Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!purdue!decwrl!ucbvax!V3.INFERENCE.COM!BJH
From: BJH@V3.INFERENCE.COM (Brian Hagerty x 111)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Re: question about edtini.edt in mail
Message-ID: <8805121859.AA19999@scgvaxd.SCG.HAC.COM>
Date: 12 May 88 19:57:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 52

Ron Kieffer, University of Calgary, asks:
 
1> I have defined edit as edit/edt/command=dev:[dir.dir1.]edtini.edt which
1> works well when I call up edt from any working directory, but it seems
1> not to carry through to mail/edt. Is there anything that can be done?

To which I gave a long-winded answer, summarized as follows:

2>    define edtini sys$login:edtini.edt
2>    edt  :== edit/edt     ! I can still use edt if I want
2>
2>    define tpusecini sys$login:tpusecini.tpu
2>    edit :== edit/tpu     ! tpu(eve) is my default editor
2>
2>    define mail$edit sys$system:mailedit.com
2>    mail :== mail/edit    ! mail will use my 'edit' symbol
2>
2>    ... now you don't have to R(ead)T(he)F(ancy)M(anuals) - Ay?

Then Tom Mish, University of Wisconsin, replied:

3> You should set the logical EDTSYS to point to the EDTINI.EDT file that
3> you want. This should solve all of your problems. See the DCL Dictionary
3> under EDIT/EDT for a full description of the search that takes places for
3> the EDT initialization file. In other word you REALLY SHOULD Read The Fancy
3> Manuals :-)

And now, I RE-reply ...

4> Yes Tom, EDTSYS defines a startup file for EDT and MAIL, *but* only if
4> I choose EDT as my editor.  In my case (using TPU) no definition of EDTSYS
4> will invoke TPU from within MAIL.  Using the following  bare-bones method
4> will allow one to select a default editor other than EDT:
4>
4>    edit :== edit/tpu     ! OR edit/edt, @public:emacs, edit/acl!, etc.
4>    define mail$edit sys$system:mailedit.com
4>    mail :== mail/edit    ! mail invokes mail$edit which uses 'edit' symbol

And I agree, one really should Read The Fancy Manuals.  Read them when you
have the time, patience, and can find the darn things!  But asking through
info-vax may be faster, more fun, more thorough, and edifying.  For example,
I have been a VAX system manager/hacker for five years and didn't know about
EDTSYS until you spilled the beans!  I *have* read the fancy manuals, and
I thought I knew *everything* ;-)

$ dismount another-long-winded-answer
$ deallocate another-long-winded-answer

=> Brian Hagerty [sic]		BJH @ V3.INFERENCE.COM
=> Network Manager
=> Inference Corporation
=> Lost Angeles, PA