EDITLINE
Section: Misc. Reference Manual Pages (7edit)
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NAME
editline
- line editing user interface
DESCRIPTION
When a program using the
editline(3edit)
library prompts for an input string using the function
el_wgets3,
it reads characters from the terminal.
Invalid input bytes that do not form characters are silently
discarded.
For each character read, one editor command is executed.
The mapping of input characters to editor commands depends on the
editing mode.
There are three editing modes: vi insert mode, vi command mode,
and emacs mode.
The default is vi insert mode.
The program can switch the default to emacs mode by using the
el_set3
or
el_parse3
functions, and the user can switch to emacs mode either in the
editrc(5edit)
configuration file or interactively with the
ed-command
editor command, in all three cases executing the
bind -e
builtin command.
If trying to read from the terminal results in end of file or an
error, the library signals end of file to the program and does not
return a string.
Input character bindings
All default bindings described below can be overridden by individual
programs and can be changed with the
editrc(5edit)
bind
builtin command.
In the following tables,
`Ctrl-'
indicates a character with the bit 0x40 flipped, and
`Meta-'
indicates a character with the bit 0x80 set.
In vi insert mode and in emacs mode, all Meta-characters considered
printable by the current
locale(1)
are bound to
ed-insert
instead of to the editor command listed below.
Consequently, in UTF-8 mode, most of the Meta-characters are not
directly accessible because their code points are occupied by
printable Unicode characters, and Meta-characters are usually input
using the
em-meta-next
editor command.
For example, to enter
`Meta-B'
in order to call the
ed-prev-word
editor command in emacs mode, call
em-meta-next
by pressing and releasing the escape key (or equivalently, Ctrl-[),
then press and release the
`B'
key.
If you have configured a Meta-key on your keyboard, for example
with
`setxkbmap'
-option altwin:left_meta_win ,
the Ctrl-Meta-characters are directly accessible.
For example, to enter
`Ctrl-Meta-H'
in order to call the
ed-delete-prev-word
editor command in emacs mode, hold down the keys
`Ctrl'
`Meta'
and
`H'
at the same time.
Alternatively, press and release the escape key, then press and
release
`Ctrl-H'
In vi input mode, input characters are bound to the following editor
commands by default:
- Ctrl-D, EOF Ta vi-list-or-eof
-
- Ctrl-H, BS Ta vi-delete-prev-char
-
- Ctrl-J, LF Ta ed-newline
-
- Ctrl-M, CR Ta ed-newline
-
- Ctrl-Q Ta ed-tty-start-output
-
- Ctrl-S Ta ed-tty-stop-output
-
- Ctrl-U Ta vi-kill-line-prev
-
- Ctrl-V Ta ed-quoted-insert
-
- Ctrl-W Ta ed-delete-prev-word
-
- Ctrl-[, ESC Ta vi-command-mode
-
- Ctrl-\, QUIT Ta ed-tty-sigquit
-
- Ctrl-?, DEL Ta vi-delete-prev-char
-
All other input characters except the NUL character (Ctrl-@) are
bound to
ed-insert
In vi command mode, input characters are bound to the following
editor commands by default:
- Ctrl-A Ta ed-move-to-beg
-
- Ctrl-C, INT Ta ed-tty-sigint
-
- Ctrl-E Ta ed-move-to-end
-
- Ctrl-H, BS Ta ed-delete-prev-char
-
- Ctrl-J, LF Ta ed-newline
-
- Ctrl-K Ta ed-kill-line
-
- Ctrl-L, FF Ta ed-clear-screen
-
- Ctrl-M, CR Ta ed-newline
-
- Ctrl-N Ta ed-next-history
-
- Ctrl-O Ta ed-tty-flush-output
-
- Ctrl-P Ta ed-prev-history
-
- Ctrl-Q Ta ed-tty-start-output
-
- Ctrl-R Ta ed-redisplay
-
- Ctrl-S Ta ed-tty-stop-output
-
- Ctrl-U Ta vi-kill-line-prev
-
- Ctrl-W Ta ed-delete-prev-word
-
- Ctrl-[, ESC Ta em-meta-next
-
- Ctrl-\, QUIT Ta ed-tty-sigquit
-
- Space Ta ed-next-char
-
- # Ta vi-comment-out
-
- $ Ta ed-move-to-end
-
- % Ta vi-match
-
- + Ta ed-next-history
-
- , Ta vi-repeat-prev-char
-
- - Ta ed-prev-history
-
- . Ta vi-redo
-
- / Ta vi-search-prev
-
- 0 Ta vi-zero
-
- 1 to 9 Ta ed-argument-digit
-
- : Ta ed-command
-
- ; Ta vi-repeat-next-char
-
- ? Ta vi-search-next
-
- @ Ta vi-alias
-
- A Ta vi-add-at-eol
-
- B Ta vi-prev-big-word
-
- C Ta vi-change-to-eol
-
- D Ta ed-kill-line
-
- E Ta vi-end-big-word
-
- F Ta vi-prev-char
-
- G Ta vi-to-history-line
-
- I Ta vi-insert-at-bol
-
- J Ta ed-search-next-history
-
- K Ta ed-search-prev-history
-
- N Ta vi-repeat-search-prev
-
- O Ta ed-sequence-lead-in
-
- P Ta vi-paste-prev
-
- R Ta vi-replace-mode
-
- S Ta vi-substitute-line
-
- T Ta vi-to-prev-char
-
- U Ta vi-undo-line
-
- W Ta vi-next-big-word
-
- X Ta ed-delete-prev-char
-
- Y Ta vi-yank-end
-
- [ Ta ed-sequence-lead-in
-
- ^ Ta ed-move-to-beg
-
- _ Ta vi-history-word
-
- a Ta vi-add
-
- b Ta vi-prev-word
-
- c Ta vi-change-meta
-
- d Ta vi-delete-meta
-
- e Ta vi-end-word
-
- f Ta vi-next-char
-
- h Ta ed-prev-char
-
- i Ta vi-insert
-
- j Ta ed-next-history
-
- k Ta ed-prev-history
-
- l Ta ed-next-char
-
- n Ta vi-repeat-search-next
-
- p Ta vi-paste-next
-
- r Ta vi-replace-char
-
- s Ta vi-substitute-char
-
- t Ta vi-to-next-char
-
- u Ta vi-undo
-
- v Ta vi-histedit
-
- w Ta vi-next-word
-
- x Ta ed-delete-next-char
-
- y Ta vi-yank
-
- | Ta vi-to-column
-
- ~ Ta vi-change-case
-
- Ctrl-?, DEL Ta ed-delete-prev-char
-
- Meta-O Ta ed-sequence-lead-in
-
- Meta-[ Ta ed-sequence-lead-in
-
In emacs mode, input characters are bound to the following editor
commands by default:
- 0 to 9 Ta ed-digit
-
- Ctrl-@, NUL Ta em-set-mark
-
- Ctrl-A Ta ed-move-to-beg
-
- Ctrl-B Ta ed-prev-char
-
- Ctrl-C, INT Ta ed-tty-sigint
-
- Ctrl-D, EOF Ta em-delete-or-list
-
- Ctrl-E Ta ed-move-to-end
-
- Ctrl-F Ta ed-next-char
-
- Ctrl-H, BS Ta em-delete-prev-char
-
- Ctrl-J, LF Ta ed-newline
-
- Ctrl-K Ta ed-kill-line
-
- Ctrl-L, FF Ta ed-clear-screen
-
- Ctrl-M, CR Ta ed-newline
-
- Ctrl-N Ta ed-next-history
-
- Ctrl-O Ta ed-tty-flush-output
-
- Ctrl-P Ta ed-prev-history
-
- Ctrl-Q Ta ed-tty-start-output
-
- Ctrl-R Ta ed-redisplay
-
- Ctrl-S Ta ed-tty-stop-output
-
- Ctrl-T Ta ed-transpose-chars
-
- Ctrl-U Ta ed-kill-line
-
- Ctrl-V Ta ed-quoted-insert
-
- Ctrl-W Ta em-kill-region
-
- Ctrl-X Ta ed-sequence-lead-in
-
- Ctrl-Y Ta em-yank
-
- Ctrl-Z, TSTP Ta ed-tty-sigtstp
-
- Ctrl-[, ESC Ta em-meta-next
-
- Ctrl-\, QUIT Ta ed-tty-sigquit
-
- Ctrl-] Ta ed-tty-dsusp
-
- Ctrl-?, DEL Ta em-delete-prev-char
-
- Ctrl-Meta-H Ta ed-delete-prev-word
-
- Ctrl-Meta-L Ta ed-clear-screen
-
- Ctrl-Meta-_ Ta em-copy-prev-word
-
- Meta-0 to 9 Ta ed-argument-digit
-
- Meta-B Ta ed-prev-word
-
- Meta-C Ta em-capitol-case
-
- Meta-D Ta em-delete-next-word
-
- Meta-F Ta em-next-word
-
- Meta-L Ta em-lower-case
-
- Meta-N Ta ed-search-next-history
-
- Meta-O Ta ed-sequence-lead-in
-
- Meta-P Ta ed-search-prev-history
-
- Meta-U Ta em-upper-case
-
- Meta-W Ta em-copy-region
-
- Meta-X Ta ed-command
-
- Meta-[ Ta ed-sequence-lead-in
-
- Meta-b Ta ed-prev-word
-
- Meta-c Ta em-capitol-case
-
- Meta-d Ta em-delete-next-word
-
- Meta-f Ta em-next-word
-
- Meta-l Ta em-lower-case
-
- Meta-n Ta ed-search-next-history
-
- Meta-p Ta ed-search-prev-history
-
- Meta-u Ta em-upper-case
-
- Meta-w Ta em-copy-region
-
- Meta-x Ta ed-command
-
- Ctrl-Meta-? Ta ed-delete-prev-word
-
The remaining
ascii(7)
characters in the range 0x20 to 0x7e are bound to
ed-insert
If standard output is not connected to a terminal device
or
el_set3
was used to set
EL_EDITMODE
to 0, all input character bindings are disabled and all characters
typed are appended to the edit buffer.
In that case, the edit buffer is returned to the program after a
newline or carriage return character is typed, or after the first
character typed if
el_set3
was used to set
EL_UNBUFFERED
to non-zero.
Editor commands
Most editor commands accept an optional argument.
The argument is entered by prefixing the editor command with one
or more of the editor commands
ed-argument-digit
ed-digit
em-universal-argument
or
vi-zero
When an argument is not provided, it defaults to 1.
For most editor commands, the effect of an argument is to repeatedly
execute the command that number of times.
When talking about a character string from a left character to a
right character, the left character is included in the string, while
the right character is not included.
If an editor command causes an error, the input character is discarded,
no action occurs, and the terminal bell is rung.
In case of a non-fatal error, the terminal bell is also rung,
but the editor command takes effect anyway.
In the following list, the default key bindings are listed after
each editor command.
- ed-argument-digit (vi command: 1 to 9; emacs: Meta-0 to Meta-9)
-
If in argument input mode, append the input digit to the argument
being read.
Otherwise, switch to argument input mode and use the input digit
as the most significant digit of the argument.
It is an error if the input character is not a digit or if the
existing argument is already greater than a million.
- ed-clear-screen (vi command: Ctrl-L; emacs: Ctrl-L, Ctrl-Meta-L)
-
Clear the screen and display the edit buffer at the top.
Ignore any argument.
- ed-command (vi command: So : Sc ; emacs: Meta-X, Meta-x
)
-
Read a line from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing
functionality and execute that line as an
editrc(5edit)
builtin command.
If in vi command mode, also switch back to vi insert mode.
Ignore any argument.
- ed-delete-next-char (vi command: x)
-
Delete the character at the cursor position.
With an argument, delete that number of characters.
In emacs mode, it is an error if the cursor is at the end of the
edit buffer.
In vi mode, the last character in the edit buffer is deleted in
that case, and it is an error if the buffer is empty.
- ed-delete-prev-char (vi command: X, Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL)
-
Delete the character to the left of the cursor position.
With an argument, delete that number of characters.
It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
- ed-delete-prev-word (vi: Ctrl-W; emacs: Ctrl-Meta-H, Ctrl-Meta-?)
-
Move to the left to the closest beginning of a word, delete the
string from that position to the cursor, and save it to the cut
buffer.
With an argument, delete that number of words.
It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
- ed-digit (emacs: 0 to 9)
-
If in argument input mode, append the input digit to the argument
being read.
Otherwise, call
ed-insert
It is an error if the input character is not a digit or if the
existing argument is already greater than a million.
- ed-end-of-file (not bound by default)
-
Discard the edit buffer and indicate end of file to the program.
Ignore any argument.
- ed-ignore (various)
-
Discard the input character and do nothing.
- ed-insert (vi input: almost all; emacs: printable characters)
-
In insert mode, insert the input character left of the cursor
position.
In replace mode, overwrite the character at the cursor and move the
cursor to the right by one character position.
Accept an argument to do this repeatedly.
It is an error if the input character is the NUL character (Ctrl-@).
Failure to enlarge the edit buffer also results in an error.
- ed-kill-line (vi command: D, Ctrl-K; emacs: Ctrl-K, Ctrl-U)
-
Delete the string from the cursor position to the end of the line
and save it to the cut buffer.
Ignore any argument.
- ed-move-to-beg (vi command: ^, Ctrl-A; emacs: Ctrl-A)
-
In vi mode, move the cursor to the first non-space character in the
edit buffer.
In emacs mode, move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer.
Ignore any argument.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
- ed-move-to-end (vi command: $, Ctrl-E; emacs: Ctrl-E)
-
Move the cursor to the end of the edit buffer.
Ignore any argument.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
- ed-newline (all modes: Ctrl-J, LF, Ctrl-M, CR)
-
Append a newline character to the edit buffer and return the edit
buffer to the program.
Ignore any argument.
- ed-next-char (vi command: Space, l; emacs: Ctrl-F)
-
Move the cursor one character position to the right.
With an argument, move by that number of characters.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit
buffer.
- ed-next-history (vi command: j, +, Ctrl-N; emacs: Ctrl-N)
-
Replace the edit buffer with the next history line.
That line is older than the current line.
With an argument, go forward by that number of history lines.
It is a non-fatal error to advance by more lines than are available.
- ed-next-line (not bound by default)
-
Move the cursor down one line.
With an argument, move down by that number of lines.
It is an error if the edit buffer does not contain enough newline
characters to the right of the cursor position.
- ed-prev-char (vi command: h; emacs: Ctrl-B)
-
Move the cursor one character position to the left.
With an argument, move by that number of characters.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the
edit buffer.
- ed-prev-history (vi command: k, -, Ctrl-P; emacs: Ctrl-P)
-
Replace the edit buffer with the previous history line.
That line is newer than the current line.
With an argument, go back by that number of lines.
It is a non-fatal error to back up by more lines than are available.
- ed-prev-line (not bound by default)
-
Move the cursor up one line.
With an argument, move up by that number of lines.
It is an error if the edit buffer does not contain enough newline
characters to the left of the cursor position.
- ed-prev-word (emacs: Meta-B, Meta-b)
-
Move the cursor to the left to the closest beginning of a word.
With an argument, repeat that number of times.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the
edit buffer.
- ed-quoted-insert (vi insert, emacs: Ctrl-V)
-
Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
editing functionality and call
ed-insert
on it.
If trying to read the character returns end of file or an error,
call
ed-end-of-file
instead.
- ed-redisplay (vi command, emacs: Ctrl-R)
-
Redisplay everything.
Ignore any argument.
- ed-search-next-history (vi command: J; emacs: Meta-N, Meta-n)
-
Replace the edit buffer with the next matching history entry.
- ed-search-prev-history (vi command: K; emacs: Meta-P, Meta-p)
-
Replace the edit buffer with the previous matching history entry.
- ed-sequence-lead-in (vi cmd: O, [; emacs: Ctrl-X;
both: Meta-O, Meta-[)
-
Call a macro.
See the section about
Sx Macros
below for details.
- ed-start-over (not bound by default)
-
Discard the contents of the edit buffer and start from scratch.
Ignore any argument.
- ed-transpose-chars (emacs: Ctrl-T)
-
Exchange the character at the cursor position with the one to the
left of it and move the cursor to the character to the right of the
two exchanged characters.
Ignore any argument.
It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer
or if the edit buffer contains less than two characters.
- ed-unassigned (all characters not listed)
-
This editor command always results in an error.
- em-capitol-case (emacs: Meta-C, Meta-c)
-
Capitalize the string from the cursor to the end of the current
word.
That is, if it contains at least one alphabetic character, convert
the first alphabetic character to upper case, and convert all
characters to the right of it to lower case.
In any case, move the cursor to the next character after the end
of the current word.
- em-copy-prev-word (emacs: Ctrl-Meta-_)
-
Copy the string from the beginning of the current word to the cursor
and insert it to the left of the cursor.
Move the cursor to the character after the inserted string.
It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
- em-copy-region (emacs: Meta-W, Meta-w)
-
Copy the string from the cursor to the mark to the cut buffer.
It is an error if the mark is not set.
- em-delete-next-word (emacs: Meta-D, Meta-d)
-
Delete the string from the cursor to the end of the current word
and save it to the cut buffer.
It is an error if the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer.
- em-delete-or-list (emacs: Ctrl-D, EOF)
-
If the cursor is not at the end of the line, delete the character
at the cursor.
If the edit buffer is empty, indicate end of file to the program.
It is an error if the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer and
the edit buffer is not empty.
- em-delete-prev-char (emacs: Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL)
-
Delete the character to the left of the cursor.
It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
- em-exchange-mark (not bound by default)
-
Exchange the cursor and the mark.
- em-gosmacs-transpose (not bound by default)
-
Exchange the two characters to the left of the cursor.
It is an error if the cursor is on the first or second character
of the edit buffer.
- em-inc-search-next (not bound by default)
-
Emacs incremental next search.
- em-inc-search-prev (not bound by default)
-
Emacs incremental reverse search.
- em-kill-line (not bound by default)
-
Delete the entire contents of the edit buffer and save it to the
cut buffer.
- em-kill-region (emacs: Ctrl-W)
-
Delete the string from the cursor to the mark and save it to the
cut buffer.
It is an error if the mark is not set.
- em-lower-case (emacs: Meta-L, Meta-l)
-
Convert the characters from the cursor to the end of the current
word to lower case.
- em-meta-next (vi command, emacs: Ctrl-[, ESC)
-
Set the bit 0x80 on the next character typed.
Unless the resulting code point is printable, holding down the
`Meta-'
key while typing that character is a simpler way to achieve the
same effect.
- em-next-word (Meta-F, Meta-f)
-
Move the cursor to the end of the current word.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit
buffer.
- em-set-mark (emacs: Ctrl-Q, NUL)
-
Set the mark at the current cursor position.
- em-toggle-overwrite (not bound by default)
-
Switch from insert to overwrite mode or vice versa.
- em-universal-argument (not bound by default)
-
If in argument input mode, multiply the argument by 4.
Otherwise, switch to argument input mode and set the argument to 4.
It is an error if the existing argument is already greater than a
million.
- em-upper-case (emacs: Meta-U, Meta-u)
-
Convert the characters from the cursor to the end of the current
word to upper case.
- em-yank (emacs: Ctrl-Y)
-
Paste the cut buffer to the left of the cursor.
- vi-add (vi command: a)
-
Switch to vi insert mode.
Unless the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer, move
it one character position to the right.
- vi-add-at-eol (vi command: A)
-
Switch to vi insert mode and move the cursor to the end of the edit
buffer.
- vi-alias (vi command:)
-
If an alias function was defined by calling the
el_set3
or
el_wset3
function with the argument
EL_ALIAS_TEXT
read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
editing functionality, call the alias function passing the argument that was specified with
EL_ALIAS_TEXT
as the first argument and the character read, with an underscore
prepended, as the second argument, and pass the string returned
from the alias function to
el_wpush3.
It is an error if no alias function is defined or if trying to read
the character results in end of file or an error.
- vi-change-case (vi command:)
-
Change the case of the character at the cursor and move the cursor
one character position to the right.
It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit
buffer.
- vi-change-meta (vi command: c)
-
Delete the string from the cursor to the position specified by the
following movement command and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.
When given twice in a row, instead delete the whole contents of the
edit buffer and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.
In either case, switch to vi insert mode after that.
- vi-change-to-eol (vi command: C)
-
Delete the string from the cursor position to the end of the line
and save it to the cut buffer, then switch to vi insert mode.
- vi-command-mode (vi insert: Ctrl-[, ESC)
-
Discard pending actions and arguments and switch to vi command mode.
Unless the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer,
move it to the left by one character position.
- vi-comment-out (vi command:)
-
Insert a
`#'
character at the beginning of the edit buffer and return the edit
buffer to the program.
- vi-delete-meta (vi command: d)
-
Delete the string from the cursor to the position specified by the
following movement command and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.
When given twice in a row, instead delete the whole contents of the
edit buffer and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.
- vi-delete-prev-char (vi insert: Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL)
-
Delete the character to the left of the cursor.
It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the
edit buffer.
- vi-end-big-word (vi command: E)
-
Move the cursor to the end of the current space delimited word.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit
buffer.
- vi-end-word (vi command: e)
-
Move the cursor to the end of the current word.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit
buffer.
- vi-history-word (vi command:)
-
Insert the first word from the most recent history entry after the
cursor, move the cursor after to the character after the inserted
word, and switch to vi insert mode.
It is an error if there is no history entry or the most recent
history entry is empty.
- vi-insert (vi command: i)
-
Enter insert mode.
- vi-insert-at-bol (vi command: I)
-
Move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer and switch to
vi insert mode.
- vi-kill-line-prev (vi: Ctrl-U)
-
Delete the string from the beginning of the edit buffer to the
cursor and save it to the cut buffer.
- vi-list-or-eof (vi insert: Ctrl-D, EOF)
-
If the edit buffer is empty, indicate end of file to the program.
It is an error if the edit buffer is not empty.
- vi-match (vi command:)
-
Consider opening and closing parentheses, braces, and brackets as
delimiters.
If the cursor is not at a delimiter, move it to the right until it
gets to one, then move it to the matching delimiter.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if there is no delimiter at the cursor or in the
string to the right of the cursor, or if the first such delimiter
has no matching delimiter.
- vi-next-big-word (vi command: W)
-
Move the cursor to the right to the beginning of the next space
delimited word.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit
buffer or on its last character.
- vi-next-char (vi command: f)
-
Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
editing functionality and move the cursor to the right to the next
instance of that character in the edit buffer.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error,
call
ed-end-of-file
instead.
It is an error if the character is not found searching to the right
in the edit buffer.
- vi-next-word (vi command: w)
-
Move the cursor to the right to the beginning of the next word.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit
buffer or on its last character.
- vi-paste-next (vi command: p)
-
Insert a copy of the cut buffer to the right of the cursor.
It is an error if the cut buffer is empty.
- vi-paste-prev (vi command: P)
-
Insert a copy of the cut buffer to the left of the cursor.
It is an error if the cut buffer is empty.
- vi-prev-big-word (vi command: B)
-
Move the cursor to the left to the next beginning of a space delimited
word.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the
edit buffer.
- vi-prev-char (vi command: F)
-
Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
editing functionality and move the cursor to the left to the next
instance of that character in the edit buffer.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error,
call
ed-end-of-file
instead.
It is an error if the character is not found searching to the left
in the edit buffer.
- vi-prev-word (vi command: b)
-
Move the cursor to the left to the next beginning of a word.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the
edit buffer.
- vi-redo (vi command: `.'
)
-
Redo the last non-motion command.
- vi-repeat-next-char (vi command: `;'
)
-
Repeat the most recent character search in the same search direction.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
- vi-repeat-prev-char (vi command: `,'
)
-
Repeat the most recent character search in the opposite search
direction.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
- vi-repeat-search-next (vi command: n)
-
Repeat the most recent history search in the same search direction.
- vi-repeat-search-prev (vi command: N)
-
Repeat the most recent history search in the opposite search
direction.
- vi-replace-char (vi command: r)
-
Switch to vi replace mode, and automatically switch back to vi
command mode after the next character typed.
See
ed-insert
for a description of replace mode.
It is an error if the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer.
- vi-replace-mode (vi command: R)
-
Switch to vi replace mode.
This is a variant of vi insert mode; see
ed-insert
for the difference.
- vi-search-next (vi command: ?)
-
Replace the edit buffer with the next matching history entry.
- vi-search-prev (vi command:)
-
Replace the edit buffer with the previous matching history entry.
- vi-substitute-char (vi command: s)
-
Delete the character at the cursor and switch to vi insert mode.
- vi-substitute-line (vi command: S)
-
Delete the entire contents of the edit buffer, save a copy of it
in the cut buffer, and enter vi insert mode.
- vi-to-column (vi command: |)
-
Move the cursor to the column specified as the argument.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
- vi-to-history-line (vi command: G)
-
Replace the edit buffer with the specified history entry.
- vi-to-next-char (vi command: t)
-
Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
editing functionality and move the cursor to the right to the
character before the next instance of that character in the edit
buffer.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error,
call
ed-end-of-file
instead.
It is an error if the character is not found searching to the right
in the edit buffer.
- vi-to-prev-char (vi command: T)
-
Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
editing functionality and move the cursor to the left to the character
after the next instance of that character in the edit buffer.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error,
call
ed-end-of-file
instead.
It is an error if the character is not found searching to the left
in the edit buffer.
- vi-undo (vi command: u)
-
Undo the last change.
- vi-undo-line (vi command: U)
-
Undo all changes to the edit buffer.
- vi-yank (vi command: y)
-
Copy the string from the cursor to the position specified by the
following movement command to the cut buffer.
When given twice in a row, instead copy the whole contents of the
edit buffer to the cut buffer.
- vi-yank-end (vi command: Y)
-
Copy the string from the cursor to the end of the edit buffer to
the cut buffer.
- vi-zero (vi command: 0)
-
If in argument input mode, multiply the argument by ten.
Otherwise, move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer.
Can be used as a movement command after
vi_change_meta
vi_delete_meta
or
vi_yank
Macros
If an input character is bound to the editor command
ed-sequence-lead-in
attempts to call a macro.
If the input character by itself forms the name of a macro, that
macro is executed.
Otherwise, additional input characters are read until the string
read forms the name of a macro, in which case that macro is executed,
or until the string read matches the beginning of none of the existing
macro names, in which case the string including the final, mismatching
character is discarded and the terminal bell is rung.
There are two kinds of macros.
Command macros execute a single editor command.
Keyboard macros return a string of characters that is appended
as a new line to the
Sx Input Queue .
The following command macros are defined by default in vi command
mode and in emacs mode:
- Esc [ A, Esc O A Ta ed-prev-history
-
- Esc [ B, Esc O B Ta ed-next-history
-
- Esc [ C, Esc O C Ta ed-next-char
-
- Esc [ D, Esc O D Ta ed-prev-char
-
- Esc [ F, Esc O F Ta ed-move-to-end
-
- Esc [ H, Esc O H Ta ed-move-to-beg
-
In vi command mode, they are also defined by default without the
initial escape character.
In addition, the
library tries to bind the strings generated by the arrow keys
as reported by the
terminfo(5)
database to these editor commands, unless that would clobber
user settings.
In emacs mode, the two-character string
``Ctrl-X Ctrl-X''
is bound to the
em-exchange-mark
editor command.
Input Queue
The
library maintains an input queue operated in FIFO mode.
Whenever it needs an input character, it takes the first character
from the first line of the input queue.
When the queue is empty, it reads from the terminal.
A line can be appended to the end of the input queue in several ways:
- By calling one of the keyboard
-
Sx Macros .
- By calling the editor command
-
vi-redo
- By calling the editor command
-
vi-alias
- By pressing a key in emacs incremental search mode that doesn't
-
have a special meaning in that mode but returns to normal emacs
mode.
- If an application program directly calls the functions
-
el_push3
or
el_wpush3,
it can provide additional, program-specific ways
of appending to the input queue.
SEE ALSO
mg(1),
vi(1),
editline(3edit),
el_wgets3,
el_wpush3,
el_wset3,
editrc(5edit)
HISTORY
This manual page first appeared in
Ox 6.0
and
Nx 8 .
AUTHORS
An -nosplit
This manual page was written by
An Ingo Schwarze Aq Mt
schwarze@openbsd.org .