Modern text editor that mimics MS-DOS EDIT?

Question

Anyone who did any amount of work in DOS probably remembers MS-DOS EDIT.

Are there any modern text editors that mimic the look and feel of MS-DOS EDIT, QuickBasic, etc? I've done some looking around, but it seems like pico/vi/emacs-alikes rule the roost.

I use Linux, Windows, and Mac, though Linux is my preferred platform. I was looking for something that was multi-platform and textmode-based. I'm also aware that there are 'simple' editors out there, but what I'm looking for is an editor that emulates the look and feel of DOS EDIT, kind of like how mc has a similar look and feel to Norton Commander, microemacs is similar to emacs, elvis is similar to vi, etc.

I am also aware that EDIT is still included with some versions of Windows. Problem is, it's not multiplatform, no longer maintained and newer versions of Windows have dropped it.

Update (July 21, 2011): Wow, great to see that this question is still getting activity so many years later. I just wanted to add that although I love EDIT's interface, I also love the scriptability of Textmate, Emacs and Vim of modern editors (which is why none of the pico-alikes really work for me). If your answer is an editor that feels like MS-DOS EDIT but is scriptable, that's a huge bonus.

Oh, and since I posted this question I've kind of settled into vim as my primary textmode editor, as it's damn near everywhere. I'm still on the lookout, though, as vimscript is a pretty awful scripting language and custom scripting (along with stuff like omnicomplete) is tied into your system versions of python/perl/etc.

Answer 1

As I just noted in another answer, you're looking for TUI text editors that adhere to the CUA conventions. See the other answer for a full discussion. Then note that some (almost) CUA TUI text editors are still available as Win32/Linux/Unix TUI programs, including ones built upon Turbo Vision (which is close to, but not quite, CUA) such as SET's Editor.

Answer 2

Have a look at Q10 - a feature-packed 'retro' text editor with a spellchecker (optional)

In the Options Menu (Ctrl + P), you may adjust the colours to your likings and disable the 'typewriter sound' (Misc).

Q10 is free and portable (unzip and run).

If you want the 'real deal', use DOSBox (cross-platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS). You'll need two files from your old DOS 6.22 floppy #1: EDIT.COM and QBASIC.EXE (EDIT.HLP and QBASIC.HLP are optional, expand those from disc #2 if you need them). Works like a charm.

Answer 3

If you have XP, you can copy the the 2.0.026 version of the editor onto a floppy, you need the following files:

• EDIT.COM
• EDIT.HLP
• EDIT.INI

They're in C:\WINDOWS\System32. You can copy them onto a floppy, so it's easier to copy it back to DOS or something. I suggest you first configure EDIT to your wishes, and then you copy the EDIT.INI over to the floppy (it's a binary file, even though it's an .ini). At only 87KB the editor fit's just about anywhere.

Windows 7 doesn't have the old MS-DOS editor any more, but you can copy it over. I don't think that the editor will see any form of improvement anymore, making it abandonware. I'd like to see that Editor be freed, and be allowed to be copied and exchanged.

Answer 4

Cream?

Who says text editors have to be hard to use? With just a few mouse clicks, Cream can be simplified to the most basic typing editor.

CUA compliant, Linux and Windows (maybe not Mac?)

Answer 5

Err, you could try using EDIT I think it's certainly still in XP although I haven't looked in vista or later.

Answer 6

XP still has MS-DOS Edit. Just type Edit at the command line. What OS are you on? I suspect that it is still in Vista and W7 as well.

Answer 7

If you want a cloud-based option, try DarkCopy. DarkCopy is a simple, full-screen text editor.

Answer 8

There is a nice alternative for Windows and DOS, when you're not appalled to the usage of vi: Elvis.

It's available for Windows and DOS, and of course Linux. It's small, fast, and has syntax highlighting. Contrary to your question, though, it doesn't have the look and feel of the MS-DOS editor, but it comes close.

I advice you also take a look at the Windows version of Elvis. It doesn't open in a shell window, but it's own graphical window.

Answer 9

Brief Basic is a nice console text editor on Windows. It does not use standard CUA keyboard shortcuts, but you can change them and the default ones are not hard to get used to.

Ne (nice editor) uses standard CUA keyboard shortcuts, and is available for many non-Windows OSs, including Linux. It can run on Windows as well, through Cygwin.

Another cross-platform console text editor which uses standard CUA keyboard shortcuts is Diakonos.