Introduction

An Extensible Text Browser

What is WebEdit.NET? It is a tool for people who like to work with text documents of all kinds stored in various locations. It's made for folks who focus on text, not graphics, and to whom the content matters.

WebEdit.NET is also about integrating diverse application types (editor, browser, file manager) and interaction strategies (like GUI, console, automation). WebEdit.NET evolves, because it is extensible from the ground up.

WebEdit.NET is:

An SDI/MDI Text Editor that supports parameterized templates, auto-completion, advanced token management and insertion, syntax coloring and project management.
A Windows Shell Namespace Browser that supports most file system operations, and aims to integrate other applications and much of the Windows Shell.
An FTP Client that lets you open remote documents directly, or browse servers.
A Web Source Code Browser using the HTTP protocol.
A browser and editor for documents of any source, by integrating custom document storage providers.
Likewise, WebEdit.NET supports multiple views of the same document, customizable through document view providers.
An application that exposes a command line interface, including the ability to interface directly with the application's programming interface, or the Windows Command Shell.
An application that lets you use an interactive C#-like code interpreter.
An application that can be extended in a variety of ways with AddIns. WebEdit.NET AddIns, which can be written directly in the editor, are easy to use. They may provide macros and are thus useable for scripting. AddIns can access the application's code, the .NET framework, COM (through interop), and the Windows API.

Interacting with WebEdit.NET

There are several ways to use WebEdit.NET, depending on your preferences. WebEdit.NET can be anything from a simple source code browser to an editor for complex projects. WebEdit.NET supports deep customization, and exposes much of its internal capabilities to the end user.

Here's an overview of some popular operation strategies:

Graphical User Interface

WebEdit.NET can operate like a web browser, with bookmarks, history, address bar, and hyperlinks, and like a classic editor at the same time. Both MDI and SDI mode are available. Use the edit pane for viewing and editing documents, set up your work space with tool windows, and customize the toolbars to your needs.

Command Model

The command model is a character based interface that supports a variety of tasks. See Command Model.

WebEdit.NET API

WebEdit.NET exposes its programming interfaces directly to the user. There are two principal ways to access the API:

Executing ad-hoc calls to any method or property with the C# Code Interpreter. It can be invoked from the Console tool window, the address bar, or special expressions in templates and tokens.
Using AddIns, which offer ease of setup and can enhance the application in a great number of ways. AddIns support traditional procedural programming with macros as well as replacing and extending WebEdit functionality in an object oriented fashion.

Technology Base

WebEdit.NET is based on the Microsoft .NET platform. It is written in Visual Basic .NET, C#, and C++. WebEdit.NET's code base is largely the Gregor.NET application framework. The application builds on several years' worth of preceding versions, and it's written with Windows in mind. It is an editor with a history and an attitude.