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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<section id="general">
<title>General Questions</title>
<!-- jEdit buffer-local properties: -->
<!-- :indentSize=2:noTabs=false:maxLineLen=90:tabSize=2: -->
<!-- :xml.root=faq.xml: -->
<!-- jEdit FAQ -->
<para>This section deals with some background information, how to obtain the
latest version of jEdit and how to obtain further information/help.</para>
<qandaset defaultlabel="qanda">
<qandadiv id="about">
<title>About jEdit</title>
<qandaentry>
<question id="whatis">
<para>What is jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>jEdit is a programmer's text editor written in Java,
originally developed by Slava Pestov, now maintained by
others. It has an easy to use interface that resembles that
of many other Windows and MacOS text editors. It is also
highly customizable, and contains a <quote>plugin</quote>
architecture that allows its features to be extended by
additional programs.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="difftext">
<para>What is the difference between a text editor and a
word processor?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>These categories are not absolute but refer to the
primary purpose of an editing program and the focus of its
features.</para>
<para>A text editor is an application that edits files
containing plain text without automatically formatting the
text for printing or other publication. Typically the
contents of such a file consists of data used by another
application - for example, source code that a compiler will
process or markup text that a web browser will display. A
word processor deals with the preparation of documents for
printing or similar publication. Besides editing text, a
modern word processor allows the user to choose multiple
fonts, margin sizes, line spacing, indentation, and a
variety of other details that affect the appearance of the
document being edited. In a text editor, these features are
present, if at all, only in a basic form, and for the
limited purpose of helping the user compose and organize the
text. In place of word processing features, a text editor
contains many features that allow the user to prepare and
work with text quickly and efficiently.</para>
<para>The jEdit application is a text editor, not a word
processor. It contains a large assortment of features for
manipulating source code, markup text, and other text files.
As a programmer's text editor, it also has many features to
help programmers manage their projects and work with other
programming tools.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="features">
<para>What features does jEdit have?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The short answer is, too many to list here. There is a
detailed list available on the <ulink
url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=features">jEdit web
site</ulink>, but here are some of the major
features:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Comprehensive online help</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Multiple editor windows and split editing panes
within a single editing window</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Unlimited undo/redo</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Copy and paste with an unlimited number of
clipboards (known as <quote>registers</quote>)</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><quote>Markers</quote> for remembering
positions in files to return to later</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Rectangular selection</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Multiple selection for manipulating several
chunks of text at once</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Syntax highlighting for more than 80 file
types</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Intelligent bracket matching that skips quoted
literals and comments</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Auto indent and word wrap</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Abbreviations</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><quote>Folding</quote> display mode that hides
levels of indented text specified by the user</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Search and replace using both literal text and
regular expressions</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><quote>HyperSearch</quote> option to show all
found matches in a list</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>File management functions available from within
jEdit, including deleting and renaming files and
creating new directories</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Choice of character encoding for loading and
saving files</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Automatic compression and decompression of
GZipped (.gz) files</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Plugin support for loading files from ZIP and
TAR archives</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Plugin support for loading and saving files on
FTP servers</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Fully customizable keyboard shortcuts, tool bar
and right-click context menu</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Macro system permitting recording and writing
of macros in the BeanShell scripting language</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>An internal <quote>plugin manager</quote> that
downloads and installs new and updated plugins from
within jEdit</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="what-plugin">
<para>What is a jEdit <quote>plugin</quote>?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>A plugin is an application that is designed to work
with jEdit by providing additional features that can be used
from within the main program. Often the plugin will provide
a visible user interface in a window that can be docked to
jEdit's main view window.</para>
<para>There are currently over 120 publicly available
plugins that provide such services as a Java source code
browser, a command-line shell, templated text insertion, and
source code project management. They can be downloaded,
installed, and kept current from within jEdit's
<quote>Plugin Manager</quote>. There is also a section of
the jEdit web site called <ulink
url="http://plugins.jedit.org/">Plugin Central</ulink> that
maintains a descriptive index and download links for all
publicly available plugins.</para>
<para>Additional questions and answers regarding plugins may
be found in the section of this document entitled
<quote>Working with Plugins</quote>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="get-doc">
<para>How do I get documentation on jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>There is a comprehensive User's Guide available from
within the program using the <guimenu>Help</guimenu> menu.
The User's Guide can also be downloaded from the <ulink
url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=download&platform=source">
jEdit web site</ulink> in Portable Document Format (PDF),
suitable for online display or printing.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="is-newsgroup">
<para>Is there a newsgroup or mailing list devoted to
jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Currently there is no newsgroup devoted to jEdit.
There are three active mailing lists that are freely
available by subscription:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>The <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">
jedit-users list</ulink>, for comments and questions
about using jEdit and its features</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-devel">
jedit-devel list</ulink>, for discussion of
development issues by members of the developer team
and other interested persons</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-announce">
jedit-announce list</ulink>, a low-volume list used
for announcing new releases of jEdit and
plugins</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>Each of these lists can be obtained on a full-text
message or a daily digest basis. The daily digest bundles
groups of postings in a single email message.</para>
<para>If you are only interested in version announcements
and plugin updates, <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-announce">
subscribe to the jedit-announce list</ulink>. If you would
like to participate in discussion or ask questions regarding
jEdit, <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">subscribe
to the jedit-users list</ulink>. If you are interested in
jEdit's development or want to write plugins, <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-devel">
subscribe to jedit-devel</ulink>.</para>
<para>Do not cross-post to both lists. All jEdit developers
are subscribed to both the jedit-users and jedit-devel
lists, so a post to jedit-users will be seen by most members
of both lists. Also, keep in mind that both jEdit-users and
jEdit-devel are high-traffic lists, and can fill up your
mailbox unless you check your email regularly.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="is-website">
<para>Is there a web site devoted to jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>There are several. The official <ulink
url="http://www.jedit.org">jEdit web site</ulink> contains
extensive information on all things having to do with jEdit.
There are also resources available for those interested in
jEdit development on the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/projects/jedit">jEdit project
page</ulink> of the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net">SourceForge web
site</ulink>.</para>
<para>The <ulink url="http://community.jedit.org">jEdit
Community</ulink> web site has articles on jEdit and related
topics, user-submitted macros and other download resources,
and listings of web links of interest to jEdit users. It has
a message board system to allow users to ask questions and
provide feedback on the project without having to subscribe
to jEdit's mailing lists. Because the message boards have
relatively low volume, using the mailing lists will often be
a more effective approach.</para>
<para>The jEdit Community site also has an
<quote>Interactive FAQ</quote> facility that allows you to
post questions to be answered by other users, and a
screenshot gallery containing images submitted by
users.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="copyright">
<para>Are there copyright restrictions on the use of
jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The jEdit application is free, <quote>Open
Source</quote> software released under the <ulink
url="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html">
GNU General Public License 2.0</ulink>. This ensures that
jEdit and its source code remains freely available for use
and distribution by the public. For specific copyright
questions, you should review the GPL 2.0 and seek
appropriate advice. Broadly speaking, there are no
restrictions on the use of the program as a text editor, and
its source code can be copied or modified for use in another
program that is governed by the General Public
License.</para>
<para>Plugin application that are available using jEdit's
Plugin Manager facility, as well as plugins available
through the <ulink url="http://plugins.jedit.org">Plugin
Central</ulink> web site or <ulink
url="http://community.jedit.org">jEdit Community</ulink>,
are governed either by the General Public License or another
commonly recognized <quote>Open Source</quote> software
license. This means that use of the application, including
use for commercial purposes, is unrestricted without any
requirement of royalty or license fee payments. To
incorporate source code or an application or plugin as a
whole in another application, you must consult the specific
license terms to determine whether and on what basis you are
permitted to do so.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="java-only">
<para>Is jEdit only useful for programming in Java?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Absolutely not. Many of the jEdit's plugin
applications, and a few of the macros distributed with the
program, target the Java language or integrate tools used in
Java development. However, the core application is designed
to work with any programming or markup language. Included
with jEdit are packages providing syntax highlighting,
abbreviations and other programming support for over 60
programming languages and file types, including C, C++, C#,
Cobol, HTML, Java, Javascript, Lisp, Pascal, Perl, PHP,
Python, Ruby, TCL, Visual Basic and XML. The full list can
be found on the <ulink
url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=features">jEdit web
site</ulink>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="knowing-java">
<para>Do I need to know Java to use jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>No. In fact, you do not need to know any specific
programming language other than the ones with which you
work.</para>
<para>At some point in your use of jEdit, you will no doubt
want to write your own macros to execute long or complex
routines with a single command or keyboard shortcut. Macros
in jEdit are written in a simplified dialect of Java called
<ulink url="http://www.beanshell.org"> BeanShell</ulink>.
Its syntax will be familiar to users of Java, C++ and other
object-oriented languages, and it is not hard to learn even
if you have no experience with those languages. The User's
Guide provided with jEdit contains an extensive tutorial on
writing macros.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="needed-software">
<para>What software do I need to install and run
jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Since jEdit runs on a Java platform, at a minimum you
will need a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) package. If you
are planning to use jEdit to program in Java, you will need
a full Java Development Kit (JDK) package. We recommend
obtaining a JDK package.</para>
<para>The current version of jEdit requires a
Java runtime environment having a release version of 1.7 or greater. The <ulink
url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=compatibility">jEdit
web site</ulink> contains a detailed discussion on the
compatibility of various publicly available JDK's for the
major operating systems.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="just-learning">
<para>I've just started to learn programming. Is jEdit a
good choice for my first text editor?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>It is an excellent choice. Its basic features are
extremely easy to use, and you will find things like
abbreviations, keyboard shortcuts and macros to be great
time-savers. It has built-in packages called <quote>edit
modes</quote> that automatically display keywords, tags, and
other program elements in different colors, making it easier
to view and organize your code. It works well with many Open
Source and proprietary programming tools. Because of its
extensive customization features, it can adapt to your
preferences and work patterns as you become more
experienced. Finally, it's free, so you can buy a lot of
programming texts with the money you will save.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
</qandadiv>
<!--******************************************************** Answers -->
<qandadiv id="get-answers-div">
<title>Getting answers</title>
<qandaentry>
<question id="get-answers">
<para>How do I get answers to my questions about
jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>You should look for answers in the following
places:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>The User's Guide available from the
application's <guimenu>Help</guimenu> menu.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>This FAQ document.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The archives of jEdit's mailing lists. Archives
for both the <ulink
url="http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=jedit-users">
jedit-users list</ulink> and the <ulink
url="http://www.geocrawler.com/redir-sf.php3?list=jedit-devel">
jedit-devel list</ulink> are available.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>If you cannot find help using those resources, post
your question to the <ulink
url="mailto:jedit-users@lists.sourceforge.net"> jedit-users
list</ulink>. You will have to <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">
subscribe to the mailing list</ulink> in order to post, but
it is well worth it, and you can elect to have daily bundles
of messages sent to you to keep email traffic down. Many
questions are answered on the mailing list within 24 hours.
The developers who respond to user questions generally do
not send direct replies, so you will need to monitor
messages from the mailing list is order to obtain an
answer.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="interactive-help">
<para>Where can I get interactive help for jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>There is an IRC channel, <filename>#jedit</filename>,
available on the irc.freenode.net server that is dedicated
to jEdit support and discussion among developers. You can
reach it using any IRC client (including Chatzilla), as well
as the IRC plugin for jEdit.</para>
<para>There is almost always someone from the developer team
signed on the channel. Just say hello and describe your
problem.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
</qandadiv>
<qandadiv id="bugs">
<title>Reporting bugs</title>
<qandaentry>
<question id="report-bugs">
<para>How do I report a bug I have found in jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>To be as helpful as possible to the jEdit developer
team and other users, you should use the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?group_id=588&atid=100588">
bug tracker database</ulink> that the jEdit project
maintains on the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/">SourceForge web site</ulink>.
You need to be a SourceForge member to post a bug
report.</para>
<para>Before posting a bug report, spend a few moments
searching the bug database to see if a similar report has
already been made. The bug tracker has a search facility
that will let search for bug reports using a variety of
criteria. If you find a similar bug report, and you have
additional information to contribute, post a comment to the
report. If you do not find a similar bug report, submit a
new report.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="bug-report">
<para>What information should I include in a bug
report?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The form in the bug tracker report provides several
fields for submitting information. If you are unsure about a
particular item, leave it at the default setting provided in
the form.</para>
<para>The more important fields are <quote>Category</quote>,
<quote>Summary</quote> and the <quote>Initial
comment</quote>. When you write your initial comment
describing the bug, you should specify the versions of
jEdit, the Java platform and operating system you are using,
because bugs often arise that are specific to particular
versions. Sometimes the bug arises from the Java runtime
environment or even the operating system, and knowing these
details helps the developer team design testing and other
debugging strategies.</para>
<para>One of the macros installed with jEdit is called
<guimenuitem>Make Bug Report</guimenuitem>. You will it find
under the <guimenuitem>Misc</guimenuitem> category of the
<guimenu>Macros </guimenu> menu. This macro extracts
information regarding your jEdit installation and a stack
trace from the last error recorded by jEdit's Activity Log
and places it in a new text buffer. In many cases, the
information furnished by the macro is all that is necessary
to provide a helpful description of a bug. You can simply
cut and paste the output of the macro into the
<quote>Initial comment</quote> field of the bug report
form.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="bug-track">
<para>How do I track the status of a jEdit bug
report?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>If you know the bug report number, go to this web
address:
<userinput>http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=######&group_id=588&atid=100588</userinput>,
where <userinput>######</userinput> is the bug report
number. If you don't know the bug report number, you can
browse and search the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?group_id=588&atid=100588">
bug database</ulink> to find the problem in which you are
interested.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
</qandadiv>
<qandadiv id="contact">
<title>Contacting jEdit developers</title>
<qandaentry>
<question id="contact-team">
<para>How do I contact members of the jEdit developer
team?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>If you want to ask a question, make a feature request
or offer other general comments, the easiest way is to join
and post a message to the <ulink
url="mailto:jedit-users@lists.sourceforge.net"> jedit-users
mailing list</ulink>. All developers are members. If you are
interested in working on jEdit or writing a plugin for it,
use the <ulink
url="mailto:jedit-users@lists.sourceforge.net"> jedit-devel
list</ulink>. Email addresses for individual developers can
be found on the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/project/memberlist.php?group_id=588">
SourceForge web site</ulink>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
</qandadiv>
<qandadiv id="latest-version">
<title>Getting the latest version</title>
<qandaentry>
<question id="get-latest-version">
<para>How do I obtain the latest version of jEdit?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The program is in a continuing state of evolution. It
is usually available in two versions, a
<quote>stable</quote> version and a
<quote>development</quote> version. A stable version
represents a release of jEdit that is considered to be free
of serious bugs or performance problems and suitable for
general use. A <quote>development</quote> version includes
new features or new elements of program design that require
testing and possible further refinement. A development
version contains the token <quote>pre</quote> in its version
number, as in <literal>4.5pre1</literal>.</para>
<para>The latest stable and development versions of jEdit
are always available from the <ulink
url="http://www.jedit.org">jEdit web site</ulink> and from
the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/ projects/jedit">jEdit
project page</ulink> of the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net">SourceForge web site</ulink>,
which hosts jEdit's development resources.</para>
<para>In addition, a plugin named <application>Updater</application> can be run from
within jEdit by installing the Updater plugin,
and then selecting <guimenuitem>Updater</guimenuitem>
from the application's <guimenu>Plugins</guimenu> menu. It has actions to update to the latest released version, or the latest daily build from the development branch. It queries the jEdit web site, compares chosen version information
with the version of the currently running instance of jEdit, and reports the result to the user in a message box. If an update is available, it will download the version, install it and shut down jEdit for you. </para>
<para>Finally, if you subscribe to the <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-announce">
jedit-announce</ulink> or <ulink
url="http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/jedit-users">
jedit-users</ulink> mailing lists, you will receive an email
whenever a new release of jEdit becomes available.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="get-source">
<para>How do I obtain a copy of the jEdit source
code?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The latest version of jEdit's source code is available
from the <ulink
url="http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=download&platform=source">
jEdit web site</ulink> or the <ulink
url="http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=588">
SourceForge web site</ulink>. The web site provides the
source code for the latest stable and development version,
while the SourceForge site has a more extensive archive
covering earlier versions.</para>
<para>If you are interested in testing the absolutely latest
changes to jEdit, and you are familiar with compiling your
own Java programs and working with Subversion, you can
download the current code maintained in the <ulink
url="http://jedit.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/jedit/">SourceForge
SVN repository</ulink>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
<qandaentry>
<question id="get-latest-faq">
<para>Where can I get the latest version of this
document?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The latest release of this document is available on
the <ulink url="http://www.jedit.org/FAQ/index.html">jEdit
web site</ulink>.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>
</qandadiv>
</qandaset>
</section>
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