IDEal - professional Blitz IDE first Beta release

Finally, after almost 1.5 years of development, here is the first public beta of IDEal - IDE for Blitz. I hope that you will like it, because I put a lot of hard work in it's development... Just as the name implies, IDEal is meant to be ideal editor for blitz programmers... I set myself a goal to release it by the end of 2006, so here it is, one day after deadline :)

The most advanced features of IDEal :

1. IDEal is FAST, really fast.. besides all the advanced features, IDEal IMHO is the fastest blitz editor.
- Loading time of the IDE - 1-1.5 seconds, depends on the current layout, number of userlibs etc..
- Loading, Parsing and Highlighting of the file with 15000 lines of code - 1 second ! ( on P4 2.4Ghz, 1GB RAM, Win XP )... Files with 2000-3000 lines of code are opened instantly.

2. REAL-TIME STRICT emulation - IDEal will highlight ( default in RED color ) all undeclared/misspelled variables immediately as you type !
Missed/ unmatched braces are also highlighted as bad. Many syntax errors will be immediately visible also !



3. Powerful highlighting and parsing engine, additionally to keywords, numbers , separators... will recognize and highlight inbuilt functions, globals, locals, labels - all of them can have separate font/style/color ! So , no need to create decls files anymore (except for DLL's) . Just include your library in the project and IDEal will recognize all functions, global variables, constants, labels... and color them as you like. They will also be included in autolists and intellisense.



4. Totally customizable.. you can fully customize menus, toolbars, layout, but most importantly, you can customize context menu and all shortcuts. You can even customize
basic commands like Line down, line up, new line etc. :) There are also plenty of options to customize editor behavior.

5. Advanced Smart Project wide intellisense for types/fields. Intellisense lists will popup automatically, and they will offer ONLY fields that are valid for that keyword/variable/function !
example: If you type 'Goto' list will popup with only labels , or after keywords like 'New' , 'Each' , 'Object' ... list will popup with only types... after "type" variables, it will offer only fields that belong to that type etc.

6. Advanced smart autocomplete system... IMHO Autocomplete is essential coding help, but many programmers don't use it because it is annoying popup most of the time. Now, in IDEal , you can really control how autocomplete works, when to popup, what to popup etc. so it can be your best friend which will drastically reduce typing time and chances for typing errors !
And, most importantly, autocomplete can include all your inbuilt functions, labels, variables and constants ! Project wide of course.
It is also smart, so in some particular function, it will include Local variables only from that function ! It also won't show up if there is no need for that - for example after 'Global' keyword.
- You can limit the minimum number of characters needed for autocomplete window to popup.. so it won't popup on short words like If, For, End etc.
- You can limit autocomplete to popup only when there is no more than X matches in the list, so it won't popup and offer 50 matches that begins with 'a' when you type just 'a'
- You can limit length of the words that will show in the list, so short words like If, Then, End, For, Next ( which are easier to type then to choose from the list ) won't be unnecessary included in the list
Example : If you have several variables like LongVariableNameX , you can limit the minimum length of words to be 10 and choose autocomplete to not include blitz keywords, then after typing just 'L' you can manually invoke autocomplete list which will offer only your variables that has names longer than 10 characters and begins with 'L' .
As in this example, you can set your autocomplete to be invoked manually or automatically as you type. You can also choose FillUp characters ( those that will complete the word automatically ) and Stop chars ( those that will immediately hide the autolist ).

7. Advanced AutoIndent system will fully autoindent code as you type ! This will reduce the number of TAB presses several times :)
Example:
For i=1 to 10
For k=1 to 5
a=a+1
Next
Next
For the above code, you don't need to press tab even once ! Just type the lines and IDEal will increase/decrease indent automatically.
Additionally, files can be autoindented automatically on load, you can autoindent blocks of code, and of course, you can switch to standard simple autoindenting seen in other editors.

8. Powerful auto correct of variable/function casing - When you change variable casing in it's declaration, IDEal will change casing of all occurrences in whole project, not only the newly created ones.
Example: If you have 'Global Myvariablename=1" and change that to "Global MyVariableName=1" , ALL occurrences of Myvariablename will be immediately changed to MyVariableName .

9. Unlimited number of compilers - you can define as many compiler / versions of compiler in IDEal as you like. Each opened file can have different compiler and you can switch between compilers almost in no time.
Example : You can install ten different versions of B3D ( lets say 1.77, 1.83, 1.89... 1.95 ) and compile your code with anyone of them in a matter of seconds - no need to reinstall different versions of B3D just to see if your code will work with some other version or not... Of course, same applies for B+ and old B2D

10. Instant( realtime ) function help with parameter highlighting - no need to call help, help tips appears in status bar automatically when cursor is over function/parameter
Function /parameter help additionally can also be opened as calltips in small window below current edited line.



11. Code Browser - Multiple levels Code browser will allow you to go to Previous/Next position and works globally, i.e. positions can be in different files. You can customize it's behavior, default to remember position whenever you edit something
Example: Type something, Scroll to some line, type something, Jump to some definition, type something there, then again jump to definition, and the go back, then again back, then again back to the first position ! From there you can again just go Next, Next, Next and you will be again to the last position ...
Code Browser will speed up your moving across your project and decrease the need for bookmarks.

12. HotCodes - HotCode is abbreviation for longer, aka 'real' code, you can define as many as you like and you can expand hotcodes to 'real' code with shortcut.
example : type SBBB press shortcut and SBBB will instantly be replaced with SetBuffer BackBuffer()
HotCodes are very useful for longer Variable/Functions names : type MLV, press CTRL+ENTER ( default shortcut ) and you get MyLongVariableName ( or whatever you defined for 'MLV')
HotCodes can be as short as one char and replacement i.e. real code can be as long as you like, including whole function for example...
Of course, you can edit HotCodes, Assign HotCode for selection etc. You must agree that this can accelerate typing a lot ! Using abbreviations also reduces number of typing mistakes.

13.. Layouts ( aka perspectives ) - save and restore different layouts with just a key press, like for example - you can switch between all docking windows open and full screen editor layout with just a keypress.

14. IDEal will remember all bookmarks and folding states of files when you close them, so the next time files will be opened in exact same state, i.e. with bookmarks, lines that were folded will be folded again etc. So, no need for everytime to FOLD/UNFOLD certain functions or add bookmarks... Additionally, last used compiler, last used command line is also remembered... IDEal embed those info in the file itself, so it won't create any additional files.. file that is saved on this PC, can be opened on another PC in the same state ( If it's opened in IDEal of course :) )

15. Workspaces - Workspace is all your opened files/projects ... you can save workspace and restore later, you can load last active workspace ( aka 'load last opened files' ) , but you have total control over it..
Example: If you have your project open and close the editor, workspace will be automatically saved . Next time when you open IDEal, you can open last automatically saved workspace, some other previously saved workspace ( maybe some other project ) or simply open new file and you can load the workspace anytime later. Workspace will remember which files/projects were opened and their exact order on the ' Tabs line' , any splited windows, grouped windows etc...



16. Global bookmark system - standard bookmarks may work globally across all open files - i.e. pressing next bookmark will bring you to the next bookmark in other file

17. Help Browser can have multiple help files opened in separate tabs and all of them are again separate from the main files tabs, so multiple opened help tabs won't mess with other files tabs. One handy function in Help Browser is "Back to Code" which will get you back to the place where you invoke help command.



18. Find and Replace works with files, all opened files, project wide search, Find Next, Find Previous, Wrap search, Start searching from cursor or from Top of the file

19. Various Drag & Drop support - starting from dragging and dropping between opened files up to dragging and dropping between IDEal and other programs, between File Explorer and Editor etc. Files and Folders in Snippet explorer and in Project explorer can be arranged with dragging and dropping... IDEal will open files /group of files that is dropped from windows explorer etc etc...

20. Very low CPU / Memory usage... Massive Project with 80.000 code lines needs only 30MB of RAM

There are plenty more nice features , but I'll mention just some of them that are not so common in other editors :

- Snippets manager
- File Explorer together with explorer context menu and favorites folders / files , to speed up access to your files
- Code Folding - Functions, Types and Custom blocks of code
- Second type of comment with different color/style, used, for example to mark more important comments in the code.
- Multiple instances of IDEal, Brace Highlighting inside braces, Indent highlighting on Scope keywords, Cutting/Deleting/Moving up -Down of whole lines etc, Line wrapping, 6 different user interface styles, Split window functionality etc...

NOTE: This is the first beta of IDEal, so probably there are bugs left... and it's tested on Win98 and XP, so anyone with Vista, please report if everything works fine under Vista ?
Several functions ( like Print/preview ) are not available yet, and also several other features ( Auto backup, To-Do list, Media files in code explorer... ) are planned to be implemented soon. BMax is not supported currently, and I don't know if it will ever be.

Happy New Year !!! .. and Please provide me with some feedback, bug reports, feature requests etc.

Edit: Go to www.fungamesfactory.com to download the latest release

Looks fantastic. Obviously a lot of work went into this. Can't wait to see it in action.

Looks really good. I'll certainly give it a go. Does it work with blitzmax?

Uber-Organized!!! Fantastic!!!

@GfK (from the second-to-last para):

BMax is not supported currently, and I don't know if it will ever be.

Too bad. If it was, I would've used it in a heartbeat...

Thanks guys...

Here is a (temporary) download link on rapidshare (2.9MB) :

Tell me if everything works fine...

[EDIT]latest version: http://rapidshare.com/files/10877806/IDEal_Setup_0.8.53.exe
[/EDIT]

Bugger. I missed that. :(

@Trixx - why won't/can't you add Blitzmax support?

@GFK - Hmm, first of all, I don't own BMax and I'm not familiar with the language, which means it'll take at least 2 months to add BMax support. There are also several IDEs for BMax available or in development, so I don't know if BMax users want another one. Even if IDEal can offer something that others can't / won't offer, I see many users are satisfied with the default IDE ( even with B3D's one ) i.e. people that somehow don't need/use advanced features , so I don't want to make a BMax version just for ten or twenty people.
Anyway, if people like this IDE, I can reconsider adding BMax support. And I'll certainly add support for BMax when I myself switch from B3D to BMax :)

This is really neat!

This happens with protean too, but sometimes the start bar will not come up (I have set it to hide) unless I switch to another program or minimize yours. Not too important, but I thought I would let you know anyways.

This has become my new favorite IDE

Hooo...

8)

hey, that sounds really cool and looks indeed like a really nice IDE, which may be possibly replace protean for me. but there're some glitches, i dont understand:

after opening a large sourcefile, nearly all tabs got doubled. it appears that autoindentation makes a tab after every comment, which - imho - is nonsense...since i use a lot of comments in my code, i now would have to scroll two monitors to the right to see all the code!
also, nearly my complete code gets rendered RED (which means 'bad code')...so whats that?!? maybe it would be a good idea to tell me _why_ my code is bad? :D


but except for that: a really nice IDE!

Amazing!
Works fine.

SERIOUSLY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it free?

OJay:
There is a way to turn off auto indent in the options, maybe that is what you are looking for?
Also, the red is because you never use local to initialize your variables, making it "wrong". It is simular to strict mode in blitzmax except that the compiler won't complaing. If you really wanted to you could turn the red to whatever your normal text is in the scheme designer.

Excellent IDE.

Brilliant IDE. I think this has finally replaced Visual Blitz :)

Sounds great, just downloaded. Thanks a lot!

Brilliant IDE. I think this has finally replaced Visual Blitz :)

Would it be possible to make a selection foldable? Then we could fold up for/next loops, if statements, case select etc.

oh, and one bug I did notice is theres no icon for the includes explorer on the right hand side panel.

Some problems/suggestions:

1. If I create a new project and try to add existing files into it, it complains that it needs to copy those files into the project directory (which is odd since they're already there). I clicked OK to make it go, and it crashes. Error below:

<BEGIN REPORT - PLEASE DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE>

**********>> Created: 1/1/2007, 1:43:31 PM<<***********
IDEal version :0.8.22
App. Path :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name :Mod_Parse
Method Name :Parseline
Error Description :Object variable or With block variable not set
Error Number :91
Error Line :0
Error Source :IDEal
OS Info :Windows XP Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened :1
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 1/1/2007, 1:43:54 PM<<***********
IDEal version :0.8.22
App. Path :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name :Mod_Parse
Method Name :Parseline
Error Description :Object variable or With block variable not set
Error Number :91
Error Line :0
Error Source :IDEal
OS Info :Windows XP Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened :1
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 1/1/2007, 1:48:53 PM<<***********
IDEal version :0.8.22
App. Path :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name :Mod_Parse
Method Name :Parseline
Error Description :Object variable or With block variable not set
Error Number :91
Error Line :0
Error Source :IDEal
OS Info :Windows XP Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened :1
**************************************************************

<END REPORT>


2. I have 2 monitors. If I open the IDE, move it to my second monitor, and close it, it doesn't remember that and keeps opening on the primary monitor. It would be great if it could remember the last place it was opened.

3. When creating a new project, I've already typed in the working directory - so why does it not default to that directory when it opens the "File Save" dialog for the project file?

This IDE looks really nice in the screen shots but it feels like a premature release.

Been using the IDE and the only requests I have so far are:

When opening a project could the IDE select the main file. not the last file in the project list.

In the help section, I would like to be able to select a default page, so that it does not always open with a blank one, also a favorites section would be good, so that web addresses dont have to be type in every time.

Great work, thanks.

Oh, and I just re-opened my files in protean again and I'm noticing little:

;~IDEal Editor Parameters:
;~C#Blitz3D194

...blocks stuck on the end of all my source files. I don't like that. Heh.

Wow, Thanks for the nice comments , everyone !
I'm happy about the positive feedback and also because there are not any major bug reports so far... I was afraid of them, because this is the first public release. So far, so good :)

@mindstorms: I will look into the taskbar issue, I didn't notice that because I always work with my taskbar visible

@OJay: about autoindenting, comments should work fine, the only case where autoindent will fail is if you are using IF statements without 'Then'... I will write separate post for this, please check if this is the case for you?
About your code showing in red, as mindstorms already explained ( Thanks for that ) , you are probably not declaring your local variables. If that is the case, just put regular color for 'Bad text' in your color scheme.

@boomboom - Yes, I know about the missing icon for the 'includes' , because IDEal will not list your includes in this version, so that space is reserved for future because I don't know if people will ask for that.

@Warren 1. I'll look into the project bug, thanks for reporting it.
2. About the second monitor issue, It will take some time to look into it, because I don't have second monitor now to test it.
3. This issue will be solved for the next release.
4. You can turn off embedding info about the file in the file itself ... from 'Editor setting' -> 'For each file remember' ... deselect all
I think that it is better to save these info together with the file, instead of creating additional files for each file, but maybe this option should be off by default, sorry for not mentioning it.

In lack of proper help file, I'll mention some important things this way ( sorry for that )

1. Advanced autoindenting:


Autoindent should work properly in these situations:

If a=b then c=d
---------------
If a=b then
c=d
end if
---------------
If a=b
c=d
end if
---------------

But will fail in this particular case:

If a=b c=d

So, if you're using this style, then go to editor settings and switch to simple autoindenting , but I strongly recommend to use other 'types' of IF..THEN statements, because advanced autoindenting is so powerful once you
are used to it.


2. boomboom already asked, and I forgot to mention it:

Custom foldable blocks of code are created using ' ;[Block] ' and ';[End]' commands.
See second screenshot for example
You can also create them with 'Block from selection' command


3. If you associate .bb files with IDEal, there are ten different icons to choose from for the .bb files - look into the ICONS folder !

4. Tip: When you are opening files or adding files to project, you can select multiple files in the Open Dialog Box , so you don't need to invoke Open command for each file. Same applies when opening files from the Windows Explorer or dropping files from Windows Explorer to the editor

brilliant :)

Excellent work.

Wow.






...






Wow.

[edit] Regarding Bmax support, is it possible (if it isn't already) to 'modularise' the relevant sections such that Bmax enthusiasts can add the specific functionality themselves by editing external text files (or the like)? [/edit]

@Coppercircle: Project files don't remember position of your files and last active file... For this purpose you can use workspaces - when your project is opened, save workspace and
later you can load that workspace which will open your project in the exactly same state as when you saved that workspace.
Or, simply 'Load last Workspace' when you open IDEal , that should bring you to the exactly same state ( opened files/projects, active file, spitted windows etc. ) as when you closed IDEal.



By default page, do you mean some page from the BB help files ( like index.htm or Command reference ) or some other custom page ? Also, by favorites, do you mean Favorites from IE or custom favorites list ? I was thinking about custom chosen favorites HELP pages also, and it's easy to add that.

You mean some kind of Plugin system... I decided not to built any kind of plugin system, simply because it's not worth it. Why ?

Because it's much easier for the developer itself to add certain feature directly in core code, than to some user through plugin, so instead of spending at least 2+ weeks on creating such system, I will add every feature that people want ( which can be added through plugin system) for that time. And adding of that functionality directly in main code will make it to behave much faster in it's operation. Also adding support for new language like BMax with Plugin won't be possible, or it will be slow as hell... Plugin system, like you said, will also require modularizing code, and that will slow down a lot of operations in IDEal, and I don't want that to happen :)

Unfortunately I cant get it to run. I keep getting a message saying "File 'Compilers.dat" missing or invalid". I have located the file in the conf directory, and even edited it to match my install location for Blitz but it still didnt run. Any ideas as I would really like to try it.

This is not just good, but excellent!

@Uncle: Can you tell me the full path to 'compilers.dat' on your system. Can you try installing IDEal in different directory and see if it works ?

@DarkMere Thank You

More things I forgot to mention:

1. Scope completion - means Auto completion of lines with scope keywords and positioning of the cursor on the "right place". It's not fully automatic simply because there are number of situations where you wouldn't want to activate this command ( like in nested loops, editing of already present loops etc. ). So , you have total control when to apply this command by using shortcut.
Better see it in action through example:
type For i=1 to 10 and press CTRL+ENTER ( default shortcut for 'Complete scope' command )
type IF a=b Then and press CTRL + ENTER
It'll work with all scope keywords ( While, Repeat, Select ... )

2. CTRL + Left Click on the marker margin ( the one between line numbers and folding margin ) toggles breakpoint
Shift + Left Click on the same margin toggles bookmark

3. 'Important comment ' is made by placing ! immediately after ; in the comment itself.
; This is normal comment
;! This is important comment ( 'Comment2' color and style in the Color scheme )

New version (0.8.24) is up:
http://rapidshare.com/files/9835498/IDEalSetup_0.8.24.exe

[Fixed] Bug with adding existing files to a new project - reported by Warren.. Also ,when creating new project, Save Dialog now defaults to specified directory.

[Added] Option "AutoIndent File on loading" - defaults to 'No'
This option is added to prevent Advanced Autoindent mode to incorrectly autoindent your file if you are using ' IF a=b c=d ' style for IF...THEN statements ... read more several posts above.

Wow, this is an excellent IDE, and BlitzMax support would only make it better.

Absolutely fantastic piece of work!!!!

I'll be using this.

I don't use Bmax, nor have any intention of doing so, but even I think adding Bmax support would be an asset.

This is a very nice IDE, though.

Both downloads are only 6k and produce only a dos window - something going wrong at your end?

JB:

I've had similar results downloading with (two different) download managers. Turning them off (or more specifically, turning off their monitoring of the browser) has worked each time.

Can we have one more option/feature?

That is to allow the last file(s) to be reloaded automatically?

MANY THANKS.

Is this IDE going to be free when it's 'finished'?

I seem to be the only one here who cant get it running :(

Ive installed in different directories, but it still wont run. Ive tried the new version and now I get the following errors :

**********>> Created: 02/01/2007, 10:23:46<<***********
IDEal version :0.8.24
App. Path :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name :Mod_Main
Method Name :LoadCompilers
Error Description :ActiveX component can't create object
Error Number :429
Error Line :0
Error Source :IDEal
OS Info :Windows XP Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened :1
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 02/01/2007, 10:25:08<<***********
IDEal version :0.8.24
App. Path :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name :Mod_File
Method Name :SaveWorkSpace
Error Description :ActiveX component can't create object
Error Number :429
Error Line :0
Error Source :IDEal
OS Info :Windows XP Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened :1
**************************************************************

Am I missing a DLL?

Cheers,


Unc

This looks good.Any chance of getting the file somewhere else? Rapidshare wont let me download it as I have a shared IP.

thank it is a best ide for blitz3d

mongia

I really think you should consider having BlitzMax support. There are not that many IDE's available and with this level of customization, it would be the perfect IDE for all BlitzMax users.

Thanks

Some more small notes:

1. Can we get CTRL+TAB to work like the Microsoft code editors? In that CTRL+TAB will move to the previous file you were looking at. If you do CTRL+TAB, let go, CTRL+TAB, let go, CTRL+TAB, etc. it will just toggle between the last two files you were looking at? This is very efficient for working on multiple source files.

2. Add a "Save All" command to the file menu so you can save all of your dirty source files at once.

One other thing I would really like is for the code explorer to be able to list all the code types, this is how Visual Blitz does it...



So just add another little button in the code explorer "All" and have thatr as the default then 'group' the code 'types'

As mentioned before : the code explorer window has an option to add the "includes" but there is no icon for that button - yes it would be a VERY useful feature!

MANY THANKS!!!

yes i search a includes and i click in includes ide open a file include!

thanks

mongia

This looks amazing...I have switched almost exclusively to Max and would love to see it for max. You have abviously done an amazing amount of work and it would be a shame not to add Max support, IMHO. I see tons of features that I would use. Just throwing another vote out there for Max.

Thanks again for the nice comments guys...



Look into workspaces, just click 'Load Last Workspace' and there you go... If you want, I can easily add option for "Load Last Workspace on startup" but what if you last time worked on a large project with many files opened, and now you only want to test some small code from the forums ? You would need to wait for all your files to load... With workspaces you have control over when to load your last opened files and it's just one shortcut away after the starting of the editor.


Yes, it'll stay free, but maybe not totally free :) The final version will be Linkware, i.e. you'll have to provide a link from your web site to IDEal home page ( when it's ready ) :)


Yes, why not, will try to add this for the next release


Ok, somehow I forgot about this command


@Uncle: Please tell me the size and version of scrrun.dll on your system ( located in your windows system32 directory )

@All Ok, I'll implement Includes in the Code Explorer

And the "All" in the code explorer a la Visual Blitz ;-)

I was thinking that folding for repeats,whiles,selects, and other block commands would be neat kind of like protean's, how hard is this to implement?

Another thing that annoyed me was that it does not know what userlib functions there are, and so immediately colors them red. There should be a way for it to go look at what functions are in the userlib folder and update the text color accordingly.

File size is 151,552 bytes

File Version 5.6.0.8820

Cheers,


Unc

@Boiled Sweets: Is everything OK with Workspaces ?

@Boiled Sweets: I was thinking between treeview and separate listboxes for CodeExplorer and decided for listboxes for several reasons:
- Treeview needs constantly scrolling up and down.. especially with bigger projects. If you are looking at some function and want to look at some global variable, you need to scroll down, open node, scroll down... Then, if you want to go back to that function, you again need to scroll up... With ListBoxes, Just click on globals, type the name of that global variable.. and when you go back to functions, your function is selected, no need to search for it again.
At the end , you don't need to touch your mouse to work with listboxes... press shortcut for functions, type the name for that function, press ENTER ...
IMHO treeview is better only for smaller projects.. anything bigger and it becames a real pain to find what you are looking for.

Now, we can't have both treeview and listboxes, because that will slow down realtime refreshing, but if most of the users want treeview, I can replace listboxes with treeview.
Tell me what you ( and others ) think about this ?

@mindstorms: Adding folding option for all scope keywords is not hard, it was even implemented in one alpha version, but folding margin looks messy with folding signs on "every second line"... additionaly 'fold/unfold all ' commands becames unusable in a way ( to many different commands ) ... And too many folding points will slow down certain operations... Remembering of folding states will start to be a problem and several other things that I didn't like, So, I was thinking that custom foldable blocks will be sufficient. But , if this is crucial for you, it'll be implemented in the future...

Very nice so far. Couple of things I miss (UltraEdit is my IDE of choice):
1) Multiple views of same file and/or window splitting. Very handy for Blitz non-OO code.
2) (Basic) support for other file formats: txt, c++, html, py etc. Even better if you supported BlitzMax and python compilers. :)

Good job!

@Uncle: It looks like scrrun.dll is ok, it must be something else... will look into this

Trixx, no it is not necessary, it was just something I got used to in protean, but is easily adjustable.

I have been using your IDE since you posted it here, and the most annoying thing is that functions from the userlib folder are marked as "bad". The other stuff is just fluff :)

Great job on this, I could never get anything to this stage anyways...

@Beaker: Thanks,
1. I'm preparing advanced implementation of multiple views of single file ( aka references ).. they will allow as many references to single file to be created and position/split them whenever you want.
2. Hmm, Scintilla has built in support for many file formats, so it is doable ( at least with standard features ), but this is a BB editor :) The important thing is also to preserve simplicity.. Ok, maybe for .txt and if I ever do a BMax version, it would be nice to support C++

@mindstorms

If I understand correctly, functions that are in your userlibs (.decls files) are colored red !? They should be colored as regular keywords ! Did you refresh keyword definitions for the active compiler ? Can you check your .lng file in the conf directory if your functions are listed there ?

@All Please report any highlighting errors.. IDEal should be 'ideal' , i.e. not a single bug, including the minor ones :))

Yeah, I have tried refreshing the keywords, but it still is not working...restarting the ide has no effect either. If you ignore the red, the functions are picked up by the blitz compiler, and they are working fine.

@Uncle: After searching the Net, it seems that after all the problem lies in your scrrun.dll file...
Please try to (re)register this dll ... Start->Run-> regsvr32 scrrun.dll
Unregistering this DLL here gives the same error message, followed by "Default style not found" message.

@mindstorms: I just find out that IDEal needs to be restarted for "refreshing definitions" to take effect in highlighting. This will be fixed for the next release
Edit: I just reread your post and saw that you already tried restarting the IDE... Can you check if your functions are listed in your compilername.lng file ( in the 'conf' folder ) ?

Worked a treat! Thanks for your help.

Thanks Trixx, it was my mistake...I added a bunch of new commands and then tried to make it work, and it was only those commands that were "broken". Restarting worked, thanks.

@Uncle: Huh, I'm glad that we solved this... now I hope that IDEal will speed up the development of Alien Highway ( H.Encounter 2) :) Congratulations on the award you received for your remake, it really deserves it !

@mindstorms: Great, that leaves me without any bugs left for today :) I may go now and add some new features :)

"Is this IDE going to be free when it's 'finished'?
Yes, it'll stay free, but maybe not totally free :) The final version will be Linkware, i.e. you'll have to provide a link from your web site to IDEal home page ( when it's ready ) :)"

Amazing! I would have happily paid for the finished version, guess I will have to get myself a web site now :)

Nothing more to say except 'Thank You!"

Good! Good!!!

Trixx, firstly sorry for the long list of problems/suggestions. I'm not picking holes with IDEal, I love it, I just want to make it better...

1. do you want a 'better' place to host the download?

I'd be happy to host the download direct from my site:

http://www.boiledsweets.com

2. Perhaps the treeview is not the best way to go but an "All" button would be very useful for smaller projects.

3. The load last workspace is great but would be even better if there was an option to 'auto load last workspace'.

4. Not too sure if this is a bug but a function in an included file is showing up in red. Why is this?

5. Would it be possible to add an option so that the file explorer only lists the items in the currently viewed file? My project is very large and has many includes and it lists all functions across my opened files/project. When working on a single file I just want to see items for that file. Perhaps project mode is not for me ;-)

6. I like the idea of red bad code but there should be an option to suppress non declared local variables as being bad. I know I can make the bad color non red but that would apply to all bad code. The compiler is perfectly happy to see non declared local variables so why should IDEal flag them. Please add an option.

7. Bug I think - I have the selection color as white on blue. When I do a search using F3 the found text is white on blue as expected but if I have the search dialog window option and search the found text is white on grey!

8. When clicking on a function in the code explorer it would be nice if it positioned the start of the function at the top of the edit window. It currently seems to arbitrarily position the function.

9. Another bug (I think). The autocomplete only ever shows the list when 5 characters are typed in despite what I have set in the options. Try setting it to 2 chars then type "pi". The list doesn't show till "picke" is entered.

10. The indent left/right options don't appear on the tool bar nor do they seem available to be added through the customise toolbar option.

11. Would be nice if there was an option not to list the file name in the code explorer window.

12. Please can we have option NOT to sort in the code explorer. I know roughtly where my functions are and sorting this list makes them harder to find (weirdly).

13. Cannot add non .bb files into the project. Would be nice to be able to add .txt files too (for todo.txt file etc).

I have stopped using Visual Blitz now - long live IDEal!!!

Yes, please do so.. few people already reported that they can't download from Rapidshare because of the shared IP.. And the website for IDEal won't be up very soon.. Thanks


Ok, but it's not with high priority , unless you convince several more people to ask for that :)) And what about 'All' option, but with Listbox, i.e. without TreeView and nodes ?


Ok, I'll add this option for you


Are you sure that the declaration of that function is in the same project ?


Yes, I was thinking about this also, will add this option soon... And DON'T think that projects are not for you ! For long time I was refusing to work with projects ( I was using Protean at that time ), but once I started using them, I regret why I didn't start earlier... So, you may need a few days to get used to them, but after that, you won't look back.



I can't add that option only for undeclared variables, because in most cases IDEal can't distinguish between undeclared variable and other bad code... For example, many syntax errors may be recognized as undeclared variable.... IDEal just highlights what it doesn't recognize.


There is separate color settings for "Inactive selection back color" i.e. selection without focus... it means that, for example, you can't copy that selection because other window has focus in that moment ( in your case, the Find/Replace window )... So, if you don't like this, just set "inactive selection" color same as the regular selection color.


I'll make this optional... currently it positions the function ( if function isn't visible at that moment) at the first line that satisfies the Autoscroll criteria ( see options )


Probably some other option is preventing Autocomplete to show up ... check "show autocomplete when there are no more than XX words in the list" option - it means that autocomplete won't show up if there is more than XX possible matches that begin with "pi" ... Autocomplete thinks that it is ridiculous to show the list with lets say 20 matches, because you would need more time to scroll through the list than to type 1-2 more characters and to offer only 2-3 matches. However, in that case, if you want, you can force the autocomplete to show up anytime using shortcut. Also , in your example 'Pi" is already a completed valid word, so maybe this is the problem ? Please check this and tell me what is the problem



I just checked... they are in the menu Edit->Indenting->Indent & Unindent selection .... and also in the Edit category in the customize dialog... or maybe I'm missing something ?


Ok, but maybe just for single files, i.e. not for projects with multiple files ?


I'll look into this to see if it's possible, but I don't think it's possible for projects, maybe for single files ?

1. Download now hosted here :

http://www.boiledsweets.com/ideal

Perhaps this should actually be ideal.zip and the zip always contains the latest version? Up to you. Just email me new versions and I'll ftp it up straight away!

2. All option with a list box would be fine!

3. OK

4. No it wasn't cos wasn't using projects. Ignore this one for now...

5. OK

6 OK

7 OK

8 OK

9. Will check

10 Will check

11. Would prefer an option to list JUST the items from the current file in view. Perhaps have a check box at the top of the code explorer window that says "all files" and allow an option to have this checked or unchecked at startup. Then if it's checked then the list shows all items from all files in the project (and the file name) and if it's unchecked it just show items from the current viewable code/file but this time without the file name. I think this would be slick!

12 OK

13 OK

I'm downloading this now and am very much looking forward to trying it. I do have a request though, based on my current editor of choice INDEed.

INDEed has been designed for multiple languages, as a result, there's a million menu options with a lot of stuff that's irrelevant to B3D.

What I'd like to request is that if there's anything specific to a language you're not using (ie. bb/bmax(if you ever go that way)/any other language), it can get hidden.

eg (using BB vs B3D as an example) - I'm using B3D, I don't want to see options in the menus for BB, I don't want the editor to pick up keywords that are in BB and not in B3D etc.

Another few suggestions (which may not turn out necessary once I've actually __tried__ the editor *grin* - my appologies if any of this is irrelevant):

1) It sounds like there are a lot of options allowing you to customise the behaviour of IDEal. Would it be useful to have a beginner mode and an advanced mode such that people new to the editor and IDEal aren't overwhelmed with choices and throw in the towel? Customisable editors are great, but overwhelming you with choice causes exactly the same problems.

2) Can you put a link to ideal in the Blitz toolbox->IDE section

3) People seem to be having problems with code turning red for (to them) unexplained reasons. How about a tooltip or a pop-up for example that tells them the reason (or possible reason(s)) why the code is red, with suggestions on how to fix it? I'm not the best code writer in the world, and I'm fully expecting a screenful of red the first time I load up one of my source files *grin*)

4) A FAQ somewhere in the help in the editor so that if people want to know how to fix red text/funny indenting/all their files loading (or not loading) automatically on startup, that they can find it without posting to a forum?

5) Maybe rename "block from selection" to "foldable block from selection"?

Can't wait to give this a whirl!

Just loaded it up and found something which appears to be a problem.
Straight away I'm presented with a tab labelled "blank" which I've since worked out is a web browser window. Why doesn't it start me immediately in a code window so I can start tying my latest blockbuster game straight away?
Or if it's going to default to the help tab by default, bring up the default help page straight away so I'm not looking at a blank window that I'm not sure what to do with.

Another suggestion :
If I type
while true do
can i get it to automatically put a wend statement below the new line I'm working on?

It's automatically defaulted my blitz path to
C:\Program Files\Blitz3D194

Can you make it so that the first time you run it it asks you where your compiler is or put it as a step in the installer?

The stuff that gets embedded in the file, can that be saved to a project file?

Love the way "endif" auto unindents!!!!

I've put in the following code
if a=b then
if a=b then
do something
endif
endif

I've then commented the first if statement. The second if statement has unindented. If I now uncomment the first if statement, the indenting on the second if statement stays wrongly unindented.

Also, after I typed the code above, I noticed the indenting characters seem wrong. The if statements do not show the indenting with a "->", instead with a "|" which is fine as it shows me my if-endif block.
I then turned on "show whitespace", the indents don't change. I select a few lines of the code and block comment it and the indents change to "->".
This now indicates to me that the "|"'s are only for if-endif type blocks, and the "->" are for other tabs.When I then tab in a line by several tabs I get lots of "|"'s which don't match codeblocks. I think it should be "->" characters for tabs except when it matches a code block where they should be "|"'s

@Boiled Sweets: Thanks for the mirror

If it's possible , I would like few last versions to be available, so if something is wrong in the latest version, people could try the previous one... sometimes developers can broke already good code :)


I did my best to preserve simplicity in IDEal and to not make it 'bloated' ... and with so many features, I don't think it can be any simpler.



This is a good question.. Me ,as a developer, can't really judge how complicated is IDEal for beginners at start, I tried everything to be as simple as possible, but only users can tell if we need separate Advanced and Beginner modes... so, anyone had difficulty to start working with IDEal ?
Keep in mind that this is still beta , and I hope that proper Help file(s) will be included in the final version.


Yes, when we have at least 2 weeks tested product... IDEal was released just 2 days ago.



The real point is that IDEal ALREADY tells you what's the problem with your code by highlighting 'bad code' .I don't know what more can editor tell you at this point.
The problem is that people are used to not declare local variables, but many users asked in the past for 'Strict' mode to be implemented in BB, so now you have choice - If you don't want
to work in "strict" mode, then choose normal color for "bad text" and IDEal will behave like all other IDEs .But, keep in mind that this feature at some point WILL save you numerous debugging hours ! So, stop complaining and start declaring your variables and using projects :)



There will be an option for this soon, keep in mind that 90% of the time, you don't want to start a new file, but to continue your work from the previous day.


Yes, press shortcut for 'Complete Scope' .. I already explained why editor should not do it automatically.


There must be a limit up to which autoindent will try to help you.
Imagine that you have a function with 1000 lines and want to type For ... /Next statement at the beginning... Now, IDEal would need to Indent whole function after the FOR statement ( because it doesn't know where the NEXT statement will be ) , and Unindent the whole function after the NEXT statement... Hmm, read the number 1 feature of my first post :)
So, whenever you need to correct indentation in the lines that are not new or just edited, just press 'Autoindent current function' or 'Autoindent selection' and there you go !



-> sign is used to show tabs when in 'show whitespaces' mode, but indentation is different than tabs, i.e. indentation is not counted as tabs. If this bothers you, I think I can change this behavior. But are you sure that too many arrows at beginning of every indented line will not hurt your eyes?
When you commented your code, indentation is converted in tabs because you have " ; " at the very beginning of every line.

@hockings: I see that you just started using IDEal... I would be grateful if you come back later and tell me if everything is ok after several hours of using it.

I think I have already mentioned it, but it is something that seems to contunually come back to get me. I am switching between files and programs alot, and have the startbar so that it hides. Ever since I have been using IDEal the startbar does not come up. This only happens when I have changed something in the code in your editer when it is maximized. Minimizing it fixes the problem. Even having it maximized behind say visual studio, the startbar still does not work. I do not know how this is happening, but it is still annoying.

Wow this is such an awesome IDE. I really appreciate all the work you have put into developing it.

As many others, I would really like to see BlitzMax support. That would quite possibly make this the best IDE's for all Blitz products.

Not really important but C/C++ support would make it amazing.

@mindstorms: I think that your problem with taskbar is connected with one windows bug...
Please, when that happens, press the Win key or 'Show Desktop' ( win key +D ) twice and tell me if the taskbar is acting normally after that.
However, I'll investigate this further, but will need your help...

@Leiden: Thanks... C++ support goes together with BMax support, but ... :)

Trixx,
Please don't take my comments as a complaint, this is a brilliant editor! - you've done an exceptional job! I hope my comments will be helpful to you.

1) I think there should be a configure blitz path dialog on first run of ideal

2) Forget my comment about the multiple "|"'s that you can indent lines by, I didn't realise that the line resets back to where it should be when you press enter or an arrow key

3) The auto intent selection/function option is easy enough to run when you've commented, then uncommented sections. Would it be a good idea perhaps to make it so that an "uncomment block" also auto indents the function if you're using autoindent? Just a thought...
INDEed uses a technique where it polls the code every few seconds and adjusts case etc then. Personally I much prefer the way yours works doing it straight away.

4)I've removed the default Blitz3D194 compiler and created my own (blitz). The pulldown to select my compiler on the main editor window still has Blitz3D194 which no longer exists.

5) When configuring the compiler, it has a text box where I can type the path to the compiler and help files. If I edit these by hand, click apply, close the window then go back in, my changes are gone. The changes work if I browse to the folder rather than typing changes by hand.

6) when I run my code and it hits an error, I would _REALLY_ love to see the cursor move to the function and line that had the error automatically.

7) Normal behaviour when I click the currently open app on the windows askbar is that it minimises it. When I do that on IDEal, it stays maximised but looses focus. Shouldn't it minimise?

Again, a brilliant editor! Many thanks to you!!!

(What did you write it in by the way please?)

Other programs sometimes cause it too...
alt-tabbing lets me get to other programs but gives no access to start bar. showing desktop shows the desktop, but still there is no access to the start bar. However, after showing desktop again, the ide comes back and the start bar pops up.
Hope this helps :)

Another problem is that I have updated a userlib file function, and then tried to refresh definitions, and windows comes up with an error handler error. IDEal does not crash, but it does not let me update the functions either...restarting it does not seem to have any effect.

Here is the microsoft error file:

**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 7:55:00 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:05 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:10 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:15 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:17 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:37 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:39 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:41 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:42 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:45 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:55:54 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:56:19 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:57:20 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:58:41 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************

wow I've been waiting for this IDE for years!

I'm not typically flush with cash, but this is something you should get more than a warm and fuzzy feeling for.

Do you feel like making it Donationware and giving us your (PayPal?) details to contribute, should we so wish?

Probably you are right about this, I will add this dialog... I was thinking that some beginners may not know where to look at for the compiler, and they probably installed Blitz in the default folder.


Nice, I can add this option, so uncommenting also autoindents that part of the code.


If Blitz3D194 was selected already before you set up your compiler, it should stay in the combo until you make your new choice from the combo ( you may have many compilers ), but after that it should be gone ?


Nice find, I'll fix this for the next release, thanks !


It should move to the offending code ? Can you provide me with sample code ?


It should minimize... minimizes here... Does it always happen ?... it may happen only the first time after the installation.


@mindstorms: Yeah, there are many reported problems on the Net with different programs... the cause may be even some of your resident programs, but I will try to reproduce this on some machine and fix it as much as I can.
Try also with pressing just the Win key once. What is important, does the problem appear again after that ?


[EDIT] Ops, I forgot that I'm looking at my current version that is 0.8.25 and you are using 0.8.24, probably something different is wrong... please open at least one file ( if you haven't so )and try to refresh definitions [/EDIT]

@curtastic and LineOf7s :

Thanks guys... and, no, no donations, just report if you find any bugs, missing features :)

I'm off for today, bye

Trixx,

re hosting IDEal, I've setup a proper page for it. See here : www.boiledsweets.com/ideal

If this is going to be the main download site, I can easily setup a PayPal donation button for you too...

At least give people the option to donate if they like :-)

oh and...

9. The "pi" auto complete problem is just me being stupid - you were right!

in code explorer not work a include files!

mongia

mongia2,

I believe that's coming...

A question:
How do you use the Goto Declaration button(ctrl d)? I have tried highlighting a function and it does not seem to take me to where the function is declared...I assumed this was how it works?

yes, when the startbar gets stuck, pressing the windows key works to unstuck it.

@Boiled Sweets: Wow, Thanks again, I just edited the first post to add a link to your website.
I'll think again about donations... I don't like them... maybe because they will make me feel obligated

@mindstorms: No, you don't need to select your function.. just position the cursor anywhere over the function and press "goto declaration"... Same for variables, labels and types.
Does the problem with taskbar may appear again after that, i.e. can it get stucked again after you unstuck it with the Win key ? Is this a satisfactory solution for now ?
Did you try to refresh definitions with one or more files opened ?

Thanks Trixx, it will work for now. I remember that protean does something similar; it is hard to track down because it does not happen consistently.

Yes, I did try to refresh definitions with the file that the function was in open.

Thanks alot!

Trixx,
I think the compiler selection thing I mentioned yesterday is a bug. If I create a new compiler, then delete the compiler that's currently in use, it shouldn't still be able to use a compiler definition that doesn't exist anymore.

Ignore my problem with the cursor not moving to the error, I was expecting the problem to be on a different line, and didn't read the line number of the error reported. Sorry! :D

The minimise problem wasn't on the first time I ran the IDE, but I can't reproduce it today. It's not a big problem anyway.

This IDE is fantastic!!!

Trixx, you don't have to feel obligated about donations if people are not obligated to make a payment in the first place. Speaking personally. I would rather make a donation instead of setting up a web site just so I can give you a link :) IDEal is so good, I would feel guilty not contributing something for it.

I agree.
I would be very happy to give a donation for such an excellent program.
Giving a website link won't be possible in my case either.

Hey guys, IDEal is free.. probably I didn't express myself well... but I didn't say that the link will be obligatory .It seems that "Linkware" is not the right word for this, but it was the first that came to my mind. I certainly won't force anyone to build a website just to get IDEal. Why would I ? And I certainly don't want to stop anyone to download IDEal and use it without providing a link.
Do you know a word for donationware but with links :) ... if you want to donate, donate a link. This is better than donations, because you can take back your donation anytime you want :)
I simply don't want for IDEal to be called freeware, because I know many people that for freeware software thinks "bad, lack of features, untested, unfinished" and won't even look at it.

So, until I find a better word, this is official: IDEal is free, and I'll accept donations, but in links :)

It's little complicated to immediately remove the compiler that was in use ... you must first choose your new compiler for the file, because IDEal doesn't know with which compiler to replace it, and even if it switch to the default one, you may have many files opened at that time... You may not want to reparse them all with the same compiler. Will think about this more...
By the way, If your files are in project, all of them will be reparsed immediately when you change the compiler on one file in the project.

I'm glad that you are satisfied, thanks !

Lovely looking IDE !!!

1) Clickig twice on the ipf file (after associating it) loads to a blank screen. Opening the project manually works ok.

2) Trying a first test of it - seems that when I compile I get a "unable to open 3d scene" when other IDEs compile without fault.

4) Pressing CTRL+D on a function crashed (when the BB file containing the function was closed)

**********>> Created: 05/01/2007, 14:28:52<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :Mod_SciFun
Method Name               :GotoDeclaration
Error Description         :An object with the specified index does not exist in the collection.
Error Number              :50000
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************

If you mean "Unable to create 3D scene" then I don't think that's an IDE-related error. I get the error sometimes when 'something' borks my GFX driver, or whatever. I then have to reboot and all is good again.

Nice looking IDE, BTW. I'll be sure to give it a whirl if I ever get back to some blitz coding. ;)

[edit] Oh, you've edited yer post. :/

Excellent work. Waiting for BlitzMax support.

I can't reproduce this here.. Can someone who is experiencing this behaviour to post the project file ( it's text file )



as big10p said, that is a compiler message, so probably IDEal has nothing to do with this error.... can you check this again ?



Huh, there is certainly a bug here, but the real bug is that you succeeded to close a file with that function... In projects, it should only allow you to close the whole project, i.e. all files, and you shouldn't be able to close one file... Can you reproduce this... if you can, please post the steps needed, it would help me a lot in tracking down this bug.
Thanks for reporting this...

When the next version out Trixx?

delete a file :- Double click a file in the FIle Tab


My project contains over 20 files and is a pain in the a** having all of them loaded - so I started to close them.....

> as big10p said, that is a compiler message, so probably IDEal has nothing to do with this error.... can you check this again ?

Still the same. Like I say - other IDEs compile and run it fine.

Trixx,

Great work. Looks great works mainly very well.

I have an ATI card and two monitors and it finds it hard to create a scene, where B3D IDE just does it.

BTW it is only when I am using a windowed mode. Looking forwards to more about this IDE looks the business and load much more speedily than Protean.

IPete2.

@Boiled: Probably tomorrow, maybe Sunday


That was it, thanks a lot !


You are right... I'll make it possible to work with projects with only some files opened.

About the compiler throwing a "Unable to create 3D scene" ... this is really weird ! I can't understand why, because IDEal is only starting the compiler with command line, nothing more !

@OvineByDesign, IPete2 and if anyone else experienced this error:

Can you PLEASE tell me the exact configuration of your Graphics3D command i.e Graphics xx,yy,zz,mode
Can you try it with an empty new file with just a Graphics3D command in it ?
Does changing resolution or window mode helps anything ?
In preferences->compilers, can you enable "On compile, use real console..." for that compiler and see if it's any different ?
Are you compiling with "Compile and run" ( default F5 ) or "Debug compile" ( F9 ) i.e. release or debug mode ?

Im having the same problems as well. Re answers to your questions

Graphics3D command i.e Graphics xx,yy,zz,modes = Fails in all modes regardless of screen res, or if you specify colour depth, or window mode.

Can you try it with an empty new file with just a Graphics3D command in it ? - still fails with me.

Does changing resolution or window mode helps anything ? - unfortunately not.

After a couple of time compiling it eventually compiles.

Thanks Uncle,

I just received an email from another user that experienced the same problem, and he says that the problem is gone only if the "On compile, use real console..." option is checked.

Now this is officially a bug in IDEal, and I will try to fix this as fast as I can.

Here is a test version for the "Unable to create 3D scene " bug.
I will be very grateful if anyone who experienced this problem can download and test this version.
[EDIT] Link removed - posted version doesn't solve the problem [/Edit]

Just download and put this exe in the IDEal's folder, run it, and tell me if the problem is still there... or any messages that you received while compiling.
Also, tell me your B3D version and your PC configuraton ( chipset, graphic card, OS, CPU ), so I can more easily find similar machine to test on.
Note: this version is only for testing of this bug, it's not an official new version, so don't download if you don't have problems while compiling.

Same error - although its not a compile error its a runtime one.

It only happens when I run in debug mode. F5 run works ok - so I presume its window mode thats causing the problem

Graphics3D ScreenX, ScreenY,32,0

Using blitz3d version 1.98
WinXP sp 2
AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core 4200+
1gb ram

Thanks for the report, OvineByDesign.

Now, about the "Unable to create 3D scene" bug, I found that the problem lies in hiding of the console window, but it is ridiculous to leave it visible, so, to everyone who experienced this bug, one more time, please download and test:

[EDIT] Link removed , see below [EDIT]


@All: New version is scheduled for release tomorrow and if anyone created some nice color scheme, you can send it to me ( see my profile ) and I'll include it in the following version.

Perhaps it is too late for the next version, but I think it would be nice if you number the "new" files, so that the first one is 1, the second is 2, and so on...Right now there are 5 "new"s and I have to look through each one to remember which is which (I use just temporary files for lots of tests that I like to do)

Also, I can't reproduce it, but I made another "new" and the entire IDE crashed.

Trixx -> Compiled and ran fine using all (1 to 5)



/StuC

Wow, this editor is fantastic... and fast too! I know you don't want donations, but would you like a copy of Blitz Max? ;) I'm sure someone will buy it for you, because... well I don't have it :)

A couple of bugs (and sorry if these have been covered...)

-Oddly my Smartsound Quicktracks kept popping up an installer looking for an .msi (it came bundled with Ulead Videostudio) about ten times every time I loaded the program and compiled anything (forcing me to press cancel many, many times). It's happened before when installing other programs, but not quite to this degree. I imagine it's something wrong with my system, so it's uninstalled for now :) Thought you might like to know though...

-The code hint popup vanishes within half a second of arriving (after each word it hints for) while I type the first line of a document. Then, it fixes itself and works normally as soon as I type on another line.

-Is there a way to get html links (help files for other libs, such as Sprite Candy) from the File Explorer to the Help browser? Dragging and dropping would be great :) But, anything will do... since the multiple windows under help is a great idea (plus the verticle tab setup... brilliant)

-There seems to be a lack of tooltips for the main toolbars...

Anyway, more praise than bugs there... but knowing me, there'll be more to follow.

...of both praise and bugs. And one last little thing- the default syntax highlighting colours are the best I've seen. It's so easy to read... which is excellent for a newb ;)

@mindstorms: I'll add this enumeration for you, it's very easy... And can you send me your error.log file, to see about the error you are talking about.

@OvineByDesign: Thanks again, but I received report that posted version can still produce the same compiler error, so still no solution for this. But, I finally found a PC where I can reproduce this problem, so I think that I'll have a solution for this soon.

@Reactor:

Interesting, there may be some DLL conflict with two programs, I've seen this before with programs that use the same OS libraries. I don't think I can do anything about this. But, it may disappear if you install that program again, because I think that it checks for specific version of some library ( or is confused about some DLL )

I know about this one and it's intentional, to prevent one other bug in the editor component... it happens only on the first line and I can't do anything about it until the other bug is fixed in scintilla.

Nice idea, I can add "open in IDEal's browser" command for the html files in the file explorer context menu, if it is ok that way? Will see about dragging-dropping also.

Will check the tooltips...


Was wondering if people like it :) Thanks.

Here is the log...I got it to happen again, but not sure how. In both cases I have had a couple "new"s open and a single loaded file, and have clicked on the create new file icon.

log.txt (it is large...this particlular bug should be the latest crash)

**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 7:55:00 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:05 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:10 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:15 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/10/2006, 8:01:17 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:37 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:39 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:41 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:42 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:54:45 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :6
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:55:54 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:56:19 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:57:20 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/11/2006, 8:58:41 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :frmOptions
Method Name               :cmdRefreshDef_Click
Error Description         :Invalid procedure call or argument
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :2
**************************************************************

@mindstorms: Hm, I see, it's the same bug with refresh definitions... it is already fixed for the new release which should be out later today or tomorrow.. I just want to include a fix for the "Unable to create 3D scene" bug that is affecting some users.
You can delete that error.log file anytime, so only new errors will be visible next time.

I have gotten this bug a couple of times, it is where variables declared as locals suddenly become "bad", and then when you click on the line where they are declared, IDEal makes windows come up with one of its "this program performed an illegal operation". IDEal, after pushing don't send, remains open and everything for that variables works out fine. This usually happens to two or more variables at once, and does not fix the others that are broken (you have to get an error for each broken variable)

here is the log file for two of those errors:

**********>> Created: 6/15/2006, 5:04:18 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :4
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 6/15/2006, 5:04:49 PM<<***********
IDEal version             :0.8.24
App. Path                 :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name                 :clsHash
Method Name               :Remove
Error Description         :No such element
Error Number              :5
Error Line                :0
Error Source              :IDEal
OS Info                   :Windows XP   Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened              :4
**************************************************************

Trixx...



I'll give it a try, thanks.



Okay, no worries. Good to know it's a registered issue ;)



That'd be fantastic, thanks!
EDIT: The drag and drop would be better (in the sense that it's what people might expect to happen) since you can do things like drag and drop text from the Blitz3D manual in dual windowed mode.

This IDE is almost perfect except for a few things:

1. Shift+Delete and Shift+Insert should cut and paste.
2. Control+Backspace and Control+delete should delete one word, not the rest of the line.
3. Can commas and operators have extra space around them to make it look clearer?
4. I'd like an option for the Home key always go to the beginning of the line regardless of tabs.
5. If I have "Local x,y" and then I change it to "Local X,y" with a capital X and then move the cursor to the right, it reverts back to "Local x,y"
6.
You can add this functionality easier than you probably think (to tell if it is a one-line If). When the bracket level is 0, just check if there are 2 words in a row that are not connected by an operator. It is that simple, I did it in my blitzmax IDE.

Good luck with development, I hope to see updates!

Trixx,

don't know if this has been mentioned before...

imagine you use a Blitz function "PickedEntity" and don't put the () after the function. Blitz assumes this is a local and doesn't actually call the function. Could IDEal either add the () or flag this a bad (i.e. red).

Ta.

@mindstorms: Yes, i saw that error in the first error.log that you posted. It's fixed also.

Ok


You can change/define shortcuts easily.. just right click on toolbar -> customize ->keyboard... and you can change or add shortcuts for any command


Yes, will add this option, together with removing extra spaces in the edited line... not in this release though


Ok, will add this as an option too.


You are right, I should disable case correction in declaration lines.


Will see about this also... I must test first, how much will this slow down the parser engine.
Thanks


@Boiled Sweets: The problem is that BB function name can actually be a local at the same time, and I have seen people actually use function names as variables... though not for PickedEntity :)
But probably I can change this... so if there is not local variable declared with that name, and the braces are missing, it will mark it as "bad" .

well i would say that if a user decided to use a blitz function as a variable then it should flag it as an error.

Any ideas when the next version will be ready ;-)

Thanks Trixx

I agree, but I'll make this optional anyway :)



I lost 2 days in tracking down the problem with "Unable to create 3d scene" on some machines... Now, it is finally fixed, and new version will be available in several hours ( I hope so ) . I'll email you when it's ready.

>>> New version is up ! <<<

You can download it here: http://rapidshare.com/files/10877806/IDEal_Setup_0.8.53.exe

Or wait until Boiled Sweets updates version hosted on his website http://www.boiledsweets.com/ideal , I 'm sure it will be updated very soon.

Changes in this version ( 0.8.53 )

[Added] Option - When jumping to line, always show that line on top of the editor window
[Added] Option - On start-up: 'Load LastWorkspace', 'Open New file' or 'Do nothing'
[Added} Option - Enumeration for New files - Adds a number to the end of the name of each new file.
[Added] Current File/Project selection for CodeExplorer. Current File mode additionally doesn't show filename
[Added] Option - CTRL-Tabbing starts with previous active file, i.e. emulate Windows Alt - Tabbing for 'Next File Tab' command
[Fixed] Bug with adding existing file to a Project, if the file wasn't in the project's directory
[Fixed] Parser bug that was throwing an exception if other file is opened when you have unparsed line with declaration in it.
[Fixed] Compiler would throw an "Unable to create 3D scene" on some machines
[Fixed] "hidden ability" to close a file that is part of a project is removed. At this stage, all files of a project must be opened. Ability to close/not load certain project files is planned for near future.
[Fixed] Bug that was causing refreshing definitions to have no effect until IDEal is restarted
[Fixed] Manually changing of the Blitz Path in options not saved

Just a few notes/explanations:

1 .Option "When jumping to line, always show that line on top of the editor window" - means that clicking on the items in the CodeExplorer and commands like Goto Line , Goto Declaration, Next/Previous Function, bookmarks etc. , will always position that new line at the top of the editor window ( + vertical autoscroll value )

2. Current File/Project selection for CodeExplorer - 'Current File' mode will show items in the code explorer only from the active file, and 'Project' mode from the whole project. These two modes are same for single files, because each single file is also a project.

3. Option - " CTRL-Tabbing starts with previous active file " will work only if the shortcut for "Next File Tab" command contains CTRL as a modifier, i.e. all CTRL+some key variations . So, you can easily have two different versions of the "Next File Tab" command if you enable this option and assign two different shortcuts for it - one with CTRL as a modifier and the other with some other modifier ( like SHIFT, ALT ) or without modifier.

And, sorry if anyone was expecting 'Includes' in the Code Explorer, they will be in the next bigger update.

Cheers!

Thanks again Trixx!

Done, go grab it here - www.boiledsweets.com/ideal

Once again THANKS Trixx! This really is an awesome IDE! And I PLEAD with you, if you ever get bored on maintaining it PLEASE let me have the source to continue to develop it and keep it free for the community. We don't want this going the same way as Visual Blitz. Thanks.

1. Could we PLEASE have CUT (Ctrl X), COPY (Cntl C) and PASTE (Cntl V) in the popup menu when right clicking on the code? Ta

2. The "Check for errors" menu button doesn't have an icon.

Nice one :-)

"Project Files must be in the project's (sub)folder"!?

I am have many library files in seperate folders. Many projects uses these librarys. I went for adding these librarys from random folders in my project, so this feature works as bug.

I think this feature is only for grandmothers a good option. Please make a option for deactivate the "Project Files must be in the project's (sub)folder"-feature.

by the way: I went nothing for entering "C:\" as project folder. ;)

I'm also wondering about projects... do all of the files included in one have to remain open? If I have 40 files (which I don't, but may one day!) I'd hate to have a giant row of tabs to scroll through.

If I have a collapsed function at the end of a document, is there a way to add a line afterwards without having to expand it? I'm a bit of a n00b programmer so just ignore me if that's a silly thing to ask for :)

I had a crash while creating a new horizontal tab group, and then closing the project. I was rendering an image in the background, so... I wasn't sure at the time if IDEal crashed because of that. The thing is, my project file now can't be loaded. It was a simple test with a few random files. Here's the error report...

**********>> Created: 9/01/2007, 11:00:53 PM<<***********
IDEal version :0.8.53
App. Path :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name :Mod_File
Method Name :BuildProjectFromFile
Error Description :File not found
Error Number :53
Error Line :0
Error Source :IDEal
OS Info :Windows XP Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened :2
**************************************************************
**********>> Created: 9/01/2007, 11:01:02 PM<<***********
IDEal version :0.8.53
App. Path :C:\Program Files\IDEal
File Name :Mod_File
Method Name :BuildProjectFromFile
Error Description :File not found
Error Number :53
Error Line :0
Error Source :IDEal
OS Info :Windows XP Version:5.1 Build:2600
Files opened :2
**************************************************************

I was trying to load (through the Recent Projects menu option under File) Joel.ipf. In my directory I have Test.ipf, which I'm fair sure was the first project test I did, while Joel.ipf was the one that crashed. Anyhow, if you need anything else, please let me know.

@Boiled Sweets:


You can customize the context menu to feet your need - when in customize mode ( right click on toolbars->customize ), a new POPUP menu will show up in the main menu line, which is your context menu. And you can add/remove commands form all menus, including editor's context menu. In customize mode, you can also add/change the icon for the command.

@ShadowTurtle:

This is not a bug, it's intentional. I didn't think that copying of libraries in the projects folder would be a problem. Anyway, I'll add the option so project files may reside anywhere on the drive.


You don't have to include all of your libraries in the project.. you may include only the files that will actually be edited, and leave other files out of the project. Functions from other files that are not in the project will be highlighted also if you leave their .decls file in the userlibs folder of the compiler. But, I'll also make this possible, i.e. to not open all of the project files.

@Reactor:

I didn't noticed that, I'll correct this behavior, thanks for reporting it.
About the exception, rendering an image shouldn't be a problem at all, so there is some problem with the creating/saving of the project file.. I'll investigate further to see why this happened. Thanks for reporting this also.

Trixx,

that is VERY VERY cool!

This looks really wonderful. I wish I had it when I was still using Blitz+ and Blitz3d. Oh well... back to the rather horrible ide that is the BlitzMax default.

Just in case you missed that - it's a hint that means a version for BlitzMax would be wonderful... just because some people (not me) say they like something doesn't mean they can't like something else.

So how many people do you want to say they would like a BlitzMax version before you will consider it?

I think Trixx is aware people would like a Max ide... first things first though- getting this editor as close to done as possible.

Thanks for looking into things, Trixx!

@Binary_Moon: LOL ... Thanks for your kind words... As Reactor said, and you probably agree, the most important thing is to finish the B3D/B+ version first, which may take some time.
I was thinking about BMax, and the problem with BMax version is the lack of motivation for doing it in this moment.

Also, I have several projects ( games ) in B3D that are put on hold just because at some point, development started to be boring because I started to lose so much time because of lack of certain features in the IDE I was using, and because of the not so good B3D debugger ( no Stop/Edit/Continue functionality ).

So, my next project that I have motivation for is a powerful B3D interpreter / debugger, but that will probably never be publicly released. I'm sure that a debugger like in Visual Basic will speed up the development of my other B3D projects VERY much. If BMax had such a debugger, I would replace B3D with BMax immediately, and of course make a BMax version of IDEal :)

Aww, go on. You know you want to ;)

Trixx, is there any chance you might release the source code for the Max crowd, so they can work to develop it into a BMax specific app? (when the time is right, of course)

@Reactor: No, no chance for releasing the source because there is a commercial 3rd party controls that I'm using in IDEal.

And, just to let you know, I found what caused the last problem with projects that you reported... It's fixed for the next release which should be available in several days. In the meantime, to avoid this bug, be sure to manually save newly created projects before closing them.

I am still in awe using this IDE, really first class job.

However, the main point of my post is to say....... maybe its time to start a new thread for this topic? This one is getting v e r y long in the tooth.

Yes, I agree... I'll start a new thread with the new version and will summarize what was done/not done from this thread, so the new one can start "clean" .

[EDIT] New thread is here: http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=66528 [/EDIT]