To compare two files, open the first file to be compared and select Text | Compare Files. The Filename to Compare dialog will appear to allow selecting the second file to be compared against the already open file. Select the file to be compared and click on Open. The BCDiffer dialog will now appear to allow maximum file compare and difference merging options.

In BCDiffer click ‘Help’ to access program help.

With Multi-Edit 2008 you can easily integrate a variety of external compare utilities. Although BCDiffer is quite powerful, users may prefer an alternative file compare utility. With the steps below you can install any compare utility, but for this example we will use Scooter Software’s Beyond Compare as our example. In addition to text content comparison, Beyond Compare adds folder comparison and synchronization, FTP, and automation through scripting.

The Beyond Compare demo or licensed copies can be configured as the compare utility within Multi-Edit by following the steps below:

1. Click on Tools | Customize | File Compare 2. Select the option “Use external diff program” 3. Click the “…” button to browse to the location of the BC2.exe file
4. Select the BC2.exe
5. Click on OPEN

The path to Beyond Compare should now be noted in your entry field. Click on OK to exit the customizations dialog.
To invoke the file compare within Multi-Edit, click on Text | Compare Files, and select the file to be compared against the currently viewed file. Your file compare utility will then be loaded and pass the file to be compared.

Classic Multi-Edit File Compare is still available; click on Macro | Run and enter Fc /MFC=1, click on the OK button, and the old style Multi-Edit FC Split Window dialog will appear.

The Spell Checker allows you to respond immediately to misspelled words as they're found. The spell checker is designed for memos and letters, as well as for spell checking string constants and comments in your source code.

When Spell Check is invoked, a Spelling dialog box appears with a number of spell check options. Select the desired options and press OK to begin checking.

From

Depending upon which option button you have selected, the spell checker will start checking for misspelled words at your cursor position (Cursor) or the top of the file (Top) and continue to the end of the file.

Options

• Selected text only: Restricts the spell check to a marked block.
• Text in Quotes: Include – Include Quoted text in spell check. Ignore – Ignore Quoted text in spell check. Only – Only check text in Quotes.
• Text in Comments: Include – Include Commented text in spell check. Ignore – Ignore Commented text in spell check. Only – Only check text in Comments.

Lookup word under cursor: Checks the spelling of the word the cursor is on.
Setup…: Allows you to set the defaults for the spell checker. See the dialog image below:

The following spell checking options occur during the spell check operation.

• Ignore: Ignore this word and go on to the next word.
• Ignore All: Skips over this word for the remainder of the spell check.
• Change: Change to word listed in the Change To text box. You may change what appears in the Change To box either manually or by selecting one of the suggested spellings underneath it.
• Change All: Change this and all subsequent occurrences of this word to the word listed in the Change To text box.
• Add to Aux1: Allows you to enter the word in the first auxiliary dictionary. Once a word is added to this dictionary, it will no longer be considered a misspelled word.
• Add to Aux2: Allows you to enter the word in the second auxiliary dictionary and have the spell checker no longer consider it a misspelling.
• Delete: When a double word (like “hello hello”) is encountered, a Delete button replaces the Change button in the above dialog box. Press the Delete button to delete the second occurrence of the word.

Tools | ASCII Table or Alt+A will display a dialog of all the ASCII codes from 0 to 255. Both Hex and Decimal codes are shown for two different fonts, labeled OEM and ANSI.

The ASCII table dialog is modeless, meaning you can continue to edit text while the table still appears on your screen. The transparency of a modeless dialog can be set via Tools | Customize | User Interface – Dialog Transparency. The ASCII table dialog may also be stretched vertically to make it taller.

The following describes the fields in the dialog:

Paste: This button pastes the ASCII character corresponding to the currently highlighted ASCII code into the cursor position in the currently active file window.

Multi-Edit does not insert the character shown in either the OEM or ANSI columns when the paste command is selected. It simply inserts the ASCII code into the file. What actually appears on your screen will depend on which font you have selected in Multi-Edit. If you have an ANSI font selected and wish to insert a special OEM font character, you will most likely need to switch to that OEM font for that character to display properly.

OEM / ANSI: In Windows there are generally two different types of fonts, commonly referred to as OEM and ANSI. Both have the same ASCII codes representing the most common characters (decimal numbers, capital and lowercase letters, etc), but often have differing “non-typeable” characters (characters above ASCII 122). To accommodate this we have given the ASCII table the ability to display two different fonts. By clicking on the ‘OEM’ or ‘ANSI’ button, you can select a different OEM or ANSI font to display in the ASCII table. This is extremely useful for comparing two fonts.

For more information on OEM/ANSI fonts and using them in Multi-Edit, see OEM Translation under the Fonts section of chapter The Multi-Edit Interface.

Multi-Edit displays code with colored highlighting of keywords, symbols, brackets, numbers, strings, and comments. Now you can quickly create an HTML file that will display your code using the same syntax highlighting! Go to Tools | Create HTML from Code. Selecting “Copy html to clipboard” will generate the HTML code and copy it to the clipboard. The code created is an HTML island.

This proves useful when posting messages on a web forum, or you can paste the code into an existing HTML file. Note that using this option does not provide the style sheet, which is used for syntax highlighting, but does maintain the bolded keywords.

The other option in this dialog is “Create standalone file”. This option uses a template file that contains a style island that specifies the syntax colors to use. Selecting this option generates the HTML (using the specified template) within a new file.

Selecting Tools | Calculator brings up a full function, programmer's calculator that performs decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations. It also has an on-screen tape. The calculator is modeless, so you can keep it up and available for easy use while you work. The transparency of a modeless dialog can be set via Tools | Customize | User Interface – Dialog Transparency.

The calculator functions are as follows:

• Min – Memory In: This button stores the current result into memory, allowing you to recall it at a future time.
• M+ – Memory Plus: This button takes the current result and adds it to the value already stored in memory.
• Mrec – Memory Recall: This button recalls the value in memory. The memory is not cleared or reset.
• Mclr – Memory Clear: This button clears the memory, changing its value to zero.

You can use these option buttons to select the number base you want to work in. You can select Binary, Decimal, Octal, or Hexadecimal. You can switch modes to easily convert the value in the register from one base to another.

The on-screen tape shows your previous calculator operations. You can use the scroll bar to move backward through all your previous operations as needed.

The register appears below the tape and above the buttons that cover the bottom half of the calculator. This is where your current result or entered value is held before you perform an operation on it.

These buttons appear in the lower left of the calculator and correspond to various logical operations typically performed on binary numbers:
And: Will And two numbers.
Or: Will Or two numbers.
Xor: Will Exclusive Or two numbers.
<Shl: Will perform a Shift Left function.
>Shr: Will perform a Shift Right function.
Mod: Performs a Modulus operation on the number.
!Not: Provides the Not of the number.

The buttons A through F will enter hexadecimal values A through F into the register. The number base must be set to Hex for these values to be active.

The buttons 0 through 9 enter the decimal numbers 0 through 9 into the register. The '.' key places a decimal point on the register. The '+-' key will toggle between positive and negative values of the same number.

The clear button clears the register and indicates that the register was cleared on the on-screen tape. In addition, it cancels the current operation. For example, if you entered the number 10 and then pressed the '+' button, then pressed the 'Clear' button, the register would be cleared and the addition operation you were about to perform would be cancelled.

These buttons allow you to add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers, as well as gain the result of an operation.

This button clears the on-screen tape. It does not affect the current register entry.

This button pastes the current register entry into the current cursor position of your current file.

This brings up the Calculator Setup dialog.

• Word Length: This allows you to define a word as 8, 16, or 32 bits. Since internal word lengths in Multi-Edit are 32 bits, this allows proper conversion between bases when using word lengths other than 32 bits.
• Enable Tape: When this is checked, the on-screen tape is enabled.
• Unsigned: When this is checked, all operations are considered unsigned. Otherwise, they are interpreted as signed.
• Force Numlock: This checkbox automatically turns the numlock on whenever the calculator is enabled and has focus.

Tools | Notebook or 'Alt+N' will open the Multi-Edit Notebook, a utility that allows you to compose and organize notes in a very convenient manner. When the Notebook is activated, a dialog box will appear with several buttons and two list fields.

The first list field, labeled ‘Categories’, contains a list of your current notebook categories. This allows you to organize your notes by subject, rather than having them jumbled together in one large list. A check mark is displayed next to the currently activated category.

The second list field is labeled ‘Notes’ and contains a list of all the note titles for the currently selected category, along with the date and time they were created. Icons will appear next to the notes according to whether they are marked ‘To do’, ‘Completed’, or 'neither'.

This button allows you to activate the category currently highlighted. Alternatively, you can activate a category by double clicking on the category title. The check box will move to the active category, and note titles for that category will be displayed in the Notes list box.

This button allows you to quickly mark notes as completed, whether they were initially marked ‘To do’ or not. Completed notes are marked with a lightning bolt and move to the bottom of the Notes list.

The insert button creates either a new category or a new note, depending on what list field you currently have active. See 'Edit Note' below.

The delete button simply deletes either the currently highlighted category or note. You will always be prompted to confirm your delete.

By selecting the 'Edit' button, you are able to edit the currently highlighted category or note.

Multi-Edit's notebook feature allows you to keep separate notebook files. Thus, it is possible to have a notebook file for your personal notes and another file for your work notes. Within each notebook file, you can have different categories and notes.

When you select the 'Change' button, you will be presented with a 'Select Notebook' dialog box that prompts you for the filename of the new notebook file. Notebook files can have any extension, but by default, Multi-Edit gives notebook files an extension of .TXT.

This button brings up the Notebook Print dialog box with several printing options:
• Print Category: This prints all of the notes in the selected category.
• Print Single Note: This prints the currently highlighted note.
• Print Summary: When checked and Print Category is invoked, a summary of all notes precedes the printout of the notes themselves.
• “To Do” Items Only: When checked and Print Category is invoked, only notes with the 'To Do' check box turned on will be printed.

The Edit Note Dialog box allows you to create new notes or modify the content of existing notes in the Notebook. The following describes the fields in the dialog and their use:

• Subject: You may enter any subject appropriate for your note in this field.
• To Do: The 'To Do' check box has been provided to allow you to organize your notes better. When an item is marked 'To Do', it will appear at the top of the list of notes. If several notes are marked 'To Do', they all appear at the top, sorted with the newest notes on top.
• Complete: To complement the 'To Do' check box, a 'Complete' check box has been added to allow you to designate which notes are completed and which aren't. When a note is marked 'Complete' it moves to the bottom of the list of notes. This allows you to keep notes on file even after they've been completed without having them clutter up your workspace.
• Text: The text field is large enough to accommodate a note of virtually any size. This is where you can keep the bulk of your note's detail.
• Created: The 'Created' field holds the time and date that the note was initially created. If you wish, these fields can be edited manually.
• Last Mod: Short for 'Last Modification'. This field holds the time and date this note was last modified. As with the 'Created' field it can be manually edited.

To use the line drawing feature:

1. Select Linedraw from Tools | Line Draw.
2. Select the type of line you want (none, single, double).
3. Use the mouse to return focus to the editing window (click in the editing window).
4. Move your cursor to where you want your lines to start.
5. Press and hold the 'SHIFT' key while using the arrow keys to draw the lines.

View | System will open the System View pane in Multi-Edit (if System is already checked, then use View | Navigation Pane). This view is used for viewing global variables, window/buffer properties, and loaded macros. This view is most often used when debugging macros or verifying window properties.

The root tree items Globals, Window Properties, and Buffer Properties all contain a String and Integer sub item for quick reference. These sub items can be sorted by right clicking on them and then selecting sort and the ascending/descending option. When sorting global variables, leading symbols ' ! ', '@', '#', or '~' are not counted. Thus if we have five global string variables !HELLO, @HELLO, #HELLO, ~HELLO, and HELLO, and we sort the list, our five global string variables will all be treated as if they started with 'H', and they will all end up next to each other in the list.

You can delete a global variable by right clicking on it and selecting 'Delete'. You can create a global string or integer by right clicking on the String or Integer node and selecting 'Create'.

When a value is assigned to a Global, Window Property, or Buffer Property variable, it is placed in its corresponding tree sub item depending on type (String or Integer). Selecting one of these variables will display its value in a text box at the top of the tree where it can then be modified.

Expanding the Loaded Macros tree item will display all macros currently in memory. Selecting a macro will display it in the textbox at the top of the tree where parameters can then be specified.

Depending on the type of item selected (variable or macro) a 'set' or 'run' button is displayed at the top of the tree. If a variable is selected, the 'set' button is displayed which will save the value specified in the adjoining text field. If a macro is selected, then the 'run' button is displayed allowing the current macro to be executed.

Clicking on the tree button above the tree control will refresh the tree adding and/or removing variables and macros as necessary.