Re: simple editor required

[Bruce Ingalls <bingalls@CUT-this-SPAM-BLOCK.fit-zones.com>]

Paul Edwards wrote:
> I'm wanting to use emacs as a substitute for vi.
> 
> I'm after the following features:
> 
> 1. When I press the "a" key I want an "a" to appear on the screen
> (that rules out "vi").

Add http://cream.sourceforge.net/ to your vi.

http://emacro.sf.net/ is the equivalent for emacs. However, you may
find yourself turning off features.

> 4. When I attempt to mark a block of text, I don't expect a find or
> a goto to lose my marker (that rules out Xemacs 20.4).

Rules out most editors.
I would expect to copy or cut selected text, before moving on to another
command.
How do you expect to unselect text?

Emacs is designed to be powerful, not simple.
Try nedit or pico for less featureful editors.