PSPad4AutoIt3 (editor IDE)

[Professor_Bernd]

PSPad4AutoIt3 v2.0.0 beta (2021-04-16)

All parts are freeware.

PSPad4AutoIt3 consists of the Editor PSPad and the Improvement Kit, and can be used as an portable editor IDE for AutoIt3.

The author of the PSPad Editor is Jan Fiala.
I (Professor Bernd) am only the author of the Improvement Kit.

Contact us:

This is the first fully portable version of PSPad4AutoIt3.

There are a lot of changes and new features, e.g.

- a separate AutoIt3 menu in the PSPad main menu,
- the shortcuts are SciTE-like,
- Tidy for Au3,
- in CallTipViewer a recognition for writing "(",
- a dialog for registering file extensions with Pau3,
- a nice about dialog in "90s style",
- the CodeExplorer can now be displayed together with the FavTools on the right side,
( so the panel on the left side can be completely hidden )
- and much more ...

See here for details

All in all a lot has been done and it is worth to have a look   Praise, criticism, ideas, tips and hints on bugs are welcome. Have fun with the new features!

Thank you very much,
Professor Bernd.

Special thanks for the friendly support goes to:

Jan Fiala (Author of PSPad)
Jos van der Zande (Author of AutoIt3Wrapper, Tidy, ...)
alpines (suggestions, ideas, testing, design for syntax colors, develop routines)
argumentum (feedback, suggestions, ideas)
AspirinJunkie (RegExp pattern, ideas and code snippets)
Bitnugger (suggestions, ideas and code snippets)
BugFix (suggestions, ideas and code snippets)
Gun-Food (for making it possible to publish the project here)
LarsJ (VBScript<->AutoIt communication, …)
Musashi (suggestions and ideas)

Credits for many other contributors can be found in the Pau3 About dialog.

PSPad4AutoIt3 v2.1.0 beta - Update (2021-05-02) 

See here for details v2.1.0 beta - Update

Download in the german forum PSPad4AutoIt3 (Editor IDE), end of post #1 

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Professor_Bernd

[Professor_Bernd]

Tips

• Changing the colors / color schemes
• Language for the PSPad interface
• Associate file extensions with PSPad, e.g. ".au3", ".ppr" (project files)
• Shortcuts (AutoIt related)

 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[Professor_Bernd]

Description of the obsolete versions until 1.2.0 beta - Moved from Posting #1 to here.

Spoiler

After months of work, PSPad4AutoIt3 version 1.0.0 beta is now ready.  

I like to call it the "first real" version, because the Improvement Kit now handles a lot of things autonomously. So PSPad remains operable when an au3 script is started. Also there is now a setup that makes the installation easier. 👍 And for those who don't like/do not want an installer, there is a download without setup. Without setup, the user has to take care of the prerequirements himself. Only recommended for experienced users.

The core functionalities "Run, Check Syntax, Compile and Comile Dialog" are integrated and work very well. Thanks to @Jos for extending AutoIt3Wrapper!  There are also a few more features that you can find in the main menu, menu item "Scripts" => "_AutoIt". These include "Debug to Console", "Debug to MsgBox" and the "Koda FormDesigner" as a helper for creating GUIs. In this menu there is also an item "_Tips and shortcuts". After a click the AutoIt-relevant shortcuts are displayed.

The language in the menu "_AutoIt" is English. The language for PSPad in general can be set for more than 40 languages (Main menu => Settings => Program Settings => Language).

PSPad4AutoIt3 is in a beta stage and does not have many features yet. But I am working on it!

More information (EN, DE) and the download can be found in my PSPad4AutoIt3 Projekt in the AutoIt.de forum.

I would be glad if you have a look at it and write me your opinion. Have fun!

 

2020-04-20 Note: The minimum version for AutoIt3 HAS TO BE 3.3.14.5!

I had hoped that the changes would not be so severe, so in the downloads the minimum version 3.3.14.0 is still indicated. Unfortunately, it has recently become apparent that with older versions the main functions, e.g. CompilerRunner, the AutoIt3 Help and the upcoming CallTipViewer, fail.

The downloads can be used so far, but everybody has to take care of the AutoIt3 version 3.3.14.5 by himself!

 

---- Actual Post #3 -------------------------------------------------

Is anyone interested? 

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by Professor_Bernd

[argumentum]

k, I have not started to use it yet. Is there a dark theme that can be applied ?

Edit: maybe import the colors from SciTE or have a better "color chooser"/"Scheme changer" for PSPad ?.  TIA

Edited March 9, 2020 by argumentum

[Professor_Bernd]

Thanks for asking.

Yes, there is a dark theme that can be applied: "PSPad dark". It was shipped with the latest PSPad version 5.0.4 (381), or can be found here:  PSPad dark.zip

In PSPad you can set up an own color scheme for each language (AutoIt, C++, Pascal, ...). In the main menu click on "Settings" / "Highlighter Settings".

Spoiler

 

To choose a color scheme: In the dialog click on "AutoIt3" on the left side. The current color scheme for AutoIt3 will appear. Then you can choose one of the available themes. In the lower part of the dialog next to "Color Scheme" click on the arrow of the ComboBox and choose e.g. "PSPad dark". Then click on "Load" to load the theme, and click on "Apply".

Spoiler

 

To create your own theme, you can set each color according to your wishes. Then just enter a name in the ComboBox, for example argumentum1, and click "Save".

Spoiler

 

To adopt the colors of SciTE, you can assign each color in SciTE to a corresponding color in PSPad. In the file "...\PSPad4AutoIt3\Syntax\AutoIt3.ini" you can see what is associated with "ReservedWords" [Macro], "KeyWords" [Funktion], "KeyWords2" [Standard UDF's], "KeyWords3" [Keyword]. SciTE equivalents in the square brackets.

Spoiler

 

I have created a theme "argumentum1 "  argumentum1.zip  based  on your screenshot. This theme is not accurate, because I picked the colors from the screenshot. If you send me your SciTE scheme, I can adjust the colors more precisely.

To import color schemes, just copy the desired color scheme file (e.g. "PSPad dark.ini") to the folder: "...\PSPad4AutoIt3\Colors\". After that you can select the imported theme in the highlighter dialog described above in "To choose a color scheme".

 

To change colors for "LOG parser" and "Brackets": In the program settings there seem to be 3 colors which are not changed in the highlighter. ("Spell Check", "LOG parser" (error highlighting) and "Brackets"). To set these 3 colors, click on "Settings" / "Program Settings" in the main menu. In the dialog window click on "Colors" in the left area. Note: The program settings apply to all highlighters.

Spoiler

        

 

 

Bernd.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[Professor_Bernd]

Choose a language for the PSPad interface

To select a language for the PSPad interface, click on "Settings" / "Program Settings" in the main menu. In the settings dialog on the left side click on "Language". On the right side you can now choose between more than 40 languages.

Spoiler

 

Associate file extensions ".au3" and ".ppr" (project files) with PSPad

To associate file extensions with PSPad, click on "Settings" / "Program Settings" in the main menu. In the settings dialog on the left side click on "Registered File Types". On the right side, ".au3" and ".ppr" are already entered. Now click on the button "Register all".

More file extensions can be added in the lower part of the dialog. In the text box at "Type" enter the desired file extension including the leading dot and click the button "Add New". Then click on the "Register all" button.

Spoiler

 

Shortcuts (AutoIt related)

To see a list with a selection of AutoIt related shortcuts, click on "Scripts" / "_AutoIt" / "_Tips and shortcuts" in the main menu. The ReadMe.txt is displayed in PSPad. Many of the AutoIt related shortcuts are listed there.

Spoiler

 

Bernd.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[argumentum]

I use My fine tuned High Contrast theme to set the colors for my desktop.
A dark mode has much less impact at the end of the day, than the common bright whites, all day, everywhere.
So the dark coloring is important to me.

The use of PSPad is interesting, as I also plan to do some HTML in AutoIt. Other than that, with the full SciTE distro. one can get at the AutoIt installer page, one can have a very specialized environment, that I personally prefer over an IDE,  like ISN AutoIt Studio for example. ( tho I have not seen another in the wild )

So, I don't know. I don't have a reason to use another environment to code AutoIt.

On the HTML unrelated note: I don't find an environment I feel comfortable in yet.
 

On 3/6/2020 at 3:48 PM, Professor_Bernd said:

Is anyone interested? 

I have the same opinion Alpine gave in the .de forum a while back, so, my, or anyone's use, or not use, should not be of consideration.
There are things we do, because we find it beautiful. Very many use stuff that the coder is never thank or aware of, yet is useful ( hence beautiful ).

And, thanks for sharing   

[Professor_Bernd]

I find the dark theme very interesting, and I think it is good for the eyes. I have downloaded your "My fine tuned High Contrast theme" and tested it for a short time. I like it very much. Also to you: Thanks for sharing.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[Professor_Bernd]

Reserved

Sorry, I swapped this post with the one above. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[Bilgus]

The Function list pane is something I miss very much while 'Autoitting' after using Geany in linux

--

Not sure how I feel about it trying to connect to the internet on startup

Feels like that is something it should ask for permission before trying

-- is there a way to point it at a different directory to find Scite and Autoit 

or is it hard coded to use the installed version @ C:\Program Files (x86)\AutoIt3\

--Nevermind found it PSPad4AutoIt3\PSPad4Au3\PSPad4AutoIt3.ini

it'd also be nice if you could dismiss that error window for the remainder of the program run

like 'don't show again this session'

 

In the Tool Panel Variable decaration should be Variable declaration

Edited March 10, 2020 by Bilgus

[Professor_Bernd]

Hello Bilgus.

Please excuse me, my English is not so good and I don't know exactly how that is meant. 

Bernd.

 

[Bilgus]

Which part?

on first start it should ask 'Can I Check for updates?'

Needs an option to stop showing version errors with ArrayDisplay

Variable decaration is misspelled should be 'Variable declaration'

[Bilgus]

One other thing I noticed..

the paths should be saved with quotes '' in case directory/filename has space

PSPad4AutoIt3\PSPad4Au3\PSPad4AutoIt3.ini

[Paths]
AutoIt3_Dir=C:\Autoit\Autoit 3.3.14.5\
SciTE_Dir='C:\Autoit\Autoit 3.3.14.5\SciTE4AutoIt3_Portable'
[General]
P4A3_VeryFirstStartIsDone=True

 

 

 

[Professor_Bernd]

On 3/10/2020 at 2:37 PM, Bilgus said:

Which part?

When I wrote that, there was only one line in your posting:

On 3/10/2020 at 1:28 PM, Bilgus said:

The Function list pane is something I miss very much while 'Autoitting' after using Geany in linux

 

Now there are more.   I thank you very much for your feedback! I will try to answer your questions as best as I can. Your screenshot is very helpful. Thanks for that. 👍

 

On 3/10/2020 at 1:28 PM, Bilgus said:

Not sure how I feel about it trying to connect to the internet on startup

Feels like that is something it should ask for permission before trying

PSPad4AutoIt3 consists of PSPad and Improvement Kit. The author of the great editor PSPad is Jan Fiala. I am just the author for the Improvement Kit. As you can see in your screenshot, this is the PSPad.exe, and it must have been an update request. You can disable updates in the PSPad settings. The Improvement Kit does not connect to the internet and there are currently no plans to do so.

I have decided to disclose all source codes. Therefore no script is compiled, all scripts are open in the following folders :

- "...\PSPad4AutoIt3\PSPad4Au3\" => All .au3 Scripts, Tools, Bak-, ReadMe- and similar files.

- "...\PSPad4AutoIt3\Script\VBScript\" => All VBScript files. Recognizable by "AutoIt3_" at the beginning of the file name.

You can control everything, there is no internet connection for the Improvement Kit.

 

On 3/10/2020 at 1:28 PM, Bilgus said:

In the Tool Panel Variable decaration should be Variable declaration

Thanks for pointing that out. But this is part of PSPad, and you are welcome to report it on the PSPad forum.

 

On 3/10/2020 at 2:37 PM, Bilgus said:

Needs an option to stop showing version errors with ArrayDisplay

Sorry, but it doesn't make sense for me to turn off the version error message. If there are version errors, PSPad4AutoIt3 will not work. It can then only be used as a normal PSPad editor, but may generate errors with incomplete functions. In that case, you'd better download the normal version from the PSPad download page, without with little support for AuotIt3.

PSPad4AutoIt3 requires program parts that have a minimum version number. It also requires AutoIt3 and SciTE4AutoIt3 as preconditions, which have a minimum version number. Only when all parts meet the requirements can PSPad4AutoIt3 work. This is also indicated in the screenshot. For example, Jos rewrote the AutoIt3 wrapper to make it work for PSPad and other editors. Without the right AutoIt3Wrapper version, basic functions like "Run, Check Syntax, Compile and Comile Dialog" will not work.

 

On 3/10/2020 at 1:28 PM, Bilgus said:

-- is there a way to point it at a different directory to find Scite and Autoit or is it hard coded to use the installed version @ C:\Program Files (x86)\AutoIt3\

The paths are not hardcoded. First the default paths are checked, if they are not available, the user is asked ... You CAN enter the paths yourself in PSPad4AutoIt3.ini, but there is no need to do so.

If you downloaded the PSPad4AutoIt3 installation package with setup, all preconditions and version checks for it are done. For AutoIt and SciTE, you can specify existing paths, or perform a fresh install. If desired, the correct versions will be downloaded from the Internet.

If you downloaded the PSPad4AutoIt3 installation package WITHOUT setup, you have to take care of the preconditions with the correct versions yourself. When you start PSPad, the Improvement Kit will help you with the setup. If AuotIt or SciTE are not found, an input box is shown where you can enter the paths. This is done via VBScript, so it should work without AutoIt. (I will post a note on the PSPad4AutoIt3 download page in the German AutoIt forum).

Can you please post a screenshot where the version errors are shown with ArrayDisplay?

 

On 3/10/2020 at 2:51 PM, Bilgus said:

the paths should be saved with quotes '' in case directory/filename has space

PSPad4AutoIt3\PSPad4Au3\PSPad4AutoIt3.ini

You are right that paths with spaces need quotes. In the INI they are stored without quotes. The quotes are handled within the scripts of the Improvement Kit.

 

I hope I could answer your questions so far. Thanks for your questions, criticism and information! Further feedback is welcome!

Bernd.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[Bilgus]

Ah Sorry I wasn't aware you weren't in charge of PSpad as well

15 hours ago, Professor_Bernd said:

Sorry, but it doesn't make sense for me to turn off the version error message. If there are version errors, PSPad4AutoIt3 will not work. It can then only be used as a normal PSPad editor, but may generate errors with incomplete functions. In that case, you'd better download the normal version from the PSPad download page, without support for AuotIt3.

PSPad4AutoIt3 requires program parts that have a minimum version number. It also requires AutoIt3 and SciTE4AutoIt3 as preconditions, which have a minimum version number. Only when all parts meet the requirements can PSPad4AutoIt3 work. This is also indicated in the screenshot. For example, Jos rewrote the AutoIt3 wrapper to make it work for PSPad and other editors. Without the right AutoIt3Wrapper version, basic functions like "Run, Check Syntax, Compile and Comile Dialog" will not work.

 

 

The only issue is that it then proceeds to pop up that display anytime you change a setting

It also tries to overwrite my paths I've set in PSPad4AutoIt3.ini -- but you say the installer version takes care of this 

 

Here is the array display that comes after the error message

[Professor_Bernd]

9 hours ago, Bilgus said:

The only issue is that it then proceeds to pop up that display anytime you change a setting

Unfortunately this is not the only problem: PSPad4AutoIt3 will not work if a part does not meet the minimum version. To make it clear: It is NOT that it works less then, or slower, it doesn't work at all then!

As you can see in your screenshot, one important component is missing: The AutoIt3Wrapper, which Jos has extended for use with PSPad and other editors. Without this important component, the basic functions "Run, Compile, ..." won't work.

You can easily fix the error message by updating SciTE4AutoIt3 to the latest version. This will give you the full functionality of PSPad4AutoIt3.

 

10 hours ago, Bilgus said:

It also tries to overwrite my paths I've set in PSPad4AutoIt3.ini -- but you say the installer version takes care of this

The Improvement Kit should not overwrite the paths in PSPad4AutoIt3.ini. Now I have an idea that might explain the problems. Where did you place PSPad4AutoIt3? PSPad4AutoIt3 is designed as a portable program and needs write permission. That's why it can't work in the Windows programs folders, for example.

The installation package with setup will help you set up preconditions, paths, and much more. 👍 (To avoid complications, you can delete the existing PSPad4AutoIt3 folder beforehand.)

 

10 hours ago, Bilgus said:

Ah Sorry I wasn't aware you weren't in charge of PSpad as well

Many thanks for this information! This is very important and I will emphasize it better in the first posting. I thank you. 👍

 

Bernd.

[argumentum]

3 hours ago, Professor_Bernd said:

important component is missing: The AutoIt3Wrapper, which Jos has extended for use with PSPad

You should look for the AutoIt3Wrapper version instead of the SciTE version. The reason is that many, just like yourself, fiddle with the default code, so, look at the wrapper for the version  

Side note: I also have a customized the wrapper, so I patch each version to add the extra touches I like  

Edited March 12, 2020 by argumentum
link to the beta Wrapper

[Professor_Bernd]

35 minutes ago, argumentum said:

The reason is that many, just like yourself, fiddle with the default code,

What do you mean?

[argumentum]

that is the SciTE version. Not the wrapper version. Should look at the wrapper version

#NoTrayIcon
Global Const $VERSION = "19.1127.1402.1"
#AutoIt3Wrapper_Res_Fileversion=19.1127.1402.1

 

[argumentum]

< my internet has hiccups and posts twice   >

Edited March 12, 2020 by argumentum