Newsgroup readers

M

Mike Barnes

Tim Slattery said:
Just hit the "Insert" key. It toggles the editor between insert and
overwrite modes.
Overwrite mode? I thought that died out some time around 1990. What's
the point?
 
G

Gene Wirchenko

Overwrite mode? I thought that died out some time around 1990. What's
the point?
You might not care for it, but I find it useful on occasion.

Replacing n characters with n characters can be useful when
editing fixed-width data.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko
 
K

Ken Blake

Those are the two I use but maybe you can tell me something about
Agent. I am having difficulties editing with Agent ver.7.

I use Agent 6, not 7, but your question actually has nothing to do
with any version of Agent. It has to do with typing on your keyboard.

If I edit in
the middle of a sentence the rest of the words will be eaten up so I
have to start over again. How do I insert words to stop this from
happening.

The keyboard can work in either of two modes--insert and overtype. The
insert key toggles between the two of them (read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insert_key).

You are typing in insert mode and you want to type in overtype mode,
so just press Insert to change modes.

By the way, I *always* want to type in overtype mode, but I am likely
to hit the Insert key accidentally. So I have the Insert key turned
off on my keyboard, using the small, simple, very easy to use, free
program called SharpKeys at http://www.randyrants.com/sharpkeys/ I
also use it to turn off Caps lock which I never want to use and am
prone to hitting accidentally.
 
K

Ken Blake

I meant Outlook Express and not Outlook.


Two *very* different programs, as you perhaps know. But with regard to
your question, it doesn't matter.
 
K

Ken Blake

You might not care for it, but I find it useful on occasion.

Replacing n characters with n characters can be useful when
editing fixed-width data.


I understand your point, but you can easily accomplish the same thing
in Insert mode by double-clicking the word you want to overtype to
select it.

I hate to have Typeover mode available, since I am always at risk of
accidentally hitting the Insert key.
 
G

Gene Wirchenko

[snip]
Replacing n characters with n characters can be useful when
editing fixed-width data.
I understand your point, but you can easily accomplish the same thing
in Insert mode by double-clicking the word you want to overtype to
select it.
No, you can not, because you do not get the assurance of
one-to-one character replacement. Overwrite gives that. It is a
special use, and I like having it.
I hate to have Typeover mode available, since I am always at risk of
accidentally hitting the Insert key.
I like having it for those times when it matters.

Why not hate the other keys, since you are always at risk of
accidentally hitting one of them?

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko
 
K

Ken Blake

[snip]
Replacing n characters with n characters can be useful when
editing fixed-width data.
I understand your point, but you can easily accomplish the same thing
in Insert mode by double-clicking the word you want to overtype to
select it.
No, you can not, because you do not get the assurance of
one-to-one character replacement. Overwrite gives that. It is a
special use, and I like having it.

OK. I can't think of a time when I wanted one-to-one character
replacement, but if you need it, then fine.

I like having it for those times when it matters.

Why not hate the other keys, since you are always at risk of
accidentally hitting one of them?


No, it's very different. If, for example, I hit the "W" instead of the
"E," it's a single mistake and it's easy to correct. And I'll probably
get a misspelled word and my spell checker will probably catch it. But
I am a two-finger typist, and I look at the keyboard as I type. If I
hit the Insert key by accident, I can mess up lots of typing without
having realized it. That's a royal pain to have to fix.
 
A

Allen Drake

I use Agent 6, not 7, but your question actually has nothing to do
with any version of Agent. It has to do with typing on your keyboard.




The keyboard can work in either of two modes--insert and overtype. The
insert key toggles between the two of them (read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insert_key).

You are typing in insert mode and you want to type in overtype mode,
so just press Insert to change modes.

By the way, I *always* want to type in overtype mode, but I am likely
to hit the Insert key accidentally. So I have the Insert key turned
off on my keyboard, using the small, simple, very easy to use, free
program called SharpKeys at http://www.randyrants.com/sharpkeys/ I
also use it to turn off Caps lock which I never want to use and am
prone to hitting accidentally.
Thanks, that simplifies it for me. What about making it easier to
read by something like changing colors like OE did with that add on.
As I look up now at what has been posted I really can't tell who typed
what or when.
 
K

Ken Blake

Thanks, that simplifies it for me. What about making it easier to
read by something like changing colors like OE did with that add on.
As I look up now at what has been posted I really can't tell who typed
what or when.

In almost all newsgroup readers (except Windows Live Mail) you can
tell by the number of >s at the beginning of the line. See the quotes
above.

If Agent 7.0 can change colors, I don't know it, but I don't think it
can. You might want to ask in the Agent newsgroup.
 
C

Char Jackson

If Agent 7.0 can change colors, I don't know it, but I don't think it
can. You might want to ask in the Agent newsgroup.
Agent 2.0 can show multiple colors. I have it set to black for new
text and blue for quoted text, with URLs in green. (I didn't change
them; those are the defaults.) I'd be surprised if v7.0 has lost that
capability. They might even have expanded it, but I don't have v7.0 so
I can't easily check.
 
K

Ken Blake

Agent 2.0 can show multiple colors. I have it set to black for new
text and blue for quoted text, with URLs in green. (I didn't change
them; those are the defaults.) I'd be surprised if v7.0 has lost that
capability. They might even have expanded it, but I don't have v7.0 so
I can't easily check.

Yes, what you are saying is correct. I know that. But if I understood
his question correctly, that's not what he wanted to know. He wanted a
different color for each person quoted in the thread. And as far as I
know, it can not do that.
 
G

Gene E. Bloch

Yes, what you are saying is correct. I know that. But if I understood
his question correctly, that's not what he wanted to know. He wanted a
different color for each person quoted in the thread. And as far as I
know, it can not do that.
Both of the newsreaders I use (Dialog & MesNews) can be set to different
colors for each level of quotation.

That would be a different color for each author only if each reply in a
series is by a different person. That isn't especially common, of
course, so the same author would have two colors from replying at two
levels.

Also the number of levels is limited; every reply beyond a depth of 100
is the same color. (It isn't really 100 levels, of course, more like 6
or 10).
 
A

Allen Drake

Both of the newsreaders I use (Dialog & MesNews) can be set to different
colors for each level of quotation.

That would be a different color for each author only if each reply in a
series is by a different person. That isn't especially common, of
course, so the same author would have two colors from replying at two
levels.

Also the number of levels is limited; every reply beyond a depth of 100
is the same color. (It isn't really 100 levels, of course, more like 6
or 10).
I only used the color scheme as an example but I see now the
different number of ">" added to the beginning of posts.

Thanks for that.

Al.
 
C

Char Jackson

Yes, what you are saying is correct. I know that. But if I understood
his question correctly, that's not what he wanted to know. He wanted a
different color for each person quoted in the thread. And as far as I
know, it can not do that.
Cool, I see now, thanks. You're right, at least WRT Agent 2.0, that
all quoted text is colored the same, regardless of quote level.
 
M

Mike Barnes

Gene Wirchenko said:
You might not care for it, but I find it useful on occasion.

Replacing n characters with n characters can be useful when
editing fixed-width data.
Fixed-width data? I thought that died out some time around 1990.

More seriously, I select what I'm about to overwrite and then just type.
The only time I remember needing to overtype in recent years is when
hacking a binary file, and my editor overwrites automatically in binary
mode. I can't imagine why I'd want to overwrite when composing an e-mail
message, but I'm happy to accept that some people do.
 
M

Mike Barnes

Ken Blake said:
The keyboard can work in either of two modes--insert and overtype. The
insert key toggles between the two of them (read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insert_key).
My understanding is that it's the application, not the keyboard, that
has those modes.
You are typing in insert mode and you want to type in overtype mode,
so just press Insert to change modes.
If your application supports that, yes. I find that many on this PC
don't.
 
G

Gene E. Bloch

I only used the color scheme as an example but I see now the
different number of ">" added to the beginning of posts.

Thanks for that.

Al.
My newsreaders keep the angle brackets too, if that wasn't clear.

I never keep the colors straight. I can't tell you which level is red or
blue, etc, but it sure makes it easy to see which text is at a different
level. It's a guide for me, rather than an explicit indicator. It helps,
obviously.
 
K

Ken Blake

My understanding is that it's the application, not the keyboard, that
has those modes.

No, as far as I know it works that way in all applications. But when
I say "the keyboard," what I really mean is that Windows treats the
Insert key that way.
If your application supports that, yes. I find that many on this PC
don't.

Tell me the names of a few of those applications. If they don't,
perhaps I'm wrong in what I say above.
 
K

Ken Blake

Fixed-width data? I thought that died out some time around 1990.

More seriously, I select what I'm about to overwrite and then just type.

Yes, that's exactly what I do, and what I said in an earlier message
in this thread.
 
M

Mike Barnes

Ken Blake said:
No, as far as I know it works that way in all applications. But when
I say "the keyboard," what I really mean is that Windows treats the
Insert key that way.



Tell me the names of a few of those applications. If they don't,
perhaps I'm wrong in what I say above.
What you wrote isn't wrong, it's just too generalised.

I went down the list of applications pinned to my task bar, typing into
each in turn while toggling the Insert key, and seeing whether they
overwrote or not.

Turnpike: Yes.
Windows Explorer: No.
Firefox: No.
Google Chrome: No.
Quicken: No.
Ultra Edit: No.
Dreamweaver: No.
VNC: No.
Fireworks: No.
Safari: No.
Microsoft Word: No.
Microsoft Excel: Yes.
Microsoft Access: Yes.

The "No"s not only exist, but are a clear majority, in the programs I
use most anyway.

(It's possible that some time long ago I configured one or two of those
programs to ignore the Insert key, but I don't think that would change
the overall result.)
 

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