If you're new to Unix systems, you may find vi and jove intimidating until
you've had a chance to play with them.  Until then, you may want to stick
with a simpleminded editor that's basically what you use to enter items.
It's called bbsed.  If you want to edit a file (including creating one),
from a Picospan (conference) prompt you would type

!bbsed filename

where "filename" is replaced by the name of the file you want to edit.
If this is a new file, you'll find yourself ready to enter text.  If it's
not, you'll get a prompt for an editor command.  To get help (such as it
is), enter a question mark (?) - a few more commands are available by
entering ampersand (&) - at the beginning of a line (all by itself).
You must do this at the editor command prompt; if you're entering text,
first enter a line consisting only of a period.

This is not a really powerful editor, & editing any big chunks of text
is (IMHO) more trouble than learning to use vi.  For editing a short
list of short lines (as a .cflist) it's just fine.
Use "." or ^D to end.

Here are the commands, as the help features give them to you.

Edit command (? for help): # means optional line number

c       - continue with next line
a       - abandon the text you've typed (or use "q")
s       - send text and quit (or use "w")
d #     - delete line #
i #     - insert before line #
e #     - edit line #
l #     - list from line # with numbers
p #     - print from line # without numbers

Type & for more commands

Edit command (? for help): More commands:

r       - read a UNIX file into buffer
u       - continue in upload mode
f #     - find a string starting at line #
!cmd    - execute UNIX command "cmd"

Commands and responses may be combined
   with ";". Example: e12;us;them;p

Be aware that the "edit" command (e) lets you replace a string in a given
line with another string, as the example shows.  Nothing more powerful.
But you can learn all the commands in about 3 minutes, unlike everything
else available.

19 responses total.

I've seen this example before, it's available, as stated, anytime
you are in this editor, and I've had this question:
  
   In the combined command example, what is the function of the ;p
at the end. Of course the   ;   is a field separator, but what
isthe necessity for the   p   ?

It's *not* necessary.  They're showing you that you can stack up multiple
commands too.  In this case, it will now re-list the file with your changes
(I believe the line # defaults to 1) - see the "p" command notation.

thtakthankxx

bbsed problem.  Session follows, explanation after:
Ok: edit .cflist

Edit command (? for help): p
genx
iq
world
sexuality
info
kitchen
agora

Edit command (? for help): d1;y
Line 1:
 genx
Deleted

Edit command (? for help): i2
Use "." or ^D to end.
2:
genx
3:
coop
4:
^D
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):
Edit command (? for help):

        When I did ^D to exit entry mode, I just got the edit prompt
        continually
reproducing itself as shown until I hit ^C 6 times or so.  What's up with that?
"p

 I believe that the w command writes the new file to disk, and exits the
editor. vi is a lot easier than that (oops)

Jim, that wasn't the problem.  I was simply exiting the entry mode, not the
editor.  If you read the the instruction line:
        Use "." or ^D to end.
you see that what I did was nothing unusual or problematic.
        Any other ideas?

at the "Edit..." prompt, you need to type "s" to finish. The ^D only finishes
your input; it doesn't save your input to wherever it needs to go.
Hope that helps.

        I'm pointing out an apparent problem with the editor, not asking
        how to use it!!!
        (Thanks anyway, carson)

hmm...

other, I've noticed that you can still reply to items. Have you had the 
problem since? Can you pass it off as a freak accident? Are you using
something other than bbsed to reply to conferences? what *were* you
typing at that "Edit..." prompt? :)

Hey, guys, stop jumping on him.  I don't have any idea what happened,
either, Eric.  I don't know off hand what happens if you do control-D
at the Edit command prompt; it might dump you out - but if it doesn't,
I'd suspect that you held your control-D down a bit too long and the
typematic came into play.

I just tried it, & that's what would happen - except that you should have
seen the ^D show up in that case.

*Was* this a once-only occurrence, or does it happen every time?

It happened twice at the time that it was happening.  I used ^D to get from
the line number prompt to the "Edit..." prompt, but I didn't hold it down, I
just struck it as I strike any key.  I held the ctrl key, of course...
        I just tried it again without incident.

Then my guess is that somehow your keyboard is generating multiple
keystrokes of some kind - but it's a guess.

(I'm quite aware of this, having used a system with the typematic delay
set so low that this kind of thing happened on a regular basis.
Using more, one would pensively press the space bar (but releasing it) -
and twenty or thirty screensful would fly by before things calmed down.
But you should still have seen the ^D echoes if this were happening in
your case, I'd say.

Actually I can guarantee that that is NOT th problem, because my key repeat cut
out about five days ago, and I don't know what happened with that either.
I have having to delete five words one letter at a time...!

I had a similar problem with my return key recently.  Just as I was getting
ready to replace the keyboard somebody suggested cleaning out the contacts
for the key.  They pulled the key off, dripped some rubbing alcohol onto the
key's contacts, and then put it back together after it dried.  I haven't had 
a problem with they key since.

Oh, the hardware works fine.  I get all the keystrokes I want when I hit the
key, there's just no repeat when I hold them down.

This response has been erased.

My return key stuck when we first put it back on.  We took it apart and put
it back together again and it worked.

This response has been erased.

Oh.  Mine was less than two years old.

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