USE EDLIN.EXE AS YOUR TEXT EDITOR

If you've spent any time at all using UNIX, Linux, or another variation, you're no doubt familiar with edlin, thecommand-based line-oriented text editor included with these operating systems. If you've recently moved to Windows from UNIX or Linux, you're probably feeling a little lost without this helpful command. If so, you'll be happy to know that Edlin.exe is alive and well in Windows 2000 Server.

You can find the Edlin.exe program in the %systemroot%\System32 folder on a Windows 2000 Server installation. However, you can also start the program from the command line by entering edlin.

To edit a file with the Edlin.exe program in Windows, open a command console, and issue the following command:

EDLIN <file>

Replace <file> with the actual filename, whether existing or new, that you want to edit. To get help with specific Edlin.exe subcommands while editing a file, enter ? at the prompt.

The Edlin.exe program can come in handy. However, if you're not familiar with its uses, you'll likely find Notepad, WordPad, or another GUI-based text editor much easier to use.