Subj : Cash for coin..
To   : MIKE POWELL
From : Rob Mccart
Date : Sat Nov 01 2025 08:32:44

RM>> In 1986 I got an IBM and had to learn a new Basic Dos to carry on with
  >> things.  GW Basic in Canada..  (Guelph Waterloo University)

MP>I never knew that is where the name came from.  My first MS-DOS computer
  >came with v3.3 and GWBASIC was the basic interpreter that came installed
  >with it.

I always wondered if that were only included with systems sold in Canada.

MP>I cannot remember which interpreter came with 5.0, though.

RM>> Yes, I think EDIT was what most used. Q-Edit was a more advanced Editor
  >> to work with so I switched over to it right away.

MP>I used Q-Edit from fairly early on, before any of the BBSes I called
  >offered QWK mail.  I started using it because the editor I had been using,
  >PC-Write, didn't save things in plain text.  Back then, DOS came with EDLIN
  >but not yet EDIT.

Yes, I remember Edlin, which was a real mess. Edit was a little better
but Q-Edit could handle larger text files I believe, plus had other
options like Copying Blocks and such.

MP>I still used PC-Write for things that need to be printed, like reports for
  >university.  I could add things like page breaks and, IIRC, even some control
  >characters for my Star printer.  ;)

I know some of the standard Editing programs in Windows have improved but
I long ago found other programs that worked well and I tend to stick
with a program I like until there's a good reason to find another.

For most simple editing and writing I use a freeware program called
Jarte. It's a small program and relatively simple but it can handle
just about anything and allows you to manipulate Fonts and such and
you can set it up to save files as PDF or HTML and it can do Spell
Checking and access a Thesaurus and Dictionary, although some of
those may also require other small programs on your computer to
work properly.. I think.  It did at one time but it has improved
over the years as well. I do know it used the DoPDF program on my
system to convert to PDF. It can do search and replace as well.

You can write a simple document in any Font you like and it will
print it using that Font from a plain Text file, and it can add a
background to the document if you don't want plain white, and if
you are editing a file, it can be set to automatically retain a
Backup of the original in case you mess up and change your mind..

Because of all that I rarely use a Word Processor program anymore.

Actually it can do hundreds of things I'd never think of to use.
I was going to list some and had a fast look at the PDF Manual
which is over 3 meg and there's too much in there to convey..

I said above it is a simple program but that's not really correct.
It can be used as a simple Text editor with next to no effort
but it can do pretty much anything most huge WP programs can.

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 * SLMR Rob  * Computer programers can put a HEX on you...
 * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

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