NEWZ.TXT                The NEW Zimmers Editor              02/22/90

  Welcome to the "NEW IMPROVED" Zimmer's editor/environment. The
NEWZ.ZIP file contains the following files:

        NEWZ.EXE        The Full featured version of Zimmer's editor.
        NEWZ.CFG        A configuration file for NEWZ.EXE.
        NEWZ.TXT        This documentation file.
        ZHELP.TXT       The hypertext help system.
        HYPER.NDX       The hypertext index file for ZHELP.TXT.
        SZ.COM          A small version of Zimmers editor (25k).
        ZZ.COM          An environment manager.
        ZZ.CFG          A document that sets up ZZ.
        INDEX.COM       A stand alone version of the index compiler.
        INDEX.CFG       The configuration file for INDEX.COM

Getting started

  The NEWZ.CFG file needs to be either in the directory where you are
editing, or in the ROOT directory of the current drive.  NEWZ.CFG is a
text file that sets the editors options, and tells NEWZ where to find
its files.  The default contents of NEWZ.CFG specify that NEWZ's files
are in the directory "\FPC\NEWZ".  You can edit NEWZ.CFG if you have
installed NEWZ in some other directory.  NEWZ must access NEWZ.CFG,
HYPER.NDX, and ZHELP.TXT for the online hypertext help system to work.

  Several changes have occured since the last NEWZ release, converting
NEWZ into an environment for whatever compiler you are using.  You can
of course still use NEWZ like you did before, as a normal text editor.

What Does It Mean?

  Many of you have probably seen versions of the Turbo Pascal compiler
over the years. It is a good compiler, but what impressed many people
was the ability to perform the "EDIT, COMPILE, DEBUG" cycle from within
the compiler. Turbo Pascal provides an integrated environment for
program development.  This is an idea that was really pioneered by
Basic, you can do whatever you need to do without leaving Basic.
Compilers of course provide their own set of problems when it comes to
interactivity. They are mostly command line driven, with many options to
be typed with each command. MAKE utilities automate this to a large
degree, but still don't shorten the actual development cycle while
working on an individual module of a program. This is where ZZ and NEWZ
come in to connect together your the Edit, Compile, Debug and Make
process into an environment that invokes each major operation with a
single keystroke.


                     ^F1 > Edit <current_file>.MSG file
                    
                     ^F2 -> Execute <current_file>.COM or .EXE
                    
                     ^F4 > Edit ZZ.CFG file
                    
                     ^F5 > Compiler
                    
        ZZ/NEWZ  ^F7 > Debugger
                    
                     ^F8 > Build "C" HYPER.NDX file
                    
                     ^F9 > Linker
                    
                     ^F10 > Make




  ZZ consumes only about 12k of you valuble program memory, and retains
no memory when you leave the environment.


  In addition, this version of the NEWZ editor includes features that
make it very useful when working with multiple source file programs.
NEWZ can now compile an index file of all symbols in your source files.
It then provides a hypertext browsing environment where you can easily
view, change, and explore a multitude of source files with full nest and
return to where you were. Locating any symbol in a multi-thousand symbol
index file on an 80286 machine takes less than one second. This version
of NEWZ supports Forth type symbols, and assembly symbols. Support for
"C" is also provided by the program CTAGS.EXE. See NEWZ's hypertext help
under configuration for details of how to setup and build an index file
of your source files.

Additional Features

  NEWZ includes many features, here is a brief summary:

        1. Work with up to 20 files at one time. (Only one file is in
        memory but switching between files with a hard disk is very
        quick, and requires only a single keystroke.)

        2. Pull down menus and pop up dialog boxes are supported for
        ease of use, along with "POWER" Control and Alt sequences for
        experienced users.

        3. Hypertext help is provided to ease the learning process.

        4. Searching is supported within a file, and across multiple
        files, to help find any file that contains a particular
        character sequence.

        5. You can "Shell" out to DOS to perform any needed commands,
        and you can easily repeat a particular DOS command with a two
        key sequence. This allows NEWZ to be your shell when performing
        repeated compiles.

        6. DOS commands can be typed into documents, and performed with
        a single keystroke. "Alt-F2"   "<dir;pause>"

        7. Keystroke Macros are provided, to ease those operations that
        need to be repeated. A repeat function allows a macro to be
        performed a specified number of times.

        8. A search path is supported, allowing NEWZ to find a file you
        specify across directory boundries without having to type in the
        actual path at file open time.

        9. You can set the default file extension to any three
        characters. The specified extension will be applied to a file
        when no extension is specified.

        10. Full margin control is provided, with paragraph reformat.
        Word wrap can be turned on or off, or set to a default value.

        11. Maximum file size is limited by available memory, and will
        typically be greater than 250k on a 640k machine.

        12. Full Cut/Copy/Paste is supported within and between files.

        13. Line drawing allows documents that will be printed on IBM
        compatible printers to box sections of text, and use graphic
        characters and bullets to hilight sections.

        14. Paragraph line sorting is provided to allow simple document
        databases to be created. Sorting is performed on the current
        column down to the next blank line.

        15. EGA/VGA high resolution text modes are supported, NEWZ will
        automatically adjust to whatever screen size your display is set
        for up to 132 columns by 60 lines.

        16. Search and replace including global replace are provided.

        17. You can create your own hypertext systems for training.

        18. SPEED! NEWZ is very fast, moving around a document, or from
        one end to the other, is limited by the repeat rate of your
        keyboard, not NEWZ's redisplay speed. On a 4.7 MHZ 8088 machine,
        NEWZ can redisplay more than ten full (80x24) screens per
        second.

        19. Both COLOR and MONOCROME are supported automatically with no
        installation required for your hardware.

        20. NEWZ automatically reconizes and supports a mouse when a
        driver is present. The mouse can be used with pulldown menus,
        cursor positoning, scanning through a document, and text line
        selection for Cut and Copy operations.

        21. You can specify in the NEWZ.CFG configuration file whether
        you want backup copies kept of your edits.

        22. ZZ turns NEWZ into a compiler environment/director.

        23. "Alt-O S" toggle between expanding TABs and showing them as
        a character.

        24. LASERJET and PROPRINT are supported printer drivers now with
        an option in the NEWZ.CFG file.

        25. TABSIZE n1, and TABX ON|OFF allow setting the tab size in
        the configuration file, as well as specifying whether tabs
        should be expanded when editing. The default is EXPAND TABS.

        26. "Ctrl-\" displays the current memory usage in the computer.

        27. Modified F-PC so that all programs (including the Z editor)
        will now flush themselves to Expanded memory if there is enough
        available when shelling out to do a DOS command. This frees up
        all except about 8000 bytes of program space for any other
        thing you might want to do while shelled to DOS.

        28. New parameters in NEWZ.CFG, "SWAPEMM ON|OFF" to control
        whether the editor will try to use expanded memory when
        shelling to DOS, and "SWAPFILE <filename>" that will allow the
        editor to try to swap itself to a file when shelling out to
        DOS. The file specified can be on any drive, but will be very
        slow unless it is on a RAMDRIVE.  SWAPEMM defaults to ON, and
        SWAPFILE defaults to disabled.

        29. Added the TCOMed version of INDEX to the NEWZ .ZIP file.
        This allows you to index a bunch of files automatically,
        without having to startup the NEWZ editor and manually using
        the build index function in the file menu.

Shareware

  The NEWZ editor is shareware. If you find NEWZ useful in your daily
work, join other satisfied users and register your copy by sending a
check for $60.00 to the address below.  Be sure to specify the NEWZ
editor in your letter, and include a return address.  You will receive
the latest copy of NEWZ.  If you also want the source for NEWZ, include
an additional $50.00 ($110.00 total), and specify that in your letter.
The F-PC Forth development system on which NEWZ is built will be
included with the latest source for NEWZ.

  Register TODAY by sending your check to the following address.

                                Tom Zimmer
                                292 Falcato Drive
                                Milpitas, Ca. 95035
                                U.S.A.

                                        Home (408) 263-8859
                                        Work (408) 954-6946

