 | |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | June 1991; 33 years ago (1991-06) |
| Stable release | 2.0.026 / 1995; 30 years ago (1995) |
| Operating system | MS-DOS,PC DOS,OS/2,Microsoft Windows |
| Platform | Intel x86, 16-bit |
| Predecessor | Edlin |
| Successor | Windows Notepad |
| Type | Text editor |
| License | Proprietarycommercial software |
| Website | docs |
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MS-DOS Editor, commonly just callededit oredit.com, is aTUItext editor that comes withMS-DOS 5.0 and later,[1] as well as all 32-bit x86 versions of Windows, untilWindows 10. It supersedesedlin, the standard editor in earlier versions of MS-DOS. In MS-DOS, it was a stub forQBasic running in editor mode. Starting withWindows 95, MS-DOS Editor became a standalone program because QBasic didn't ship with Windows.
The Editor may be used as a substitute forWindows Notepad onWindows 9x, although both are limited to small files only. MS-DOS versions are limited to approximately300kB, depending on how muchconventional memory is free.[2] The Editor can edit files that are up to 65,279 lines and up to approximately 5 MB in size.[citation needed]
The Editor version 1.0 appeared inMS-DOS 5.00,PC DOS 5.0,OS/2, andWindows NT 4.0. These editors rely onQBasic 1.0. This version can only open one file, to the limit of DOS memory. It can also open the quick help file in a split window.
The Editor version 1.1 appeared in MS-DOS 6.0. It uses QBasic 1.1 but no new features were added to the Editor.
PC DOS 6 does not include theedit command. Instead, it has theDOS E Editor. This was upgraded to support mouse and menus in version of 7.0.
The Editor version 2.0 appeared with Windows 95, as standalone app that no longer requires QBasic. This version has been included with all 32-bit x86 versions, untilWindows 10. Being a 16-bit DOS app, it does not directly run onx64,IA-64, orARM64 versions of Windows.
TheFreeDOS version was developed by Shaun Raven and is licensed under theGPL.[3]
MS-DOS Editor uses atext user interface and its color scheme can be adjusted. It has amultiple-document interface in which its version 2.0 (as included in DOS 7 or Windows 9x) can open up to 9 files at a time while earlier versions (included in DOS 5 and 6) are limited to only one file. The screen can be split vertically into two panes which can be used to view two files simultaneously or different parts of the same file. It can also open files inbinary mode, where a fixed number of characters are displayed per line, withnewlines treated like any other character. This mode shows characters ashexadecimal characters (0-9 and A-F). Editor convertsUnixnewlines toDOS newlines and hasmouse support. Some of these features were added only in version 2.0.
