Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!yorkohm!nigelm From: nigelm@ohm.york.ac.uk (Nigel Metheringham) Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm Subject: Re: Hey Syd, here's a couple of ideas! Message-ID: <1991Jun21.080043.1928@ohm.york.ac.uk> Date: 21 Jun 91 08:00:43 GMT References: <1991Jun20.044510.781@osh3.OSHA.GOV> <1991Jun20.141539.16160@DSI.COM> <1991Jun20.192712.26853@ccu.umanitoba.ca> Organization: Electronics Department, University of York, UK Lines: 73 In <1991Jun20.192712.26853@ccu.umanitoba.ca> grdetil@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Gilles R. Detillieux) writes: >In <1991Jun20.141539.16160@DSI.COM> syd@DSI.COM (Syd Weinstein) writes: >>chip@osh3.OSHA.GOV (Chip Yamasaki) writes: >>>Finally, a nice touch is [Cymail's] editor. I've seen lots of calls for a >>>simple editor, but no great responses. >>I would love a 'simple' editor to distribute with Elm as a contributed >>product. I am even threatened myself to 'write one' but I don't really >>have the time if I am to get 2.4 out. I also view this as a major >>shortcoming. >How about MicroEMACS? I picked it up off an FTP site (I don't remember which) >and set it up on our systems. Many of our users here use it as an editor for >Elm, and they seem happy with it. It's easy to learn the basics with it >(they had given up on "vi" long ago), and it's got enough power for more >experienced users. I'm happy with it because it's small (disk space is at >a premium on our systems), and because it really cuts down on training time. >I patched version 3.8b to handle ANSI cursor keys, but I've heard that 3.10 >supports cursor keys defined in termcap. I'm not sure that MicroEMACS would be suitable for distribution as a mail editor within elm - although we use it extensively here. The reasons for my lack of enthusiasm are:- + It can be a pain to originally build (I am now using a much hacked version of ME 3.10, with code ripped out of the VMS function key parser and pasted into the Unix termcap driver). + Its quite big - it would make the elm distribution _significantly_ bigger + Its not that customised to handling mail + The syntax is, to non emacs-junkies, rather arcance. My ideal, having had the job of supporting elm (and the general concept of email) to a set of non-techies, is an editor with about a dozen commands total, and those fairly clearly listed on screen. The things that are needed (in no particular order, and with almost certainly some ommisions) include:- + A screen editor with obvious cursor controls + A Find command + Cut & Paste commands + Commands that don't hang up some systems (ie no control-S). + Basic text fill/format (if you are going to be clever, then make it recognise and treat specially quoted text) this includes standard word wrap. + Curses or similar inteface so that the darn thing works on the vast majority of systems I think I'll probably end up writing a script for MicroEMACS which changes its key bindings to make it do what I want - I have already partically done this by adding word wrap and a reformat key to the Mail Editor startup. >While I'm at it, Syd, I'll get my $.02 in for suggested changes to Elm. >I would really like a simple way to abort any command, like hitting Esc. >When users accidentally select something like (b)ounce or (r)eply, it would >be nice if they could quickly cancel the command, rather than having to step >through all the prompts until they finally get to tell Elm to (f)orget it. Agreed - but please not escape - thats the other thing that emacs has really onfused the world with. Programs have real trouble parsing single escape characters if a function key may also be valid. Nigel. -- # Nigel Metheringham # (NeXT) EMail: nigelm@ohm.york.ac.uk # # System Administrator ####### Phone: +44 904 432374 # # Department of Electronics # Fax: +44 904 432335 # # University of York, Heslington, York, UK, YO1 5DD #