VMS Help EDIT, /TPU, /OUTPUT  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

  /OUTPUT[=output-file] (default)
  /NOOUTPUT

  Determines the output file, if any, for the main (or first) buffer.
  If you specify multiple input files on the EDIT/TPU command line,
  this qualifier applies to each buffer.  Does not affect other buffers
  you create during the editing session.

  By default, the output file has the same specifications as the input
  file with a version number one higher than the highest version of the
  input file, or version 1 if you are creating a new file.

  Use /OUTPUT= and specify a file if you want the output file written
  in a different directory or to have a different name or file type.
  For example, the following command edits a file named ROUGH.LIS in
  your current directory and, on exiting, writes the output file to
  FINAL.TXT in your top-level, login directory:

     $ EDIT/TPU rough.lis /OUTPUT=sys$login:final.txt

  You cannot use wildcards to specify the output file---you specify one
  output file at a time.  There is no default file type.  If you omit
  the file type or other parts of the output file specification, such
  as the device (disk) or directory, EVE uses the corresponding parts
  of the input file specification, if there is one.

  In EVE, using /OUTPUT= and specifying an output file modifies the
  buffer, so that even if you make no changes to the text, exiting
  writes the buffer to the specified output file.

  In EVE, using /NOOUTPUT sets the MAIN (or first) buffer to read-only
  (sometimes called write-locked), so that exiting does not write out
  that buffer to a file.  This is useful to view a file without making
  any changes.  If you change your mind and want to write out the
  buffer before exiting, use the WRITE FILE, SAVE FILE, or SAVE FILE AS
  command.  Also, you can change the read/write attribute of the buffer
  during your editing session by using the SET BUFFER command.

  Be careful using the /OUTPUT qualifier when you specify multiple
  input files because the qualifier applies to all input files on the
  EDIT/TPU command line.  If you specify an output file name and type,
  each buffer created from an input file would have the same output
  file name and type.

  You can use the /OUTPUT qualifier with multiple input files to write
  the output files to a different disk or directory.  For example, the
  following command invokes EVE such that each output file has the same
  name as the original input file but is written to the [.NEW]
  directory:

     $ EDIT/TPU /OUT=[.NEW] a.txt,b.txt,c.rno,d.tmp