Editing MS-DOS Editor

{{Short description|Text editor in MS-DOS and Windows 9x}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = MS-DOS Editor
| screenshot             = MSDOS Edit.png
| developer              = [[Microsoft]]
| released               = {{Start date and age|1991|06}}
| latest release version = 2.0.026
| latest release date    = {{Start date and age|1995}}
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date    = 
| operating system       = [[MS-DOS]], [[IBM PC DOS|PC DOS]], [[OS/2]], [[Microsoft Windows]]
| platform               = [[Intel x86]], 16-bit
| replaces               = [[Edlin]]
| replaced_by            = [[Windows Notepad]], Microsoft Edit (see below)
| genre                  = [[Text editor]]
| license                = Same as Windows
| website                = {{URL|https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/edit}}
}}
{{Infobox software
| title                  = Microsoft Edit
| logo                   = Logo Microsoft Edit.svg
| logo size              = x64px
| developer              = [[Microsoft]]
| released               = {{start date and age|2025|03|19|df=yes}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Initial import · microsoft/edit@f654981 |url=https://github.com/microsoft/edit/commit/f654981a07a1408e370a1b373f612b6bfde5c374 |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=GitHub |language=en}}</ref>
| repo                   = {{wikidata|property|edit|reference|Q134540318|P1324}}
| programming language   = [[Rust (programming language)|Rust]]
| operating system       = [[Windows]], [[Linux]]
| size                   = 250kB<ref name="remake">{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Christopher |date=2025-05-19 |title=Edit is now open source |url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/edit-is-now-open-source/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250520215909/https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/edit-is-now-open-source/ |archive-date=2025-05-20 |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Windows Command Line |publisher=Microsoft |language=en}}</ref>
| genre                  = [[Text editor]]
| license                = [[MIT License]]
}}
'''MS-DOS Editor''', commonly just called '''edit''' or '''edit.com''', is a [[Text-based user interface|TUI]] [[text editor]]. Originally, it was a 16-bit that shipped with [[MS-DOS]] 5.0 and later,<ref name="RUNNINGMSDOS">{{Cite book|author-last=Wolverton|author-first=Van|title=Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition|date=2003|publisher=[[Microsoft Press]]|isbn=0-7356-1812-7}}</ref> as well as all 32-bit x86 versions of Windows. In 2025, Microsoft released a free and open-source remake.<ref name="remake" /> It supersedes [[edlin]], the standard editor in earlier versions of MS-DOS. Originally, <code>EDIT.COM</code> was a stub that ran [[QBasic]] in editor mode. Starting with [[Windows 95]], MS-DOS Editor became a standalone program because QBasic didn't ship with Windows.

==Overview==

=== Original ===

The Editor version 1.0 appeared in [[MS-DOS]] 5.00, [[IBM PC DOS]] 5.0, [[OS/2]], and [[Windows NT 4.0]]. This version relies on [[QBasic]] 1.0. Hence, it uses a [[text-based user interface]] (TUI), and its color scheme can be adjusted. It can only open one file, but can open the quick help file in a split window.

The Editor version 1.1 appeared in MS-DOS 6.0. It uses QBasic 1.1 but no new features were added to the Editor.

IBM PC DOS 6 dropped the Editor in favor of another text editor called [[E (PC DOS)|E]], which supports mouse and menus in version 7.0.

The Editor version 2.0 appeared with Windows 95, as standalone app that no longer requires QBasic. It has a [[multiple-document interface]] and can open up to 9 files. The screen can be split vertically into two panes which can be used to view two files simultaneously or different parts of the same file.  It can also open files in ''[[Binary file|binary]] mode'', where a fixed number of characters are displayed per line, with [[newline]]s treated like any other character.  This mode shows characters as [[hexadecimal]] characters (0-9 and A-F).  Editor converts [[Unix]] [[newline#Representation|newlines]] (LF) to DOS newlines (CRLF) and has [[computer mouse|mouse]] support. This version has been included with all 32-bit x86 versions. Being a 16-bit DOS app, it cannot run on [[x64]], [[IA-64]], or [[ARM64]] versions of Windows.

The Editor may be used as a substitute for [[Windows Notepad]], although the 16-bit version is limited to files smaller than {{nowrap|300 [[kilobyte|kB]],}} depending on how much [[conventional memory]] is free.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/63713|title=Largest Document Size MS-DOS Editor Can Edit|date=2003-05-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022014157/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/63713|archive-date=2012-10-22|access-date=2008-06-12}}</ref> 

=== FreeDOS derivative ===

The [[FreeDOS]] version was developed by Shaun Raven and is licensed under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.2/repos/pkg-html/edit.html |title = ibiblio.org FreeDOS Package -- FreeDOS Edit (FreeDOS Base)}}</ref>

=== Remake ===

On May 18, 2025, Microsoft released an open-source recreation of the Editor written in the [[Rust (programming language) | Rust programming language]], simply named Edit, for modern versions of Windows.<ref>{{cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Christopher |date=19 May 2025 |title=Edit is now open source |url=https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/edit-is-now-open-source/ |website=Microsoft Dev Blogs |access-date= 20 May 2025}}</ref> The version number did not continue, resetting to 1.0.0.

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

*{{Cite book|author-last=Cooper|author-first=Jim|title=Special Edition Using MS-DOS 6.22, Third Edition|date=2001|publisher=[[Que Publishing]]|isbn=978-0789725738}}
*{{Cite book|author1=Tim O'Reilly|author2=Troy Mott|author3=Walter Glenn|year=1999|title=Windows 98 in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference|publisher=[[O'Reilly Media|O'Reilly]]|isbn=978-1565924864|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/windows98innutsh00orei}}

==External links==

{{Wikibooks|Guide to Windows Commands}}

* [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/edit MS-DOS Editor] on Microsoft Learn

{{Windows commands}}

[[Category:DOS software]]
[[Category:Windows components]]
[[Category:DOS text editors]]
[[Category:Console applications]]
[[Category:1991 software]]