Welcome to the Multi Edit Software Newsletter...
An Introduction from our CEO
- Chad W. Williams
Welcome to the latest edition of the Multi Edit Software, Inc. Newsletter.
Our newsletter is one of the many ways in which we continually strive to keep you updated on the latest enhancements and
features of the best programming editor on the market.
We've added a few new features to the Newsletter, so be sure to look over our Newsletter Sponsor Section, and the article on how we are better serving you by promoting the software you develop. Both articles deal with helping developing Software Companies, and the Programmers who develop the titles we just can't seem to live without.
Also be sure to review our additional software titles, by taking a moment to visit our product descriptions to see what you’ve been missing with Beyond Compare® and TopStyle®. Additional power is at your fingertips with these great packages distributed by Multi Edit Software in hard media format:
As always, we encourage you to send us your your thoughts and opinions.
Sincerely,
Chad Williams, CEO
...
ME v9.10 Development Updates from the VP
Version 9.10 Update Available - Next Release Plannning
- L. Dan Hughes
Now that we have released the latest update to Multi-Edit v9.10, number .03, it is
time for us to start thinking about what comes next. Since you, our customers are very
important to this process, we want to take this time to give you a glimpse of what is in store and give you the opportunity
to make suggestions and offer critiques.
"For a complete listing of what has been added in the .03 update, please view our Read Me file here"
Initial planning has left us with one more update to Multi-Edit and this upcoming release will complete the targeted feature list for version 9.10. Now this does not mean there will no longer be any more updates for 9.10, only that future releases will address bug issues and/or customer requests only. After the next update we will be focusing our development staff on the next major build of Multi-Edit, version 10. So please continue your support and interest in Multi-Edit, by utilizing our Suggestions Forum and let us know what YOU would like to see implemented.
As for the next 9.10 update, there are a number of items planned. The highest priority features are the IDE integration packages for the new Borland and Microsoft IDEs. Borland C#Builder and Delphi 8 IDE integration is planned as well as the Microsoft VS.NET integration. Next we are considering ways of extending the keyword limits, so that more can be added for syntax highlighting. This, we hope, will allow us to redo some of our language support, better enhancing your productivity.
More items are planned as additions to 9.10, but due to the length of this list cannot be fully discussed in this newsletter. Be sure to visit our Development Forum often to view the progress of the next update and to read up on all of the details.
Until next time, happy coding
L. Dan Hughes, VP/CTO
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
danh@multieditsoftware.com
------------------------------------SPONSOR----------------------------------
This issue of the Developer News is sponsored by
Capio Software, developers of Open+
Issue Two's Sponsor Hilight
Open Plus!
Open+ is a windows utility designed to make your life easier and the Capio Corporation is extending Multi-Edit customers a special deal on their latest product, Open+.
Click here to learn more about this 'must have' windows utility!
--------------------------------------SPONSOR------------------------------------
If you are interested in advertising in the Developers News,
please contact Alice Williams
at marketing@multieditsoftware.com
Understanding the Multi-Edit's Trace Facility to your advantage
from the Director of Development
- Reid Sweatman
For this issue of the Newsletter I thought I'd give the basics of how to use the trace facility introduced in Multi-Edit 9.10, since it's one of the most useful pieces of functionality for anyone writing CMac macros, and as of this writing, one of the least-well understood, as the comments in the modules themselves assume some familiarity with trace facilities in general. However, as you'll shortly see, it's really quite simple to use, and a huge boon to macro coders.
The trace facility, which is mostly implemented in the system macro files TDbg.s and TDbg.sh, allows your macro to send debugging information to any of three locations as it runs. The design...
Due to the length of this article please click here to continue...
Reid Sweatman, Director of Development / Tier 2 Support
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
reids@multieditsoftware.com
The CMac Reference Guide - Project Update
from our Technical Writer / Developer
- Ken Walker
This edition of the MESI newsletter finds me hard at work creating more chapters in our upcoming CMac Reference Guide. While working on Dialogs (Chapter 6), I have decided to develop a GUI for creating them. Nothing terribly fancy, but something that would allow for quick drawing of a dialog, and then generate the CMac code needed to create that dialog, as it appears. Dialogs can be a bit overwhelming to new users of CMac (and some that aren't so new), the ramifications of which often result in not using them. Accordingly, Chapter 6 will explore dialogs in great detail from control types, to optional parameters, and "How do offsets work?". Simple step by step examples of creating a dialog handle, adding controls, and executing the dialog will be covered in particular.
If you've had an area of CMac development that has been frustrating to you, check out our forum and send me a private message if you can't find your answers.
CMac is a fun language enabling the users of ME to make it work the way they want. So while you're learning and developing, don't forget to have fun!
Ken Walker, Technical Writer/Developer
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
KenW@multieditsoftware.com
Customer Service: MESI Wishes to Promote Your Software
- Gayle Urban
The staff at MESI is always looking for more ways to support our users. In addition to the software updates issued this month, we have also been expanding the number of program titles we offer. Not in huge numbers - but selectively. We now offer Scooter Software's "Beyond Compare" and Bradbury Software's "Top Style," two programs that interface easily with Multi Edit and that we believe will offer some of our users additional features that they need. These are offered in shipped media and our site is the ONLY place where you can get a shipped copy. You already know that we fully integrated Polystyle right into our version 9.10. We made that decision because of consistent user requests. We are open to adding additional software that will be of specific interest to our users and that integrate well with Multi Edit.
Now is the time, let us know if there are programs out there that have helped you, that you think other developers will want to know about. We want to hear your suggestions!
We are also considering another path. Many of you are incredibly talented programmers and we suspect that some of you have software developed that you don't have a means to market. We're willing to take a look at what you've created and see if we can be the marketing arm for your product. Such software need not be specifically developer-related - it could be a game, organizational software - windows utility, etc. If one of our users has created it, then we want to be part of your consideration for getting your products to market. This will be a new area for us, and we have no idea what kind of demand this might generate. So, if this sounds like we're talking about you, then contact us at MESI Sales and be sure to give us a phone number to contact you, as well as your email address. Also include a descriptive paragraph about your product and we will contact you within 72 business hours.
At MESI, we are committed to you, our users, so continue to let us know how we can serve you best!
Gayle Urban, CFO
Multi Edit Software, Inc.
gayleu@multieditsoftware.com
Customer comments...
Have you ever wondered what other Multi-Edit users around the globe are doing with Multi-Edit? Want to prove to your team that the rest of the world thinks Multi-Edit is as wonderful as you do? Visit our latest user submitted stories and independent reviews of Multi-Edit at Customer Reviews and Projects.
Technical Support -
Do you know all the Menu Customizations???
- Carl Hall
Did you know that EVERY command that is accessed by keystrokes or from the dropdown menus can be altered?
Yes, it's true. Multi-Edit knows no boundaries when it comes to giving you complete control over your editor.
ME allows you to easily move an item’s position up and down within the menus they reside in, put
them on a different menu or remove them completely. You can do this by simply accessing the Menus configurations under
Tools | Customize | General | Keys/Commands. In conjunction with the
Keys/Commands item, you can wholly define your editing environment in terms of your needs or the needs of your development team.
The Keys/Commands option allows you to create new commands, map commands to different buttons and keystrokes, and
essentially create a command map that is completely suited to you. Indeed the two options provided under Menus and Command/Keys grants
unlimited access to defining your program.
In dealing with day-to-day support issues we don't specifically see one common question being asked over and over, but rather a myriad of questions reflecting all the various uses and programmers who utilize Multi-Edit for hundreds, even thousands of different editing situations. Such environments include straight coding in C or web editing HTML and PHP files or integrated editing where the user is swapping back and forth between Dev Studio and Multi-Edit, as an example. But, one common thread I found amongst the answers provided to your technical support questions, was the detailing of the Menus and Command/Keys customization. Mostly because many of the questions concern how to make Multi-Edit more suitable to each individuals personal preferences and workflow. And, in the instance of users who've upgraded, some items may have changed position and/or new features and menus have been added, many of which go unnoticed.
So, I thought I'd take a moment of your time to direct you to your customization options within Multi-Edit. I won't go too deeply into all the areas that can be modified, but I will point out the basic structuring.
First, most everything in your customizations stem from filename extensions. And, the neat thing is, you can use the defaults provided or you can add your own extensions (for in-house specific file types, for instance) under the General section of Tools | Customize. In here you specify what language to associate the extension with, what kind of color scheme you want in the editing window, what Template to use, and a slew of other items you can play around with, all explained in detail by clicking on the little Help button down in the right corner. Speaking of templates, that's another really handy item that you can customize for your own specific needs. By using an existing template and modifying it or creating a completely new one with all the phrases, coding, comments, etc. that you use often, you can save a few keystrokes by making it part of your programming Template for auto-expansion, formatting, etc. thus increasing your productivity.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. Even if you don't research the Help file for tips and tricks, I would urge you to take just a few minutes to go through and look at the different options available. I can easily promise that you will find at least one item you never knew existed, even those of you who have been using the program for years. Remember Multi-Edit was designed to be adapted to your needs. And implementing those desires is what Multi Edit Software is all about.
That's all for now, stay tuned for my next "Did you Know" 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!
Trita rebrands itself as Polystyle...
The award winning CODE formatter, Trita Has Been Rebranded To Polystyle
With the new 2.0a version, Trita has been renamed to Polystyle to reflect that it formats multiple languages in multiple styles.
Attention Multi-Edit Users...
Multi-Edit 9.10 will want to run their update option from the Help Menu. This will garner you the latest release of Multi-Edit v9.10 03 which has the newly revised/renamed Polystyle 2.0a.
All Existing Licenses Are Still Valid
You may use your existing Trita license key to unlock Polystyle. If your key does not work, please request a free upgrade key by clicking here.
Improvements from Trita 1.6p to Polystyle 2.0a
You may now define your style using mouse clicks alone using Polystyle's new Graphical Styler. While the Graphical Styler simplifies the process of customising a style, Polystyle still keys off of your example files so if you wish to create special case formatting you may do so by editing examples with a text editor.
Polystyle information provided courtesy of http://www.polystyle.com
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Copyright © 2004 Multi Edit Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Multi-Edit, the
Multi-Edit "packaging"and logo, are trademarks of Multi Edit Software, Inc. All other marks and names mentioned herein may
be trademarks of their respective companies.
Multi Edit Software, Inc. 3370 N. Hayden Rd. #123 pmb 712 Scottsdale, Arizona 85251