EmEditor v24.4.1 released

Today, we are releasing EmEditor v24.4.1.

v24.4.1 includes the following bug fixes. Please make sure to always update to the latest version for stable operations.

  • Fixed the issue of freezing and crashing during document comparison that occurred in v24.4.0.
  • Resolved the problem where bold text was not displayed even when the “Highlight Matching Brackets” option was enabled in v24.4.0.
  • Fixed the display position of bookmarks and change line indicators in the Markdown design view in v24.4.0.
  • Addressed a potential crash issue with the OpenDocuments plugin.
  • Reduced the likelihood of crashes due to memory shortage when undoing after replacing all instances including newlines.
  • Fixed display issues that occurred when changing line wrapping methods during document comparison.
  • Improved crash reports.
  • Addressed customer reported issues (1, 2, 3).

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.4.0 Released – Markdown Design View

Today, we are excited to announce the release of EmEditor v24.4.0.

The main feature of the latest version (v24.4) is improved Markdown support, introduced in response to customer feedback (1, 2). It includes the new Markdown Design View that offers a near-WYSIWYG experience.

Introduced a Markdown design view that offers a near-WYSIWYG experience for editing Markdown files.

Markdown, introduced by John Gruber, is widely used across various platforms due to its simple text formatting capabilities for paragraphs, links, and images. Documents in Markdown are easily readable even in basic text editors like Notepad, making it popular for blogs, StackOverflow, Wikipedia, and academic papers. Recently, it’s also been used in AI-generated responses. The enhanced Markdown support aims to improve the display of AI prompt responses, a feature introduced in the previous version (v24.3).

A Markdown Design View button has been added to the main toolbar, allowing you to toggle the Design View on or off. When you select the Markdown configuration, opening associated files will automatically enable the Design View. This view is also applied to documents created using the AI prompt feature. You can adjust these settings on the new Markdown page in the Customize dialog.

Added the Markdown Design View button to the default Basic toolbar.

Switching to the Design View displays the Markdown toolbar. By clicking the Markdown Preview button, you can view a preview of the Markdown using the WebPreview plugin.

Added the Markdown toolbar.

Here are some key differences between Markdown Preview and Design View:

  • You can edit in Design View, but not in Preview.
  • Images appear in Preview, while they’re represented as emojis (🖼) in Design View.
  • Line breaks in the source text may not be preserved in Preview, but they always appear as line breaks in Design View. Hard line breaks in the source text are marked with emojis (⏎) in Design View.
  • If table headers are missing in the source text, they are hidden in Preview but shown as empty headers in Design View and can be edited.
  • Code and regular text are displayed in different fonts in Preview, but in the same font with different colors in Design View.
  • Specified languages in fenced code blocks are highlighted in Design View according to the language configuration.
  • HTML tags, character references, and numeric character references in the source text are displayed correctly in the Preview, but they do not appear in the Design View.
  • Heading lines are displayed in the correct font size in the Preview, but in the Design View, they are always shown in the same font size if DirectWrite is not used. By default, the settings use DirectWrite, so this should not be an issue.

Given these differences, it’s advisable not to rely solely on EmEditor’s Design View. Instead, check your work in Preview or an external web browser during editing.

You can change block styles using the dropdown menu on the Markdown toolbar, like Paragraph, Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. You can also format text with buttons like Bold, Italic, Code, etc. These buttons behave differently depending on whether text is selected or already formatted. For example, clicking Bold without selecting text will bold the entire word at the cursor. If the text at the cursor is already formatted differently, only that text will be bolded. Clicking Bold with text selected toggles the bold formatting. Other buttons allow you to create/insert links, images, tables, horizontal lines, line breaks, numbered lists, bullet lists, etc. These commands are also accessible from the Markdown submenu of the Edit menu, with Ctrl+B as the shortcut for Bold.

There’s still room for improvement in the current Markdown Design View. Some users might notice discrepancies between Design View and Preview. For complex edits, Design View might not be ideal. For instance, adding characters at the start of a heading could change it to a regular paragraph. In such cases, it’s better to disable Design View for editing. It’s also quicker to edit source text directly when changing image or hyperlink paths and titles. However, EmEditor isn’t meant to be a full-fledged Markdown editor. Markdown’s strength lies in its readability, even in plain text. We hope you get comfortable toggling Design View on and off as needed.

For parsing Markdown syntax, a modified version of MD4C (Markdown parser for C) by Martin Mitáš is used. MD4C follows CommonMark, which EmEditor also uses as a reference. However, EmEditor supports tables not specified in CommonMark.

The new version (v24.4) also includes several other features, many based on user requests:

  • The display of differing lines in comparison results has been enhanced; similar lines previously grouped as added lines are now shown as changed lines.
  • The Copy All to Other command now closes the source document.
  • Onigmo.Perl has been added to the list of regular expression engines, with Onigmo now called Onigmo.Ruby.
  • The Find/Replace dialog’s multi-line boxes now support automatic line wrapping.
  • Menus hidden when the window width is reduced can now be accessed via keyboard shortcuts. For example, the Macros menu, accessible with Alt+M, is usable even in a small window.
  • The /ola command line option has been added, allowing offline licenses to be saved for the entire computer with admin privileges.
  • Bugs found during the preview version development have been fixed.

We hope you enjoy using EmEditor, whether you choose the Professional or Free version. Please contact us or write in our forums if you have any questions, feature requests, or suggestions.

Thank you for using EmEditor!
Yutaka Emura

Check out the EmEditor v24.4 New Features for more details and screenshots.

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates from the Help menu to download the latest version. If this method fails, please download the latest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to get the latest version. Store App versions can be updated through the Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.3.2 released

v24.3.2 includes the following bug fixes. Please make sure to always update to the latest version for stable operations.

  • Fixed an issue where clicking on a tab could change the document order when multiple document tabs are present.
  • Fixed issues related to printing selected ranges and line wrapping.
  • Fixed a potential crash when aborting asynchronous JScript macros.
  • Fixed a potential crash when detecting HTML/Charset code pages during Find in Files.

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.3.1 released

v24.3.1 includes the following bug fixes. Please make sure to always update to the latest version for stable operations.

  • Reduced memory usage during sorting in the 32-bit version.
  • Fixed a rare crash issue with advanced filters.
  • Fixed a rare crash issue when opening files with document tabs disabled.
  • Fixed a keyboard focus issue when saving files with administrator privileges.
  • Fixed a rare crash issue during file comparison.
  • Fixed an issue with the background color in the Web Preview plugin.
  • Adjusted the display/hide behavior of tooltips by the language server.

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.3.0 Released – Chat with AI, AI Prompts, AI Toolbar, Using Regex for File Types in Find in Files

Today, we are excited to announce the release of EmEditor v24.3.0.

In Version 24.0, we introduced AI macros to EmEditor. With this new version (v24.3), we’ve taken it a step further by integrating AI functionality using the OpenAI API directly into EmEditor. This allows you to interact with AI right from within the editor. The simplest way to do this is through the new Chat with AI bar. By default, this bar appears when you select Chat with AI from the View menu. You can enter your prompt here and press Enter to get a response from the AI. For multi-line prompts, use Shift+Enter to add a line break, or you can create your prompt in the editor, copy it, and paste it into the Chat with AI bar. You can also drag and drop your prompt. To copy the AI’s response, right-click and select Copy Message.

Introduced the Chat with AI custom bar where you can type prompts to interact with OpenAI.

You can define frequently used prompts on the AI Prompts page in the Customize dialog. By default, prompts like “Send as is,” “Proofread,” and “Rewrite” are pre-defined. Prompts can include the entire document or selected text. For example, you can use the following placeholders:


$(DocText) Entire document
$(SelText) Selection
$(SelOrDoc) Selection or entire document

Using these, you can create prompts like:


Translate into French:
$(SelOrDoc)

In this example, if text is selected, it will be translated into French; otherwise, the entire document will be translated.

You can select the defined prompts from the AI submenu under the Tools menu, and they can also be accessed easily from the AI toolbar. If the AI toolbar is not visible, select AI from the Toolbars submenu in the View menu.

If you want to slightly modify a prompt before using it, right-click the prompt you want to use as a template from the menu or toolbar, and select New Prompt. This allows you to ask questions based on the selected prompt with modifications.

Introduced a New Prompt dialog box.

When defining prompts, you can also specify Output, Max tokens, and Temperature in addition to the message. For example, selecting Create New Document for Output will generate the AI’s response as a new document. If you are proofreading a document, selecting Split and Compare will display the document before and after proofreading side by side. Selecting Image will display the image specified in the prompt within EmEditor as a web browser. Adjusting the Max tokens can limit the number of words in the AI’s response. For example, if the Max tokens is set to 10, the response will be shortened to a few words. The Temperature setting controls randomness; a higher value results in more creative responses, while a lower value yields more consistent and accurate responses. Additionally, setting Save to Chat with AI will output the interaction with the AI to the Chat with AI bar, allowing you to monitor and save the conversation.

Added AI Prompts page to the Customize dialog box.

If you need common instructions for AI prompts, you can write them in the System role message for AI prompts section on the AI Options page in the Customize dialog. For example, writing “Do not use Markdown syntax” will prevent the AI from using Markdown syntax in its responses.

Renamed the AI page in the Customize dialog box to AI Options.

Additionally, based on customer feedback, you can now specify file names using regular expressions as well as wildcards in the File Types section of the Find in Files dialog. To use regular expressions, click the > button to the right of the File Types dropdown in the Find in Files dialog and select Regular Expression. For example,


Data[0-9]{1,3}\.txt

will target only file names from Data0.txt to Data999.txt for searching.

Added Wildcard and Regular Expression to the File Types context menu in the Find/Replace in Files dialog box.

Since the previous version, an internet connection has been required for product registration, but some customers may not have access to the internet. Therefore, in this version, we have made it possible to register the product offline using the new /ol command line option. For customers who wish to do so, we will send an offline license file via email. Please refer to Offline Registration for more details.

We hope you enjoy using EmEditor, whether you choose the Professional or Free version. Please contact us or write in our forums if you have any questions, feature requests, or suggestions.

Thank you for using EmEditor!
Yutaka Emura

Check out the EmEditor v24.3 New Features for more details and screenshots.

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates from the Help menu to download the latest version. If this method fails, please download the latest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to get the latest version. Store App versions can be updated through the Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.2.1 released

Today, we are releasing EmEditor v24.2.1.

v24.2.1 includes customer reported bug fixes.

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.2.0 Released – gpt-4o as default model, Disable AI completely for admin, Favorites features

Today, we are releasing EmEditor v24.2.0.

In the previous version (v24.1), we introduced the AI assisted writing feature using the OpenAI API. In this version, we have made further adjustments. The newly announced gpt-4o model from OpenAI has become the default preferred model, offering improved quality and speed for the writing assistance feature compared to the previous default gpt-4-turbo-preview model, while halving the usage fees incurred from OpenAI. The currently selected preferred model can be checked on the AI page of the Customize dialog. Additionally, we have adjusted to ensure unnecessary spaces do not appear in the suggested text for Japanese writing. Furthermore, the AI macro now acquires the OpenAI key and the preferred model set in the EmEditor core settings for ease of use, with slight adjustments made in prompt creation.

Responding to requests from corporate customers who have concerns about security, we introduced the ability to completely disable AI features. It’s worth noting that even if the AI feature is disabled in EmEditor, it’s impossible to completely prevent access to AI from web browsers or other tools if the computer is connected to the internet. However, it’s a legitimate administrator’s concern to prevent potential leaks of content opened in the text editor. Therefore, in the new version (v24.2), we’ve added a function to entirely disable AI with administrative privileges. By clicking the Disable AI (per computer) button on the AI page of the Customize dialog, it sets DisableAIAdmin = 1 (REG_DWORD) in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Emurasoft/EmEditor v3/Common.

Added the “Disable AI (per computer)” button to the AI page of the Customize dialog box.

If this value exists, it prohibits not only the AI assisted writing feature but also any macros using the fetch function, including the AI macro. Since this value resides in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, it cannot be deleted without administrative privileges. For the Store App version, which has restricted write access to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, you need to manually create this value using the Registry Editor.

We plan to further develop AI-related features in future versions, so please stay tuned.

This version (v24.2) also responds to additional customer requests.

1. Since the initial versions of EmEditor, many customers (1, 2, 3) have requested a feature similar to the “Favorites” in web browsers that allows easy access to frequently used files. Therefore, in this version, we have added a Favorites toolbar and related commands. To add the currently open file to the Favorites toolbar, you can select the Add to Favorites command from the Favorites submenu of the File menu by default. This command saves not only the current file name but also the current cursor position. You can also drag the document tab or file icon from Explorer and drop it onto the Favorites toolbar. However, in the case of drag and drop, the cursor position is not saved. You can rearrange the buttons by dragging and dropping the added buttons. To remove a button from the Favorites toolbar, right-click on the button and select Remove from This List from the menu displayed. This feature is supported in both EmEditor Professional and EmEditor Free.

The new Favorites toolbar offers quick access to frequently opened files.

Furthermore, in EmEditor Professional, you can customize the appearance, icon presence, and display method of the Favorites toolbar on the Favorites page of the Customize dialog box. Additionally, you can display a list of files registered in favorites and edit the cursor position for each file.

Added the Favorites page to the Customize dialog box.

To elaborate on the drag-and-drop functionality of the toolbars: similar to the Favorites toolbar, it is now possible to rearrange the order of buttons on the Macros, Markers, and Tools toolbars through drag-and-drop.

2. In response to requests from some customers (1, 2), we have added the GetKeyState method to the Shell object, which retrieves in macros whether a certain key is pressed down.

Additionally, starting with this version, we have ended support for per-computer installations due to security concerns. This change removes the need for administrator privileges during installation and updates, increasing security. From this version, the installer supports only per-user installations, has a new design, and simplifies the installation process. Some settings previously available in the installer can be changed after installation via the Shortcuts page of the EmEditor Customize dialog.

EmEditor’s new installer interface

However, some organizations prohibit installing apps in user folders, and require installations in specific folders (for example, C:\Program Files\). If you need to change the installation folder, please see FAQ: How do I change the install folder?

Using the portable version can also help avoid problems. By default, the portable version creates INI files in the same folder as emeditor.exe to save settings. In the new version, settings can be saved to other folders by editing the eeUseIni.ini file located in the same folder as emeditor.exe. For example, if you change the eeUseIni.ini file as follows and save it in UTF-16LE (with BOM), the settings will be saved in the folder C:\Users\(username)\EmEditorSettings.


[IniDir]
IniDir=%UserProfile%\EmEditorSettings

This method allows all users to share the app while having their own settings, similar to installing EmEditor as per computer.

As noted in a previous blog, unfortunately, some users have accidentally purchased or acquired invalid licenses. While those distributing or selling invalid licenses are most at fault, we also acknowledge that EmEditor’s specifications allow usage for a certain period even with invalid registration keys. Starting from this version, an immediate issue notification is displayed if an invalid license is entered. Additionally, entering the email address associated with the Emurasoft Customer Center will be mandatory when entering a registration key. If you purchased a license directly from our website, use the email address provided during purchase. If purchased elsewhere, register your product with the Emurasoft Customer Center and use the email address used during registration. If you forget your registered email address, please contact us.

I hope you like EmEditor, whether you use the Professional or Free version. Please contact us or write in forums if you have any questions, feature requests, or any ideas in the future.

Thank you for using EmEditor!
Yutaka Emura

Please see EmEditor v24.2 New Features for details and screenshots.

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help menu to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.1.2 released

Today, we are releasing EmEditor v24.1.2.

v24.1.2 includes the following bug fixes.

  • Fixed customer reported issues and crashes (1, 2).

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.1.1 released

Today, we are releasing EmEditor v24.1.1.

v24.1.1 includes the following bug fixes.

  • Adjusted the AI assisted writing feature to prevent suggestions after a period or newline.
  • Adjusted the AI assisted writing feature to allow Ctrl+Space to show a suggestion before the end of line.
  • Adjusted the Explorer context menu feature to allow toggling of both the modern and classic context menus separately.
  • The new version allows the Cut command to delete lines if multiple selections are all empty.
  • Fixed a potential freeze while saving a very large file.
  • Fixed a potential crash while filtering a number range.
  • Fixed an issue where Replace in Files without the Keep Modified Files Open option might fail with the “Exceeded the maximum size of 2 GB allowed for Replace in Files” error message.
  • Fixed an issue where sort commands may not work correctly on a CSV file with invalid syntax.
  • Fixed customer-reported issues (1).

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.

EmEditor v24.1.0 Released (Including Technical Review)

Today, we are releasing EmEditor v24.1.0.

In version 24.1, we have added support for the new context menu in Windows 11 Explorer. With Windows 11, the design of the context menu has been revamped compared to Windows 10 and earlier versions, necessitating special handling for apps to support this change. EmEditor is now compatible with the Windows 11 context menu, enabling you to directly select the Edit in EmEditor command. Additionally, when right-clicking on a folder or the background, the Find in Files with EmEditor command becomes available. To use this feature, the EmEditor tray icon must be displayed in the notification area of the taskbar, and it is supported only when running the desktop installer version on Windows 11. This feature is accessible in both the EmEditor Professional and EmEditor Free versions.

Added a shortcut to Windows 11 context menu in Explorer.

Another significant feature added in the new Professional version is the enhancement of AI capabilities. Version 24.0 introduced AI macros using the OpenAI API (hereafter abbreviated as “API”). Version 24.1 introduces an AI assisted writing feature that predicts and autocompletes what you are typing next while composing text. AI autocomplete can reduce typing effort and improve writing speed. I am writing this text using EmEditor and am personally experiencing the convenience of the AI assisted writing feature.

By default, the AI functionality is disabled. To enable this feature, you need to check the Enable AI option on the AI page of the Customize dialog box in EmEditor, and agree to allow OpenAI to process the text data within documents opened in EmEditor. Please read OpenAI’s Privacy Policy, and if you agree, click the Continue button. According to this privacy policy, data sent to the API will not be used for training OpenAI’s models.

Added the “AI” page to the “Customize” dialog box.

Next, enter your API key in the OpenAI API Key text box. If you are logged into OpenAI, you can obtain your API key here. It is recommended to store the API key in the ‘OPENAI_API_KEY‘ environment variable, but if you use the portable version of EmEditor or do not wish to share the key with other apps because you are sharing the computer, you can disable the Use “OPENAI_API_KEY” environment variable option and save the API key exclusively for EmEditor. By default, gpt-4-turbo-preview is the preferred model. It offers more accurate suggestions than gpt-3.5-turbo. For writing in foreign languages, selecting gpt-4-turbo-preview is advisable. Also, to enable this feature, you must activate the AI assisted writing option on the General page of each configuration properties. It is enabled by default for Text, Markdown, and HTML configurations.

Added the “AI assisted writing” checkbox to the “General” page of the configuration properties.

When this feature is enabled, as you type, AI will automatically predict and suggest the next text. The suggested text appears in gray by default, and you can accept the suggestion by pressing the Tab or End key. If you want to accept only part of the suggested text, press the Right arrow key for the number of characters to accept, or Ctrl+Right to accept one word. Pressing the Delete key will remove the first character of the suggested text. Pressing the Esc key or another key cancels the suggestion. Moreover, if you want to force a prediction by AI when no suggested text is displayed, or request a different suggestion, press Ctrl+Space.

Added the ability to complete a word or phrase by using the OpenAI API.

Simply opening a file in EmEditor does not call the API. It only starts calling the API when you begin typing characters. Moreover, the following conditions must all be met to utilize this functionality:

  • Running EmEditor Professional edition
  • The Enable AI option is set
  • The AI assisted writing option is set
  • Not recording or running a macro
  • The Read-only option is turned off
  • No text is selected
  • Not editing a very large file
  • Not in CSV mode
  • Not comparing files
  • The document being edited is active
  • The cursor is at the end of line
  • Have started typing characters
  • After pausing typing (about 100ms)
  • Have not pressed the Esc key to cancel a suggestion
  • Not just clicked elsewhere with the mouse or executed another command

As described above, we aim to minimize the frequency of API usage. However, using the API still incurs a fee payable to OpenAI, calculated in tokens. Each suggestion consumes about 100 tokens for input and about 10 tokens for output. According to current pricing, using the default gpt-4-turbo-preview model consumes approx. US$0.0013 per instance. Opting for gpt-3.5-turbo significantly reduces the cost to approx. US$0.000065 per instance. For reference, using ChatGPT Plus provided by the same company incurs a monthly fee of US$20 or more, but if you only use the API with EmEditor, you don’t need to pay for ChatGPT Plus. Using AI with EmEditor is unlikely to amount to US$20 a month, making it an economically viable option. Using the AI macro introduced in v24.0, you can ask EmEditor any free-form questions just like with ChatGPT Plus, making it possible to completely replace ChatGPT Plus with EmEditor.

Furthermore, this version responds to customer requests.

1. The hexadecimal characters used for IPv6 addresses in highlight and sorting commands were only recognized in lowercase in previous versions. This was because RFC 5952 recommends writing IPv6 addresses in lowercase. However, based on feedback from a customer indicating that both uppercase and lowercase letters may be mixed, we now support uppercase letters as well.

2. The CommitList plugin has been improved with the addition of the Delete Remote Branch command.

I hope you like EmEditor, whether you use the Professional or Free version. Please contact us or write in forums if you have any questions, feature requests, or any ideas in the future.

Thank you for using EmEditor!
Yutaka Emura

Please see EmEditor v24.1 New Features for details and screenshots.

If you use the Desktop Installer version, you can select Check for Updates on the Help menu to download the newest version. If this method fails, please download the newest version, and run the downloaded installer. If you use the Desktop portable version, you can go to the Download page to download the newest version. The Store App versions can be updated through Microsoft Store (64-bit or 32-bit) after a few days.