* WinEdt News.txt Last modified on Friday, August 2, 2002 at 20:14 ____________________________________________________________________ WinEdt 5.3 has been officially released. In the meantime the work on WinEdt 5.4 continues. A few major new features that will be implemented in the final version of WinEdt 5.4: - Improved Navigation capabilities (combining the Gather and Tree functionality) - Search and Replace in (project tree or folder) files - Folding (if the implementation is not too complicated and time consuming; otherwise it will have to wait for the next version) - Bug fixes, new macros, and improved default settings and documentation... To make testing and fixes easier beta builds will be uploaded in stages. If you see that at particular stage some feature or fix that you are interested in is implemented you can check it out and send feedback to support@winedt.com or WinEdt's Mailing List where beta builds will be announced as they become available. I will consider feasible suggestions that can be implemented in a reasonable time. I will, however, avoid another experience like the one with WinEdt 5.3 where alpha and beta testing stretched over more than a year. WinEdt 5.4 should be officially released by the end of summer (ok, maybe an extra month or two)... Upgrading from WinEdt 5.3 (while preserving your customizations) will be painless due to the new Backup and Restore macros (already present in WinEdt 5.3)... WinEdt 5 [Build 20020802 (v. 5.4)] (private build) ================================================== - New Open and Save As dialogs on Win2000/XP... - New XP-style appearance of dialogs and controls on WinXP. WinEdt now uses TMS Delphi package available at: http://www.tmssoftware.com/winxp.htm Another possibility to achieve this is to PATCH WinEdt.exe with Style-it XP utility available at: http://bootxp.net/styleitxp/ Thanks to Denis who directed me to the above web sites. - To compensate for a changed appearance of the Status Line on XP the Appearance dialog now allows the Color Factor to make the Panels lighter (>100%) or Darker (<100%). Default is 100% but in IMHO 108% looks better with the default XP Windows Theme... - a problem with assigning shortcuts to context popup menus that are also linked to the right mouse response has been fixed. - a few oddities and bugs (especially a serious problem with popup menus) have been fixed in this build... WinEdt 5 [Build 20020725 (v. 5.4)] (private build) ================================================== - A (not commonly encountered but reproducible) problem with saving the ini file has been fixed... - A problem with corrupted or disappearing menu with auto-configuration event handler has been eliminated (resource leak has been fixed)... - A bug with the "Idle Saving" option has been fixed... - RegEx that compile in more than 255 RegEx instructions are now handled properly. - C-style errors are now detected with UNIX specification and they allow drive specification for full filename. - Compounded Words Option has been introduced for Dictionaries. Compounded words can be highlighted with different attributes that misspelled ones. - An oddity with files reported as externally modified after a switch to/ from daytime savings has been fixed: WinEdt now properly handles UTC (Universal Time Coordinate) format... - WinEdt Wizards are now centered with respect to the Main Form (rather than desktop which caused problems on two monitors)... - In WinEdt 5.4 it is possible to change Command, Utility, or Document into a Macro without deleting the old menu item and inserting a new macro. Just enter a new definition inside square braces [...] and WinEdt will automatically change the item to macro. I found it useful because in the long run all/ most menu items will be eventually converted to macros... - SetSort macro has an extra parameter: SetSort(Ascending,Case_Sensitive,Ignore_Length,Remove_Duplicates: #-1..1, Table: -7..8); Extra parameter for Tables (0..7): Table: -7..8 0: use the current table (whatever it may be) 1..8: use table x-1 -7..-1: if current table is 7 (Dictionary) then use -x-1; - Sorting of GDI Pages (Page directive now allows Sorting Preferences): Page("Caption", "Mode Filter", "External File?", Case Insensitive: 0..1, Always Sorted: 0..1, Quick Sort: 0..1, Ascending,Case_Sensitive,Ignore_Length,Remove_Duplicates: -1..1, Table: -7..8); Parameter for Tables has the same meaning as in SetSort. The Page sorting preferences (if specified with non-defaults) also reflect the initial preferences in the Sort Dialog displayed when explicit Sort command in the interface is executed with Quick Sort option disabled. Furthermore, the context popup menu contains the option to enable or disable Auto Sorting and Quick Sorting. This option changes the properties of the current page for the duration of the current WinEdt session. Permanent changes require modifications to WinEdt.gdi... - Prefix and Suffix may be specified as the last two parameters for GDI Items. These two strings are a part of data displayed in the gather list control... The TOC Page has been modified to take advantage of the new functionality: // Item('TeX','*',1,1,'\chapter?',0,1,1); // Item('TeX','*',1,1,'\appendix?',0,1,1); // Item('TeX','*',1,1,'\bibliography?',0,1,1); // Item('TeX','*',1,1,'\nonumchapter?',0,1,1); // Item('TeX','*',1,1,'\prefacesection?',0,1,1); // Item('TeX','>>*',1,1,'\section?',0,1,1); // Item('TeX','>>>>>>*',1,1,'\subsection?',0,1,1); // Item('TeX','>>>>>>>>>>*',1,1,'\subsubsection?',0,1,1); Item('TeX','',1,1,'\chapter?{?}',0,1,1,'Chapter: ',''); Item('TeX','',1,1,'\nonumchapter?{?}',0,1,1,'chapter: ',''); Item('TeX','',1,1,'\appendix?{?}',0,1,1,'Appendix: ',''); Item('TeX','',1,1,'\bibliography{?}',0,1,1,'Bibliography: ',''); Item('TeX','',1,1,'\prefacesection?{?}',0,1,1,'Preface: ',''); Item('TeX','>>',1,1,'\section?{?}',0,1,1,'Section: ',''); Item('TeX','>>>>>>',1,1,'\subsection?{?}',0,1,1,'Subsection: ',''); Item('TeX','>>>>>>>>>>',1,1,'\subsubsection?{?}',0,1,1,'subsection: ',''); LoadSettings - parameter for extras (See the Macro Manual) ExtractSettings - parameter for extras (See the Macro Manual) - New "Colors and Highlighting" interface. The Colors page has been moved from Preferences Dialog to the new interface (previously called just Syntax Highlighting). Also, the Background Page in the appearance dialog has been removed and it is now replaced with a new page, called Background Schemes, in the extended Colors and Syntax Highlighting Dialog. It allows you to setup mode-dependent background, left / right margin color schemes. Furthermore it is possible to specify bitmaps for fancy tiled background effects (should one feel less stressed writing on a piece of wood or on a brick wall:-). Of course this means more import/ export macros and modifications to the default settings... - New Import/Export Macros to cover Background Schemes: AddBackground("Filename"); ExtractBackground("Filename"); LoadBackground("Filename"); - Also: ExtractBookmarks("Filename"); LoadBookmarks("Filename"); - New macros for process launching (execution): IfFinished("Then","Else"); GetExitCode(Reg: 0..9); TerminateProcess; These macros refer to the last process launched from WinEdt with WinExe or Run macro. Use with care (TerminateProcess should be used only for emergency and it may result in lost data or resources). WaitForMessage(timeout: 0..99999; Process_Messages: 0..1); A custom Sync handler (after WinExe) should look like: Loop('IfFinished("GetExitCode(0);Stop;","WaitForMessage(10,1);");'); Without WaitForMessage call WinEdt would compete with the running process for CPU in a tight loop (thus making the compilation much slower)! - New Macros (or symmetry reason): SetEnvVar <-> GetEnvVar (even if one will mostly use %@();) ReadFile <-> WriteFile (dump a register in one step) WriteFile("Filename","String"); GetEnvVar(Reg: 0..9,"VAR"); - New Parameter for EOLN format for WrL macro: WrL("String",EOLN: -1..3); EOLN: 0 - Default=CR+LF 1 - UNIX=LF 2 - VMS=CR 3 - Exotic=LF+CR -1 - Current Document Note that before -1 (Current Document's EOLN format) was the default which does not make much sense... - New Macros to manipulate/ navigate Strings: GetDocEOLNFormat(Reg: 0..9); SetDocEOLNFormat(EOLN: 0..3); GetStrEOLNFormat(Reg: 0..9, "String"); SetStrEOLNFormat(EOLN: 0..3, "String", Output Register: 0..9); EOLN: 0 - Default=CR+LF 1 - UNIX=LF 2 - VMS=CR 3 - Exotic=LF+CR MoveBy(chars:-999999999..999999999, useCLStart:0..1, eoln_length: 0..2); Move by a specified number of characters in the current document (left or right depending on the the parameter chars being negative or positive, respectively). SetCLStart(flag: 0..2, eoln_length: 0..2); flag 0 = beginning of the document 1 = selected portion (or block) 2 = current position Sets the parameters for Index <-> Line Column functions IndexToCL(index, regC, regL); This function returns 1-based Column and Line of the text corresponding to the given Index in a 0-based string extracted from the text... An Example: =========== // A portion of text is selected LetReg(0,"%S"); // Get Selected Text SetCLStart(1); // Remember where the string came from... // Pass the string %!0 to some external application which finds // the index of the position you are interested in... // Store the index in register 1 // Go to that Position in your document IndexToCL(%!1, 2,3); GotoCL(%!2,%!3); CLToIndex(c,l, reg); The inverse of IndexToCL(); -New macros to change or obtain the font script: SetFontCharset(Value: 0..9999); GetFontCharset(Reg: 0..9); - New macro for WordWeb (Thesaurus): WordWebLookup(Reg: 0..9,"Word",CloseonCopy: 0..1); Requires WordWeb installed. Free download is available at: http://wordweb.info/free/ WinEdt macro item to check and possibly replace a word (after copying a word in WordWeb interface [eg. pressing on a Copy button or using a shortcut Alt+C]) can be defined as: SelWord(1);WordWebLookup(0,"%S",1); IfOK(!'BeginGroup;CMD("Delete");Ins("%!0");EndGroup;'); For more information on how to use WordWeb consult its own Help... - A new Option (Preferences| Shell) for Custom Scroll Wheel response when the mouse pointer is placed on Document Tabs (Next and Previous) - GUI Control and Toolbar now implements scrolling if WinEdt Window is resized so as to hide a portion of the GUI control... - A new option for Backup of Project files. - New Options for soft wrapping (currently no interface????) Format on Resize (true){}{}{} Proper Line Numbers (true) Use Bold Attribute (false) - Reduced/ eliminated flickering on XP when switching between maximized documents by using the Tab control. - WinEdt now implements concurrent license monitor which was requested by quite a few administrators on larger networks. WinEdt's Site Licenses and Subscription License limit the number of concurrently running instances of WinEdt on a network to a specified number of users. When the quota is reached no more instances can be started until another instance of WinEdt is closed. An attempt to start another instance results in the following message: Licensed quota of concurrently running instances of WinEdt is exceeded. Try again later or contact your system administrator about this message! This functionality ensures that the use of the program on networks complies with the licensing agreement. WinEdt's Shell Configuration Wizard allows the administrator to monitor the usage of WinEdt on a network. WinEdt also produces a minute by minute log file detailing a usage of the program on a network. This data can be used should a need to upgrade a license arise... If you encounter any problems with this functionality contact WinEdt Team at: support@WinEdt.com. ______________________________________________________________________________ WinEdt 5 [Build 20020323 (v. 5.3)] (official release) ===================================================== After the installation is finished WinEdt displays a (consolidated) Configuration Wizard allowing you to quickly configure basic aspects of WinEdt and its integration with Windows and TeX. The Wizard keeps on appearing until the option "Show this Wizard next time" at the bottom of the dialog is unchecked. Later it can be started from the Options Menu... Check it out!!! The TeX Configuration Wizard is now implemented and documented for MiKTeX, fpTeX (web2c) and YandY TeX. etc... ______________________________________________________________________________ The file "...WinEdt\Doc\History.txt" contains a complete history of additions and fixes since the release of WinEdt32. For currently available extensions of WinEdt's default functionality check: www.winedt.org! ______________________________________________________________________________