NTE - unicast and multicast text editor conferencing tool. NTE is first and foremost a conferencing tool - not a text editor. You might think of it as a text editor with very limited functionality. 

Starting up NTE

There are two ways of starting up NTE:- from the command line and from SDR. Using SDR is easier as it automatically configures the tool for use.
 

1. Using SDR (RECOMMENDED) - Click on the session advertisement, a box will appear listing the available tools for the session. Either click on the 'Join' button which will start all the tools, or click on the tool buttons individually to the left of the screen.

 
2. From the Command Line - As with the other Mbone tools the format for setting up NTE from the command line is as follows:
Unix:
Prompt> nte [options] <address/port>

Windows95/98/NT:
Click on the Start button in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. Select Run... In the Run Window, type the following in the open: field.
Open: nte [options] <address/port>

e.g. for a session using the address 224.2.2.2, and port 2222 with a ttl of 47, the correct syntax would be:-
 

nte -t 47 224.2.2.2/2222
**All participants must use the same multicast address and port number in order to communicate with one another** 

Using nte
 

In order to write in NTE, click anywhere in NTE and start typing. The text will begin where you clicked. 
You can edit text by clicking on the text that you want to edit and then using the keyboard to make the changes. 

Text in NTE is treated as blocks. To create a block of text, simply click with the left mouse button on a blank space, and start typing. If the screen is full and you cannot use the scroll bar to move further down the document a block of text should be created right at the bottom of the screen and the Enter key on the keyboard can be used to create more space for typing. 

A block of text can be manipulated in different ways:

• You can change the colour of the block by selecting the block, clicking on it and choosing a colour from the Colour menu at the top of NTE. Colours are primarily to distinguish between different people editing the same document.  You cannot set parts of a block to different colours - only the whole block. You can give your pen a default colour by choosing a colour from the Colour menu before you type anything.

 
• You can change the font into italics and/or bold by selecting the block, clicking on it and choosing a font from the Font menu at the top of NTE. The limited selection of fonts is to enable documents to be saved as plain text, without the problems that would result from variable width fonts. The different font styles are available to help distinguish different users' texts. You can only change the font of an entire block, not parts of it.

 
• You can move a block by selecting the block, clicking on it and dragging the block of text with the middle mouse button (or both mouse buttons at the same time on a two-button mouse if using Linux, or Ctrl & left mouse button if using Windows95/98/NT4.0). 

 
• You can delete a block by selecting the block, clicking on it and selecting Delete Block from the Edit menu at the top of NTE. 

 
• If two blocks of text are on top of one another, you can lower the block on top, i.e. make it go in the background, by selecting the block by clicking on it and selecting Lower Block from the Edit menu.

If you want to draw everybody's attention to a certain place in the text, you can hold down the right mouse button which will display a pointer on everybody else's screens - but only if they are already looking at that part of the text! 

Troubleshooting

If you can't see other people's work: 
 

• Make sure that you are using the correct addresses. 

 
• Make sure that both your and the other participant's ttl is set to at least 47 for sessions conducted within the UK.

Further Information

The NTE userguide is available in word7, postscript and pdf format. Please refer to this for more detailed information regarding it's operation.

Please consult this reference first. If your query still remains unanswered, send an email to nte@cs.ucl.ac.uk