How to change the default editor.

The Miranda /e command (see manual page on command interpreter)  invokes
an editor.  By default this is the standard UNIX screen editor "vi".  If
you don't like "vi", or would prefer to  use  another  editor,  this  is
easily arranged.

The Miranda command
        /editor

reports the editor currently in use by the Miranda system.  To change it
to (for example) pico, just say
        /editor pico

and the /e command and various other features of Miranda  will  now  use
the  pico editor instead.  Alternatively, when next invoking the miranda
system from UNIX you can supply it with a  flag  requesting  a  specific
editor by name, as follows:
        mira -editor pico ...

In either case it is only necessary to do this once, since  the  Miranda
system  stores  such  information  permanently.  (It does this in a file
called ".mirarc" in your home directory  -  you  should  not  remove  or
tamper with this file).

You can select any editor that is installed on your system.  If you  are
unfamiliar with vi and haven't any other editor in mind, the editor pico
(if installed) is particularly easy to use (has instructions on screen).
Alternatives   are   nano   (similar   to   pico)   and   joe.   Another
easy-to-get-started-with editor, more sophisticated than either pico  or
vi, is emacs.

More advanced information
 The interface between the Miranda system and the editor needs a way  of
telling  the  editor  to  open  a  file  with the cursor positioned at a
specified line number.  For example to make the editor `vi' open a  file
at line 13, the UNIX command is
        vi +13 file
the  Miranda  system has built in knowledge of this, so if the installed
editor is `vi' and the compiler has found a syntax error in the  script,
the Miranda `/e' command will open the script at the line containing the
error.

To retain this ability when substituting another editor  for  `vi',  you
must  supply  the  `/editor' command with the template of a UNIX command
for invoking your editor at a given line number.  In this  template  the
line  number is represented by the character `!' and the filename by the
character `%'.  For example the full template for `vi' would be supplied
to Miranda in the following way
        /editor vi +! %

If the `%' character does not  occur  in  your  template,  Miranda  will
assume  that  the  name  of  the  file  is to be added to the end of the
command, as its final argument.  So the template for `vi' could  equally
well be given as
        /editor vi +!
the  same  formula  works for pico.  If the editor is one that starts up
its own window, separate from the Miranda session window (gnu emacs does
this),  you  will want to make the editor run as a concurrent process by
putting "&" at the end of the command, thus
        /editor emacs +! % &

Note that in this case you must  include  %  where  the  filename  goes,
because  adding  it after the "&" would not make sense.  In fact Miranda
has built in knowledge of vi, pico, nano, joe and emacs, so just  naming
the editor will be enough in these cases.

If you install an editor without  the  capability  to  be  opened  at  a
specified  line  number  (i.e.   you  cannot  give  a  template  for  it
containing the `!' character), the /e command loses its ability  to  "go
to  the  right  place"  after  an  error,  and  the `??' command will be
disabled (`??identifier' asks the Miranda system to  open  the  relevant
source file at the definition of the given identifier.)

The Miranda system will work without either of these features, but there
is  a  significant  loss  of power in the user interface.  If you intend
using the Miranda system regularly it is worthwhile to  find  an  editor
with the required capability or to consider learning to use either vi or
emacs if you don't already know one of them.

If your installed editor lacks the `open at line  number'  feature,  you
may  find  it  convenient to have the script listed to the screen during
compilation (this feature of the compiler can be switched on and off  by
the  commands `/list', `/nolist').  As an assistance to naive users, the
Miranda system turns on `/list' for you if the `/editor' command is used
to install an editor without the `open at line number' feature.

[Pathological case:
 "What do I do if the name  of  my  editor  contains  a  `!'  or  a  `%'
character?" You escape it with a backslash, so if the name of the editor
is `oh!wonder!', to install it in Miranda you say
        /editor oh\!wonder\!

end of pathological case]

Checking for source updates

If during a session changes have been made to any relevant source  file,
the  Miranda  system automatically recompiles the current script and any
other scripts which it directly or indirectly `includes' and which  have
been  changed.   At  a  minimum  this check is performed after all /edit
commands and also after each shell escape.

A mode of operation possible on a windowing system is to keep an  editor
window and Miranda session window both open.  In this case more frequent
checking is appropriate and you should say /recheck (see 6  "Summary  of
remaining  commands").   This  sets  a  flag  which  tells  the  Miranda
interpreter to recheck for source file updates before each  interaction,
instead  of  only  after /e and !  commands.  But remember that you will
need to commit any edits to file before the `mira' session can see them.

As an assistance to naive users /recheck is automatically turned  on  if
/editor  is  used  to  install an editor command which includes "&", the
symbol used in the UNIX shell commands to spawn a concurrent process.

Say /norecheck to revert to the default behaviour.