Thanks for taking the time to reply. I was pretty sure vi, vim, and gvim could meet my short list, probably my longer list too. I'm not so sure, at least from what I've read in this thread and my limited exposure to vi, that they fit the bill as far as short learning curve and familiar keyboard shortcuts (afraid the command/edit mode ":" annoyance is something I just can't get past).

As for regex-like find/replace? I don't really like regex at all, and don't particularly want to learn two different flavors. Don't get me wrong, with Perl it is a wonderful and efficient tool for people who like it, need it and too rarely use it correctly, I just usually don't (like, need, or use it correctly ;-). On the rare occasions that I do need it, I use it appreciatively, but to use a different flavor of it regularly for editor find/replace? Er, no thanx.

--Jim

re:  Screamer++, fair enough!