New in Epsilon 10

Epsilon 10 includes these operating system versions:

• A 32-bit Linux executable, and another for FreeBSD Unix. Each runs as an X program under the X Windowing System, or as a curses-style program on the console or terminals.
• A graphical version that runs under all 32-bit versions of Windows.
• A Win32 console-mode executable that runs under all 32-bit versions of Windows. It looks much like the DOS version of Epsilon, but provides most of the features of the Win32 GUI version.
• A 16-bit graphical Windows version designed for Windows 3.1.
• A 16-bit OS/2 version.
• A 16-bit DOS version of Epsilon.

New Features

Features for Programming

Epsilon includes new modes for Perl, PostScript, GAMS, Asm files, makefile and .mak files, .ini files, and Unix shell scripts and configuration files. It also recognizes some variations on existing modes, such as .idl files. In C/C++/Java/EEL/Perl, Epsilon displays the current function's name in the window title or mode line. See the variable display-definition for details.

• In C/C++/Java/EEL/Perl, Alt-Q fills paragraphs within block comments, preserving any prefix before each line. Epsilon can also auto-fill comments as you type.

Alt-' displays the functions and variables defined in the current file, in all modes that implement tagging. You can select one and move there. See the list-definitions command. Alt-i displays the #if conditionals in effect for the current line in C/C++/Java/EEL buffers. See the list-preprocessor-conditionals command.

• Tagging works better with C++ classes and preprocessor conditionals. Epsilon now automatically retags the current file if it can't find a tag. Epsilon now tags structure members. The new untag-files command lists all the files referenced by the current tags file, then lets you delete references to particular files.

File Handling

• If a file name appears in the file you're editing, use Ctrl-X Ctrl-L to follow the link and edit it. When editing HTML it views the HTML source of the linked file. When editing C-like languages it searches for #include files. It also works in other buffers.

• The directory editor dired can now display the Windows property page of a file or run a program on a file.

• Alt-o offers quicker access to common directory editor operations without running dired first. Delete, copy, rename, view, show properties (etc.) with less typing.

• Dired can now rename files by uppercasing or lowercasing their names, or via regular expression substitution.

• The new find-read-only-file command reads a file but won't permit changing its buffer.

• The cd command on F7 to change directories now shows and completes only on directories.

• Two new variables let you customize what Epsilon restores. See session-restore-directory and session-restore-max-files.

• In bufed, Shift-P prints the current buffer. Bufed's display now indicates read-only buffers.

• Printing in Epsilon for MS-Windows now includes margins. Use the print-setup command or File/Print Setup from the menu to alter them. Running a print command with a numeric argument now makes it skip displaying a dialog. There are also new options to include line numbers and control wrapping. GUI only.

• The save-all-buffers command on Ctrl-X S now continues if some files could not be saved, saves the rest, then reports how many files could not be saved.

• Windows Explorer-style file dialogs now retain their current directory setting from one Epsilon session to the next.

• The new change-file-read-only command lets you toggle whether or not a file is read-only.

• Epsilon for Windows integrates better with Developer Studio through a new add-on, and another add-on makes it easier to use Epsilon as a desktop shortcut.

Running Programs

• You can use the new filter-region command on Alt-| to process the current region through an external command. By default, the external command's output goes to a new buffer. Run filter-region with a numeric argument if you want the output to replace the current region.

• Under NT or Windows 2000, Epsilon now sets its current directory to that of the concurrent process (as long as you let the command processor cmd.exe use its standard prompt that includes the current directory).

• Epsilon supports multiple concurrent processes on some platforms.

• It's now easier to extend Epsilon's error parsing. Epsilon can now check a series of regular expression patterns that match possible error message formats.

Moving Around

• Searches now wrap. Ctrl-S at a failing forward search wraps around to the start of the buffer, and displays Wrapping. If you keep on searching and find matches you've already seen, Epsilon displays Overwrapping. Ctrl-R at a failing reverse search is similar.

• Search strings saved in Epsilon's history list may now contain newlines. Epsilon's searching commands no longer have a 255 character limit on the search string

• The keys Alt-PageUp and Alt-PageDown now page horizontally, instead of resizing the window horizontally. The new command jump-to-column on Alt-g goes to a specified column.

• The goto-line command accepts a buffer percentage like 30% instead of a line number. You may add a :column number after either, as in 10:20 to go to line 10, column 20.

• Ctrl-Tab now moves among windows like Ctrl-X N. Shift-Ctrl-Tab moves like Ctrl-X P.

Help

• Epsilon includes an info file viewer. Press F1 i to start it.

• Epsilon's online manual is now available in an "info" format that makes it viewable and searchable within Epsilon. The WinHelp version of the manual is also included for Windows platforms.

• The complete Epsilon manual is included in HTML format so you can read it from a web browser. Press F1 h in Epsilon to see it.

• Alt-x man is available for reading man pages under Unix.

• Epsilon's apropos command now works in Windows as in other environments.

Internet

• Http:// URL's can now contain a user and password, and Epsilon will perform basic authentication.

• Telnet now recognizes password prompts and hides your typing, and interprets some formatting such as underlining in command output.

Command Line Flags

• The new -vv command line flag instructs Epsilon to split the screen vertically, not horizontally, when more than one file is specified on the command line.

• The -vx and -vy flags let you specify the position of Epsilon's window in Epsilon for Windows. For example, -vx20 -vy30 positions the upper left corner of Epsilon's window at pixel coordinates 20x30.

• Epsilon for Unix recognizes various standard X flags such as -geometry to position and size Epsilon's window, -fn or -font to set the font, and -display to set the display. The -vt flag forces Epsilon for Unix to run as a curses-style program, not an X program. By default Epsilon runs as an X program under X, and a curses-style program otherwise.

• You can now tell Epsilon to go to a particular column (as well as line) from the command line. Write epsilon +10:20 filename to go to line 10, column 20, in the indicated file.

Miscellaneous

• The compare-windows command now ignores whitespace. See the compare-windows-ignores-space variable.

• Epsilon retains more undo history in all 32-bit versions. Undo now restores the unmodified state of a buffer when appropriate, and displays an indication when passing a buffer-save or buffer-read in the undo history. Rereading a buffer is now undoable.

• In Unix, selecting text with the mouse copies it to a kill buffer (and the clipboard), like copy-region does. See the mouse-selection-copies variable. In Unix, the center mouse button yanks text instead of panning. See the mouse-center-yanks variable.

• In auto-fill mode, Epsilon will now break the line as soon as it becomes too long, instead of waiting until you type a <Space>.

• The cua-keyboard command makes Epsilon recognize standard Windows keystrokes like Ctrl-C to copy, Ctrl-V to paste.

• The commands grep and file-query-replace, when applied to buffers instead of files by a numeric prefix argument, now understand simple wildcard characters like *, ?, and [a-z] when specifying which buffers to search and replace in.

• Epsilon now recognizes some new regular expression syntax.

• Epsilon for Windows can draw a focus rectangle around the current line, for users who have trouble seeing the cursor. See the draw-focus-rectangle variable. It can also draw a column marker at a user-specified column; see the draw-column-markers variable.

• When specifying color classes in EEL, you can now provide a default definition for the class, indicating that it should use specific colors, or be based on some other class. Individual color schemes can then override this setting, as necessary.

• Epsilon can now send DDE messages to other programs.

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Last Updated: 2 May 2006