Dred is a lightweight, customizeable, and extensible Unicode text editor. It comes, complete with documentation, in a single (350K) jar, and needs a 1.8 (or later) JRE to run.
java -jar Dred.jar [--enc=encoding] [--bindings=bindings-url] --wait files
or
java -jar Dred.jar [--enc=encoding] [--bindings=bindings-url] -w files
This starts edit sessions for each of the files. The program exits when the last session terminates.
java -jar Dred.jar [--enc=encoding] [--bindings=bindings-url] files &
This starts edit sessions for each of the given files, using the user's existing Dred server if one is running, then exits immediately. If no server is running then it starts itself in server mode, puts up an (iconified) server control, and starts edit sessions for the filenames. Files are usually specified by paths in the local filestore, but can also be specifed by URL: see Opening a URL for details.
If --bindings=... is specified then the editor's bindings are taken from the file specified by the given URL; otherwise the default bindings are used. If --enc=... is specified, then the files are assumed to use the specified encoding; otherwise UTF8 is assumed.
Bindings files describe
(see also Specifying Bindings and Under the Hood)
The above commands are often embedded in simple shell scripts.
Remark (May 2017): I have, in recent years, used the following script (named dred) to invoke the editor. Using this script the first invocation automatically establishes a server.
#/bin/sh # # shell command to invoke dred (as a server if necessary) # nohup java -jar ~/bin/Dred.jar "$@" > /dev/null 2>&1 &
dred with a shell script containing
the following command -- which enables some of the OS X specific
features of java, and assumes Dred.jar is
in $HOME/Bin.
exec java -Xdock:icon="$HOME/Bin/dnought.png" \
-Xdock:name="Dred" \
-Dapple.laf.useScreenMenuBar=true -jar $HOME/Bin/Dred.jar "$@"
The AppleDred.app application is available from the
Dred website and can also be installed into your local Applications directory
or the system-wide /Applications directory. It is registered as handling all files.
It's a good idea to pin it to the taskbar but it isn't necessary. Launching AppleDred on login can be slightly
problematic unless you have ensured that it will pick up the right shell environment.
The most important shell environment variables it uses are
PATH and (if you use the Latex Tool) TEXINPUTS. Launching it for the first time
(ie starting it in server mode)
in a login session from a terminal window will cause it to pick these up from the terminal's shell envionment.
Remark (May 2017): the most recent variants of (Unix) Dred execute all the shell commands
that it uses in the environment set by source ~/.dred_profile (if such a file exists).
The one I use looks like this:
# Establish the environment for shell-calls from Dred
# Prefix a path if it isn't already present
function CONSPATH ()
{ (printenv PATH | grep -q -F ":${1}
${1}:") || export PATH=${1}:$PATH
}
# Append a path if it isn't already present
function PATHCONS ()
{ (printenv PATH | grep -q -F ":${1}
${1}:") || export PATH=$PATH:${1}
}
PATHCONS /usr/texbin
CONSPATH $HOME/bin
export TEXINPUTS=.:~/Tex//:
export TEXFONTS=:.:~/Tex//:
The application file AppleDred.app/Contents/Java/AppleDred.jar can be
started from the command-line as described elsewhere in the documentation. If the application is already running,
then it will be used to service the command given on the command-line; if it isn't then a non-Application
server will be started and thenceforth used to service command-line commands and subsequent invocations
of the application. The important difference is that a server started as the application is a little more
careful when Apple-Q is pressed, and will not let you lose your work without asking
whether this is what you mean.
The following shell script can be used from the command line. It facilitates ''equal opportunity'' operation
of dred from command line and Finder.
#!/bin/sh
# OSX shell command to invoke dred
#
DRED=/Applications/AppleDred.app/Contents/Java/AppleDred.jar
java -jar $DRED --serving || (open -a AppleDred; sleep 2)
exec java -jar $DRED "$@"
There's a bug in the present Mac OS X implementation of scrollbars (in all look-and-feel variants) so (for the moment) we replace the active scrollbars under Mac OS X with a passive indicator of the position and relative size of the current view of the document. This indicator shows up as a narrow bluish rectangle in the right margin of the window. Vertical and horizontal scrolling can be accomplished with the scrollwheel and/or by dragging with button-2 pressed. (Remark (May 2017): I confess that I'm no longer interested in solvig this problem: it hasn't bothered me for a long time).
Target: C:\WINDOWS\system32\javaw.exe -jar "C:\Documents and Settings\sufrin\Desktop\DRED\Dred.jar" Start in: "C:\Documents and Settings\sufrin\Desktop"Doubleclicking this shortcut starts a new Dred in an editing session with an anonymous document; dropping a file onto it starts a new Dred in an editing session for that file.
You may want to put a dred.bindings file in the installation directory once you have found out a bit more about bindings. When you have done so, add the following text to the shortcut target, just before the -jar switch:
-DDREDBINDINGS="C:\Documents and Settings\sufrin\Desktop\DRED\dred.bindings"If you really care about economy, then read Under the Hood for details of how Dred can be set up to use a single server. It's slightly trickier under Windows XP2, which tries hard to prevent "Trojan" ports being opened. The bottom line is that you should choose port number (####) above 8000 that you know won't be used by any other server, and change the shortcut to:
Target: C:\WINDOWS\system32\javaw.exe -jar "C:\Documents and Settings\sufrin\Desktop\DRED\Dred.jar" --serve==####
file=$1 line=$2 dred --position=$file@$lineThe script opens the named $file (if there is not already an open session for it), and positions it at the specified $line.
The Latex tool gives the option of using the shell command linedisplay automatically whenever the manuscript file the tool is managing is latexed.
# linedisplay script: called from dred's Latex tool with arguments linenumber pdffile texfile -- synctex is needed. # echo linedisplay "$@" displayline -b "$@"
In each editing session window you will see the main text editing component at the bottom, with three "minitext"-editing components in a row above it. The minitexts are labelled "...." (pronounced "Argument"), "Find" and "Repl".
The Find and Replace minitexts provide arguments for the actions of the same name. The little checkboxes next to them indicate whether they are interpreted as "regular expression" or "literal".
The Argument minitext provides arguments for many of the other editing commands, including those on the File menu which start new editing sessions, allow the document to be saved in a different file, and so forth.
Many of the editing commands described below are bound to keys, and can also be used on the minitexts.
Dred shows which of its (mini-)text windows has the keyboard focus by showing its cursor in red. A text window with a greyed-out cursor doesn't have the keyboard focus. Focus usually moves into a text window as the mouse-cursor moves into it, but occasionally after popup warnings it's necessary to force the issue by clicking in the desired window.
At any stage, the document in a window (minitext or main) may have a selection (which is a contiguous region of the document). It is bounded at one end by the document cursor -- which is shown as a thin red rectangle -- and at the other end by the mark -- which is shown as a thin green rectangle. When the cursor and mark are in the same position only the cursor is shown, and the selection (in that document) is effectively empty.
The document cursor is moved by the arrow keys. It can be placed anywhere in the document by clicking with the left mouse-button. The mark can be placed anywhere in the document by clicking with the right mouse button.
The selection is always shown on a grey background.
After every editing action the position of the document in the editor window is adjusted automatically so that the document cursor is visible. Between editing commands the position of the document in the window can be adjusted manually by the scroll bars, the scrollwheel, or by middle-dragging and this can make the document cursor disappear temporarily.
There is a cut-buffer which holds at most one text. It is implemented by the system clipboard, and material placed in the cut buffer is also available in the clipboard. Material placed in the system clipboard by another application is accessible through the cut buffer.
The editing actions described below are a small selection of the actions provided by the editor. Brief documentation for all the actions, and indications of their current binding(s) to keys and/or Menu buttons can be seen by pressing the Help/Show Bindings menu item.
(see also Further documentation of bindings)The Cut (C-x) action removes the selection from the document and puts it in the cut-buffer. The Paste (C-v) action inserts the content of the cut-buffer into the document and re-selects it. The Copy (C-c) action replaces the cut-buffer with the selection (if there is a selection), and the SwapSel (C-V) action exchanges the selection and the cut-buffer (except that if the selection is null, then the cut-buffer doesn't change). The SwapCursorAndMark (C-s) action does what its name suggests.
The three minitexts at the top of an editing window are called the .... (or Argument), the Find, and the Replace texts, respectively.
The FindDown (C-f) action selects the next (FindUp (C-F) previous) instance of the pattern specified by the Find minitext.
If the checkbox adjacent to the Find minitext is checked then the pattern is interpreted as a (Java-style) regular expression, otherwise it is interpreted literally.If the current selection is an instance of the Find text then the ReplaceDown (C-a) (C-r) action saves the current selection in the cut-buffer and replaces it with the (meaning of the) Repl minitext -- leaving the cursor to the right of the mark. The ReplaceUp (C-A) (C-R) button is analogous and leaves the cursor to the left of the mark in the replacement text.
The meaning of the Repl minitext is the text itself if the checkbox adjacent to it is NOT checked. Otherwise its meaning is the text obtained (using standard Java regular-expression substitution rules) by substituting each instance of $n in it by the text that matched the nth bracketed expression in the instance of the pattern that is being replaced.
The FindUp action is usually bound to the SHIFTED key that the FindDown action is bound to; likewise the ReplaceUp action is usually bound to the SHIFTED ReplaceDown key.
The FindSelDown (C-A-f) action makes the current selection the Find pattern, turns off regular expression interpretation, and then acts as the FindDown action. Likewise FindSelUp (C-A-F) makes the current selection the Find text, then acts as the FindUp action.
The ClearArgument (C-Ins) action moves the keyboard focus into the Argument minitext area and erases the text that is there. ClearFind (Ins) and ClearRepl (A-Ins) behave analogously in the Find and Repl minitexts.
One way of replacing the next instance of "FOO" with "BAR" is to type the keystrokes bound to
ClearFind F O O FindSelDown ClearRepl B A R ReplaceDown
Replacing the following instance just requires
FindSelDown ReplaceDown
since the Find and Repl minitexts are already
set to the right pattern and replacement.
The ReplaceAll action replaces (without any interaction) all instances of the Find minitext within the current selection with the Repl minitext, and selects the resulting transformed text. The original selection is preserved in the cut buffer, so this action can be undone with SwapSel.
If you want to "approve" each replacement interactively, then just use FindSelDown ReplaceDown in sequence repeatedly, undoing any replacement you don't approve of with SwapSel.
Dred has no general mechanism for undoing, but all the commands that operate by inserting, removing, or transforming the selection are individually undoable. (This can feel uncomfortable for people who are accustomed to hitting the undo key whenever they make a mistake or change their minds about something, but one soon adapts)
For example: when the selection is non-null
Cut is undone by Paste
SwapSel is undone by SwapSel
and (whether or not the selection is null)
Paste is undone by Cut
Moreover if the selection is an instance of the Find text then
Replace is undone by SwapSel
The Cut Ring records the last few pieces of material that found their way into the cut buffer (the number is adjustable). The cut ring can be accessed by opening the Cut Ring Editor: this is a specialized editor session that normally shows the content of the cut ring. This editor session behaves in most respects like an ordinary editing session so material can be transferred from it to any other text window using Copy and Paste. (Of course the Cut Ring Editor doesn't itself send material to the cut ring!)
extension path class:/MarkTool/
extension load MarkTool
Any single character insertion can be undone by the Delete action.
When there is a nonempty selection in typing-cuts-selection mode, the Delete action behaves exactly like the Cut action, and can therefore be undone by the Paste action. In all other circumstances it removes the character to the left of the cursor from the document without affecting the cut buffer. In any case the mark is removed, thereby deselecting the selection.
The Swap2 action swaps the two characters immediately to the left of the cursor without affecting the cut buffer. It undoes itself.
| Pressing | Button 1 | Positions the text cursor and the mark. Automatic bracket-matching is triggered. |
| Pressing | ctrl Button 1 | Positions the text cursor but not the mark. |
| Pressing | Button 3 | Positions the mark but not the text cursor. |
| Pressing | ctrl Button 3 | Removes the mark and deselects the selection. |
| Dragging | Button 1 | Positions the text cursor, leaving the mark where the cursor started. |
| Dragging | Button 3 | Positions the mark, leaving the cursor where it is. |
| Double-Clicking | Button 1 | Selects the "word" under the click. The cursor moves to the end of the word nearest the click. |
| Triple-Clicking | Button 1 | Selects the line under the click. The cursor moves to the end of the line nearest the click. |
| Rotating | Mouse Wheel | Scrolls the view of the document vertically without moving the document cursor. |
| Dragging | Button 2 | Scrolls the view of the document verticallywithout moving the document cursor. |
Dred is quite cautious about saving a file. If it looks like the file has been written during the period that it has been being edited, then Dred will warn you and ask you what to do. Likewise, if you "Save As" using the name of an existing file, Dred will ask whether you really mean it.
The "filename completion" shortcut (usually TAB) in the argument minitext causes the text in that minitext to change to the longest common prefix of all the files in the current scope that start with the existing value of the minitext.
Dred will do its best to read a filedenoted by URL, but it cannot yet save documents to locations
specified by a URL. If you edit a URL-specified file, you will need to use Save As to save it
somewhere else.
Protocols known to work (providing no credentials are required
for the file) are ftp: and http:
Dred has an additional protocol that gives it access to resources (such
as documentation and pre-designed bindings files) that come packaged
in its .jar file. To access such a file one prefixes its name with
dred:. Specific examples that might be useful are:
dred:/dred-bs.bindings
dred:/function.bindings
dred:/style.bindings
dred:/symbols.bindings
dred:/ctrl.bindings
dred:/Manual.html
dred:/Bindings.html
dred:/Underhood.html
dred:/index.html
dred:/MarkTool.java
If the Java system property (or the environment variable) DREDFONT is set, then it is interpreted as the specification (in the standard Java font specification notation) of a standard Java font, unless it takes one of the forms
truetype:url options
type1:url options
In that case, the url (default protocol file:) is assumed to denote a (truetype or type1)
font description file.
The options are either empty, or take one of the forms
@pointSize
@pointSize-shape-options
When no point size is specified, the pointsize is taken to be 14.
The shape-options may include up to one of each of the following:
b[old] # bold
i[italic] # italic
and up to one of:
m # the font is deemed to be monospaced (char width is M-width)
f # the font is deemed to be monospaced (char width is M-width)
uXXXX # the font is deemed to be monospaced (char width is unicode XXXX-width)
The shape options are separated by "-".
MONOSPACED-14 #
Sanserif-bold-14 #
truetype:arialuni.ttf@14-b # bold italic arial unicode from a local font file
truetype:arialuni.ttf@16.3-b-i-m # bold italic M-spaced arial unicode from a local font file
truetype:file:arialuni.ttf@16.3-b-i-u2167 # bold italic Ⅷ-spaced arial unicode from a local font file
type1:/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/Type1/courb.pfa@12-i # italic courier from an X11 font file
The View/Monospaced menu checkbox switches Dred's rendering of a proportionally-spaced font to and from a simulation of that used for a monospaced font. The radiobuttons below it allow you to select (from a small number of models) the character whose width is used to determine the monospace pitch. This can be helpful if you want to work on material containing glyphs that cannot be found in a monospaced font.
The View/Set font to ... and the View/Set default font to ... menu entries change the font used in the current window (or that used in the current windopw and all future windows) to the font specified in the Argument (...) minitext.The View/Antialising checkbox controls the degree of effort Dred puts into rendering characters. The only time I find antialiased rendering a little too slow for comfort (on my 1.8mhz PIV) is when rendering certain heavily hinted Type1 fonts of the kind that come with Acrobat Reader. Truetype fonts render more than fast enough for my taste.
The bracket-matching settings on the Edit menu, and the Antialiasing setting on the View menu are also persistent.
( )
{ }
[ ]
<.*> </.*>
\begin{.*} \end{.*}
At present there is no necessary link between the text matching ".*" that appears in
an opening LaTeX or XML bracket and that which appears in
the corresponding closing bracket.
The above behavioural ''specification'' is ambiguous, for it says nothing about what would happen if the cursor were placed just after the closing <h2> in a text such as
<a name="Etc"><h2>Etc</h2></a>In fact the h2-tagged text will be chosen.
A good starting point for matters Unicode is Markus Kuhn's UTF-8 and Unicode FAQ for Unix/Linux
A Truetype font that implements a very large proprtion of the Unicode set is Microsoft's Arial Unicode. Microsoft no longer distribute this font, but Googling arialuni.ttf is sure to help you find it. Although it may cost you nothing, this font is not free.... It also occupies about 24mb, and has fewer mathematical symbols then many of the standard Java fonts.
You name it! The Extension API is completely undocumented at present. Only by reading the source code and the JavaDoc can you .....
Dred was written in Java 1.5 during between early February and mid-April 2005 because, having given up trying to maintain a decade-old editor I'd written in Python+Tk, I needed a run-anywhere lightweight and reliable editor that I could use to edit UTF8-encoded Jape theories. I had tried a number of public domain editors written in Java, but found that they made editing mathematical texts quite tedious, had very long startup times, or were insufficiently customizeable for me.
I've been using Dred (on various x86 Linux distros, Solaris, OS/X (Tiger, Snow Leopard, Lion), and Windows) for all my editing since mid-May (2005), and have found it completely reliable.
It runs on the (Sun/Oracle) Java 1.5 and later JVMs on all variants of Linux, Windows, and Solaris on which they can be installed.
Remark (May 2017): I recently implemented pdfsync compatibility, and did some maintenance enabling the editor to run on OS/X with Java 1.[78], and to use recent variants of subversion. In doing so I corrected a couple of long-unnnoticed bugs.
Bernard Sufrin $Revision: 268 $ $Date: 2017-05-08 19:19:40 +0100 (Mon, 08 May 2017) $ $PrevRevision: 225 $ $PrevDate: 2012-06-21 17:31:54 +0100 (Thu, 21 Jun 2012) $ $PrevRevision: 194 $ $PrevDate: 2007-07-05 18:10:51 +0100 (Thu, 05 Jul 2007) $