Software Edith Pro Category Word processing Reviewer Frank Charlton Status  Freeware with distribution restrictions System All Ataris Score 89%

 
 

Edith is a powerful text editor designed to appeal to anyone looking for a fast and capable editor. This could include programmers, DTP and comms enthusiasts and more recently anyone looking for an HTML source code editor.

Edith Pro was previously sold as a full commercial package costing over £30 but has recently been made available as freeware - with certain distribution restrictions - a generous policy we would encourage other programmers to adopt.

ZFC pride themselves on producing friendly but powerful software which fits all needs, and with Edith they've certainly succeeded. It's a good looking program, with all functions available from either the mouse, keyboard, or a combination of both. The cute name is deceptive - there's a lot of power hidden under the surface. Edith is happy under all TOS variants, from the most basic ST right up to the latest Falcon version, and happily takes advantage of multitasking environments including MultiTOS, MagiC/PC/Mac and Geneva. Dialogs, alert boxes and even the built-in file selector all appear in windows, making program switching a snap. Files and windows can be iconified easily for a cleaner Desktop.

As a programmer's editor, Edith is stunning. Automatic indentation means your source listings are formatted properly without thinking about it. The 'kurzels' (text macros) offer a handy way of storing long repetitive program commands for easy recall with a few keypresses. A kurzel is simply a macro - you type a small string of text, which Edith replaces with the longer version. You could use kurzels to store your address, C statements, and those cryptic looking HTML commands for web page authoring. Edith is supplied with a basic set of HTML kurzels but you'll find the definitive set for use with both Edith and Everest exclusively on this month's Reader Disk.

Edith can also be used to edit binary files. Loading a program file in binary mode produces a windowed display similar to a sector editor, but with the hex representation held with C-style comment strings. Changing bytes is as easy as typing, and when Edith re-saves the file, you've got the option of saving as C-style source or re-compiling it back to binary form. As a practical example, I recently had some damaged ZIP files arrive as email, which had some junk attached to the beginning of the file. STZIP wouldn't load them, complaining that the files were corrupted. To fix it, it was as simple as using Edith's 'Import Binary' function, and using the mouse to highlight then cut the garbage characters which appeared before the ZIP file's PK header. Edith compiled the file back to binary form, STZIP extracted it, and all was well. Instead of swearing and head-scratching it was all over in a couple of minutes.

Up to six files can be open simultaneously, and Edith can be set so you can type into any visible window by placing the mouse over it, without topping the window first. Cut and Paste options are excellent - you can use the GEM clipboard for transfer to other programs, or Edith's own system. While the GEM clipboard is limited to the usual SCRAP.TXT file, Edith's integral system is much more flexible - even old cuttings are saved to disk in a trashcan file for later recovery. Using the right mouse button, blocks can be marked in columns - you could cut the address from the right side of the page without disturbing the left. Separate blocks can be marked at the same time, by holding down the [Shift] key while dragging. Search and replace is easy, and adding non-standard characters to files is easy thanks to the pop-up ASCII chart - just click on a character to transfer it to the active window.

As an all-round editor, Edith should find a home for itself whatever you do with your Atari. It was a bargain when it first went on sale, and it's an absolute steal as freeware. While the Atari version isn't being developed any further, Edith stands as a gorgeous example of Atari programming.