2356 lines
95 KiB
HTML
2356 lines
95 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">
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<html>
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<!-- Created by GNU Texinfo 6.7, http://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/ -->
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
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<title>The GNU nano text editor</title>
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<meta name="description" content="The complete manual for the GNU nano text editor.">
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<meta name="keywords" content="The GNU nano text editor">
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<meta name="resource-type" content="document">
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<meta name="distribution" content="global">
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<meta name="Generator" content="makeinfo">
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<link href="#Top" rel="start" title="Top">
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<style type="text/css">
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a.summary-letter {text-decoration: none}
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blockquote.indentedblock {margin-right: 0em}
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div.display {margin-left: 3.2em}
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div.example {margin-left: 3.2em}
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div.lisp {margin-left: 3.2em}
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kbd {font-style: oblique}
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pre.display {font-family: inherit}
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pre.format {font-family: inherit}
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pre.menu-comment {font-family: serif}
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pre.menu-preformatted {font-family: serif}
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span.nolinebreak {white-space: nowrap}
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span.roman {font-family: initial; font-weight: normal}
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span.sansserif {font-family: sans-serif; font-weight: normal}
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ul.no-bullet {list-style: none}
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-->
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</style>
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</head>
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<body lang="en">
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<h1 class="settitle" align="center">The GNU nano text editor</h1>
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<span id="Top"></span><span id="SEC_Top"></span>
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<p>This manual documents GNU <code>nano</code>, version 7.2.
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</p>
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<table class="menu" border="0" cellspacing="0">
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Introduction" accesskey="1">Introduction</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Invoking" accesskey="2">Invoking</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Editor-Basics" accesskey="3">Editor Basics</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#The-Help-Viewer" accesskey="4">The Help Viewer</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#The-File-Browser" accesskey="5">The File Browser</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Command_002dline-Options" accesskey="6">Command-line Options</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Feature-Toggles" accesskey="7">Feature Toggles</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Nanorc-Files" accesskey="8">Nanorc Files</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Pico-Compatibility" accesskey="9">Pico Compatibility</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Building-and-its-Options">Building and its Options</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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</table>
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<hr>
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<span id="Introduction"></span><span id="Introduction-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">1 Introduction</h2>
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<p>GNU <code>nano</code> is a small and friendly text editor. Besides
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basic text editing, <code>nano</code> offers features like undo/redo,
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syntax coloring, interactive search-and-replace, auto-indentation,
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line numbers, word completion, file locking, backup files, and
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internationalization support.
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</p>
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<p>The original goal for <code>nano</code> was to be a complete bug-for-bug
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emulation of Pico. But currently the goal is to be as compatible
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as is reasonable while offering a superset of Pico’s functionality.
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See <a href="#Pico-Compatibility">Pico Compatibility</a> for more details on how <code>nano</code> and
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Pico differ.
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</p>
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<p>Starting with version 4.0, <code>nano</code> no longer hard-wraps an overlong
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line by default. It further uses linewise scrolling by default, and by
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default includes the line below the title bar into the editing area.
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If you want the old, Pico behavior back, you can use the
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following options: <samp>--breaklonglines</samp>,
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<samp>--jumpyscrolling</samp>, and <samp>--emptyline</samp>
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(or <samp>-bje</samp>).
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</p>
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<p>Please report bugs via <a href="https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=nano">https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=nano</a>.
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</p>
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<p>For background information see <a href="https://nano-editor.org/">https://nano-editor.org/</a>.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<span id="Invoking"></span><span id="Invoking-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">2 Invoking</h2>
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<p>The usual way to invoke <code>nano</code> is:
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</p>
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<div class="example">
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<pre class="example"><code>nano [FILE]</code>
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</pre></div>
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<p>But it is also possible to specify one or more options (see <a href="#Command_002dline-Options">Command-line Options</a>),
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and to edit several files in a row. Additionally, the cursor
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can be put on a specific line of a file by adding the line number
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with a plus sign before the filename, and even in a specific column by
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adding it with a comma.
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(Negative numbers count from the end of the file or line.)
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The cursor can also be put on the first or last occurrence of a specific string
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by specifying that string after <code>+/</code> or <code>+?</code> before the filename.
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The string can be made case sensitive and/or caused to be interpreted as a
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regular expression by inserting a <code>c</code> and/or <code>r</code> after the plus sign.
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These search modes can be explicitly disabled by using the uppercase variant
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of those letters: <code>C</code> and/or <code>R</code>. When the string contains spaces,
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it needs to be enclosed in quotes.
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A more complete command synopsis thus is:
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</p>
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<div class="example">
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<pre class="example"><code>nano [OPTION]… [[+LINE[,COLUMN]|+[crCR](/|?)STRING] FILE]…</code>
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</pre></div>
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<p>Normally, however, you set your preferred options in a <samp>nanorc</samp>
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file (see <a href="#Nanorc-Files">Nanorc Files</a>). And when using <code>set positionlog</code>
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(making <code>nano</code> remember the cursor position when you close a file),
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you will rarely need to specify a line number.
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</p>
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<p>As a special case: when instead of a filename a dash is given, <code>nano</code>
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will read data from standard input. This means you can pipe the output of
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a command straight into a buffer, and then edit it.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<span id="Editor-Basics"></span><span id="Editor-Basics-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">3 Editor Basics</h2>
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<table class="menu" border="0" cellspacing="0">
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Screen-Layout" accesskey="1">Screen Layout</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Entering-Text" accesskey="2">Entering Text</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Commands" accesskey="3">Commands</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#The-Cutbuffer" accesskey="4">The Cutbuffer</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#The-Mark" accesskey="5">The Mark</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Search-and-Replace" accesskey="6">Search and Replace</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Using-the-Mouse" accesskey="7">Using the Mouse</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Anchors" accesskey="8">Anchors</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Limitations" accesskey="9">Limitations</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
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</td></tr>
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</table>
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<hr>
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<span id="Screen-Layout"></span><span id="Screen-Layout-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.1 Screen Layout</h3>
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<p>The default screen of <code>nano</code> consists of four areas.
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From top to bottom these are: the title bar, the edit window,
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the status bar, and two help lines.
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</p>
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<p>The title bar consists of
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three sections: left, center and right. The section on the left
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displays the version of <code>nano</code> being used. The center section
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displays the current filename, or "New Buffer" if the file has not yet
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been named. The section on the right displays "Modified" if the
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file has been modified since it was last saved or opened.
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</p>
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<p>The status bar is the third line from the bottom of the screen. It
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shows important and informational messages. Any error messages that
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occur from using the editor will appear on the status bar. Any questions
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that are asked of the user will be asked on the status bar, and any user
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input (search strings, filenames, etc.) will be input on the status bar.
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</p>
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<p>The two help lines at the bottom of the screen show some of the most
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essential functions of the editor.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<span id="Entering-Text"></span><span id="Entering-Text-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.2 Entering Text</h3>
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<p><code>nano</code> is a "modeless" editor. This means that all keystrokes,
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with the exception of Control and Meta sequences, enter text into the
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file being edited.
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</p>
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<p>Characters not present on the keyboard can be entered in two ways:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li> For characters with a single-byte code,
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pressing the Esc key twice and then typing a three-digit decimal number
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(from <kbd>000</kbd> to <kbd>255</kbd>) will make <code>nano</code> behave as if you
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typed the key with that value.
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</li><li> For any possible character, pressing <kbd>M-V</kbd> (Alt+V) and then typing a
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series of hexadecimal digits (at most six, or concluded with <kbd>Enter</kbd> or
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<kbd>Space</kbd>) will enter the corresponding Unicode character into the buffer.
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</li></ul>
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<p>For example, typing <kbd>Esc Esc 2 3 4</kbd> will enter the character "ê" —
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useful when writing about a French party. Typing <kbd>M-V 0 0 2 2 c 4</kbd>
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will enter the symbol "⋄", a little diamond.
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</p>
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<p>Typing <kbd>M-V</kbd> followed by anything other than a hexadecimal digit
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will enter this keystroke verbatim into the buffer, allowing the user
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to insert literal control codes (except <code>^J</code>) or escape sequences.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<span id="Commands"></span><span id="Commands-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.3 Commands</h3>
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<p>Commands are given by using the Control key (Ctrl, shown as <kbd>^</kbd>)
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or the Meta key (Alt or Cmd, shown as <kbd>M-</kbd>).
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li> A control-key sequence is entered by holding down the Ctrl key and
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pressing the desired key.
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</li><li> A meta-key sequence is entered by holding down the Meta key (normally
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the Alt key) and pressing the desired key.
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</li></ul>
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<p>If for some reason on your system the combinations with Ctrl or Alt do
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not work, you can generate them by using the Esc key. A control-key
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sequence is generated by pressing the Esc key twice and then pressing
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the desired key, and a meta-key sequence by pressing the Esc key once
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and then pressing the desired key.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<span id="The-Cutbuffer"></span><span id="The-Cutbuffer-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.4 The Cutbuffer</h3>
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<p>Text can be cut from a file a whole line at a time with <kbd>^K</kbd>.
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The cut line is stored in the cutbuffer. Consecutive strokes of <kbd>^K</kbd>
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will add each cut line to this buffer, but a <kbd>^K</kbd>
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after any other keystroke will overwrite the entire cutbuffer.
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</p>
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<p>The contents of the cutbuffer can be pasted at the current cursor position
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with <kbd>^U</kbd>.
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</p>
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<p>A line of text can be copied into the cutbuffer (without cutting it)
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with <kbd>M-6</kbd>.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<span id="The-Mark"></span><span id="The-Mark-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.5 The Mark</h3>
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<p>Text can be selected by first ’setting the Mark’ with <kbd>^6</kbd>
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or <kbd>M-A</kbd> and then moving the cursor to the other end of the portion
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to be selected. The selected portion of text will be highlighted.
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This selection can now be cut or copied in its entirety with a single
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<kbd>^K</kbd> or <kbd>M-6</kbd>. Or the selection can be used to limit the scope of
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a search-and-replace (<kbd>^\</kbd>) or spell-checking session (<kbd>^T^T</kbd>).
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</p>
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<p>On some terminals, text can be selected also by holding down <kbd>Shift</kbd>
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while using the cursor keys. Holding down the <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> or <kbd>Alt</kbd>
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key too will increase the stride. Such a selection is cancelled
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upon any cursor movement where <kbd>Shift</kbd> isn’t held.
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</p>
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<p>Cutting or copying selected text toggles off the mark automatically.
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If needed, it can be toggled off manually with another <kbd>^6</kbd> or <kbd>M-A</kbd>.
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</p>
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<hr>
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<span id="Search-and-Replace"></span><span id="Search-and-Replace-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.6 Search and Replace</h3>
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<p>One can search the current buffer for the occurrence of any string
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with the Search command (default key binding: <kbd>^W</kbd>). The default search
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mode is forward, case-insensitive, and for literal strings. But one
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can search backwards by pressing <kbd>M-B</kbd>, search case sensitively with <kbd>M-C</kbd>,
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and interpret regular expressions in the search string with <kbd>M-R</kbd>.
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</p>
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<p>A regular expression in a search string always covers just one line;
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it cannot span multiple lines. And when replacing (with <kbd>^\</kbd> or <kbd>M-R</kbd>)
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the replacement string cannot contain a newline (LF).
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</p>
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<hr>
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||
|
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<span id="Using-the-Mouse"></span><span id="Using-the-Mouse-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.7 Using the Mouse</h3>
|
||
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<p>When mouse support has been configured and enabled, a single mouse click
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places the cursor at the indicated position. Clicking a second time in
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|
|
the same position toggles the mark. Clicking in the two help lines
|
||
|
|
executes the selected shortcut. To be able to select text with the
|
||
|
|
left button, or paste text with the middle button, hold down the
|
||
|
|
Shift key during those actions.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>The mouse will work in the X Window System, and on the console when gpm
|
||
|
|
is running.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Anchors"></span><span id="Anchors-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.8 Anchors</h3>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>With <kbd>M-Ins</kbd> you can place an anchor (a kind of temporary bookmark)
|
||
|
|
at the current line. With <kbd>M-PgUp</kbd> and <kbd>M-PgDn</kbd> you can jump
|
||
|
|
to an anchor in the backward/forward direction. This jumping wraps
|
||
|
|
around at the top and bottom.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>When a line with an anchor is removed, the line where the cursor ends up
|
||
|
|
inherits the anchor. After performing an operation on the entire buffer
|
||
|
|
(like formatting it, piping it through a command, or doing an external
|
||
|
|
spell check on it), any anchors that were present are gone. And when
|
||
|
|
you close the buffer, all its anchors simply disappear; they are not saved.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Anchors are visualized in the margin when line numbers are activated.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Limitations"></span><span id="Limitations-1"></span><h3 class="section">3.9 Limitations</h3>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>The recording and playback of keyboard macros works correctly only on a
|
||
|
|
terminal emulator, not on a Linux console (VT), because the latter does
|
||
|
|
not by default distinguish modified from unmodified arrow keys.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="The-Help-Viewer"></span><span id="The-Help-Viewer-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">4 The Help Viewer</h2>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>The built-in help in <code>nano</code> is available by pressing <kbd>^G</kbd>.
|
||
|
|
It is fairly self-explanatory. It documents the various parts of the
|
||
|
|
editor and the available keystrokes. Navigation is via the <kbd>^Y</kbd> (Page Up)
|
||
|
|
and <kbd>^V</kbd> (Page Down) keys. <kbd>^X</kbd> exits from the help viewer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="The-File-Browser"></span><span id="The-File-Browser-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">5 The File Browser</h2>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>When in the Read-File (<kbd>^R</kbd>) or Write-Out menu (<kbd>^O</kbd>),
|
||
|
|
pressing <kbd>^T</kbd> will invoke the file browser.
|
||
|
|
Here, one can navigate directories in a graphical manner in order to
|
||
|
|
find the desired file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Basic movement in the file browser is accomplished with the arrow and
|
||
|
|
other cursor-movement keys. More targeted movement is accomplished by
|
||
|
|
searching, via <kbd>^W</kbd> or <kbd>w</kbd>, or by changing directory, via
|
||
|
|
<kbd>^_</kbd> or <kbd>g</kbd>. The behavior of the <kbd>Enter</kbd> key (or <kbd>s</kbd>)
|
||
|
|
varies by what is currently selected.
|
||
|
|
If the currently selected object is a directory, the file browser will
|
||
|
|
enter and display the contents of the directory. If the object is a
|
||
|
|
file, this filename and path are copied to the status bar, and the file
|
||
|
|
browser exits.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Command_002dline-Options"></span><span id="Command_002dline-Options-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">6 Command-line Options</h2>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p><code>nano</code> takes the following options from the command line:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-A</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--smarthome</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make the Home key smarter. When Home is pressed anywhere but at the
|
||
|
|
very beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the cursor will
|
||
|
|
jump to that beginning (either forwards or backwards). If the cursor is
|
||
|
|
already at that position, it will jump to the true beginning of the
|
||
|
|
line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-B</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--backup</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When saving a file, back up the previous version of it, using the current
|
||
|
|
filename suffixed with a tilde (<code>~</code>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-C <var>directory</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--backupdir=<var>directory</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make and keep not just one backup file, but make and keep a uniquely
|
||
|
|
numbered one every time a file is saved — when backups are enabled.
|
||
|
|
The uniquely numbered files are stored in the specified directory.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-D</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--boldtext</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>For the interface, use bold instead of reverse video. This will be overridden
|
||
|
|
by setting the options <code>titlecolor</code>, <code>statuscolor</code>, <code>keycolor</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>functioncolor</code>, <code>numbercolor</code>, and/or <code>selectedcolor</code> in your
|
||
|
|
nanorc file. See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for details.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-E</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--tabstospaces</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Convert each typed tab to spaces — to the number of spaces
|
||
|
|
that a tab at that position would take up.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-F</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--multibuffer</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Read a file into a new buffer by default.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-G</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--locking</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Enable vim-style file locking when editing files.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-H</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--historylog</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Save the last hundred search strings and replacement strings and
|
||
|
|
executed commands, so they can be easily reused in later sessions.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-I</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--ignorercfiles</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Don’t look at the system’s nanorc file nor at the user’s nanorc.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-J</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--guidestripe</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Draw a vertical stripe at the given column, to help judge the width of the
|
||
|
|
text. (The color of the stripe can be changed with <code>set stripecolor</code>
|
||
|
|
in your nanorc file.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-K</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--rawsequences</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Interpret escape sequences directly, instead of asking <code>ncurses</code>
|
||
|
|
to translate them. (If you need this option to get some keys to work
|
||
|
|
properly, it means that the terminfo terminal description that is used
|
||
|
|
does not fully match the actual behavior of your terminal. This can
|
||
|
|
happen when you ssh into a BSD machine, for example.)
|
||
|
|
Using this option disables <code>nano</code>’s mouse support.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-L</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--nonewlines</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Don’t automatically add a newline when a text does not end with one.
|
||
|
|
(This can cause you to save non-POSIX text files.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-M</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--trimblanks</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Snip trailing whitespace from the wrapped line when automatic
|
||
|
|
hard-wrapping occurs or when text is justified.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-N</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--noconvert</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Disable automatic conversion of files from DOS/Mac format.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-O</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--bookstyle</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When justifying, treat any line that starts with whitespace as the
|
||
|
|
beginning of a paragraph (unless auto-indenting is on).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-P</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--positionlog</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>For the 200 most recent files, log the last position of the cursor,
|
||
|
|
and place it at that position again upon reopening such a file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-Q "<var>regex</var>"</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--quotestr="<var>regex</var>"</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the regular expression for matching the quoting part of a line.
|
||
|
|
The default value is "<tt>^([ <!-- /@w -->\t]*([!#%:;>|}]|//))+</tt>".
|
||
|
|
(Note that <code>\t</code> stands for a literal Tab character.)
|
||
|
|
This makes it possible to rejustify blocks of quoted text when composing
|
||
|
|
email, and to rewrap blocks of line comments when writing source code.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-R</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--restricted</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Restricted mode: don’t read or write to any file not specified on the
|
||
|
|
command line. This means: don’t read or write history files; don’t allow
|
||
|
|
suspending; don’t allow spell checking; don’t
|
||
|
|
allow a file to be appended to, prepended to, or saved under a different
|
||
|
|
name if it already has one; and don’t make backup files.
|
||
|
|
Restricted mode can also be activated by invoking <code>nano</code> with
|
||
|
|
any name beginning with <code>r</code> (e.g. <code>rnano</code>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-S</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--softwrap</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Display over multiple screen rows lines that exceed the screen’s width.
|
||
|
|
(You can make this soft-wrapping occur at whitespace instead of rudely at
|
||
|
|
the screen’s edge, by using also <code>--atblanks</code>.)
|
||
|
|
(The old short option, <code>-$</code>, is deprecated.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-T <var>number</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--tabsize=<var>number</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the displayed tab length to <var>number</var> columns. The value of
|
||
|
|
<var>number</var> must be greater than 0. The default value is <tt>8</tt>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-U</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--quickblank</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make status-bar messages disappear after 1 keystroke instead of after 20.
|
||
|
|
Note that option <samp>-c</samp> (<samp>--constantshow</samp>) overrides this.
|
||
|
|
When option <samp>--minibar</samp> or <samp>--zero</samp> is in effect,
|
||
|
|
<samp>--quickblank</samp> makes a message disappear after
|
||
|
|
0.8 seconds instead of after the default 1.5 seconds.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-V</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--version</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Show the current version number and exit.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-W</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--wordbounds</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Detect word boundaries differently by treating punctuation
|
||
|
|
characters as parts of words.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-X "<var>characters</var>"</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--wordchars="<var>characters</var>"</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Specify which other characters (besides the normal alphanumeric ones)
|
||
|
|
should be considered as parts of words. When using this option, you
|
||
|
|
probably want to omit <samp>-W</samp> (<samp>--wordbounds</samp>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-Y <var>name</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--syntax=<var>name</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Specify the syntax to be used for highlighting.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#Syntax-Highlighting">Syntax Highlighting</a> for more info.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-Z</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--zap</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Let an unmodified <kbd>Backspace</kbd> or <kbd>Delete</kbd> erase the marked region
|
||
|
|
(instead of a single character, and without affecting the cutbuffer).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-a</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--atblanks</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When doing soft line wrapping, wrap lines at whitespace
|
||
|
|
instead of always at the edge of the screen.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-b</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--breaklonglines</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Automatically hard-wrap the current line when it becomes overlong.
|
||
|
|
(This option is the opposite of <samp>-w</samp> (<samp>--nowrap</samp>) —
|
||
|
|
the last one given takes effect.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-c</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--constantshow</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Constantly display the cursor position (line number, column number,
|
||
|
|
and character number) on the status bar.
|
||
|
|
Note that this overrides option <samp>-U</samp> (<samp>--quickblank</samp>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-d</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--rebinddelete</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Interpret the <kbd>Delete</kbd> and <kbd>Backspace</kbd> keys differently so that
|
||
|
|
both work properly. You should only use this option when on your system
|
||
|
|
either <kbd>Backspace</kbd> acts like Delete or <kbd>Delete</kbd> acts like Backspace.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-e</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--emptyline</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Do not use the line below the title bar, leaving it entirely blank.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-f <var>file</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--rcfile=<var>file</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Read only this <var>file</var> for setting nano’s options, instead of reading
|
||
|
|
both the system-wide and the user’s nanorc files.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-g</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--showcursor</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make the cursor visible in the file browser (putting it on the
|
||
|
|
highlighted item) and in the help viewer. Useful for braille users
|
||
|
|
and people with poor vision.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-h</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--help</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Show a summary of command-line options and exit.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-i</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--autoindent</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Automatically indent a newly created line to the same number of tabs
|
||
|
|
and/or spaces as the previous line (or as the next line if the previous
|
||
|
|
line is the beginning of a paragraph).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-j</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--jumpyscrolling</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Scroll the buffer contents per half-screen instead of per line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-k</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--cutfromcursor</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make the ’Cut Text’ command (normally <kbd>^K</kbd>) cut from the current cursor
|
||
|
|
position to the end of the line, instead of cutting the entire line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-l</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--linenumbers</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Display line numbers to the left of the text area.
|
||
|
|
(Any line with an anchor additionally gets a mark in the margin.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-m</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--mouse</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Enable mouse support, if available for your system. When enabled, mouse
|
||
|
|
clicks can be used to place the cursor, set the mark (with a double
|
||
|
|
click), and execute shortcuts. The mouse will work in the X Window
|
||
|
|
System, and on the console when gpm is running. Text can still be
|
||
|
|
selected through dragging by holding down the Shift key.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-n</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--noread</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Treat any name given on the command line as a new file. This allows
|
||
|
|
<code>nano</code> to write to named pipes: it will start with a blank buffer,
|
||
|
|
and will write to the pipe when the user saves the "file". This way
|
||
|
|
<code>nano</code> can be used as an editor in combination with for instance
|
||
|
|
<code>gpg</code> without having to write sensitive data to disk first.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-o <var>directory</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--operatingdir=<var>directory</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the operating directory. This makes <code>nano</code> set up something
|
||
|
|
similar to a chroot.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-p</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--preserve</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Preserve the <kbd>^Q</kbd> (XON) and <kbd>^S</kbd> (XOFF) sequences so data being
|
||
|
|
sent to the editor can be stopped and started.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-q</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--indicator</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Display a "scrollbar" on the righthand side of the edit window.
|
||
|
|
It shows the position of the viewport in the buffer
|
||
|
|
and how much of the buffer is covered by the viewport.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-r <var>number</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--fill=<var>number</var></samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the target width for justifying and automatic hard-wrapping at this
|
||
|
|
<var>number</var> of columns. If the value is 0 or less, wrapping will occur
|
||
|
|
at the width of the screen minus <var>number</var> columns, allowing the wrap
|
||
|
|
point to vary along with the width of the screen if the screen is resized.
|
||
|
|
The default value is <tt>-8</tt>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<span id="g_t_002d_002dspeller"></span></dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-s "<var>program</var> [<var>argument</var> …]"</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--speller="<var>program</var> [<var>argument</var> …]"</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use the given program to do spell checking and correcting. By default,
|
||
|
|
<code>nano</code> uses the command specified in the <code>SPELL</code> environment
|
||
|
|
variable. If <code>SPELL</code> is not set, and <samp>--speller</samp> is
|
||
|
|
not specified either, then <code>nano</code> uses its own interactive spell
|
||
|
|
corrector, which requires either <code>hunspell</code> or GNU <code>spell</code>
|
||
|
|
to be installed.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-t</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--saveonexit</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Save a changed buffer without prompting (when exiting with <kbd>^X</kbd>).
|
||
|
|
This can be handy when <code>nano</code> is used as the composer of an
|
||
|
|
email program.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-u</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--unix</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Save a file by default in Unix format. This overrides nano’s
|
||
|
|
default behavior of saving a file in the format that it had.
|
||
|
|
(This option has no effect when you also use <samp>--noconvert</samp>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-v</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--view</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Don’t allow the contents of the file to be altered: read-only mode.
|
||
|
|
This mode allows the user to open also other files for viewing,
|
||
|
|
unless <samp>--restricted</samp> is given too.
|
||
|
|
(Note that this option should NOT be used in place of correct
|
||
|
|
file permissions to implement a read-only file.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-w</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--nowrap</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Do not automatically hard-wrap the current line when it becomes overlong.
|
||
|
|
This is the default. (This option is the opposite of <samp>-b</samp>
|
||
|
|
(<samp>--breaklonglines</samp>) — the last one given takes effect.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-x</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--nohelp</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Expert mode: don’t show the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
|
||
|
|
This affects the location of the status bar as well, as in Expert mode it
|
||
|
|
is located at the very bottom of the editor.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Note: When accessing the help system, Expert mode is temporarily
|
||
|
|
disabled to display the help-system navigation keys.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-y</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--afterends</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make <kbd>Ctrl+Right</kbd> and <kbd>Ctrl+Delete</kbd> stop at word ends
|
||
|
|
instead of beginnings.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-!</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--magic</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When neither the file’s name nor its first line give a clue,
|
||
|
|
try using libmagic to determine the applicable syntax.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-%</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--stateflags</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use the top-right corner of the screen for showing some state flags:
|
||
|
|
<code>I</code> when auto-indenting, <code>M</code> when the mark is on, <code>L</code> when
|
||
|
|
hard-wrapping (breaking long lines), <code>R</code> when recording a macro,
|
||
|
|
and <code>S</code> when soft-wrapping.
|
||
|
|
When the buffer is modified, a star (<code>*</code>) is shown after the
|
||
|
|
filename in the center of the title bar.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-_</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--minibar</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Suppress the title bar and instead show information about
|
||
|
|
the current buffer at the bottom of the screen, in the space
|
||
|
|
for the status bar. In this "minibar" the filename is shown
|
||
|
|
on the left, followed by an asterisk if the buffer has been modified.
|
||
|
|
On the right are displayed the current line and column number, the
|
||
|
|
code of the character under the cursor (in Unicode format: U+xxxx),
|
||
|
|
the same flags as are shown by <code>--stateflags</code>, and a percentage
|
||
|
|
that expresses how far the cursor is into the file (linewise).
|
||
|
|
When a file is loaded or saved, and also when switching between buffers,
|
||
|
|
the number of lines in the buffer is displayed after the filename.
|
||
|
|
This number is cleared upon the next keystroke, or replaced with an
|
||
|
|
[i/n] counter when multiple buffers are open.
|
||
|
|
The line plus column numbers and the character code are displayed only when
|
||
|
|
<code>--constantshow</code> is used, and can be toggled on and off with <kbd>M-C</kbd>.
|
||
|
|
The state flags are displayed only when <code>--stateflags</code> is used.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>-0</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dt><samp>--zero</samp></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Hide all elements of the interface (title bar, status bar, and help lines)
|
||
|
|
and use all rows of the terminal for showing the contents of the buffer.
|
||
|
|
The status bar appears only when there is a significant message,
|
||
|
|
and disappears after 1.5 seconds or upon the next keystroke.
|
||
|
|
With <kbd>M-Z</kbd> the title bar plus status bar can be toggled.
|
||
|
|
With <kbd>M-X</kbd> the help lines.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<br>
|
||
|
|
<p>Option <code>-z</code> (<code>--suspendable</code>) has been removed.
|
||
|
|
Suspension is enabled by default, reachable via <kbd>^T^Z</kbd>.
|
||
|
|
(If you want a plain <kbd>^Z</kbd> to suspend nano, add
|
||
|
|
<code>bind ^Z suspend main</code> to your nanorc.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Feature-Toggles"></span><span id="Feature-Toggles-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">7 Feature Toggles</h2>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>Toggles allow you to change certain aspects of the editor while you are
|
||
|
|
editing, aspects that you would normally specify via command-line options
|
||
|
|
or nanorc options. Each toggle can be flicked via a Meta-key combination
|
||
|
|
— the <kbd>Meta</kbd> key is normally the <kbd>Alt</kbd> key (see <a href="#Commands">Commands</a>
|
||
|
|
for more details). The following global toggles are available:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<br>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Constant Cursor Position Display</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-C</kbd> toggles the <samp>-c</samp> (<samp>--constantshow</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Smart Home Key</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-H</kbd> toggles the <samp>-A</samp> (<samp>--smarthome</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Auto Indent</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-I</kbd> toggles the <samp>-i</samp> (<samp>--autoindent</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Cut From Cursor To End-of-Line</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-K</kbd> toggles the <samp>-k</samp> (<samp>--cutfromcursor</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Long-Line Wrapping</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-L</kbd> toggles the <samp>-b</samp> (<samp>--breaklonglines</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Mouse Support</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-M</kbd> toggles the <samp>-m</samp> (<samp>--mouse</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Line Numbers</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-N</kbd> toggles the <samp>-l</samp> (<samp>--linenumbers</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Tabs To Spaces</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-O</kbd> toggles the <samp>-E</samp> (<samp>--tabstospaces</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Whitespace Display</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-P</kbd> toggles the displaying of whitespace (see <a href="#Whitespace">Whitespace</a>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Soft Wrapping</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-S</kbd> toggles the <samp>-S</samp> (<samp>--softwrap</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Expert</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-X</kbd> toggles the <samp>-x</samp> (<samp>--nohelp</samp>) command-line option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Syntax Coloring</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-Y</kbd> toggles syntax coloring, when your nanorc defines syntaxes
|
||
|
|
(see <a href="#Syntax-Highlighting">Syntax Highlighting</a>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Hidden Interface</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><kbd>M-Z</kbd> toggles the <samp>-0</samp> (<samp>--zero</samp>) command-line option,
|
||
|
|
but without the <samp>-x</samp> (<samp>--nohelp</samp>) part. That is: it toggles
|
||
|
|
just the title bar plus status bar (or the combined minibar plus status bar),
|
||
|
|
not the help lines. The latter are toggled with <kbd>M-X</kbd>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Nanorc-Files"></span><span id="Nanorc-Files-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">8 Nanorc Files</h2>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>Nanorc files can be used to configure <code>nano</code> to your liking
|
||
|
|
without using command-line options. During startup <code>nano</code> will
|
||
|
|
normally read two files: first the system-wide file, <samp>/etc/nanorc</samp>
|
||
|
|
(the exact path may be different on your system), and then the user-specific
|
||
|
|
file, either <samp>~/.nanorc</samp> or <samp>$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nano/nanorc</samp> or
|
||
|
|
<samp>.config/nano/nanorc</samp>, whichever exists first.
|
||
|
|
However, if <samp>--rcfile</samp> is given, <code>nano</code> will skip the
|
||
|
|
above files and will read just the specified settings file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>A nanorc file can contain <code>set</code> and <code>unset</code> commands for
|
||
|
|
various options (see <a href="#Settings">Settings</a>). It can also contain commands that
|
||
|
|
define syntax highlighting (see <a href="#Syntax-Highlighting">Syntax Highlighting</a>) and commands
|
||
|
|
that rebind keys (<a href="#Rebinding-Keys">Rebinding Keys</a>). Each command should be on a
|
||
|
|
separate line, and all commands should be written in lowercase.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Options that do not take an argument are unset by default. So using
|
||
|
|
the <code>unset</code> command is only needed when wanting to override a
|
||
|
|
setting from the system’s nanorc file in your own nanorc. Options that
|
||
|
|
take an argument cannot be unset, but can be assigned the empty string.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Any command-line option overrides its nanorc setting, of course.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Quotes inside the <var>characters</var> parameters below should not be escaped.
|
||
|
|
The last double quote on the line will be seen as the closing quote.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<table class="menu" border="0" cellspacing="0">
|
||
|
|
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Settings" accesskey="1">Settings</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
|
||
|
|
</td></tr>
|
||
|
|
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Syntax-Highlighting" accesskey="2">Syntax Highlighting</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
|
||
|
|
</td></tr>
|
||
|
|
<tr><td align="left" valign="top">• <a href="#Rebinding-Keys" accesskey="3">Rebinding Keys</a></td><td> </td><td align="left" valign="top">
|
||
|
|
</td></tr>
|
||
|
|
</table>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Settings"></span><span id="Settings-1"></span><h3 class="section">8.1 Settings</h3>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>The supported settings in a nanorc file are:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set afterends</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make <kbd>Ctrl+Right</kbd> and <kbd>Ctrl+Delete</kbd> stop at word ends
|
||
|
|
instead of beginnings.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set allow_insecure_backup</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When backing up files, allow the backup to succeed even if its
|
||
|
|
permissions can’t be (re)set due to special OS considerations.
|
||
|
|
You should NOT enable this option unless you are sure you need it.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set atblanks</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When soft line wrapping is enabled, make it wrap lines at blank characters
|
||
|
|
(tabs and spaces) instead of always at the edge of the screen.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set autoindent</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Automatically indent a newly created line to the same number of tabs
|
||
|
|
and/or spaces as the previous line (or as the next line if the previous
|
||
|
|
line is the beginning of a paragraph).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set backup</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When saving a file, back up the previous version of it, using the current
|
||
|
|
filename suffixed with a tilde (<code>~</code>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set backupdir "<var>directory</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make and keep not just one backup file, but make and keep a uniquely
|
||
|
|
numbered one every time a file is saved — when backups are enabled
|
||
|
|
with <code>set backup</code> or <samp>--backup</samp> or <samp>-B</samp>.
|
||
|
|
The uniquely numbered files are stored in the specified directory.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set boldtext</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use bold instead of reverse video for the title bar, status bar, key combos,
|
||
|
|
function tags, line numbers, and selected text. This is overridden by
|
||
|
|
setting the options <code>titlecolor</code>, <code>statuscolor</code>, <code>keycolor</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>functioncolor</code>, <code>numbercolor</code>, and/or <code>selectedcolor</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set bookstyle</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When justifying, treat any line that starts with whitespace as the
|
||
|
|
beginning of a paragraph (unless auto-indenting is on).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set brackets "<var>characters</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the characters treated as closing brackets when justifying
|
||
|
|
paragraphs. This may not include blank characters. Only closing
|
||
|
|
punctuation (see <code>set punct</code>), optionally followed by the specified
|
||
|
|
closing brackets, can end sentences. The default value is
|
||
|
|
"<tt>"')>]}</tt>".
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set breaklonglines</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Automatically hard-wrap the current line when it becomes overlong.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set casesensitive</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Do case-sensitive searches by default.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set constantshow</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Constantly display the cursor position on the status bar.
|
||
|
|
Note that this overrides <samp>quickblank</samp>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set cutfromcursor</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use cut-from-cursor-to-end-of-line by default, instead of cutting the whole line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set emptyline</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Do not use the line below the title bar, leaving it entirely blank.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set errorcolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the status bar when an error message is displayed.
|
||
|
|
The default value is <tt>bold,white,red</tt>.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set fill <var>number</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the target width for justifying and automatic hard-wrapping at this
|
||
|
|
<var>number</var> of columns. If the value is 0 or less, wrapping will occur
|
||
|
|
at the width of the screen minus <var>number</var> columns, allowing the wrap
|
||
|
|
point to vary along with the width of the screen if the screen is resized.
|
||
|
|
The default value is <tt>-8</tt>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set functioncolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the concise function descriptions
|
||
|
|
in the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set guidestripe <var>number</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Draw a vertical stripe at the given column, to help judge the width of the
|
||
|
|
text. (The color of the stripe can be changed with <code>set stripecolor</code>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set historylog</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Save the last hundred search strings and replacement strings and
|
||
|
|
executed commands, so they can be easily reused in later sessions.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set indicator</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Display a "scrollbar" on the righthand side of the edit window.
|
||
|
|
It shows the position of the viewport in the buffer
|
||
|
|
and how much of the buffer is covered by the viewport.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set jumpyscrolling</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Scroll the buffer contents per half-screen instead of per line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<span id="set-keycolor"></span></dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set keycolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the shortcut key combos
|
||
|
|
in the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
|
||
|
|
Valid names for the foreground and background colors are:
|
||
|
|
<code>red</code>, <code>green</code>, <code>blue</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>magenta</code>, <code>yellow</code>, <code>cyan</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>white</code>, and <code>black</code>.
|
||
|
|
Each of these eight names may be prefixed with the word
|
||
|
|
<code>light</code> to get a brighter version of that color.
|
||
|
|
The word <code>grey</code> or <code>gray</code> may be used
|
||
|
|
as a synonym for <code>lightblack</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>On terminal emulators that can do at least 256 colors,
|
||
|
|
other valid (but unprefixable) color names are:
|
||
|
|
<code>pink</code>, <code>purple</code>, <code>mauve</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>lagoon</code>, <code>mint</code>, <code>lime</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>peach</code>, <code>orange</code>, <code>latte</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>rosy</code>, <code>beet</code>, <code>plum</code>, <code>sea</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>sky</code>, <code>slate</code>, <code>teal</code>, <code>sage</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>brown</code>, <code>ocher</code>, <code>sand</code>, <code>tawny</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>brick</code>, <code>crimson</code>, and <code>normal</code>
|
||
|
|
— where <code>normal</code> means the default foreground or background color.
|
||
|
|
On such emulators, the color may also be specified as a three-digit hexadecimal
|
||
|
|
number prefixed with <code>#</code>, with the digits representing the amounts of red,
|
||
|
|
green, and blue, respectively. This tells <code>nano</code> to select from the
|
||
|
|
available palette the color that approximates the given values.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Either <var>fgcolor</var> or ,<var>bgcolor</var> may be left out,
|
||
|
|
and the pair may be preceded by <code>bold</code> and/or <code>italic</code>
|
||
|
|
(separated by commas) to get a bold and/or slanting typeface,
|
||
|
|
if your terminal can do those.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set linenumbers</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Display line numbers to the left of the text area.
|
||
|
|
(Any line with an anchor additionally gets a mark in the margin.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set locking</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Enable vim-style lock-files for when editing files.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set magic</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When neither the file’s name nor its first line give a clue,
|
||
|
|
try using libmagic to determine the applicable syntax.
|
||
|
|
(Calling libmagic can be relatively time consuming.
|
||
|
|
It is therefore not done by default.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<span id="set-matchbrackets"></span></dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set matchbrackets "<var>characters</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Specify the opening and closing brackets that can be found by bracket
|
||
|
|
searches. This may not include blank characters. The opening set must
|
||
|
|
come before the closing set, and the two sets must be in the same order.
|
||
|
|
The default value is "<tt>(<[{)>]}</tt>".
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set minibar</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Suppress the title bar and instead show information about
|
||
|
|
the current buffer at the bottom of the screen, in the space
|
||
|
|
for the status bar. In this "minibar" the filename is shown
|
||
|
|
on the left, followed by an asterisk if the buffer has been modified.
|
||
|
|
On the right are displayed the current line and column number, the
|
||
|
|
code of the character under the cursor (in Unicode format: U+xxxx),
|
||
|
|
the same flags as are shown by <code>set stateflags</code>, and a percentage
|
||
|
|
that expresses how far the cursor is into the file (linewise).
|
||
|
|
When a file is loaded or saved, and also when switching between buffers,
|
||
|
|
the number of lines in the buffer is displayed after the filename.
|
||
|
|
This number is cleared upon the next keystroke, or replaced with an
|
||
|
|
[i/n] counter when multiple buffers are open.
|
||
|
|
The line plus column numbers and the character code are displayed only when
|
||
|
|
<code>set constantshow</code> is used, and can be toggled on and off with <kbd>M-C</kbd>.
|
||
|
|
The state flags are displayed only when <code>set stateflags</code> is used.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set minicolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the minibar.
|
||
|
|
(When this option is not specified, the colors of the title bar are used.)
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set mouse</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Enable mouse support, so that mouse clicks can be used to place the
|
||
|
|
cursor, set the mark (with a double click), or execute shortcuts.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set multibuffer</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When reading in a file with <kbd>^R</kbd>, insert it into a new buffer by default.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set noconvert</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Don’t convert files from DOS/Mac format.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set nohelp</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Don’t display the help lists at the bottom of the screen.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set nonewlines</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Don’t automatically add a newline when a text does not end with one.
|
||
|
|
(This can cause you to save non-POSIX text files.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set nowrap</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Deprecated option since it has become the default setting.
|
||
|
|
When needed, use <code>unset breaklonglines</code> instead.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set numbercolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for line numbers.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set operatingdir "<var>directory</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p><code>nano</code> will only read and write files inside "directory" and its
|
||
|
|
subdirectories. Also, the current directory is changed to here, so
|
||
|
|
files are inserted from this directory. By default, the operating
|
||
|
|
directory feature is turned off.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set positionlog</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Save the cursor position of files between editing sessions.
|
||
|
|
The cursor position is remembered for the 200 most-recently edited files.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set preserve</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Preserve the XON and XOFF keys (<kbd>^Q</kbd> and <kbd>^S</kbd>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set promptcolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the prompt bar.
|
||
|
|
(When this option is not specified, the colors of the title bar are used.)
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set punct "<var>characters</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the characters treated as closing punctuation when justifying
|
||
|
|
paragraphs. This may not include blank characters. Only the
|
||
|
|
specified closing punctuation, optionally followed by closing brackets
|
||
|
|
(see <code>set brackets</code>), can end sentences.
|
||
|
|
The default value is "<tt>!.?</tt>".
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set quickblank</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make status-bar messages disappear after 1 keystroke instead of after 20.
|
||
|
|
Note that option <samp>constantshow</samp> overrides this.
|
||
|
|
When option <samp>minibar</samp> or <samp>zero</samp> is in effect,
|
||
|
|
<samp>quickblank</samp> makes a message disappear after
|
||
|
|
0.8 seconds instead of after the default 1.5 seconds.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set quotestr "<var>regex</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the regular expression for matching the quoting part of a line.
|
||
|
|
The default value is "<tt>^([ <!-- /@w -->\t]*([!#%:;>|}]|//))+</tt>".
|
||
|
|
(Note that <code>\t</code> stands for a literal Tab character.)
|
||
|
|
This makes it possible to rejustify blocks of quoted text when composing
|
||
|
|
email, and to rewrap blocks of line comments when writing source code.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set rawsequences</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Interpret escape sequences directly, instead of asking <code>ncurses</code>
|
||
|
|
to translate them. (If you need this option to get some keys to work
|
||
|
|
properly, it means that the terminfo terminal description that is used
|
||
|
|
does not fully match the actual behavior of your terminal. This can
|
||
|
|
happen when you ssh into a BSD machine, for example.)
|
||
|
|
Using this option disables <code>nano</code>’s mouse support.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set rebinddelete</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Interpret the <kbd>Delete</kbd> and <kbd>Backspace</kbd> keys differently so that
|
||
|
|
both work properly. You should only use this option when on your system
|
||
|
|
either <kbd>Backspace</kbd> acts like Delete or <kbd>Delete</kbd> acts like Backspace.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set regexp</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Do regular-expression searches by default.
|
||
|
|
Regular expressions in <code>nano</code> are of the extended type (ERE).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set saveonexit</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Save a changed buffer automatically on exit (<kbd>^X</kbd>); don’t prompt.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set scrollercolor <var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the indicator alias "scrollbar".
|
||
|
|
(On terminal emulators that link to a libvte older than version 0.55,
|
||
|
|
using a background color here does not work correctly.)
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set selectedcolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for selected text.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set showcursor</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Put the cursor on the highlighted item in the file browser, and show
|
||
|
|
the cursor in the help viewer, to aid braille users and people with
|
||
|
|
poor vision.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set smarthome</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make the Home key smarter. When Home is pressed anywhere but at the
|
||
|
|
very beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the cursor will
|
||
|
|
jump to that beginning (either forwards or backwards). If the cursor is
|
||
|
|
already at that position, it will jump to the true beginning of the
|
||
|
|
line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set softwrap</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Display lines that exceed the screen’s width over multiple screen lines.
|
||
|
|
(You can make this soft-wrapping occur at whitespace instead of rudely at
|
||
|
|
the screen’s edge, by using also <code>set atblanks</code>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set speller "<var>program</var> [<var>argument</var> …]"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use the given program to do spell checking and correcting.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#g_t_002d_002dspeller"><samp>--speller</samp></a> for details.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set spotlightcolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for highlighting a search match.
|
||
|
|
The default value is <tt>black,lightyellow</tt>.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set stateflags</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use the top-right corner of the screen for showing some state flags:
|
||
|
|
<code>I</code> when auto-indenting, <code>M</code> when the mark is on, <code>L</code> when
|
||
|
|
hard-wrapping (breaking long lines), <code>R</code> when recording a macro,
|
||
|
|
and <code>S</code> when soft-wrapping.
|
||
|
|
When the buffer is modified, a star (<code>*</code>) is shown after the
|
||
|
|
filename in the center of the title bar.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set statuscolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the status bar.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set stripecolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the vertical guiding stripe.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set tabsize <var>number</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use a tab size of <var>number</var> columns. The value of <var>number</var> must be
|
||
|
|
greater than 0. The default value is <tt>8</tt>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set tabstospaces</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Convert each typed tab to spaces — to the number of spaces
|
||
|
|
that a tab at that position would take up.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set titlecolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use this color combination for the title bar.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#set-keycolor"><code>set keycolor</code></a> for valid color names.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set trimblanks</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Remove trailing whitespace from wrapped lines when automatic
|
||
|
|
hard-wrapping occurs or when text is justified.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set unix</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Save a file by default in Unix format. This overrides nano’s
|
||
|
|
default behavior of saving a file in the format that it had.
|
||
|
|
(This option has no effect when you also use <code>set noconvert</code>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Whitespace"></span></dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set whitespace "<var>characters</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Set the two characters used to indicate the presence of tabs and
|
||
|
|
spaces. They must be single-column characters. The default pair
|
||
|
|
for a UTF-8 locale is <tt>"»·"</tt>, and for other locales <tt>">."</tt>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set wordbounds</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Detect word boundaries differently by treating punctuation
|
||
|
|
characters as part of a word.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set wordchars "<var>characters</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Specify which other characters (besides the normal alphanumeric ones)
|
||
|
|
should be considered as parts of words. When using this option, you
|
||
|
|
probably want to unset <code>wordbounds</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set zap</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Let an unmodified <kbd>Backspace</kbd> or <kbd>Delete</kbd> erase the marked region
|
||
|
|
(instead of a single character, and without affecting the cutbuffer).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>set zero</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Hide all elements of the interface (title bar, status bar, and help lines)
|
||
|
|
and use all rows of the terminal for showing the contents of the buffer.
|
||
|
|
The status bar appears only when there is a significant message,
|
||
|
|
and disappears after 1.5 seconds or upon the next keystroke.
|
||
|
|
With <kbd>M-Z</kbd> the title bar plus status bar can be toggled.
|
||
|
|
With <kbd>M-X</kbd> the help lines.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Syntax-Highlighting"></span><span id="Syntax-Highlighting-1"></span><h3 class="section">8.2 Syntax Highlighting</h3>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>Coloring the different syntactic elements of a file
|
||
|
|
is done via regular expressions (see the <code>color</code> command below).
|
||
|
|
This is inherently imperfect, because regular expressions are not
|
||
|
|
powerful enough to fully parse a file. Nevertheless, regular
|
||
|
|
expressions can do a lot and are easy to make, so they are a
|
||
|
|
good fit for a small editor like <code>nano</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>See <samp>/usr/share/nano/</samp> and <samp>/usr/share/nano/extra/</samp>
|
||
|
|
for the syntax-coloring definitions that are available out of the box.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>All regular expressions in <code>nano</code> are POSIX extended regular expressions
|
||
|
|
(ERE). This means that <code>.</code>, <code>?</code>, <code>*</code>, <code>+</code>, <code>^</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>$</code>, and several other characters are special.
|
||
|
|
The period <code>.</code> matches any single character,
|
||
|
|
<code>?</code> means the preceding item is optional,
|
||
|
|
<code>*</code> means the preceding item may be matched zero or more times,
|
||
|
|
<code>+</code> means the preceding item must be matched one or more times,
|
||
|
|
<code>^</code> matches the beginning of a line, and <code>$</code> the end,
|
||
|
|
<code>\<</code> matches the start of a word, and <code>\></code> the end,
|
||
|
|
and <code>\s</code> matches a blank.
|
||
|
|
It also means that lookahead and lookbehind are not possible.
|
||
|
|
A complete explanation can be found in the manual of GNU grep:
|
||
|
|
<code>info grep regular</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>Each regular expression in a <samp>nanorc</samp> file should be wrapped in
|
||
|
|
double quotes (<code>""</code>). Multiple regular expressions can follow
|
||
|
|
each other on a line by separating them with blanks. This means that
|
||
|
|
a regular expression cannot contain a double quote followed by a blank.
|
||
|
|
When you need this combination inside a regular expression,
|
||
|
|
then either the double quote or the blank should be put
|
||
|
|
between square brackets (<code>[]</code>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>A separate syntax can be defined for each kind of file
|
||
|
|
via the following commands in a nanorc file:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>syntax <var>name</var> ["<var>fileregex</var>" …]</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Start the definition of a syntax with this <var>name</var>.
|
||
|
|
All subsequent <code>color</code> and other such commands
|
||
|
|
will be added to this syntax, until a new <code>syntax</code>
|
||
|
|
command is encountered.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>When <code>nano</code> is run, this syntax will be automatically
|
||
|
|
activated if the current filename matches the extended regular
|
||
|
|
expression <var>fileregex</var>. Or the syntax can be explicitly
|
||
|
|
activated by using the <samp>-Y</samp> or <samp>--syntax</samp>
|
||
|
|
command-line option followed by the <var>name</var>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>The <code>default</code> syntax is special: it takes no <var>fileregex</var>,
|
||
|
|
and applies to files that don’t match any syntax’s regexes.
|
||
|
|
The <code>none</code> syntax is reserved; specifying it on the
|
||
|
|
command line is the same as not having a syntax at all.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>header "<var>regex</var>" …</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>If from all defined syntaxes no <var>fileregex</var> matched, then compare
|
||
|
|
this <var>regex</var> (or regexes) against the first line of the current file,
|
||
|
|
to determine whether this syntax should be used for it.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>magic "<var>regex</var>" …</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>If no <var>fileregex</var> matched and no <code>header</code> regex matched
|
||
|
|
either, then compare this <var>regex</var> (or regexes) against the
|
||
|
|
result of querying the <code>magic</code> database about the current
|
||
|
|
file, to determine whether this syntax should be used for it.
|
||
|
|
(This functionality only works when <code>libmagic</code> is installed
|
||
|
|
on the system and will be silently ignored otherwise.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>formatter <var>program</var> [<var>argument</var> …]</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Run the given <var>program</var> on the full contents of the current buffer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>linter <var>program</var> [<var>argument</var> …]</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use the given <var>program</var> to do a syntax check on the current buffer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>comment "<var>string</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use the given string for commenting and uncommenting lines.
|
||
|
|
If the string contains a vertical bar or pipe character (<tt>|</tt>),
|
||
|
|
this designates bracket-style comments; for example, <tt>"/*|*/"</tt> for
|
||
|
|
CSS files. The characters before the pipe are prepended to the line and the
|
||
|
|
characters after the pipe are appended at the end of the line. If no pipe
|
||
|
|
character is present, the full string is prepended; for example, <tt>"#"</tt> for
|
||
|
|
Python files. If empty double quotes are specified, the comment/uncomment
|
||
|
|
functions are disabled; for example, <tt>""</tt> for JSON.
|
||
|
|
The default value is "<tt>#</tt>".
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>tabgives "<var>string</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Make the <Tab> key produce the given <var>string</var>. Useful for languages like
|
||
|
|
Python that want to see only spaces for indentation.
|
||
|
|
This overrides the setting of the <code>tabstospaces</code> option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>color [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var> "<var>regex</var>" …</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Paint all pieces of text that match the extended regular expression "regex"
|
||
|
|
with the given foreground and background colors, at least one of which must
|
||
|
|
be specified. Valid color names are:
|
||
|
|
<code>red</code>, <code>green</code>, <code>blue</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>magenta</code>, <code>yellow</code>, <code>cyan</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>white</code>, and <code>black</code>.
|
||
|
|
Each of these eight names may be prefixed with the word
|
||
|
|
<code>light</code> to get a brighter version of that color.
|
||
|
|
The word <code>grey</code> or <code>gray</code> may be used
|
||
|
|
as a synonym for <code>lightblack</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>On terminal emulators that can do at least 256 colors,
|
||
|
|
other valid (but unprefixable) color names are:
|
||
|
|
<code>pink</code>, <code>purple</code>, <code>mauve</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>lagoon</code>, <code>mint</code>, <code>lime</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>peach</code>, <code>orange</code>, <code>latte</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>rosy</code>, <code>beet</code>, <code>plum</code>, <code>sea</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>sky</code>, <code>slate</code>, <code>teal</code>, <code>sage</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>brown</code>, <code>ocher</code>, <code>sand</code>, <code>tawny</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>brick</code>, <code>crimson</code>, and <code>normal</code>
|
||
|
|
— where <code>normal</code> means the default foreground or background color.
|
||
|
|
On such emulators, the color may also be specified as a three-digit hexadecimal
|
||
|
|
number prefixed with <code>#</code>, with the digits representing the amounts of red,
|
||
|
|
green, and blue, respectively. This tells <code>nano</code> to select from the
|
||
|
|
available palette the color that approximates the given values.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>The color pair may be preceded by <code>bold</code> and/or <code>italic</code>
|
||
|
|
(separated by commas) to get a bold and/or slanting typeface,
|
||
|
|
if your terminal can do those.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<p>All coloring commands are applied in the order in which they are specified,
|
||
|
|
which means that later commands can recolor stuff that was colored earlier.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>icolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var> "<var>regex</var>" …</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Same as above, except that the matching is case insensitive.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>color [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var> start="<var>fromrx</var>" end="<var>torx</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Paint all pieces of text whose start matches extended regular expression
|
||
|
|
"fromrx" and whose end matches extended regular expression "torx" with
|
||
|
|
the given foreground and background colors, at least one of
|
||
|
|
which must be specified. This means that, after an initial instance of
|
||
|
|
"fromrx", all text until the first instance of "torx" will be colored.
|
||
|
|
This allows syntax highlighting to span multiple lines.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>icolor [bold,][italic,]<var>fgcolor</var>,<var>bgcolor</var> start="<var>fromrx</var>" end="<var>torx</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Same as above, except that the matching is case insensitive.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>include "<var>syntaxfile</var>"</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Read in self-contained color syntaxes from "syntaxfile". Note that
|
||
|
|
"syntaxfile" may contain only the above commands, from <code>syntax</code>
|
||
|
|
to <code>icolor</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>extendsyntax <var>name</var> <var>command</var> <var>argument</var> …</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Extend the syntax previously defined as "<var>name</var>" with another <var>command</var>.
|
||
|
|
This allows you to add a new <code>color</code>, <code>icolor</code>, <code>header</code>,
|
||
|
|
<code>magic</code>, <code>formatter</code>, <code>linter</code>, <code>comment</code>,
|
||
|
|
or <code>tabgives</code> command to an already
|
||
|
|
defined syntax — useful when you want to slightly improve a syntax defined
|
||
|
|
in one of the system-installed files (which normally are not writable).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Rebinding-Keys"></span><span id="Rebinding-Keys-1"></span><h3 class="section">8.3 Rebinding Keys</h3>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>Key bindings can be changed via the following three commands in a
|
||
|
|
nanorc file:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>bind key function menu</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Rebinds <code>key</code> to <code>function</code> in the context of <code>menu</code>
|
||
|
|
(or in all menus where the function exists when <code>all</code> is used).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>bind key "string" menu</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Makes <code>key</code> produce <code>string</code> in the context of <code>menu</code>
|
||
|
|
(or in all menus where the key exists when <code>all</code> is used).
|
||
|
|
Besides literal text and/or control codes, the <code>string</code> may contain
|
||
|
|
function names between braces. These functions will be invoked when the
|
||
|
|
key is typed. To include a literal opening brace, use <code>{{}</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>unbind key menu</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Unbinds <code>key</code> from <code>menu</code>
|
||
|
|
(or from all menus where the key exists when <code>all</code> is used).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>Note that <code>bind key "{function}" menu</code> is equivalent to
|
||
|
|
<code>bind key function menu</code>, except that for the latter form
|
||
|
|
<code>nano</code> will check the availabilty of the <code>function</code>
|
||
|
|
in the given <code>menu</code> at startup time (and report an error if
|
||
|
|
it does not exist there), whereas for the first form <code>nano</code>
|
||
|
|
will check at execution time that the <code>function</code> exists but not
|
||
|
|
whether it makes any sense in the current menu. The user has to take
|
||
|
|
care that a function name between braces (or any sequence of them)
|
||
|
|
is appropriate. Strange behavior can result when it is not.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<br>
|
||
|
|
<p>The format of <code>key</code> should be one of:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<blockquote class="indentedblock">
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>^<var>X</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>where <var>X</var> is a Latin letter, or one of several
|
||
|
|
ASCII characters (@, ], \, ^, _), or the word "Space".
|
||
|
|
Example: <code>^C</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>M-<var>X</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>where <var>X</var> is any ASCII character except [, or the word "Space".
|
||
|
|
Example: <code>M-8</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Sh-M-<var>X</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>where <var>X</var> is a Latin letter.
|
||
|
|
Example: <code>Sh-M-U</code>.
|
||
|
|
By default, each Meta+letter keystroke does the same as the corresponding
|
||
|
|
Shift+Meta+letter. But when any Shift+Meta bind is made, that will
|
||
|
|
no longer be the case, for all letters.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>F<var>n</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>where <var>n</var> is a numeric value from 1 to 24.
|
||
|
|
Example: <code>F10</code>.
|
||
|
|
(Often, <code>F13</code> to <code>F24</code> can be typed as <code>F1</code> to <code>F12</code>
|
||
|
|
with Shift.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Ins</code> or <code>Del</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
</blockquote>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<br>
|
||
|
|
<p>Rebinding <code>^M</code> (Enter) or <code>^I</code> (Tab) is probably not a good idea.
|
||
|
|
Rebinding <code>^[</code> (Esc) is not possible, because its keycode
|
||
|
|
is the starter byte of Meta keystrokes and escape sequences.
|
||
|
|
Rebinding any of the dedicated cursor-moving keys (the arrows, Home, End,
|
||
|
|
PageUp and PageDown) is not possible.
|
||
|
|
On some terminals it’s not possible to rebind <code>^H</code> (unless <code>--raw</code>
|
||
|
|
is used) because its keycode is identical to that of the Backspace key.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<br>
|
||
|
|
<p>Valid names for the <code>function</code> to be bound are:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>help</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Invokes the help viewer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>cancel</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Cancels the current command.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>exit</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exits from the program (or from the help viewer or file browser).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>writeout</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Writes the current buffer to disk, asking for a name.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>savefile</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Writes the current file to disk without prompting.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>insert</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Inserts a file into the current buffer (at the current cursor position),
|
||
|
|
or into a new buffer when option <code>multibuffer</code> is set.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>whereis</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Starts a forward search for text in the current buffer — or for filenames
|
||
|
|
matching a string in the current list in the file browser.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>wherewas</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Starts a backward search for text in the current buffer — or for filenames
|
||
|
|
matching a string in the current list in the file browser.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>findprevious</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Searches the next occurrence in the backward direction.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>findnext</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Searches the next occurrence in the forward direction.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>replace</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Interactively replaces text within the current buffer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>cut</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Cuts and stores the current line (or the marked region).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>copy</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Copies the current line (or the marked region) without deleting it.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>paste</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Pastes the currently stored text into the current buffer at the
|
||
|
|
current cursor position.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>zap</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Throws away the current line (or the marked region).
|
||
|
|
(This function is bound by default to <kbd>Alt+Delete</kbd>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>chopwordleft</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Deletes from the cursor position to the beginning of the preceding word.
|
||
|
|
(This function is bound by default to <kbd>Shift+Ctrl+Delete</kbd>. If your terminal
|
||
|
|
produces <code>^H</code> for <kbd>Ctrl+Backspace</kbd>, you can make <kbd>Ctrl+Backspace</kbd> delete
|
||
|
|
the word to the left of the cursor by rebinding <kbd>^H</kbd> to this function.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>chopwordright</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Deletes from the cursor position to the beginning of the next word.
|
||
|
|
(This function is bound by default to <kbd>Ctrl+Delete</kbd>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>cutrestoffile</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Cuts all text from the cursor position till the end of the buffer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>mark</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Sets the mark at the current position, to start selecting text.
|
||
|
|
Or, when it is set, unsets the mark.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>location</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Reports the current position of the cursor in the buffer:
|
||
|
|
the line, column, and character positions.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>wordcount</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Counts and reports on the status bar the number of lines, words,
|
||
|
|
and characters in the current buffer (or in the marked region).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>execute</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Prompts for a program to execute. The program’s output will be inserted
|
||
|
|
into the current buffer (or into a new buffer when <kbd>M-F</kbd> is toggled).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>speller</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Invokes a spell-checking program, either the default <code>hunspell</code>
|
||
|
|
or GNU <code>spell</code>, or the one defined by <samp>--speller</samp> or
|
||
|
|
<code>set speller</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>formatter</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Invokes a full-buffer-processing program (if the active syntax defines one).
|
||
|
|
(The current buffer is written out to a temporary file, the program
|
||
|
|
is run on it, and then the temporary file is read back in, replacing
|
||
|
|
the contents of the buffer.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>linter</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Invokes a syntax-checking program (if the active syntax defines one).
|
||
|
|
If this program produces lines of the form "filename:linenum:charnum:
|
||
|
|
some message", then the cursor will be put at the indicated position
|
||
|
|
in the mentioned file while showing "some message" on the status bar.
|
||
|
|
You can move from message to message with <kbd>PgUp</kbd> and <kbd>PgDn</kbd>,
|
||
|
|
and leave linting mode with <kbd>^C</kbd> or <kbd>Enter</kbd>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>justify</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Justifies the current paragraph (or the marked region).
|
||
|
|
A paragraph is a group of contiguous lines that, apart from possibly
|
||
|
|
the first line, all have the same indentation. The beginning of a
|
||
|
|
paragraph is detected by either this lone line with a differing
|
||
|
|
indentation or by a preceding blank line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>fulljustify</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Justifies the entire current buffer (or the marked region).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>indent</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Indents (shifts to the right) the current line or the marked lines.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>unindent</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Unindents (shifts to the left) the current line or the marked lines.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>comment</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Comments or uncomments the current line or the marked lines,
|
||
|
|
using the comment style specified in the active syntax.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>complete</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Completes (when possible) the fragment before the cursor
|
||
|
|
to a full word found elsewhere in the current buffer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>left</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes left one position (in the editor or browser).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>right</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes right one position (in the editor or browser).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>up</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes one line up (in the editor or browser).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>down</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes one line down (in the editor or browser).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>scrollup</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Scrolls the viewport up one row (meaning that the text slides down)
|
||
|
|
while keeping the cursor in the same text position, if possible.
|
||
|
|
(This function is bound by default to <kbd>Alt+Up</kbd>.
|
||
|
|
If <kbd>Alt+Up</kbd> does nothing on your Linux console, see the FAQ:
|
||
|
|
<a href="https://nano-editor.org/dist/latest/faq.html#4.1">https://nano-editor.org/dist/latest/faq.html#4.1</a>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>scrolldown</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Scrolls the viewport down one row (meaning that the text slides up)
|
||
|
|
while keeping the cursor in the same text position, if possible.
|
||
|
|
(This function is bound by default to <kbd>Alt+Down</kbd>.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>center</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Scrolls the line with the cursor to the middle of the screen.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>prevword</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the beginning of the previous word.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>nextword</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next word.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>home</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>end</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the end of the current line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>beginpara</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current paragraph.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>endpara</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the end of the current paragraph.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>prevblock</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current or preceding block of text.
|
||
|
|
(Blocks are separated by one or more blank lines.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>nextblock</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next block of text.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>pageup</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes up one screenful.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>pagedown</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes down one screenful.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>firstline</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to the first line of the file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>lastline</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to the last line of the file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>gotoline</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to a specific line (and column if specified). Negative numbers count
|
||
|
|
from the end of the file (and end of the line).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>findbracket</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Moves the cursor to the bracket (or brace or parenthesis, etc.) that matches
|
||
|
|
(pairs) with the one under the cursor. See <a href="#set-matchbrackets"><code>set matchbrackets</code></a>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>anchor</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Places an anchor at the current line, or removes it when already present.
|
||
|
|
(An anchor is visible when line numbers are activated.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>prevanchor</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to the first anchor before the current line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>nextanchor</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to the first anchor after the current line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>prevbuf</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Switches to editing/viewing the previous buffer when multiple buffers are open.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>nextbuf</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Switches to editing/viewing the next buffer when multiple buffers are open.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>verbatim</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Inserts the next keystroke verbatim into the file, or begins Unicode input
|
||
|
|
when a hexadecimal digit is typed (see <a href="#Entering-Text">Entering Text</a> for details).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>tab</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Inserts a tab at the current cursor location.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>enter</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Inserts a new line below the current one.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>delete</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Deletes the character under the cursor.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>backspace</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Deletes the character before the cursor.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>recordmacro</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Starts the recording of keystrokes — the keystrokes are stored
|
||
|
|
as a macro. When already recording, the recording is stopped.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>runmacro</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Replays the keystrokes of the last recorded macro.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>undo</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Undoes the last performed text action (add text, delete text, etc).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>redo</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Redoes the last undone action (i.e., it undoes an undo).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>refresh</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Refreshes the screen.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>suspend</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Suspends the editor and returns control to the shell
|
||
|
|
(until you tell the process to resume execution with <kbd>fg</kbd>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>casesens</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles whether searching/replacing ignores or respects the case of
|
||
|
|
the given characters.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>regexp</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles whether searching/replacing uses literal strings or regular expressions.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>backwards</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles whether searching/replacing goes forward or backward.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>older</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Retrieves the previous (earlier) entry at a prompt.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>newer</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Retrieves the next (later) entry at a prompt.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>flipreplace</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles between searching for something and replacing something.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>flipgoto</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles between searching for text and targeting a line number.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>flipexecute</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles between inserting a file and executing a command.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>flippipe</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When executing a command, toggles whether the current buffer (or marked
|
||
|
|
region) is piped to the command.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>flipnewbuffer</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles between inserting into the current buffer and into a new
|
||
|
|
empty buffer.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>flipconvert</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When reading in a file, toggles between converting and not converting
|
||
|
|
it from DOS/Mac format. Converting is the default.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>dosformat</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When writing a file, switches to writing a DOS format (CR/LF).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>macformat</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When writing a file, switches to writing a Mac format.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>append</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When writing a file, appends to the end instead of overwriting.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>prepend</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When writing a file, ’prepends’ (writes at the beginning) instead of overwriting.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>backup</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When writing a file, creates a backup of the current file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>discardbuffer</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When about to write a file, discard the current buffer without saving.
|
||
|
|
(This function is bound by default only when option <samp>--saveonexit</samp>
|
||
|
|
is in effect.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>browser</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Starts the file browser (in the Read File and Write Out menus),
|
||
|
|
allowing to select a file from a list.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>gotodir</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to a directory to be specified, allowing to browse anywhere
|
||
|
|
in the filesystem.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>firstfile</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to the first file in the list when using the file browser.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>lastfile</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Goes to the last file in the list when using the file browser.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>nohelp</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles the presence of the two-line list of key bindings at the bottom of the screen.
|
||
|
|
(This toggle is special: it is available in all menus except the help viewer
|
||
|
|
and the linter. All further toggles are available in the main menu only.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>zero</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles the presence of title bar and status bar.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>constantshow</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles the constant display of the current line, column, and character positions.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>softwrap</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles the displaying of overlong lines on multiple screen lines.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>linenumbers</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles the display of line numbers in front of the text.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>whitespacedisplay</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles the showing of whitespace.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>nosyntax</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles syntax highlighting.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>smarthome</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles the smartness of the Home key.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>autoindent</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles whether a newly created line will contain the same amount of leading
|
||
|
|
whitespace as the preceding line — or as the next line if the preceding line
|
||
|
|
is the beginning of a paragraph.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>cutfromcursor</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles whether cutting text will cut the whole line or just from the current cursor
|
||
|
|
position to the end of the line.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>breaklonglines</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles whether long lines will be hard-wrapped to the next line.
|
||
|
|
(The old name of this function, ’nowrap’, is deprecated.)
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>tabstospaces</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles whether typed tabs will be converted to spaces.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>mouse</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Toggles mouse support.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<br>
|
||
|
|
<p>Valid names for <code>menu</code> are:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>main</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The main editor window where text is entered and edited.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>help</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The help-viewer menu.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>search</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The search menu (AKA whereis).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>replace</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’search to replace’ menu.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>replacewith</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’replace with’ menu, which comes up after ’search to replace’.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>yesno</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’yesno’ menu, where the Yes/No/All/Cancel question is asked.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>gotoline</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’goto line (and column)’ menu.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>writeout</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’write file’ menu.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>insert</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’insert file’ menu.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>browser</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’file browser’ menu, for selecting a file to be opened or
|
||
|
|
inserted or written to.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>whereisfile</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’search for a file’ menu in the file browser.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>gotodir</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The ’go to directory’ menu in the file browser.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>execute</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The menu for inserting the output from an external command,
|
||
|
|
or for filtering the buffer (or the marked region) through
|
||
|
|
an external command, or for executing one of several tools.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>spell</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The menu of the integrated spell checker where the user can edit a misspelled word.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>linter</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The linter menu, which allows jumping through the linting messages.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>all</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>A special name that encompasses all menus. For <code>bind</code> it means
|
||
|
|
all menus where the specified <code>function</code> exists; for <code>unbind</code>
|
||
|
|
it means all menus where the specified <code>key</code> exists.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Pico-Compatibility"></span><span id="Pico-Compatibility-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">9 Pico Compatibility</h2>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p><code>nano</code> emulates Pico quite closely, but there
|
||
|
|
are some differences between the two editors:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Hard-Wrapping</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Unlike Pico, <code>nano</code> does not automatically hard-wrap the current
|
||
|
|
line when it becomes overlong during typing. This hard-wrapping can be
|
||
|
|
switched on with the <samp>--breaklonglines</samp> option. With that option,
|
||
|
|
<code>nano</code> by default breaks lines at screen width minus eight columns,
|
||
|
|
whereas Pico does it at screen width minus six columns. You can make
|
||
|
|
<code>nano</code> do as Pico by using <samp>--fill=-6</samp>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Scrolling</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>By default, <code>nano</code> will scroll just one line (instead of half
|
||
|
|
a screen) when the cursor is moved to a line that is just out of view.
|
||
|
|
And when paging up or down, <code>nano</code> keeps the cursor in the same
|
||
|
|
screen position as much as possible, instead of always placing it on the
|
||
|
|
first line of the viewport. The Pico-like behavior can be obtained
|
||
|
|
with the <samp>--jumpyscrolling</samp> option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Edit Area</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Pico never uses the line directly below the title bar, leaving it always
|
||
|
|
blank. <code>nano</code> includes this line in the editing area, in order
|
||
|
|
to not waste space, and because in this way it is slightly clearer where
|
||
|
|
the text starts. If you are accustomed to this line being empty, you can
|
||
|
|
get it back with the <samp>--emptyline</samp> option.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Interactive Replace</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Instead of allowing you to replace either just one occurrence of a search
|
||
|
|
string or all of them, <code>nano</code>’s replace function is interactive: it
|
||
|
|
will pause at each found search string and query whether to replace this
|
||
|
|
instance. You can then choose Yes, or No (skip this one), or All (don’t
|
||
|
|
ask any more), or Cancel (stop with replacing).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Search and Replace History</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When the option <samp>-H</samp> or <samp>--historylog</samp> is given (or set in
|
||
|
|
a nanorc file), text entered as search or replace strings is stored.
|
||
|
|
These strings can be accessed with the up/down arrow keys at their
|
||
|
|
respective prompts, or you can
|
||
|
|
type the first few characters and then use <kbd>Tab</kbd> to cycle through the
|
||
|
|
matching strings. A retrieved string can subsequently be edited.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Position History</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When the option <samp>-P</samp> or <samp>--positionlog</samp> is given (or set in
|
||
|
|
a nanorc file), <code>nano</code> will store the position of the cursor
|
||
|
|
when you close a file, and will place the cursor in that position
|
||
|
|
again when you later reopen the file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Current Cursor Position</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>The output of the "Display Cursor Position" command (<kbd>^C</kbd>) displays
|
||
|
|
not only the current line and character position of the cursor,
|
||
|
|
but also (between the two) the current column position.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Spell Checking</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>In the internal spell checker misspelled words are sorted alphabetically
|
||
|
|
and trimmed for uniqueness, such that the words ’apple’ and ’Apple’ will
|
||
|
|
be prompted for correction separately.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Writing Selected Text to Files</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When using the Write-Out key (<kbd>^O</kbd>), text that has been selected using the
|
||
|
|
marking key (<kbd>^^</kbd>) can not just be written out to a new (or existing) file,
|
||
|
|
it can also be appended or prepended to an existing file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Reading Text from a Command</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>When using the Read-File key (<kbd>^R</kbd>), <code>nano</code> can not just read a file,
|
||
|
|
it can also read the output of a command to be run (<kbd>^X</kbd>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Reading from Working Directory</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>By default, Pico will read files from the user’s home directory (when
|
||
|
|
using <kbd>^R</kbd>), but it will write files to the current working directory
|
||
|
|
(when using <kbd>^O</kbd>). <code>nano</code> makes this symmetrical: always reading
|
||
|
|
from and writing to the current working directory — the directory
|
||
|
|
that <code>nano</code> was started in.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>File Browser</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>In the file browser, <code>nano</code> does not implement the Add, Copy,
|
||
|
|
Rename, and Delete commands that Pico provides. In <code>nano</code> the
|
||
|
|
browser is just a file browser, not a file manager.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>Toggles</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Many options which alter the functionality of the program can be
|
||
|
|
"toggled" on or off using Meta key sequences, meaning the program does
|
||
|
|
not have to be restarted to turn a particular feature on or off.
|
||
|
|
See <a href="#Feature-Toggles">Feature Toggles</a> for a list of options that can be toggled.
|
||
|
|
Or see the list at the end of the main internal help text (<kbd>^G</kbd>) instead.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
<span id="Building-and-its-Options"></span><span id="Building-and-its-Options-1"></span><h2 class="chapter">10 Building and its Options</h2>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>Building <code>nano</code> from source is straightforward if you are
|
||
|
|
familiar with compiling programs with autoconf support:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<div class="example">
|
||
|
|
<pre class="example"> tar -xf nano-x.y.tar.gz
|
||
|
|
cd nano-x.y
|
||
|
|
./configure
|
||
|
|
make
|
||
|
|
make install
|
||
|
|
</pre></div>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<p>The possible options to <code>./configure</code> are:
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
<dl compact="compact">
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-browser</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the file browser that can be called with <kbd>^T</kbd> when
|
||
|
|
wanting to read or write a file.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-color</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude support for syntax coloring. This also eliminates the <samp>-Y</samp>
|
||
|
|
command-line option, which allows choosing a specific syntax.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-comment</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the single-keystroke comment/uncomment function (<kbd><span class="nolinebreak">M-3</span></kbd><!-- /@w -->).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-extra</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the Easter egg: a crawl of major contributors.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-formatter</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the code for calling a formatting tool.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-help</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the help texts (<kbd>^G</kbd>). This makes the binary much smaller,
|
||
|
|
but also makes it difficult for new users to learn more than very basic
|
||
|
|
things about using the editor.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-histories</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the code for handling the history files: the search and
|
||
|
|
replace strings that were used, the commands that were executed,
|
||
|
|
and the cursor position at which each file was closed.
|
||
|
|
This also eliminates the <samp>-H</samp> and <samp>-P</samp> command-line
|
||
|
|
options, which switch on the storing of search/replace strings,
|
||
|
|
executed commands, and cursor positions.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-justify</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the text-justification functions (<kbd>^J</kbd> and <kbd>M-J</kbd>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-libmagic</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the code for using the library of magic-number tests (for
|
||
|
|
determining the file type and thus which syntax to use for coloring —
|
||
|
|
in most cases the regexes for filename and header line will be enough).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-linenumbers</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the ability to show line numbers. This also eliminates
|
||
|
|
the <samp>-l</samp> command-line option, which turns line numbering on.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-linter</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the code for calling a linting tool.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-mouse</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude all mouse functionality. This also eliminates the <samp>-m</samp>
|
||
|
|
command-line option, which enables the mouse functionality.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-multibuffer</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude support for opening multiple files at a time and switching
|
||
|
|
between them. This also eliminates the <samp>-F</samp> command-line option,
|
||
|
|
which causes a file to be read into a separate buffer by default.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-nanorc</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude support for reading the nanorc files at startup. With such
|
||
|
|
support, you can store custom settings in a system-wide and a per-user
|
||
|
|
nanorc file rather than having to pass command-line options to get
|
||
|
|
the desired behavior. See <a href="#Nanorc-Files">Nanorc Files</a> for more info.
|
||
|
|
Disabling this also eliminates the <samp>-I</samp> command-line option,
|
||
|
|
which inhibits the reading of nanorc files.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-operatingdir</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the code for setting an operating directory. This also eliminates
|
||
|
|
the <samp>-o</samp> command-line option, which sets the operating directory.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-speller</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude the code for spell checking. This also eliminates the <samp>-s</samp>
|
||
|
|
command-line option, which allows specifying an alternate spell checker.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-tabcomp</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude tab completion (when nano asks for a filename or search string
|
||
|
|
or replace string or command to execute).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-wordcomp</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude word completion (<kbd>^]</kbd>).
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-wrapping</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude all hard-wrapping of overlong lines. This also eliminates the
|
||
|
|
<samp>-b</samp> and <samp>-w</samp> command-line options, which switch automatic
|
||
|
|
long-line wrapping on and off, respectively.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--enable-tiny</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>This option implies all of the above. It also disables some other
|
||
|
|
internals of the editor, like the function toggles, the marking of text,
|
||
|
|
the undo/redo code, line anchors, the recording and playback of a macro,
|
||
|
|
softwrapping, and the cut-to-end-of-line code. These things stay disabled
|
||
|
|
also when using the enabling counterpart of the above options together with
|
||
|
|
<samp>--enable-tiny</samp> to switch specific features back on.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--enable-debug</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Include some code for runtime debugging output. This can get messy, so
|
||
|
|
chances are you only want this feature when you’re working on the nano source.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-nls</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude Native Language support. This will disable the use of any
|
||
|
|
available GNU <code>nano</code> translations.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--enable-utf8</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Include support for handling and displaying Unicode files.
|
||
|
|
This requires a "wide" version of the curses library.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--disable-utf8</code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Exclude support for handling and displaying Unicode files. Normally the
|
||
|
|
configure script auto-detects whether to enable UTF-8 support or not.
|
||
|
|
You can use this or the previous option to override that detection.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
<dt><code>--enable-altrcname=<var>name</var></code></dt>
|
||
|
|
<dd><p>Use the file with the given <var>name</var> (in the user’s home directory)
|
||
|
|
as nano’s settings file, instead of the default <code>.nanorc</code>.
|
||
|
|
</p>
|
||
|
|
</dd>
|
||
|
|
</dl>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
<hr>
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
</body>
|
||
|
|
</html>
|