Here are some additional tips for your first steps in using VUE.
Open a File
In addition to opening a file by entering VUE <filename>, where <filename> specifies a file in the A-Shell file system, you can also open files that A-Shell doesn't know about but which exist in the host operating system's file system. For example:
VUE C:\VM\MIAME\MIAME.INI (Windows)
VUE "/vm/miame/ashlog.log" (Unix)
Note that you must enclose Unix file names in quotes, to avoid confusion between VUE switches and directory separators, since VUE uses slash characters to indicate switches.
Exit
In addition to ending your session with FINISH or QUIT, you may also end with GO. This operation (a) saves the file, and (b) executes/runs the function specified in INI.VUE for this file type. For example, programmers typically create ".BAS" or ".BP" files. In INI.VUE they will have a line specifying that GO, in the case of .BAS files, means "COMPIL <filename>. So when they finish editing their program, they exit with GO ("G"), and the file is both saved and compiled. See GO for more information.
Control Characters
Control characters are special, non-character characters used primarily for printer control. They may be embedded in the file by hitting Ctrl+G (hold down the Control key and hit the G key) followed by the character you are inserting, and will be displayed as dim characters. For example: . Ctrl+G followed by Ctrl+L inserts a Control-L (ASCII 12) into the file and displays it as a dim L.
Although you may not need to insert control characters into a file, you will likely encounter them when trying to VUE files of uncertain origin. Note that an embedded null character is displayed as a dim @.
VUE vs. Notepad
If you are familiar with Windows Notepad or similar text editors, you should be aware of the following:
| • | Insert mode. In Notepad, you are always and automatically in insert mode, where what you type pushes existing text to the right. In VUE, that is not the case; you are always in overwrite mode, unless you explicitly turn on insert mode with Ctrl+Q. To exit insert mode, likewise use Ctrl+Q. |
| • | Home / END. In Notepad, these keystrokes take you to the beginning/end of the current line. In VUE, they take you to the beginning/end of the file. |
| • | Wrap. Although VUE supports the WRAP option, as a program editor, there is no distinction between paragraph terminators and line terminators. Every display line gets written with a CRLF or LF terminator. |
| • | VUE accepts files with either LF or CRLF line terminators. Use the CRNL command or option to toggle the terminator used when saving a file. |
| • | VUE has very limited support for mouse commands. You may use the mouse only to: |
| • | move to a position in the file and then click the left mouse button to place the cursor at that spot. |
| • | select and copy to clipboard by click-hold-and-drag to create your selection; when you release the mouse button, the selection is copied to the Windows clipboard. |
| • | The Windows clipboard commands Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, and Ctrl+V have different meaning in VUE. To copy/paste/move text, see the following section Copy / Paste / Move. To paste text from the Windows clipboard, use A-Shell's Edit > Paste menu command. |
Copy / Paste / Move
Copying a block of text from point A in the file to point B is similar to conventional copy-and-paste, but is executed differently.
To copy a block of text:
| • | Move to the first line of the block and press Ctrl+P. This marks the beginning of the block. Note how the line switched from normal text to lightened text. |
| • | Move to the end of the block and press Ctrl+P again. This is the end of the block. All of the text in block will now be marked by being lightened. |
| • | Now move to the place in the file where you want to insert the copied text. |
| • | Press escape to go to Command Mode |
| • | To make a copy of the block of text at the insertion point, type COPY. To move the text—i.e., delete it from its old location—type MOVE. |
| • | Press escape to go back to Display mode and see the results of your operation. |
Note that after the mark and copy operation is done, the original block that was marked remains selected. To clear the selection: make sure the cursor is outside the selection, escape to Command Mode, and type CLEAR followed by the enter key.
Caution: pasting a block of text while in overwrite mode, which is the normal condition in VUE, can be dangerous; if you don't have sufficient blank lines to accommodate the block you are pasting, you will overwrite existing text. To avoid this problem, turn on both character insert mode ( ctrl+q ) and line insert mode ( ctrl+backslash ) before pasting.
Miscellaneous Tips
If you just want to view the contexts of a text file, and don't intend to change it, it is not necessary to use VUE and its editing capabilities. You can instead use any one of several display-only commands, namely TYPE, HEAD, TAIL, EZTYP.
To shell out of A-Shell and use a text editor provided by the host operating system, enter EXPLORE to access the host's file system or HOST <program name> to run <program>.
