PSPad4AutoIt3 (editor IDE)

[Professor_Bernd]

1 hour ago, argumentum said:

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

Maybe you didn't see my question above, because I don't quite understand. Can you explain it another way? What do you mean I fiddled with the standard code?

I didn't change anything in AutoIt or SciTE, not on the AutoIt3 wrapper or anything else. These excellent files are only used by the Improvement Kit, nothing is changed.

1 hour ago, argumentum said:

You should look for the AutoIt3Wrapper version instead of the SciTE version.

What would be better then? 

In the screenshot you can see the minimum version of SciTE is 4.2.0.0 and the existing version is 3.6.2.0!  I think there are much more differences between the versions than just the AutoIt3Wrapper. If the ImpKit (Improvement Kit) checks the SciTE version, and a user has fiddled with the code in AutoIt3Wrapper.au3, there is a good chance that the normal features are still there. (I assume that the user knows what he has changed.)

But if a user has an old SciTE version like 3.6.2.0, or just the SciTE light version, and simply copies the new AutoIt3Wrapper.au3 into the folder, it probably won't work with PSPad4AutoIt3. Then the version check would show that everything is ok, but it is not.

I hope I understood your question correctly.

Bernd.

[argumentum]

Mine shown 4.1 and worked fine. It complained about the version but worked, hence my advice, but I did not use it extensively.

[argumentum]

Mine shown 4.1 and worked fine. It complained about the version but worked, hence my advice, but I did not use it extensively.

[Professor_Bernd]

Does this mean you are using the latest AutoIt3Wrapper version with the older SciTE version?

Edited March 12, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[argumentum]

Yes.

SciTE is one thing, mostly independent of the complementary functions created on it for AutoIt.
So you can have an older SciTE version running a functional AutoIt v3.x.x.x without (much) problems.
So much so, that I have portable versions of AutoIt :  v3.2.0.1, v3.2.12.1, v3.3.6.1, v3.3.8.1, v3.3.14.2, v3.3.14.5 running currentish SciTE.

You should be able to run your setup, without necessarily having to have a full SciTE setup but just the components you actually use.

Then again, it's your project, you decide what you understand to be better, under your experience and current needs  

[argumentum]

...once I put together a setup to run on WinPE ( with functional F1 ( help ), as the WinPE i was using could not load the .chm files ).
So the imagination is the limit.  

[Professor_Bernd]

3 hours ago, Professor_Bernd said:

Does this mean you are using the latest AutoIt3Wrapper version with the older SciTE version?

2 hours ago, argumentum said:

Yes.

This is very interesting! Thanks for the information. 👍

 

2 hours ago, argumentum said:

You should be able to run your setup, without necessarily having to have a full SciTE setup but just the components you actually use.

PSPad4AutoIt3 is still very young. I have been working on it alone for about 5 months. It is in an early beta stage and I think there is only a small user base. Most users will probably use SciTE4AutoIt3, which is being developed for a lot longer and more people are working on it. I'm happy to be able to use the experience of SciTE and I really appreciate a good coexistence of SciTE and PSPad.

PSPad4AutoIt3 also has very few features yet. So it is definitely good to have a full featured editor like SciTE4AutoIt3 available in parallel. With PSPad you can try one or the other, report bugs and feature requests, and use SciTE for the important programming tasks.

When PSPad4AutoIt3 is further in development, I can think about an independent existence. But at the moment it is still far, far away. 😊

Even if you only tried PSPad4AutoIt3 for a short time, I'm very happy about the feedback. Thank you for your information, advice and tips.

Bernd.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[Professor_Bernd]

@Bilgus

Have you run more tests?

In a post on Thursday I wrote, I suspect that you put the PSPad4AutoIt3 folder in the Windows Applications folder. If so, please move the PSPad4AutoIt3 folder to a folder with write permissions and try again. Thank you.

If you would be so kind to do another test, we might find something interesting. In your screenshot I can see that you are using SciTE version 3.6.2.0. Now it would be interesting to know if PSPad4AutoIt3 works if you just copy the latest AutoIt3Wrapper.au3 into your SciTE folder.

I would be happy if you want to test it.

Thanks,
Bernd.

[Bilgus]

No it had write permissions it was just in a quarantined drive that asks before it gets to write or read files or folders outside all of which I allowed but it might not like the delay??

Ill try to get to it this week along with trying the wrapper 

[Professor_Bernd]

Thanks. I look forward to the result.

 

Bernd.

 

[Bilgus]

Yes it works I had to change the minmum version for Scite in the version check

I also added the required functions from WinAPISysWin.au3 and WinAPISysInternals.au3 to AutoIt3_CompilerRunner.au3 & HelpForAutoIt3_Helper.au3

I then was able to use it with the older autoit version as well

[Professor_Bernd]

Wow, thanks a lot! Good job! 👍

How did you find out what functions are needed in AutoIt3_CompilerRunner.au3 & HelpForAutoIt3_Helper.au3? Did you add the functions by including the files, or did you mean it differently?

#include <WinAPISysWin.au3>
#include <WinAPISysInternals.au3>

 

4 hours ago, Bilgus said:

I then was able to use it with the older autoit version as well

Did you mean AutoIt or SciTE?

 

I find this all very interesting! Thanks for testing and the information!

Bernd.

 

[Bilgus]

The older version of Scite worked once I copied the wrapper and changed the version

 

Older Autoit worked with it once I got rid of those newer includes and copied the functions to the files directly

I just Commented out the includes and then looked to see what functions failed

#Runner -- _WinAPI_EnumChildWindows, _WinAPI_SetForegroundWindow
#Helper -- _WinAPI_SetForegroundWindow, _WinAPI_GetClassName, _WinAPI_IsClassName

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by Bilgus

[Professor_Bernd]

Hi, Bilgus.

That's valuable information. I'm very pleased!

Thank you so much for your hard work.

Bernd.

[Professor_Bernd]

Another month has passed and I would like to give a small interim report.

The work on the CallTipViewer is progressing well. However, the feature is more complex than expected. But that is probably always the case. 🤔 Until the CallTipViewer is ready for use, probably another 4 to 8 weeks will pass. So please be patient. 😎

As CallTipViewer I call a feature that makes programming a little more comfortable with a small, flying window. It shows the syntax of a function as well as a short description, exactly as you can find it in the AutoIt help. Here is a screenshot example from SciTE:

 

This is how it works: You start writing a function, for example. Once you have written the opening parenthesis, you can press the Ctrl+Shift+Space shortcut. A tooltip-like window (the CallTip) appears, floating below the function. The focus remains on the editor and you can continue writing while the window shows the syntax. The current parameter is displayed in red. So you have a lot of information at hand while writing a function call.

Of course you can also call the CallTip with existing functions. Just place the caret between the opening and closing parenthesis of a function and press the shortcut

Currently this feature will only be available for AutoIt own functions and UDFs, not for functions you have (just) defined in a script. In other words: All functions including description are supported, which are listed in the AutoIt help.

For now, the feature is limited to the call line. That means, if you write a function call using line continuation characters over several lines, the CallTip is only available in the first line of the call. But you should be able to live with that.  If someone wants more, please contact us.

Professor Bernd.

[Professor_Bernd]

New version is available: PSPad4AutoIt3 v1.1.0 beta (2020-06-09). 

Download in the german forum Posting #1

 

Here are the highlights of the new features:

Improvement Kit

- CallTipViewer for official AutoIt functions. This means, for functions that are in the au3.api, or in the AutoIt help, CallTips are displayed.

CallTipViewer - Details

Spoiler

• Call CallTipViewer with Shift+Ctrl+Space, if the caret is behind an opening round bracket of a valid function.
• At the beginning there are 2 color schemes: 1 bright, 1 dark.
• Multiline capability: CallTipViewer works with several lines, which logically belong to the FuncName by means of line continuation characters.
• CallTipViewer works with function calls that contain "n params".
• Display if there are too many parameters in the function calls. "Too many params".
• If a CallTip is displayed and the caret switches between parameters, the current parameter is automatically displayed in red.
• If a CallTip is displayed and the function in the current line changes, the CallTip also changes automatically. (This also applies to function-in function.)

CallTipViewer - Screenshots

Spoiler

 

Wow, I just realized I've been working on this feature for 3 1/2 months. 

A special thanks goes to alpines, who developed the routine for the CallTipViewer's multi-line capability almost single-handedly.

Some bugfixes and enhancements of the existing features, e.g. "Debug to ConsoleMsgBox" and providing examples from the AutoIt help as a temp copy, where you can write to your heart's content without changing the real file. Uvm.

PSPad

A lot has really happened here, and many of my feature requests have been implemented. Most of them are not very spectacular and may not even be noticed by the user, but some are really great, e.g:

- "Highlighting all occurrences of selected text". Most editors have had this for a long time, and now, after a long effort on my part, Jan Fiala (author of PSPad) has implemented this feature in PSPad. Many thanks to Jan Fiala!

Highlighting Occurrences - Details

Spoiler

• Also in comments is highlighted!
• Partial terms are highlighted, e.g. "String" in "StringTrimRight", "StringLen", "StringInStr", etc.
• Terms are highlighted with spaces. Very useful e.g. for "$iMyVar_1 =", then the "=" is also highlighted.
• You can set the (background) color for highlighting the "Occurrences".

Highlighting Occurrences - Screenshots

Spoiler

 

@argumentum

- Skins have also recently been added to PSPad. This does not mean the editor area, which is colored by the highlighter, but everything else around it, i.e. the main window of PSPad with all toolbars, sidebars, etc.

Skins - Screenshots

Spoiler

 

- Highlight AutoIt variables with their own color.

 

I would be happy if you look at the program and write your opinion about it. Have fun!

Bernd.

 

PS: @Bilgus - Fixed: Variable decaration is misspelled should be 'Variable declaration'.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Professor_Bernd

[argumentum]

Nice. Liked the colors.
I would still insist on not looking at SciTE version and expectations the way you do but after changing the SciTE4AutIt3 4.2 check to 4.1 on your distro., it run on my setup without complain.

Thanks for sharing @Professor_Bernd.

[Professor_Bernd]

Thank you for your feedback and criticism about your dependence on SciTE.

In fact, I have thought a lot about it and I agree with you. I think it will be feasible. Also, I would like PSPad4AutoIt3 to be independent from the AutoIt version. I already have ideas for that as well. There will be problems with portable versions of AutoIt, because PSPad4AutoIt3 requires AutoItX to be registered for COM support, etc, etc.

However, solving the dependency on SciTE4AutoIt3 might work relatively well. Let's see. PSPad4AutoIt3 is still young!

What changes have you made to get PSPad working with SciTE4AutoIt3 4.1? Did you add the latest AutoIt3Wrapper.au3? Do the run commands (run, compile, compile dialog, syntax check) work in PSPad? Does the AutoIt3Wrapper.au3 have other dependencies that need to be considered?

A lot of questions. I would be happy if you had answers.

Bernd.

 

[argumentum]

22 minutes ago, Professor_Bernd said:

Did you add the latest AutoIt3Wrapper.au3

Yes. One can get the beta files and just drop them in the file structure. The executable version is not it. The wrapper version is  

22 minutes ago, Professor_Bernd said:

What changes have you made to get PSPad working with SciTE4AutoIt3 4.1?

...just lied to the code. You have 4.2.0.0 as a version, and I edited it to 4.1.0.0  

I've used SciTE for AutoIt for so long that I was pressing F5 in PSPad ( instead of F9 ).
I'm unlikely to use PSPad as a daily editor but if there is a project I can aid into perfection, I'll have my say, and point to the view I believe to be best. Because if you are packaging this for general use abroad, these points will help the next user. 

22 minutes ago, Professor_Bernd said:

your feedback and criticism

... I have a problem with the word "criticism". My idea is to point out better ideas or point of views, as a dialog. Not as pointing out mistakes, in a disapproving monologue.  So please see it as debugging 

Edited June 10, 2020 by argumentum

[Professor_Bernd]

20 hours ago, argumentum said:

I've used SciTE for AutoIt for so long that I was pressing F5 in PSPad ( instead of F9 ).

In the beginning I also had F5 for "run" in PSPad to be as similar as possible to SciTE and to make the switch easier. But Ctrl+F5, Shift+F5, Ctrl+F7, ... was too cumbersome to reach with one hand. Therefore I used the F9 key. This corresponds to the original PSPad and the Delphi IDE. (Besides, I often pressed F5 by mistake, because I had "refresh" from the browser in mind).

 

19 hours ago, argumentum said:

I have a problem with the word "criticism". ... So please see it as debugging

That's how I see it. (Positive) criticism does not mean to do something bad, but to point out mistakes. I see it as something good that helps me find bugs and actually use it as a kind of debugging.

And like last time, your information helps me. Thanks for that. 👍