ZED Text Editor

A native text editor for the ZX Spectrum Next.

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Installing the editor

The editor is a DOT command, the recommended installation method is to copy the ZED binary file to the DOT folder located in the root of your Next OS SD card.

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Starting the editor

Once installed you can launch the editor in one of two ways.

1. Launch without a file

Starts a new document and prompt for a file name when you either save or exit and choose to save the file.

.zed

2. Launch with a filename passed at the Command Line

If the specified file exists, it will be loaded into the editor. Otherwise, a new document will be created with the filename prefilled.

.zed readme.txt

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Editing files

After launching, you can immediately start editing. Use the cursor/arrow keys for navigation as expected.

Paging through large documents

The extended keyboard mode enables you to page through the document rather than moving up and down one line at a time.

• The status/info section at the bottom displays the EXT indicator, which defaults to Off.

• To enable extended keyboard mode:

  • Press EXTEND MODE on the Next/N-GO keyboard.
  • Press CAPS SHIFT+SYMBOL SHIFT on a rubber key Speccy.
  • Press Ctrl+Shift on an external keyboard.

• When EXT is set to On, the Up/Down arrow keys will move up or down one page at a time.

• To return to normal mode, press the appropriate EXTEND MODE key combination again.

Switching to Command mode

Command mode gives access to the functions displayed in the status/info section.

• To toggle command mode:
  • Press Edit on the Next/N-GO keyboard.
  • Press CAPS SHIFT+1 on a rubber key Speccy.
  • Press Escape on an external keyboard.

In the status/info section, you’ll see the current mode indicated. For example:

• In Edit mode, the ESC indicator shows Edit.
• In Command mode, the ESC indicator switches to Command.

Once in Command mode:

• Keys with the ↑ prefix will become active and highlighted.
• Activate functions by pressing the SYMBOL SHIFT key along with the letter of the desired action.

NOTE: Editing is disabled while in Command mode, but navigation remains active.

Cut/Copy and Paste

The editor allows text selection for cutting or copying.

Marking/Selecting Text:

1. Switch to Command mode.
2. Press SYMBOL SHIFT+M (↑M) to set a marker/anchor.
3. Move the cursor to select text between the marker and the cursor position.
4. To clear the marker, press the ↑M key combination again.

Copying Text:

• Once text is selected, press ↑C to copy it to the buffer.
• Navigate to a new location and press ↑V to paste.

Cutting Text:

• Press ↑X to cut (copy to buffer and remove from the document).
• Navigate to a new location and press ↑V to paste.

NOTE: The copy buffer is limited to 2K. The marker will adjust automatically to prevent exceeding this limit.

Other commands

Key	Description
↑S Save	Saves the current document
↑F Find	Searches for text starting at the cursor position and wraps around to the document's beginning.
↑G Goto	Moves the cursor directly to specific line number.
↑Q Quit	Exits the editor. You will be prompted to save if the document has unsaved changes.

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Source Code : Github