• A Word From Our CEO
• ME v9.10 - Development Updates
• Multi-Edit partners with Trita®
• Service: The MESI commitment

• A CMac Manual??? Hooray!
• Hip Tips from our Top Tech
• Newsletter Feedback

Welcome to the first Newsletter from Multi Edit Software...

When we formed Multi Edit Software, Inc. in 2002, our goal was to be known for superior and innovative services and a steadfast commitment to exceeding our user's needs and expectations. In pursuit of this goal, we have established an excellent reputation and a great line of development tools needed in today's programming world.

Let me introduce our latest additions to our development tools:
Beyond Compare v2.1.2 and TopStyle v3.10. This will be the first time that both programs are available as shipped media. Each of these fine development tools can be integrated with ease into Multi-Edit and are available for purchase from our website at https://www.multieditsoftware.com/meorder/.

Please know that the introduction of our newly available software line follows a careful and deliberate evaluation of the needs of the programming community by our development staff, MESI management and of course our Multi-Edit users. We are your IDE, and we take seriously our obligation to you. We will continue to take the lead in evaluating potential enhancement of features and new products to ensure we provide the right compliment of services that fit within your needs and requirements.

Multi Edit Software has been succeeding due to some of the finest minds in software development, support and customer service. We've worked hard to assemble a great team that will continue to provide our users the best service available now and into the future. I encourage you to read through the various articles and get to know some of the great people who strive to make MESI a continued success.

I am proud of everything that we have achieved since our inception, and of the incredible diligence and creativity of our team members. In my view, the future is tremendously exciting. And we have maintained the kind of environment I enjoy most, one that inspires intellectual passion and a commitment to excellence.

I am as accessible today as when we first formed MESI. Please feel free to contact me directly with any comments or questions. I am confident that we can win your trust and respect and do what it takes to help you meet your development needs.

Chad Williams President/CEO
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
chadw@multieditsoftware.com

The MESI developers have worked hard bringing out the latest version of Multi-Edit back in December. Then in January we released the v9.10 full network version. February finds us hard at work on the new features and bug fixes for the next patch release of Multi-Edit.

However, before we began work on the new features, we reviewed the current forum usage. It was easy to realize there were some additional features that would better meet your needs. Thus we have spent some time in updating the forum software to allow file attachments. Users as well as our developers can now attach files to forum messages so that others can download them. We feel this will be quite the boon to everyone.

With the advent of this new download feature we formulated another plan. Implement the addition of an Add-Ons forum where new Multi-Edit Add-Ons can be posted for others to download. This area will be open to all developers who have written Add-On packages for Multi-Edit. You will be able to post your packages in an arena where everyone will have the opportunity to see what is available and have access to download it immediately. These packages can be Full Versions or Demo Versions. You will also be able to use the forum topics as a way to garner consumer feedback.
Watch our Support Boards located here http://www.multieditsoftware.com/forums
for the appearance of this new arena.

Also we are considering some new ways of marketing Multi-Edit and are setting up a user poll in the Announcement forum to get user feedback. We would like all users to visit our forum and let us know what you think of our ideas by voting and/or posting your comments here.

Until next time, happy coding.

L. Dan Hughes, VP/CTO
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
danh@multieditsoftware.com

MESI has partnered with Trita®, and our engineers have been working closely with their talented staff to integrate the world-famous Trita® code formatter into Multi-Edit. Multi-Edit v9.10 now comes complete with a full version of the Trita® code formatter, fully integrated to a degree no rival editor can claim. Once you've tried it, we know you'll agree with us that there's no easier code beautifier to install, configure to your own preferences, and use.

• To format a file you have open in Multi-Edit is then a simple matter of choosing "Format Code" from the menus, or pressing the assigned keystroke. And should the results not be entirely to your liking, Trita® backs up your existing file before proceeding.

• If you wish to use one of Trita's many predefined common styles, such as K&R, GNU Standard, Sun, and Whitesmith, to name just a few, you have but to select from a drop-down list, check a couple of boxes to set global defaults not part of the styles themselves, and you're in business.

• If your personal style isn't exactly like that of any of the supplied ones, you have but to edit a copy of the short example file most nearly like what you'd like, and Trita® then knows your own personal style. And you can have as many as you'd like.

• It can format a number of languages right out of the box, including C/C++, C#, Java, Perl, Python, and HTML. Of course, among the others it supports is Multi-Edit's own macro language, CMac. And with the number of languages Trita® supports always increasing, you get any such new support as part of your Multi-Edit license.
• Updating Trita® when a new version is available is as simple as unpacking a zip file into the Multi-Edit directory.

And best of all, this partnership means that you're entitled to Trita® upgrades for life. Who else is making that kind of offer, especially in these days of corporate cutbacks? We like to consider this just one more way Multi-Edit is the editor written by and for real programmers, the guys out there going hand-to-hand with the good code.

Reid Sweatman, Director of Development / Tier 2 Support
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
reids@multieditsoftware.com

When I look back on why and how this company (MESI) came into being, the real answer is "customer service." Sounds like a funny thing to say, but it's true. The two main founders of MESI were Multi Edit users - one of them was so committed to ME that years ago he became the central programmer for taking ME through various releases. Both Dan and Chad believed in the software, they believed in the original concept of the software - being the one editor created for and BY its users, and they believed in the importance of taking care of its users. So never having met face-to-face, and simply trusting in their motives, they founded MESI. Their commitment then, their commitment today, and the commitment of everyone they involve in this company is first and foremost to take care of the users. Listen to the users. Get input and ideas from the users. Continue to develop Multi Edit according to the needs and preferences of its users. Now, that's what defines customer service, and that's the defining focus of this company. We're glad that you joined us as a user, and we promise to do everything we can to make your use of Multi Edit easier, better and more complete.

Gayle Urban, CFO
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
gayleu@multieditsoftware.com

My first glimpse of Multi-Edit came back in 1992 where we used it for it's advanced CMac and keystroke macros to edit AutoCAD .dxf files that would run on drilling machines. The search and replace functions were unsurpassed. It is with great pleasure that I get the opportunity to write MESI's CMac tutorial (scheduled for release near the end of this year) and the challenge of documenting CMac code. This tutorial, written for beginner as well as advanced developer, will go from basic "Hello World!" type macros, to more advanced dialogs and text functions. I'll outline CMac's built in functions, as well as macros that come with ME. You'll see examples of how each macro solves real world problems. Visit the Forum here: Cmac User Discussion to learn more about the CMac documentation project. Or visit here to view a list of Macros created by both our development team and other programmers. This is an exciting project, and I'm glad to be onboard.

Ken Walker, Developer
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
kenw@multieditsoftware.com

My name is Carl Hall and my role here at MESI is working in Level One/Level Two Technical Support. I've got a long Windows troubleshooting background and actually worked for MS Tech support for many years. I recently came on board with MESI and I'm very excited about working with such a rich and complex program, and I'm learning new things everyday concerning all the customizations that are possible, as I know even users of the product from the very beginning are also.

In keeping with that thought, some simple things you may or may not know about a couple of basic interface items are the right margin line and the current line outline.

The vertical dashed line you see in your editing window is the Right Margin line and that may seem fairly straight forward. But, did you know that it is filename extension specific? So, you can change the margin to 80 for your .TXT files, but have it set to 120 on your .C files.

The box that outlines the current line you are working on is a global setting, though, and can be turned off or on from Tools | Customize | Windowing by checking or unchecking "Outline current line."

There are a lot more settings to be found in the customization settings, I strongly encourage people to play around with them to make their work environment as comfortable for them as possible.

For a reference on our Support Forum for the first item discussed, take a look here: Right Margin Settings
And, know that when you post on our Support Forum, you're not just getting assistance from the staff at MESI, but also from ALL the knowledgeable users of Multi-Edit, many who have been using the product for 10-15 years!

That's all for now and thanks for reading.

Carl Hall, Level 1/Level 2 Support
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
carlh@multieditsoftware.com

P.S. Don't forget to read the Help File!

In an era where software corporations are increasingly dismissing today's programmers by decreasing salaries and increasing workloads, Multi Edit Software, Inc. stands apart. My name is Alice Williams and I'm a member of the MESI Marketing team. Part of my career previously and here with MESI has been to develop branding strategies for companies both new and old. I've seen a lot around the corporate sector, but have never felt better about developing an image of committment and pride, than here at Multi Edit Software. This company really does believe that YOU come first, and I'm glad to be a part of that promise.

Part of fulfilling that promise requires listening to YOU. Let us know what you would like most from our newsletter. Tech Tips, Tutorials, what ever comes to mind, send your thoughts to webmaster@multieditsoftware.com. A lot of users provide this type of information on our Support forum, but we're hoping to garner a few more comments from those of you who don't always get a chance to surf our website. Just crazy busy and want to put in your 2 cents fast? Visit our Polling Section and answer the "Newsletter Feature Poll".

Please note that you will have to join the Forum to vote.
All information provided is kept confidential and is neither sold nor distributed.

Alice Williams, Marketing Department
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
alicew@multieditsoftware.com

If your e-mail application has trouble viewing this in HTML format, you can also view it online at http://www.multieditsoftware.com/TheDev/v01_i01_2004.htm

Copyright © 2004 Multi Edit Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
Multi-Edit and the Multi-Edit logo are trademarks of Multi Edit Software, Inc.
Beyond Compare is a trademark of Scooter Software Software, Inc.
TopStyle is a trademark of Bradbury Software, LLC.

Multi Edit Software, Inc. 3370 N. Hayden Rd. #123 pmb 712 Scottsdale, Arizona 85251