Starting acknex from a batch file is always a solution. You can find the engines command line options here: http://www.conitec.net/beta/a-black.htm

Debugging with SED sucks anyways. A few printfs do a much better job here than SED - at least if you ask me.

You can for example use Notepad++. It's easy to customize the shortcuts here and you can easily define a shortcut for "Run in engine".

Have you tried switching the command help window off while working with SED?