Hello,
I've started using JOE just recently (coming from Nano) and have some suggestions on how to improve its PICO emulation mode (which I'm usually using when running JOE).
First, JOE's appearance in PICO mode is a bit different from what both PICO and Nano look like:
(Screenshot taken in JOE 4.4)
So, I'd suggest to move the key bindings to the bottom of the screen and show key combinations in inverted colors like PICO and Nano do it. Also, they should be re-arranged in a reasonable way.
Then, as it is stated in PICO's help text, "[t]he third line from the bottom" should be "used to report informational messages and for additional command input." And, like in PICO and Nano, colors should be inverted on that line by default.
Second: While PICO and Nano show the most important key bindings outside of the status bar, on two dedicated lines, JPICO is inconsistent in this respect, keeping "Ctrl-G for help" in the status bar, which also differs from how key combinations are written in PICO and Nano.
In addition, ^G should not be mapped to toggling the display of key bindings on the bottom of the editing screen by default, but take the user right to the help text. As far as I can see, PICO (at least the
version on my system) doesn't offer any way to hide the editing commands. Nano does offer that feature via Alt+X or Esc+X.
Thank you,
msi