I haven't tested this yet: http://www.freedos.org/software/?prog=edit

I'm not sure about Windows 8, only 7 and lower, but if you install gVim there is an "easy" mode which works like a regular Notepad.

www.vim.org

(Note: add "set dir=.,$TMP,$TEMP" to your _vimrc file or you'll get permission errors)

Under DOSbox I use Vim (last DOS version 7.3) or elvis.

I have already researched freedos but I can't find enough information on how to install that. Like I said I am not really looking for dual boot or multiple operating systems unless that is the ONLY route to take.

I have also checked out vim but really just want ms-dos editor

On a different site there was a post to copy edit.com into a folder and enter path to that folder in dosbox but they didn't sound sure.

It took a minute to obtain the above EDIT.EXE binary and verify it works in dosbox:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/fre … it/edit09ax.zip

I used this installation procedure:
copy EDIT.EXE to a Windows folder visible by dosbox

Why not just Notepad++? It will respect encoding and there is nothing to learn if you don't want to use any of its extra capabilities. If for some reason you do not want highlighting, just have it make normal text the default language.

Thanx Truth... I would prefer to try that
what exactly do you mean by make it visible by dosbox?
Like instead of c:\dosgames or whatever create something like c:\msedit and mount c c:\msedit ?
I don't have any idea how to use dosbox... am reading all the documentation that I can.

To Collector, one of the editors I downloaded yesterday was Notepad++
In case there was no possibility of using ms-dos editor without creating multiple operating systems.
wondering if it shows BOMs like dos editor does
another thing I wonder about it is: like one of the languages I code is php that also contains html, css and javascript
not sure if notepad++ will allow me to mix languages in one document?
I also need to read all their documentation.

Any helpful tips to spare me some time would be greatly appreciated.

OfficeAngel wrote:

wondering if it shows BOMs like dos editor does

Yes, in the lower right of the statusbar.

OfficeAngel wrote:

wondering another thing I wonder about it is: like one of the languages I code is php that also contains html, css and javascript
not sure if notepad++ will allow me to mix languages in one document?
I also need to read all their documentation.

Of course you can mix languages, as there is nothing to prevent it, but the syntax highlighting will be whatever language you have it set to if new or whatever language of the document opened. However, it should recognize things like javascript within HTML, etc.

While you do not have to use any of its features if you do not want to, it is feature rich. It is handy having things like a good search and replace that also allows you to use regular expressions that can work across all open documents, a built in change case, section folding, etc. It also has a large collection of plugins to extend its capabilities.

If you insist on sticking with the Windows console, I did a quick Google and came up with http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11045077/e … -64-bit-windows , which suggests the Kinesics text editor and nano.

Thanx Truth, I figured out how to get the freedos editor to work in Dosbox. Only downside is it doesn't support long file names like the ms-dos editor included with windows xp 32 bit, which means I would have to rename hundreds of files.

Thanx Collector, I installed notepad++ a couple of days ago and have been trying to familiarize myself with it and am reading the documentation.

Thanx Jorpho, I am doing more research on Kinesics. Not having much luck finding very many screenshots but will keep looking. Nano site shows last update on it was in 2002 so that's out because I want to settle into whatever I decide on for a while and am worried they might not be available much longer.

I still wonder if I could copy the ms-dos editor files such as edit.com, the help and ini files from my windows xp machine into dosbox?
It would be great if it would work. It could at least get me by until I find something else and learn how to utilize its functions and capabilities.

I really wish Microsoft would have updated ms-dos editor to 64 bit and continued to include it in with windows.
I really depended on the ms-dos editor a lot! I could pump out dozens of pages of code per day using it.

There isn't long file name support, but you may boot from a DOS image which supports this feature. However, DOSBox is designed to support games, not text editors, at least for general users of the emulator. 😀

Another reason to use a Win32 native editor is to have unhindered access to the Windows clipboard. Even if you run some DOS app with copy and paste within DOSBox, it will be isolated from the Windows clipboard without some workaround.

Yes Truth, I do understand that dosbox is primarily designed for games, but it was just my only ray of hope to get the dos editor.

Yes Collector, although I could copy and paste from windows with ms-dos editor I noticed that was a problem with freedos in dosbox. It also doesn't seem that I can do things like right click a file and open it with freedos in the dosbox like I could with ms-dos editor.

I will probably either use the freedos editor in dosbox temporarily, or hook my old xp computer back up temporarily until I can decide, learn, and test a new program like Notepad++ or Programmer's Notepad

If I learn a few different text editor programs, hopefully there will be less chance that I will be left in the cold again like now with ms-dos editor.

I am not the kind of person to give up easily. I had really hoped there would be a way to make ms-dos editor work but I guess it is impossible. 🙁 😢

Thank you all for your input and help.

In case you aren't aware, the 32-bit versions of Windows should still be able to run programs like EDIT.

OfficeAngel wrote:

It also doesn't seem that I can do things like right click a file and open it with freedos in the dosbox like I could with ms-dos editor.

This can definitely be done with DOSBox, though it's not particularly standard. (It might even be possible to do it with long file names, but that would definitely require some contortions.)

OfficeAngel wrote:

Nano site shows last update on it was in 2002 so that's out because I want to settle into whatever I decide on for a while and am worried they might not be available much longer.

Microsoft's EDIT.COM probably hasn't been updated since 2002 either (and probably much earlier). Nano is one of those venerable open-source programs (not so unlike Vi and Emacs) that will probably be around forever and ever and ever.

OfficeAngel wrote:

If I learn a few different text editor programs, hopefully there will be less chance that I will be left in the cold again like now with ms-dos editor.

Notepad++ is under active development, so it should be supported for the foreseeable future.

Or try this:

http://www.briefeditor.com/index.htm

truth_deleted wrote on 2014-04-23, 22:34:

It took a minute to obtain the above EDIT.EXE binary and verify it works in dosbox: http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/fr […]
Show full quote

It took a minute to obtain the above EDIT.EXE binary and verify it works in dosbox:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/fre … it/edit09ax.zip

I used this installation procedure:
copy EDIT.EXE to a Windows folder visible by dosbox

Just want to thank you for tracking that binary EDIT down. Saved me a bunch of time as I was not having luck locating a copy for my dosbox installation. Really appreciate it thanks.