EVE (text editor)

EVE

Company type	Software
Industry	Computer software
Products	Text editor

EVE—initially known as the Extensible VAX Editor and later renamed the Extensible Versatile Editor—is a highly adaptable text editor bundled with the VMS operating system. It is developed utilizing the Text Processing Utility (TPU) framework.

An EVE emulation feature is available as an add-on within the Emacs editor.

Editor operation

To start EVE, use the command:

$ EDIT/TPU filename

Originally created for use with VT100 or VT220 terminals, many of the keybindings differ from those found on contemporary PC keyboards.

Key	Purpose
Exiting the editor
F10	Save changes and exit
Ctrl-Z	Save changes and exit
Ctrl-Y	Exit without saving
Command line operations
- (numeric keypad)	Retrieve empty command line; type Help to see commands
Ctrl-B	Recall last command; Ctrl-U clears the current line
Deleting text
Backspace	Remove character to the left of cursor
Ctrl-U, Ctrl-X	Erase from cursor position to beginning of line
Ctrl-J	Delete word at cursor location
7, End (numeric keypad)	Initiate text selection mode
8, Delete (numeric keypad)	Delete selected text
9, Insert (numeric keypad)	Paste previously deleted text
Switching modes
F11, * (numeric keypad)	Change search direction and toggle function keys status line
Ctrl-A	Alternate between insert and overstrike modes
Moving the cursor
Arrow keys, 1, 3, 5, 2(numeric keypad)	Navigate cursor left, right, up, and down respectively
Ctrl-E, Ctrl-H	Jump to end or start of current line
F12	Move to next or previous line; direction controlled by F11
Inserting text
Ctrl-V	Insert a control character
Ctrl-I, Ctrl-L, Ctrl-M	Insert tab, page break (form feed), and newline respectively
Other commands
Ctrl-S, Ctrl-Q	Pause and resume screen output display
Ctrl-T	Show system status details on status line (CPU, memory usage)
Refresh display, save last command, and activate Find command respectively
Assistance
/(numeric keypad), Help command	Display help for numeric keypad and list available EVE commands

Defining Keys Interactively

To link a command to a specific key or key sequence:

1. Access the EVE command prompt by pressing the - key on the numeric keypad or the combination Ctrl-B followed by Ctrl-U
2. Input the Define Key instruction (case does not matter and abbreviations like de k are accepted)
3. When prompted with EVE command:, type the desired command name
4. Upon seeing Press the key you want to define:, press the intended key or key combination

Defining Keys via Configuration File

During initialization, EVE processes the EVE$INIT.EVE file located in the user's directory. Sample entries include:

DEFINE KEY= Ctrl/F   Find  
DEFINE KEY= F3       Find Next  
DEFINE KEY= F1       Help  
DEFINE KEY= F2       Do  

These lines associate Ctrl-F with the search function, F3 with repeating the search, F1 with displaying help commands, and F2 with opening the command prompt.

Capabilities

The built-in journaling feature facilitates restoration of most editing sessions after interruptions.

Using the TWO WINDOWS command allows editing of multiple files simultaneously through split-screen mode.

External links

• Extensible Versatile Editor Reference Manual, HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation