words "pedit", "Pedit", "pEDit", and so forth.
On the other hand, "@+^.pediT" does the same for the word "pediT" but not for "pedit", "Pedit", and so forth.
If you don't care for these fancy FIND features and you wish you could turn them off so that the FIND button would regain its pre-pedit [lack of] functionality, worry no more! In fact, for the fancy mode to be active you need to turn it on by opening up the General Preference Panel, and by checking the fancy silk-screen "FIND" box.
Fourth, all pedits, except for peditLight, support REGEXP via the built-in FIND SilkScreen button, as long as the find process was initiated from inside pedit and the fancy silk-screen "FIND" box is checked [see the here]. Just start your search string with ")" [right parenthesis], and then your search will be via REGEXP in a case-blind mode.
EXAMPLE. ")pedit[^ ]*".
NOTE. If your pedit is running, and if you set the ")" magic greptivator [grep activator], then your other "fancy" options will be ignored.
NOTE. If you want to use REGEXP from outside pedit via the FIND SilkScreen button, then just install superFinderHack or grepHack. The magic activator option for grepHack is "R" [upper case "R" as in REGEXP].
NOTE. If you happen to have both peditPro and some other pedits installed on your Palm simultaneously, then FIND will search your memos only via peditPro. This is the case even if peditPro is dormant and another pedit is currently running.
You can set pedit's preferences using either the Preferences command in EditView's Opt[ions] menu or the Preferences command in ListView's Options menu both of which take you to the pedit preferences dialog.
These two commands are the same and both invoke the same dialog. The only difference is that some of the options are available only if you invoke the dialog from ListView.
NOTE. Since pedit keeps evolving, the preference panels shown below may differ from the actual panels in your pedit.
NOTE. There is extensive on-line help available by pressing the "i-Tips" button in the "pedit preferences" dialog.
The "pedit preferences" dialog consists of several "panels" each of which can be invoked either by tapping on it by entering the first upper case letter of its label. The only exception is the myNotes push button which can be activated by "N".
All check boxes, buttons, push buttons, and so forth, can be activated by entering the first [case sensitive] letter of their labels.
Use the SPACE, TAB, left arrow, and right arrow keys to cycle through the push buttons,
Use the up arrow, down arrow, page up, page down, up repeating button, and down repeating button to scroll the text fields.
This is the General panel.
If the escape character is box is checked then the ESC key mechanism is activated, and the character following this check box is defined as your ESC character.
NOTE. If you want either SPACE or TAB to be the ESC character, then please enter "S" [upper case "S"] or "T" [upper case "T"], respectively.
NOTE. If the current ESC character is either SPACE or TAB, then it will not show up in the text field following the escape character is check box since it is invisible. However, you can highlight it, and then it becomes visible.
If create memos on top is checked and memo sorting is set to manual, then new memos are created at the top of the memo database. Otherwise, they are all created at the very end [unless they are alphabetically sorted].
If the fancy silk-screen "FIND" box is checked, then the search routine via the SilkScreen FIND button allows to use certain options as described here.
Regarding the save text in magiPad check box, please see magiPad for the details.
If the white buttons under memos box is checked, then the buttonPanels are displayed in white. Otherwise, they are black.
This is the EditView panel.
The allow double taps in the text check box and the Ticks between double taps text field are explained here.
If the cursor moves via 5-way button box is checked then the 5-way navigator button, if available, moves the cursor left/right/up/down.
NOTE. Due to the nature of the Palm OS, automatic capitalization only works in conjunction with text input via Graffiti. Neither the built-in virtual keyboard nor external keyboards are affected by it. In addition, the algorithm which decides whether or not to capitalize is not 100% foolproof.
If the enable statistics in title bar box is checked then the stats are enabled [see here for the details].
If the move cursor via btnSliding "J" box is checked, then left/right/up/down buttonSliding the "J" button moves the cursor left/right/up/down.
This is the ListView panel.
NOTE. The ListView panel is functional only if you invoked the "pedit preferences" dialog from ListView.
Selecting the alphabetic sort option makes pedit to sort all the memos in alphabetic order. Picking this option will overwrite the current sort order.
Selecting the manual sort option allows manual sorting of memos by dragging them up and down the list. To drag, first pen down on a memo, then drag it to the desired order, and, finally, lift up the pen.
The Edited/Visited memos move to top/move to bottom option allows reverse and forward chronological ordering of edited [changed] and visited [read] memos. Please see here for help on navigating the popped up list.
NOTE. The leftButtonSlided PopUp Font Trigger in EditView touches the current memo, that is, it pretends as if the memo were edited.
Selecting the new option means that if you enter a printable character while in ListView, then a new memo starts automatically whose first letter is the given character. This mimics Memo Pad's behavior.
Selecting the seek option means that if you enter a printable character while in ListView, then the table of contents scrolls to the first memo, after the currently shown top memo, whose title starts with the given character. The seeking process wraps around, that is, the search continues at the top once it has reached the bottom [see the related navigational commands here].
Selecting the direct [as in "direct action"] option means that you don't need to use the ESC key mechanism while in ListView. Instead, just entering the appropriate character activates your commands.
If the ! starts read only categories box is checked, then you can use readOnlyCategories. Please see the Lock|Unlock Memo command in EditView's Record #1 menu for the details.
This is the myNotes panel.
If the category of myNotes is fixed box is unchecked, then 000.myNotes inherits the current category in ListView every time it is invoked via the myNotes button. Otherwise, the category 000.myNotes remains fixed.
If the date stamped myNotes box is checked, then 000.myNotes gets a new date'n'time stamp every time it is invoked via the myNotes button. The actual formatting of the date'n'time stamp uses the preferences set in the "Formats" Preference Panel.
If the top starting myNotes box is checked, then every new entry in 000.myNotes is placed in the beginning of the file as long as it was invoked via the myNotes button.
This is the Options panel.
If the capitalization is automatic box is checked then each sentence will automatically start with a capital [upper case] letter.
If the ignore case during search box is checked then all text search and/or replace operations are case blind [case insensitive]. Please see herefor more details.
The linefeed is considered invisible option is used by the visibilator. Please see the Visibilator command in EditView's Edit+ menu for more details.
If the search is "wrap around" box is checked then all text search and/or replace operations continue at the beginning [top] once they reached the end [bottom] except for the "All R" [Replace All] command which stops at the end. Please see here for more details.
If the words are "Forth style" box is checked then all text search, replace, jump, and selection operations use a special definition of words. Please see here, here, and here for more details.
In addition...
This is the Modes panel.
For left-handed users, the scroll bars are positioned on the left-hand side of the screen, whereas for right-handed users, the scroll bars are positioned on the right-hand side of the screen.
WARNING.Unless you know what you are doing, you should always stay in normalMode.
You can turn on either the advancedMode, or the expertMode, or the normalMode by selecting the appropriate push button.
If one of your pScripts left a dangling globalMacroMode, then you can get rid of it by using the turn off globalMacroMode button which is only visible when appropriate.
NOTE. All the modes are sticky which survive quitting and relaunching pedit.
NOTE. If you are in the advancedMode or expertMode which happened to suppress the display of a dialog, then you should use Graffiti ShortCuts with extreme care. Neither I nor pedit accepts any responsibilities for any unexpected behavior. However, it would be very considerate of you if you reported such events to the peditors Forum.
NOTE. I must admit that, although I tried very hard to mess up pedit with Graffiti ShortCuts in both advancedMode and expertMode, pedit resisted all my attempts. However, I am sure that most advanced and/or expert peditors are much more ingenious than I am, and I have no doubts that they will succeed where I failed.
NOTE. I started implementing advancedMode and expertMode on April 7, 2001, and you will be able to find out what they accomplish by searching this manual for the expressions "expertMode" or "advancedMode", and "(advanced || expert)" or "(advanced && expert)". Since you are an advanced and/or expert peditor, I am sure that you do not want me to provide lengthy explanations. Please let me know if you find them too terse.
The memo batch processor allows you to edit all or some of your memos in one fell swoop using commands which you collect in designated pScripts. Only your imagination sets limits to what can be accomplished with this tool.
NOTE. The initial implementation of the memo batch processor was introduced in version 6.28. The final version will have a truly sophisticated user interface with numerous options. However, in order to make sure that it will work properly, the initial version comes with no options and no user interface whatsoever. Once it had been fully tested and I had feedback from more than just a handful of peditors, I will add the fancy stuff to it.
WARNING. Batch processing is a powerful weapon and it must be used with extreme care. Among others, it allows you to screw up all your memos as fast as you can say "pedit" [well, depending on the number of memos you have, it may take a little longer].
You can activate the batch processor via the Batch Processor commands in the Options menu in ListView [here] and in the Opt[ions] menu in EditView [here].
NOTE. Temporarily, ESC % [percent] also activates the batch processor. However, this option may be removed from the final version since I view batch processing a "hazardous" activity requiring full attention of the operator. Of course, if you have no "defaultBatchScript" [see below], then you are in no danger of acidentally running amok with your pedit.
Batch processing is subject to the following rules.
Please let me know how it works. Have fun...
If you are in EditView, then you can enter ListView by pressing the "OK" button, or by using the "OK" & ".C" buttons" command in the Navigate menu.
What you see is your pedit's table of contents. Many peditors will refer to what you see as the titles of your memos.
I beg to differ. What you see is [a perhaps abbreviated version of] the first line of your memo. As a matter of fact, there is no such concept as the title of a memo in the Palm universe. Although some memo editors do create titles, these title are stored separately from the memo database, and, therefore, extra bookkeeping is required which can slow down ListView's startup significantly.
Nevertheless, for the lack of better terminology, I will refer to what you see as the title of your memo.
Once you graduate to segmented memos, you will realize that ListView makes a smart decision when displaying titles of such memos. I have no doubts that you will appreciate pedit's native intelligence.
As soon as you enter ListView, please visit the Preferences dialog which is located in the Options menu.
In addition to ListView's Navigate Menu, you have a number of other ways of exploring it.
As expected, the page up and page down buttons help you to navigate in ListView.
In addition, please memorize this table and you will no longer have any problems in finding the memo you are looking for.
page up = up arrow = scroll one page up
left arrow = scroll one one line up
page down = down arrow = scroll one page down
right arrow = scroll one one line down
space = select the next memo title
backspace = select the previous memo title
carriage return = open the memo whose title is currently selected
NOTE. The memo title selection process wraps around in the sense that the selection continues at the top once it reached the bottom of the screen if it was invoked with space, and it goes the opposite direction if it was invoked with backspace.
NOTE. If no memo title is currently selected, then both space and backspace select the top title shown on the screen.
NOTE. Please do not forget to study the effects of the seek option.
Please look up in your Graffiti reference how to enter the left arrow and right arrow characters. Basically, they consist of a left-right or a right-left job.
Please see the definition of memo titles here.
For additional tricks, please see the information about the SilkScreen FIND button.
Let us discuss the menus in ListView now.
This command creates a new memo.
This command is just a way to get out of the batcher modes which are defined as the Preview Memo, Delete Memo, Categorize Memo, Privatize Memo, Beam Memo, and Print Memo commands.
This is the same as the Go to Memo menu command in EditView's Record #1 Menu.
This pops up a dialog where you can enter either the index or some text of a memo you want to open.
NOTE. If you are in the expertMode, then this dialog will not show up at all except for its title, although you can enter your commands as usual.
It also has more options than you will ever need.
You can use the following shortcuts.
NOTE. When using the "Begin Search at Current Memo" option, then the actual search starts right after the current memo.
NOTE. The memo text search can be interrupted by tapping, or by typing ".", or by a page up/down or 5-way up/down press, depending on the particular Palm Powered handheld.
NOTE. Masked secret memos are never found by text matching unless no password has been assigned. Otherwise, this would be a security breach.
NOTE. Many of the options have been disabled in peditLight.
NOTE. This command can also be invoked via the upButtonSlided "New" button in ListView's buttonPanel.
NOTE. This command has expert mode.
Preview Memo, Delete Memo, Categorize Memo, Privatize Memo, Beam Memo, and Print Memo commands share the same underlying interface.
Namely, they all look like the regular ListView on the surface, but when you are in one of the batcher modes and if you hit the title of the memo then you are placed into a special dialog where on one hand you can preview the current memo and perform certain operations, and on the other hand, you can navigate between memos via the arrows and/or the page up|down key and/or via keyboard action.
Please look at the tips in the dialogs which can be invoked via the "i" button in the upper right corner of the screen or by entering one of the letters "h", "H", "?", "i", and "I".
For your convenience, the title of the batcher dialogs shows the size of the current memo.
Navigation in the Batchers
The "<=" button = "p" or "P" or "SPACE" characters = left or up arrow keys on keyboard = scroll up hard key = preview previous memo in current category
The "=>" button = "n" or "N" or "BACKSPACE" characters = right or down arrow keys on keyboard = scroll down hard key = preview next memo in current category
Typing ENTER results in the same action applied to the currently selected memo as if tapping on a memo title.
NOTE. When privatizing or printing then "p" and "P" are used for [de]privatizing or printing so that use "b" and "B" instead for switching to the previous memo.
In this mode, tapping on the title of the memo pops up the memo previewer dialog from which you can easily decide which memo to open up.
In this mode, tapping on the title of the memo pops up the memo deleter dialog where you can decide whether or not to delete the selected memo and its sister segments as well.
When deleting memos, the save archive copy on PC option will store deleted memos in an archive file on your DeskTop at the next HotSync operation.
NOTE. In pedit32 archiving of records is not implemented and it is not necessary since there is no DeskTop conduit associated with it.
Strictly speaking, this is not a batcher operation since there is no batcher dialog associated with it. Nevertheless, it also allows a batch job on changing the categories of your memos. When in this mode, then tapping on the title of the memo makes the category list drop down, and thereby you can do quick change of category without the need of opening up the memo whose category is being changed.
This is not a formal batcher operation either. In this mode, tapping on the title of the memo puts moves to the top in its own category. Of course, this works only if the memo sort order is manual [see the manual sort option in the ListView Preference Panel].
In this mode, tapping on the title of the memo pops up the memo privatizer dialog where one can decide whether or not to change the private property of the selected memo and its sister segments as well.
NOTE. A private memo can be seen and edited only when your Palm is set to show private records. The latter can be set from the Security item in ListView's Options menu, or via Palm's built-in Security application.
NOTE. If your Palm's OS is at least 3.5, then you have a third option. Namely, in addition to hiding and showing private records, you can also mask them so that they will show up in ListView but you will not be able to peek at them unless you enter your Palm password.
NOTE. The concept of private records is useful only if your Palm's password has been assigned. The latter can be set from the Password item in ListView's Options menu, or via Palm's built-in "Security" application.
NOTE. I should point it out to you that Palm's security is not something I would count on. I will probably not break news if I tell you that any hacker worth her salt would find any of your hidden records in a jiffy as long as your Palm is turned on and is unlocked. Depending on the circumstances, you can think of this as good news since forgetting your password is no big deal as long as you do not lock your Palm when you turn it off.
In this mode, tapping on the title of the memo pops up the memo beamer dialog where one can decide whether or not to beam the selected memo and its sister segments as well.
NOTE. All beaming operations require that both the beaming and the beamee Palm have the same type of pedit installed.
Of course, if you want to beam a 4k memo, you can always use Palm's built-in Memo Pad.
If you have Stevens Creek Software's PalmPrint, or TealPoint's TealPrint installed in your Palm, then pedit provides a number of customizable ways of printing your memos and/or parts of it to any device which is supported by your print software.
In the Print Memo mode tapping on the title of the memo pops up the memo print dialog where one can decide whether or not to print the selected memo and its sister segments as well.
You can also decide whether the headers of segmented memos should be printed.
In addition, the number of copies to be printed can be determined by entering any number between 1 and 9. You can enter the number either via Graffiti or an external keyboard, but not by using the built-in virtual keyboard.
As opposed to Beam Memo, this command allows you to beam an entire category of memos to another Palm in one fell swoop. When selected then all memos in ListView's currently visible category get beamed. If ListView shows all categories, then all memos get beamed.
NOTE. All beaming operations require that both the beamer and the beamee Palm have the same type of pedit installed.
Exporting provides a means to communicate between your pedit and its sister pedit. You can move memos back and forth with minimal effort.
The analogous Export Memo command in EditView's Record #1 menu also allows to export your memos to DOC files.
Although the Export Category command is pretty much self explanatory, it is worthwhile to summarize it.
First, this command allows exporting either all memos which are in ListView's currently displayed category or all your memos in one fell swoop from one pedit to its sister pedit.
There are only two exceptions to this rule.
Well, there are two more exceptions. Namely, the sister pedit's memo database must be installed, and sufficient free RAM real estate must be available for performing the export operation.
NOTE. If a pedit32 memo is segmented but it consists of one single segment only, then you can delete its segment header so that it would become exportable from pedit32 to pedit. However, you will loose the information which was kept in the segment header.
In order to be able to manage both pedit and pedit32 simultaneously, and in order to keep pedit32 memos apart from pedit04 memos, please keep the export segmented memos only box checked all the time when exporting from pedit to pedit32. This way your regular pedit04 memos will never end up in pedit32.
If you choose to delete exported memos and if you are in pedit04, then the $ave archive copy on your PC option will store deleted memos in an archive file on your DeskTop at the next HotSync operation.
Exporting is as smart as it [or, should I say, yours truly] could be. In particular, it will place the exported memo in the same category where it resided originally. If that category name does not yet exists in the sister pedit and if the will clone category names too box is checked, then it will create one. If the sister pedit has no vacancies for new category names, then the exported memo will go into the Unfiled category.
If a memo is segmented, then exporting it from pedit to pedit32 will assemble your memo and its sister segments into one pedit32 memo.
A pedit32 memo will turn into a segmented memo in pedit04 after an export operation unless your memo is less than 4K and you check the no segmenting if less than 4K box.
Each segment will fill up only 75% of pedit's 4K capacity so that you will have plenty of capacity available for changes and further additions.
NOTE. I should point out that the exported memos get deleted from pedit only after the export operation went flawlessly so that your precious data are as safe as possible.
Here is a neat hint for you. If you want that all of your memos show up in your DeskTop Palm application, then do an export job of all of your pedit32 memos, then HotSync, then work on your memos on your DeskTop, then HotSync again, then export all your segmented memos from pedit04 back to pedit32. Just make sure that you always choose to delete your exported memos. Otherwise, you may end up with multiple copies.
NOTE. The "Please create MemoDB/Memo32DB first..." message means that you have never been in the pedit04/pedit32 mode yet. Go to ListView and use the Switch command in the Navigate menu or tap in the left 1/8th of the title bar, to the left from the small pixel visible just under the title bar.
Importing DOC files provides a means to move your pedit memos from the DeskTop to pedit with minimal effort. Using DOC files is especially recommended if your pedit memo, together with its sister segments, is longer than 4K so that using the standard route via your DeskTop Palm application becomes cumbersome since it was not designed the handle large memos.
The command Export Memo in EditView's Record #1 menu allows you to export your memos to DOC files.
Although the Import Doc File command is pretty much self explanatory, it is worthwhile to summarize it.
Invoking Import Doc File takes you to magiPad where all your installed DOC [including TealDoc] files are listed.
Once you familiarize yourself with EditView, you will be able to navigate here using all the powerful tools in it.
The list tells you the title of your DOC files [with the memory card number and the uncompressed size listed as well].
You can think of a card as a hard drive. We can all foresee the near future when we will have dozens of cards sitting in our Palm computing devices providing zillions of bytes of available memory. Although no two different Palm files sitting on the same card can have the same name, files on different cards do not need to have uniquely defined names. Therefore, it is essential to know which card is the host of your file to be able to identify it uniquely.
It is interesting to note that many Palm aplications ignore this fact and, unlike pedit, they are hardcoded to use card #0 no matter what. As of July 11, 2000, all Palms have one built-in card only.
If you see an exclamation mark "!" before the title of a DOC file, it means that the file is read-only and it cannot be deleted after you complete the import operation.
Tapping on the title of a DOC file pops up the pedit import dialog which is also self-explanatory except perhaps for the no segmenting if fits one memo check box.
If you choose the no segmenting if fits one memo option then your pedit will try to place the DOC file into one memo. Otherwise, it will break the file up into segments where each segment will occupy roughly speaking 75% of the maximum available memo size. This way you will have plenty of real estate left for editing your memos.
If you choose the no segmenting if fits one memo option, then you can also decide if you want to forgo adding a segment header to the imported DOC file by setting the add no header if fits one memo check box.
After you initiate the import operation you can sit back and relax. Depending on the size of your DOC file, the operation may take longer than you wish it did. For instance, a 1Mb DOC file import job on my Palm Vx takes about 60 secs.
Depending on your DOC file, you may end up being confronted by another dialog starting with "Hmm...". If you ever see it, I have no doubts that you will know what to do.
In case you end up never seeing this dialog, here is what it says: I believe that this file uses a unix [DOS] style end-of-line notation. Would you like me to convert it to the one used by the Palm OS?