NAME
editline —
line editing user
interface
DESCRIPTION
When a program using the
editline(3) library prompts
for an input string using the function
el_wgets(3), 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_set(3) or
el_parse(3) functions, and the
user can switch to emacs mode either in the
editrc(5) 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.
All default bindings described below can be overridden by individual programs
and can be changed with the
editrc(5) 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 |
vi-list-or-eof |
Ctrl-H, BS |
vi-delete-prev-char |
Ctrl-J, LF |
ed-newline |
Ctrl-M, CR |
ed-newline |
Ctrl-Q |
ed-tty-start-output |
Ctrl-S |
ed-tty-stop-output |
Ctrl-U |
vi-kill-line-prev |
Ctrl-V |
ed-quoted-insert |
Ctrl-W |
ed-delete-prev-word |
Ctrl-[, ESC |
vi-command-mode |
Ctrl-\, QUIT |
ed-tty-sigquit |
Ctrl-?, DEL |
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 |
ed-move-to-beg |
Ctrl-C, INT |
ed-tty-sigint |
Ctrl-E |
ed-move-to-end |
Ctrl-H, BS |
ed-delete-prev-char |
Ctrl-J, LF |
ed-newline |
Ctrl-K |
ed-kill-line |
Ctrl-L, FF |
ed-clear-screen |
Ctrl-M, CR |
ed-newline |
Ctrl-N |
ed-next-history |
Ctrl-O |
ed-tty-flush-output |
Ctrl-P |
ed-prev-history |
Ctrl-Q |
ed-tty-start-output |
Ctrl-R |
ed-redisplay |
Ctrl-S |
ed-tty-stop-output |
Ctrl-U |
vi-kill-line-prev |
Ctrl-W |
ed-delete-prev-word |
Ctrl-[, ESC |
em-meta-next |
Ctrl-\, QUIT |
ed-tty-sigquit |
Space |
ed-next-char |
# |
vi-comment-out |
$ |
ed-move-to-end |
% |
vi-match |
+ |
ed-next-history |
, |
vi-repeat-prev-char |
- |
ed-prev-history |
. |
vi-redo |
/ |
vi-search-prev |
0 |
vi-zero |
1 to 9 |
ed-argument-digit |
: |
ed-command |
; |
vi-repeat-next-char |
? |
vi-search-next |
@ |
vi-alias |
A |
vi-add-at-eol |
B |
vi-prev-big-word |
C |
vi-change-to-eol |
D |
ed-kill-line |
E |
vi-end-big-word |
F |
vi-prev-char |
G |
vi-to-history-line |
I |
vi-insert-at-bol |
J |
ed-search-next-history |
K |
ed-search-prev-history |
N |
vi-repeat-search-prev |
O |
ed-sequence-lead-in |
P |
vi-paste-prev |
R |
vi-replace-mode |
S |
vi-substitute-line |
T |
vi-to-prev-char |
U |
vi-undo-line |
W |
vi-next-big-word |
X |
ed-delete-prev-char |
Y |
vi-yank-end |
[ |
ed-sequence-lead-in |
^ |
ed-move-to-beg |
_ |
vi-history-word |
a |
vi-add |
b |
vi-prev-word |
c |
vi-change-meta |
d |
vi-delete-meta |
e |
vi-end-word |
f |
vi-next-char |
h |
ed-prev-char |
i |
vi-insert |
j |
ed-next-history |
k |
ed-prev-history |
l |
ed-next-char |
n |
vi-repeat-search-next |
p |
vi-paste-next |
r |
vi-replace-char |
s |
vi-substitute-char |
t |
vi-to-next-char |
u |
vi-undo |
v |
vi-histedit |
w |
vi-next-word |
x |
ed-delete-next-char |
y |
vi-yank |
| |
vi-to-column |
~ |
vi-change-case |
Ctrl-?, DEL |
ed-delete-prev-char |
Meta-O |
ed-sequence-lead-in |
Meta-[ |
ed-sequence-lead-in |
In emacs mode, input characters are bound to the following editor commands by
default:
0 to 9 |
ed-digit |
Ctrl-@, NUL |
em-set-mark |
Ctrl-A |
ed-move-to-beg |
Ctrl-B |
ed-prev-char |
Ctrl-C, INT |
ed-tty-sigint |
Ctrl-D, EOF |
em-delete-or-list |
Ctrl-E |
ed-move-to-end |
Ctrl-F |
ed-next-char |
Ctrl-H, BS |
em-delete-prev-char |
Ctrl-J, LF |
ed-newline |
Ctrl-K |
ed-kill-line |
Ctrl-L, FF |
ed-clear-screen |
Ctrl-M, CR |
ed-newline |
Ctrl-N |
ed-next-history |
Ctrl-O |
ed-tty-flush-output |
Ctrl-P |
ed-prev-history |
Ctrl-Q |
ed-tty-start-output |
Ctrl-R |
ed-redisplay |
Ctrl-S |
ed-tty-stop-output |
Ctrl-T |
ed-transpose-chars |
Ctrl-U |
ed-kill-line |
Ctrl-V |
ed-quoted-insert |
Ctrl-W |
em-kill-region |
Ctrl-X |
ed-sequence-lead-in |
Ctrl-Y |
em-yank |
Ctrl-Z, TSTP |
ed-tty-sigtstp |
Ctrl-[, ESC |
em-meta-next |
Ctrl-\, QUIT |
ed-tty-sigquit |
Ctrl-] |
ed-tty-dsusp |
Ctrl-?, DEL |
em-delete-prev-char |
Ctrl-Meta-H |
ed-delete-prev-word |
Ctrl-Meta-L |
ed-clear-screen |
Ctrl-Meta-_ |
em-copy-prev-word |
Meta-0 to 9 |
ed-argument-digit |
Meta-B |
ed-prev-word |
Meta-C |
em-capitol-case |
Meta-D |
em-delete-next-word |
Meta-F |
em-next-word |
Meta-L |
em-lower-case |
Meta-N |
ed-search-next-history |
Meta-O |
ed-sequence-lead-in |
Meta-P |
ed-search-prev-history |
Meta-U |
em-upper-case |
Meta-W |
em-copy-region |
Meta-X |
ed-command |
Meta-[ |
ed-sequence-lead-in |
Meta-b |
ed-prev-word |
Meta-c |
em-capitol-case |
Meta-d |
em-delete-next-word |
Meta-f |
em-next-word |
Meta-l |
em-lower-case |
Meta-n |
ed-search-next-history |
Meta-p |
ed-search-prev-history |
Meta-u |
em-upper-case |
Meta-w |
em-copy-region |
Meta-x |
ed-command |
Ctrl-Meta-? |
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_set(3) 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_set(3) 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: ‘:’; emacs: Meta-X, Meta-x)
- Read a line from the terminal bypassing the normal line
editing functionality and execute that line as an
editrc(5) 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
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_set(3) or
el_wset(3) 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_wpush(3). 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,
editline 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
Input Queue.
The following command macros are defined by default in vi command mode and in
emacs mode:
Esc [ A, Esc O A |
ed-prev-history |
Esc [ B, Esc O B |
ed-next-history |
Esc [ C, Esc O C |
ed-next-char |
Esc [ D, Esc O D |
ed-prev-char |
Esc [ F, Esc O F |
ed-move-to-end |
Esc [ H, Esc O H |
ed-move-to-beg |
In vi command mode, they are also defined by default without the initial escape
character.
In addition, the
editline 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.
The
editline 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
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_push(3) or
el_wpush(3), it can
provide additional, program-specific ways of appending to the input
queue.
SEE ALSO
mg(1),
vi(1),
editline(3),
el_wgets(3),
el_wpush(3),
el_wset(3),
editrc(5)
HISTORY
This manual page first appeared in
OpenBSD 6.0 and
NetBSD 8.
AUTHORS
This manual page was written by
Ingo Schwarze
<
schwarze@openbsd.org>.