Editing XML More Easily

Many of you who are using Windows in the lab to edit your XML files are using notepad. Notepad is a terrible editor, and it is difficult to write a properly indented document using notepad. Here is a better way to create a new file and edit it.

From the Start menu, select Programs > C.I.S. > Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0.
From the File menu, select New.
Click the Files tab on the dialog box that appears.
Click Text file (the last choice) and then click OK.

Now type these lines. Press the Tab key to indent.

This is line one.
This is line two.
The next line will be indented.
	I pressed TAB to indent this line.

When you press the Enter key after the last line, the cursor does not go back all the way to the left, as it does in notepad. Instead, it stays underneath the word print. Type $b = 2; and you will see it appear right underneath the word I.

Now press the Backspace key. The cursor will now be at the left again. Type The end. and press the Enter key.

Using this editor will make it easier to write XML-based documents that are indented correctly.

To save the file, go to the File menu and select Save..., and name it test_file.txt

You can also open existing files in this editor. If you choose Open... from the File menu, you will not see any XML files unless you select All files (*.*) from the Files of type drop-down menu.

Alternate Editors

If you are working at home, you may download a shareware program called TextPad, available from http://www.textpad.com. It is significantly better than Notepad, and far easier to use.

If you are used to the Unix vi editor, you may get a clone named Elvis which works on Windows systems. You may download it from, and I swear I am not making this up, http://elvis.the-little-red-haired-girl.org/

If you're using Linux, I highly recommend the nedit editor. You may download it from http://www.nedit.org/. It also has a Win32 version, which I have not tried, as it needs a lot of extra software to be downloaded to make it work on that operating system.