1. Overview | Contents | 3. The Menus of the Editor

Chapter 2 The Editor

  Starting the Editor

  The Program Windows

  Keyboard Assignment
           The keyboard assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF The keyboard assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF.Omikron

  Special Characters, Abbreviations & Name Completion
           Special characters
           Abbreviations
           Automatic name completion

  The Dialog Windows

  The Built-in Screen Saver  

Starting the Editor

The editor can be started in a variety of different ways:

1. Double-click on the OmikronBasic icon.
2. Select the icon with the mouse and then select the option 'Open' in the finder menu.
3. Pull a *.BAS file to the OmikronBasic icon using the mouse.
In this case, the editor is started first and then the file *.BAS is loaded immediately afterwards.

If you have less than 6 MB of memory available on your computer it may happen that Omikron Basic cannot be started. In that case you should delete or rename the file NEWOMBAS.INF. The program then starts with a minimal configuration. If this does not solve the problem either, the only solution is to add additional RAM modules.
A dialog box prompting you to register appears during the first program start. To register enter your name and the registration number listed on the CD.

The Program Windows

The BASIC programs to be processed are managed by the editor in separate windows. The title bar shows the name of the respective program. If a program is modified the editor indicates this with an '*' in front of the title bar of the window. Of course, after the file has been saved the '*' is removed.

The info bar of a program window shows the cursor position as well as the program size and the amount of memory reserved for this program and the amount still available.
A mouse click on the display 'Y=...' has the same effect as the menu option 'Go to'. A dialog box opens where you can enter a jump target location. If a syntax error occurs, the edit line is marked in red (gray for monochrome monitors) and a message specifying the error in more detail appears in the info line. Functions having an effect on the programming code in windows always affect only the uppermost window.

The Keyboard Assignment

The Omikron Basic folder contains a file named NEWOMBAS.INF. This file contains all settings of the editor such as shortcuts, window dimensions, font attributes, colors, debugger settings, etc. Of course, you can create additional files with special settings. During the start up the editor always looks for a file named NEWOMBAS.INF. By renaming a file of your choice to this name the program will use that file. It is also possible to subsequently load the file from the dialog 'Preferences'.


The Keyboard Assignment in NEWOMBAS.INF

 Caution: The keyboard assignment has been changed slightly in version 6.5 to avoid conflicts with the other MAC keyboard combinations for special characters. Since some MAC keyboards (Powerbooks) do not have the delete key the use of this key was avoided in the default setting. Of course, you can also continue to use the old NEWOMBAS.INF file.

Ctrl+Cursor left	Cursor one page to the left
Ctrl+Cursor right	Cursor one page to the right
Cmd+Cursor upward	Cursor one page up
Cmd+Cursor downward	Cursor one page down
Cmd+Cursor left	Cursor to beginning of line
Cmd+Cursor right	Cursor to end of line
Beginning	Cursor to program start
End	Cursor to end of program
Return	Insert a line below
Shift+Return	Insert a line above
Ctrl+Return	Split line
Ctrl+Backspace	Delete rest of line
Shift+Backspace	Delete cursor line
Alternate+Backspace	Delete cursor line, rest moves up
TAB	To the next tab
Ctrl+A	Enter special character
F1	Preselection key for ASCII+64
F2	Preselection key for ASCII+128
Ctrl+Insert	Switch between insert and replace mode
F15 (Undo)	Reconstruct old text
Ctrl+TAB	Set indent pointer
F11	Continue after colon
F12	Continue next line
Ctrl+F1...F10	Set marker 1 to 10
Alternate+F1...F10	Jump to marker 1 to 10

Note: The keyboard assignment can be adjusted as desired with Set Shortcuts.

Special Characters, Abbreviations, and Automatic Name Completion

Special Characters:
If special characters are to be added to the editor, which normally would trigger some sort of function, this can be achieved by first pressing [Ctrl]+[A]. The special character, which is entered afterwards, will then not be interpreted as a shortcut but represented in the editor instead. 

Abbreviations:
BASIC commands can also be abbreviated with a point. If the abbreviation is unambiguous, the command is selected in alphabetical order.

Automatic Name Completion:
Those users who like to work with long variable names can save him- or herself a lot of typing time from hereon. For this purpose, the keys [0 to 9],[*],[-], and [+] on the numeric keypad in connection with the [Ctrl] key or the combination [Shift]+[TAB] are used. For example, instead of typing in "Customers_Addresses_Amount" the user now only enters "Customers" and then presses [Ctrl]+[*] or [Shift]+[TAB]. The editor then searches in the variable table for entries that begin with "Customer". If the editor finds an entry, the complete name is represented on the screen. If the name is incorrect, that is, it actually reads "Customer_No" it is possible to cause the editor to display the next suggestion by once more pressing [Ctrl]+[*] and/or [Shift]+[TAB] or [Ctrl]+[+]. With [Ctrl]+[-] the user can search the variable table backwards. The key combinations [Ctrl]+[0 to 9] have the same functions as [Ctrl]+[*] and/or [Shift]+[TAB], except that one can determine the dimension of the variable to be located via the digit.

The Dialog Windows

Dialogs are all represented in windows. The dialog windows can be moved with the Title bar. If the entries are not absolutely necessary for the further program execution, the dialogs can be left at any time by mouse clicking in another window. The dialog windows can remain opened while working with the program.

The following exit buttons can also be accessed via the keyboard:
"OK" = [Return] : The function is carried out. The box remains on the screen (only if modeless).
"OK & Close" = [Enter] : The function is carried out. The box is removed.
"Exit" =[Esc] : The box is removed without first carrying out the function.

Otherwise, all keys can be used for editing just like in the program window.
Special feature in the case of the 'Replace Text' and 'Rename Token': The text in the upper line is copied to the lower one using [Ctrl]+[I].

Note: The keyboard assignment can be adjusted as desired with Set Shortcuts.

The Built-in Screen Saver

Since most of the screen savers do produce pretty pictures or patterns but also place unnecessary stress on the computer and monitor (at least use energy), Omikron Basic features a sleep corner. If the mouse cursor is moved to the left bottom corner and left there for at least 0.5 seconds, the screen turns dark and Omikron Basic enters into a holding loop. The computer is not awakened with an alarm clock but by simply moving the mouse cursor out of the corner. The computer is not blocked during the holding loop, so that the program can continue with its computations although the monitor is dark.