[vcf-midatlantic] VMS question

[william degnan]

On Fri, Oct 20, 2017 at 1:17 PM, Brian Schenkenberger via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:

> william degnan via vcf-midatlantic writes:
>
> >Brian, Do you know anything about why now I can't edit COM files like
> >they are text files, it seems like you deleted all of the old versions
> >of systartup_v5.com that I was saving.  can you please advise how to
> >return the EDIT command to show a text editor style, rather than a VI
> >type edit style? Bill
>
> I did not touch SYSTARTUP_V5.COM.  Why would you NOT be able to edit a
> .COM file?  It's just text.  The editors on VMS are not brain-damaged
> to decide what's in a file based upon file extension like on other OS.
>

I CAN edit it, but now it's just a * prompt like VI, I used to be able to
see the entire file and edit it like a text file.  Now I have to use the
arcane asterisk prompt commands.  Personal preference, I prefer a text type
editor.  My question is - not did you touch that file, did you change the
nature of the EDIT command itself somehow?

To be precise I would type

$ EDIT systartup_v5.com [enter]  (for example)

... and I would be greeted by a screen full of the file, so that I could
use the cursor to jump around the file.

Now, when I type

$ EDIT systartup_v5.com [enter]

... I see this:

[$] !+++++
C*

My question for you is, did you change the OS to change the way EDIt by
default works, but more important why is this now happening and how can I
get into a text editor style mode?

Bill