| This is nano.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.0 from nano.texi. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Top, Next: Introduction, Prev: (dir), Up: (dir) |
| |
| This manual documents GNU nano, a small and friendly text editor. |
| |
| * Menu: |
| |
| * Introduction:: |
| * Editor Basics:: |
| * Online Help:: |
| * Feature Toggles:: |
| * The File Browser:: |
| * Pico Compatibility:: |
| * Building and Configure Options:: |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Introduction, Next: Editor Basics, Prev: Top, Up: Top |
| |
| Introduction |
| ************ |
| |
| GNU `nano' is a small and friendly text editor. Besides basic text |
| editing, `nano' offers many extra features like an interactive search |
| and replace, goto line number, auto-indentation, feature toggles, |
| internationalization support, and filename tab completion. |
| |
| * Menu: |
| |
| * Overview:: |
| * Command Line Options:: |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Overview, Next: Command Line Options, Prev: Introduction, Up: Introduction |
| |
| Overview |
| ======== |
| |
| `nano' [GNU long option] [option] +LINE [ FILE ... ] |
| |
| The original goal for `nano' was a complete bug-for-bug compatible |
| emulation of Pico, but consistency is now a slightly higher priority. |
| There is a flag to implement (nearly) complete Pico emulation, (option |
| -p or GNU long option -pico). This can also be toggled from within |
| `nano' by typing Meta-P. *Note Pico Compatibility::, for more info. |
| |
| Email bug reports to <nano@nano-editor.org>. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Command Line Options, Prev: Overview, Up: Introduction |
| |
| Command Line Options |
| ==================== |
| |
| `nano' takes the following options from the command line: |
| `-T [num, --tabsize=[num]' |
| Set the displayed tab length to [num] columns. |
| |
| `-R, --regexp' |
| Turns on regular expression search and search/replace. |
| |
| `-V, --version' |
| Print the version number and copyright and quit. |
| |
| `-c, --const' |
| Constantly display the cursor posititon and line number on the |
| statusbar. |
| |
| `-h, --help' |
| Print the usage and exit. |
| |
| `-i, --autoindent' |
| Automatically indent new lines to the same number of spaces and |
| tabs as the previous line. |
| |
| `-k, --cut' |
| Makes ^K cut from the current cursor position to the end of the |
| current line. |
| |
| `-l, --nofollow' |
| When writing files, if the given file is a symbolic link it is |
| removed and a new file is created. |
| |
| `-m, --mouse' |
| Enables the use of the mouse to select text (currently only useful |
| for running under the X window system). |
| |
| `-p, --pico' |
| Emulate Pico as closely as possible, sacrificing consistency for |
| correct emulation. *Note Pico Compatibility::, for more info. |
| |
| `-r [#cols], --fill=[#cols].' |
| Wrap lines at column #cols. By default this is the width of the |
| screen, less eight. |
| |
| `-s [prog], --speller=[prog]' |
| Invoke [prog] as the spell checker. By default, `nano' uses its |
| own interactive spell checker that requires the `spell' program be |
| installed on your system. |
| |
| `-t, --tempfile' |
| Do not ask whether or not to save the current contents of the file |
| when exiting, assume yes. This is most useful when using `nano' |
| as the composer of a mailer program. |
| |
| `-x, --nohelp' |
| In Expert Mode, the Shortcut Lists will not appear at the bottom |
| of the screen. This affects the location of the statusbar as |
| well, as in Expert Mode it is located at the very bottom of the |
| editor. |
| |
| Note: When accesing the help system, Expert Mode is temporarily |
| disabled to display the help system navigation keys. |
| |
| `-v, --view' |
| Do not allow the contents of the file to be altered. Note that |
| this flag should NOT be used in place of correct file permissions |
| to implement a read-only file. |
| |
| `-w, --nowrap' |
| Do not wrap long lines at any length. This option overrides any |
| value for -r. |
| |
| `-z, --suspend' |
| Enable suspend ability of `nano' using the system's suspend |
| keystroke (usually ^Z). |
| |
| `+LINE' |
| Start at line number LINE instead of the default of line 1. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Editor Basics, Next: Online Help, Prev: Introduction, Up: Top |
| |
| Editor Basics |
| ************* |
| |
| * Menu: |
| |
| * Entering Text:: |
| * Special Functions:: |
| * The Titlebar:: |
| * The Statusbar:: |
| * Shortcut Lists:: |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Entering Text, Next: Special Functions, Prev: Editor Basics, Up: Editor Basics |
| |
| Entering Text |
| ============= |
| |
| All key sequences in `nano' are entered using the keyboard. `nano' |
| is a "modeless" editor, all keys with the exception of Control and Meta |
| key sequences will enter text into the file being edited. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Special Functions, Next: The Titlebar, Prev: Entering Text, Up: Editor Basics |
| |
| Special Functions |
| ================= |
| |
| Special functions use the Control key (displayed in the help and |
| shotcut lists as ^) or the Meta key (displayed as M). |
| |
| * Control key sequences are entered by holding down the Control key |
| and pressing the desired letter. |
| |
| * Meta key sequences can be entered in a number of possible ways: |
| Pressing the Escape key, then releasing it and pressing the |
| desired key, or holding down the Alt key while pressing the desired |
| key. This varies from keyboard to keyboard, and certain commercial |
| operating systems "swallow" the Alt key so that it never reaches |
| the application. If your operating system does this, you should |
| use the Escape key to generate Meta key sequences. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: The Titlebar, Next: The Statusbar, Prev: Special Functions, Up: Editor Basics |
| |
| The Titlebar |
| ============ |
| |
| The titlebar is the line displayed at the top of the editor. There |
| are three sections: left, center and right. The section on the left |
| displays the version of `nano' being used. The center section displays |
| the current file name, or "New Buffer" if the file has not yet been |
| named. The section on the right will display "Modified" if the file |
| has been modified since it ws last saved or opened. |
| |
| Special modes: When nano is in "File browser" mode, the center |
| section will display the current directory instead of the filename. |
| *Note The File Browser::. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: The Statusbar, Next: Shortcut Lists, Prev: The Titlebar, Up: Editor Basics |
| |
| The Statusbar |
| ============= |
| |
| The statusbar is located three lines from the bottom of the screen |
| (or the bottom line in Expert Mode. *Note Expert Mode::, for more info. |
| |
| The Statusbar shows important and informational messages. Any error |
| messages that occur from using the editor will appear on the statusbar. |
| Any questions that are asked of the user will be asked on the statusbar, |
| and any user input (serch strings, file names, etc) will be input on the |
| statusbar. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Shortcut Lists, Prev: The Statusbar, Up: Editor Basics |
| |
| Shortcut Lists |
| ============== |
| |
| The Shorcut Lists are the two lines at the bottom of the screen |
| which show some of the more commonly used functions in the editor. The |
| exact functions which are displayed depend on whether Pico |
| Compatibility Mode mode is enabled. *Note Pico Compatibility::, for |
| more info. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Online Help, Next: Feature Toggles, Prev: Editor Basics, Up: Top |
| |
| Online Help |
| *********** |
| |
| The online help system in `nano' is available by pressing ^G. It is |
| fairly self explanatory, documenting the various parts of the editor |
| and available keystrokes. Navigation is via the ^Y (Page Up) and ^V |
| (Page Down) keys. ^X exits the help system. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Feature Toggles, Next: The File Browser, Prev: Online Help, Up: Top |
| |
| Feature Toggles |
| *************** |
| |
| Toggles allow you to change certain aspects of the editor that would |
| normally be done via command line flags. They are invoked via certain |
| Meta key sequenced. *Note Special Functions::, for more info. The |
| following toggles are available: |
| |
| `Constant Update Toggle (Meta-C)' |
| toggles the -c (-const) command line flag. |
| |
| `Regular Expressions Toggle (Meta-E)' |
| toggles the -R (-regexp) command line flag. |
| |
| `AutoIndent Toggle (Meta-I)' |
| toggles the -i (-autoindent) command line flag. |
| |
| `Cut To End Toggle (Meta-K)' |
| toggles the -k (-cut) command line flag. |
| |
| `Cut To End Toggle (Meta-M)' |
| toggles the -m (-mouse) command line flag. |
| |
| `Pico Mode Toggle (Meta-P)' |
| toggles the -p (-pico) command line flag. *Note Pico |
| Compatibility::, for more info. |
| |
| `AutoWrap Toggle (Meta-W)' |
| toggles the -w (-nowrap) command line flag. |
| |
| `Expert/Nohelp Toggle (Meta-X)' |
| toggles the -x (-nohelp) command line flag. |
| |
| `Suspend Toggle (Meta-Z)' |
| toggles the -i (-autoindent) command line flag. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: The File Browser, Next: Pico Compatibility, Prev: Feature Toggles, Up: Top |
| |
| The File Browser |
| **************** |
| |
| When reading or writilg files, pressing ^T will invoke the file |
| browser. Here, one can navigate directories in a graphical manner in |
| order to find the desired file. |
| |
| Basic movement in the file browser is accomplished with he arrow keys |
| and page up/down. The behavior of the enter (or 's') key varies by what |
| is currently selected. If the currently selected object is a directory, |
| the file browser will enter and display the contects of the directory. |
| If the object is a file, this filename and path are copied to the |
| statusbar and the file browser is exited. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Pico Compatibility, Next: Building and Configure Options, Prev: The File Browser, Up: Top |
| |
| Pico Compatibility |
| ****************** |
| |
| Nano does not completely emulate Pico by default. The following |
| differences apply to the default mode and Pico Compatibility mode: |
| |
| `Displayed Shortcuts' |
| By default, the following shortcuts are displayed in the Shortcut |
| Lists: |
| |
| ^G ^O ^\ ^Y ^K ^C |
| ^X ^R ^W ^V ^U ^T |
| |
| Related functions are listed above or below each other by default. |
| The Justify function is not listed, instead the "Replace" |
| function is displayed. Also, he "Read File" and "WriteOut" |
| functions are aligned for consistency. |
| |
| In Pico Compatibility mode, the default Pico shortcuts are |
| displayed: |
| |
| ^G ^O ^R ^Y ^K ^C |
| ^X ^J ^W ^V ^U ^T |
| |
| `Previous String Text' |
| By default, previously entered string for a function (search |
| string, file name) will be placed on the statusbar, and is |
| editable. This is done so there is consistency across all |
| functions. For example: even if there is a previous replace |
| string, it can always be deleted if one wishes to perform an empty |
| string replace. |
| |
| In Pico Compatibility Mode, the previously entered text in a |
| search or replace will appear in brackets, and is not editable. |
| It is not a simple matter to do an empty string replace when a |
| previous replace string exists, for example. When writing a file, |
| the previous filename will be displayed in the editable text |
| portion of the editor. |
| |
| `Interactive Replace and Spell Checker' |
| It is worth noting that the `nano' replace function is interactive, |
| i.e. it does not stop after one search string is found and |
| automatically replace it. The `nano' implementation will stop at |
| each search string found and query whether to replace this |
| instance or not. The internal spell checker operates similarly. |
| Note that these is no way to force these functions to behave in |
| the Pico fashion. |
| |
| |
| File: nano.info, Node: Building and Configure Options, Prev: Pico Compatibility, Up: Top |
| |
| Building and Configure Options |
| ****************************** |
| |
| Building nano from source is fairly straightforward if you are |
| familiar with compiling programs with autoconf support: |
| |
| tar xvfz nano-x.y.z.tar.gz (where x.y.z is the version of nano) cd |
| nano-x.y.z/ ./configure make make install |
| |
| if you are looking to optimize nano for size, you may want to |
| consider the following command line options: |
| |
| `--disable-tabcomp' |
| Disable the tab completion code when reading or writing files. |
| |
| `--disable-justify' |
| Disable the justify (^J)/unjustify (^U) functions in the editor. |
| |
| `--disable-speller' |
| Disables spell checker abillity. |
| |
| `--disable-help' |
| Disables the help function (^G). Disabling this option maks the |
| binary much smaller, but makes it difficult for new users to learn |
| more than very basic things about using the editor. |
| |
| `--disable-browser' |
| Disables the mini file browser (^O) when reading or writing files. |
| |
| `--enable-tiny' |
| This options disables all the above. It also disables some of the |
| larger internals of the editor, like the marker code (^^) and the |
| cut to line (-k) option which depends on the it to work properly. |
| It also disables the function toggles and mouse support. |
| |
| |
| |
| Tag Table: |
| Node: Top69 |
| Node: Introduction377 |
| Node: Overview803 |
| Node: Command Line Options1383 |
| Ref: Expert Mode3106 |
| Node: Editor Basics3948 |
| Node: Entering Text4173 |
| Node: Special Functions4513 |
| Node: The Titlebar5367 |
| Node: The Statusbar6064 |
| Node: Shortcut Lists6644 |
| Node: Online Help7036 |
| Node: Feature Toggles7412 |
| Node: The File Browser8558 |
| Node: Pico Compatibility9267 |
| Node: Building and Configure Options11309 |
| |
| End Tag Table |