Next: Introduction, Up: (dir) [Contents]
This manual documents GNU nano, a small and friendly text
editor.
| • Introduction: | ||
| • Invoking: | ||
| • Command-line Options: | ||
| • Editor Basics: | ||
| • Built-in Help: | ||
| • Feature Toggles: | ||
| • Nanorc Files: | ||
| • The File Browser: | ||
| • Pico Compatibility: | ||
| • Building and Configure Options: |
GNU nano is a small and friendly text editor. Besides basic text
editing, nano offers many extra features, such as an interactive
search-and-replace, undo/redo, syntax coloring, smooth scrolling,
auto-indentation, go-to-line-and-column-number, feature toggles,
file locking, backup files, and internationalization support.
The original goal for nano was to be a complete bug-for-bug
emulation of Pico. But currently the goal is to be as compatible
as possible while offering a superset of Pico’s functionality. See
See Pico Compatibility, for more info.
Please report bugs via https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=nano.
Next: Command-line Options, Previous: Introduction, Up: Top [Contents]
The usual way to invoke nano is:
nano [FILE]
But it is also possible to specify one or more options, and to edit several files in a row. Additionally, the cursor can be put on a specific line of a file by adding the line number with a plus sign before the filename, and even in a specific column by adding it with a comma. So the complete command synopsis is:
nano [OPTION]… [[+LINE[,COLUMN]|+,COLUMN] FILE]…
But normallly you would set your preferred options in your
.nanorc file. And when the positionlog option is set
(making nano remember the cursor position when you close a file),
you will rarely need to specify a line number.
Next: Editor Basics, Previous: Invoking, Up: Top [Contents]
nano takes the following options from the command line:
Start at line number line and column number column (at least one of which must be specified) instead of the default of line 1, column 1.
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.
When saving a file, back up the previous version of it, using the current
filename suffixed with a tilde (~).
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.
Use bold text instead of reverse video text.
Convert typed tabs to spaces.
Read a file into a new buffer by default.
Enable vim-style file locking when editing files.
Log search and replace strings to ~/.nano/search_history, so they can be retrieved in later sessions.
Don’t look at the system’s nanorc file nor at the user’s ~/.nanorc.
Interpret the numeric keypad keys so that they all work properly. You should only need to use this option if they don’t, as mouse support won’t work properly with this option enabled.
Don’t add newlines to the ends of files.
Disable automatic conversion of files from DOS/Mac format.
Use the blank line below the titlebar as extra editing space.
Log for each file the last location of the cursor, and read it
back upon reopening the file and place it there again.
(The old form of this option, --poslog, is deprecated.)
Set the quoting string for justifying. The default value is
"^([ \t]*[|>:}#])+" if extended regular expression support
is available, and "> " otherwise.
Note that \t stands for a literal Tab character.
Restricted mode: don’t read or write to any file not specified on the
command line; don’t read any nanorc files nor history files; don’t allow
suspending nor 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 use backup files.
This restricted mode is also accessible by invoking nano with
any name beginning with r (e.g. rnano).
Enable smooth scrolling. Text will scroll line-by-line, instead of the usual chunk-by-chunk behavior.
Set the displayed tab length to number columns. The value of number must be greater than 0. The default value is 8.
Do quick statusbar blanking. Statusbar messages will disappear after 1 keystroke instead of 25. Note that option -c (--constantshow) overrides this.
Show the current version number and exit.
Detect word boundaries more accurately by treating punctuation characters as parts of words.
Specify a specific syntax from the nanorc files to use for highlighting. See See Syntax Highlighting, for more info.
Constantly display the cursor position and line number on the statusbar. Note that this overrides option -U (--quickblank).
Interpret the Delete key differently so that both Backspace and Delete work properly. You should only need to use this option if Backspace acts like Delete on your system.
Show a summary of command-line options and exit.
Automatically indent new lines to the same number of spaces and tabs as the previous line.
Make the ’Cut Text’ command (normally ^K) cut from the current cursor position to the end of the line, instead of cutting the entire line.
When writing files, if the given file is a symbolic link, it is removed and a new file is created.
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.
Treat any name given on the command line as a new file. This allows
nano 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
nano can be used as an editor in combination with for instance
gpg without having to write sensitive data to disk first.
Set the operating directory. This makes nano set up something
similar to a chroot.
Preserve the ^Q (XON) and ^S (XOFF) sequences so data being sent to the editor can be stopped and started.
Do not report errors in the nanorc file nor ask them to be acknowledged by pressing Enter at startup.
Hard-wrap lines at column number (by inserting a newline character). If the given value is 0 or less, wrapping will occur at the width of the screen minus the given amount, allowing the wrapping width to vary along with the width of the screen if and when it is resized. The default value is -8. This option conflicts with -w (--nowrap); the last one given takes effect.
Invoke the given program as the spell checker. By default, nano
uses the command specified in the SPELL environment variable, or,
if SPELL is not set, its own interactive spell checker that requires
the spell program to be installed on your system.
Don’t 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.
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 --noconvert.)
Don’t allow the contents of the file to be altered. Note that this option should NOT be used in place of correct file permissions to implement a read-only file.
Don’t hard-wrap long lines at any length. This option conflicts with -r (--fill); the last one given takes effect.
Expert Mode: don’t show the Shortcut Lists 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 accessing the help system, Expert Mode is temporarily disabled to display the help-system navigation keys.
Enable the ability to suspend nano using the system’s suspend
keystroke (usually ^Z).
Enable ’soft wrapping’. This will make nano attempt to display the
entire contents of any line, even if it is longer than the screen width, by
continuing it over multiple screen lines. Since
$ normally refers to a variable in the Unix shell, you should specify
this option last when using other options (e.g. nano -wS$) or pass it
separately (e.g. nano -wS -$).
Ignored, for compatibility with Pico.
Next: Built-in Help, Previous: Command-line Options, Up: Top [Contents]
| • Entering Text: | ||
| • Special Functions: | ||
| • The Cutbuffer: | ||
| • The Mark: | ||
| • The Titlebar: | ||
| • The Statusbar: | ||
| • Shortcut Lists: | ||
| • Using the Mouse: | ||
| • Limitation: |
Next: Special Functions, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
nano is a "modeless" editor. All keystrokes, with the exception
of Control and Meta key sequences, enter text into the file being edited.
All key sequences in nano are entered using the keyboard.
Next: The Cutbuffer, Previous: Entering Text, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
Special functions use the Control key (Ctrl), displayed in the help and shortcut lists as ^; the Meta key (Alt or Cmd), displayed as M-; or the Escape key (Esc).
Next: The Mark, Previous: Special Functions, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
Text can be cut from a file, a whole line at a time, by using the ’Cut Text’ command (default key binding: ^K). The cut line is stored in the cutbuffer. Consecutive strokes of ^K will add each cut line to this buffer, but a ^K after any other keystroke will overwrite the entire cutbuffer.
The contents of the cutbuffer can be pasted back into the file with the ’Uncut Text’ command (default key binding: ^U).
A line of text can be copied into the cutbuffer (without cutting it) with the ’Copy Text’ command (default key binding: M-6).
Next: The Titlebar, Previous: The Cutbuffer, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
Text can be selected by first ’setting the Mark’ (default key bindings: ^6 and M-A) and then moving the cursor to the other end of the portion to be selected. The selected portion of text will be highlighted in reverse video (or in bold if you set the boldtext option). This selection can now be cut or copied in its entirety with a single ^K or M-6. Or the selection can be used to limit the scope of a search-and-replace (^\) or spell-checking session (^T).
Cutting or copying selected text will toggle the mark off automatically. If necessary, it can be toggled off manually with another ^6 or M-A.
Next: The Statusbar, Previous: The Mark, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
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 filename, 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 was 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. See
See The File Browser, for more info.
Next: Shortcut Lists, Previous: The Titlebar, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
The statusbar is the third line from the bottom of the screen, or the bottom line in Expert Mode. See See Expert Mode, for more info. It 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 (search strings, filenames, etc.) will be input on the statusbar.
Next: Using the Mouse, Previous: The Statusbar, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
The Shortcut Lists are the two lines at the bottom of the screen which show some of the more commonly used functions in the editor.
Next: Limitation, Previous: Shortcut Lists, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
When mouse support has been configured and enabled, a single mouse click places the cursor at the indicated position. Clicking a second time in the same position toggles the mark. Clicking in the shortcut list 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.
The mouse will work in the X Window System, and on the console when gpm is running.
Previous: Using the Mouse, Up: Editor Basics [Contents]
Justifications (^J) and reindentations (M-{ and M-})
are not yet covered by the general undo system. So after a justification
that is not immediately undone, or after any reindentation, earlier edits
cannot be undone any more. The workaround is, of course, to exit without
saving.
Next: Feature Toggles, Previous: Editor Basics, Up: Top [Contents]
The built-in help system in nano is available by pressing ^G.
It is fairly self-explanatory. It documents the various parts of the
editor and the available keystrokes. Navigation is via the ^Y (Page Up)
and ^V (Page Down) keys. ^X exits the help system.
Next: Nanorc Files, Previous: Built-in Help, Up: Top [Contents]
Toggles allow you to change on-the-fly certain aspects of the editor which would normally be specified via command-line options. They are invoked via Meta-key sequences. See See Special Functions, for more info. The following global toggles are available:
Backup Files Toggle (Meta-B)toggles the -B (--backup) command-line option.
Constant Cursor Position Display Toggle (Meta-C)toggles the -c (--constantshow) command-line option.
Multiple File Buffers Toggle (Meta-F)toggles the -F (--multibuffer) command-line option.
Smart Home Key Toggle (Meta-H)toggles the -A (--smarthome) command-line option.
Auto Indent Toggle (Meta-I)toggles the -i (--autoindent) command-line option.
Cut To End Toggle (Meta-K)toggles the -k (--cut) command-line option.
Long Line Wrapping Toggle (Meta-L)toggles the -w (--nowrap) command-line option.
Mouse Support Toggle (Meta-M)toggles the -m (--mouse) command-line option.
No Conversion From DOS/Mac Format Toggle (Meta-N)toggles the -N (--noconvert) command-line option.
More Space For Editing Toggle (Meta-O)toggles the -O (--morespace) command-line option.
Whitespace Display Toggle (Meta-P)toggles the whitespace-display mode. See See Whitespace, for more info.
Tabs to Spaces Toggle (Meta-Q)toggles the -E (--tabstospaces) command-line option.
Smooth Scrolling Toggle (Meta-S)toggles the -S (--smooth) command-line option.
Expert/No Help Toggle (Meta-X)toggles the -x (--nohelp) command-line option.
Color Syntax Highlighting Toggle (Meta-Y)toggles color syntax highlighting if you have color syntaxes in your nanorc. See See Syntax Highlighting, for more info.
Suspension Toggle (Meta-Z)toggles the -z (--suspend) command-line option.
Soft Wrapping Toggle (Meta-$)toggles the -$ (--softwrap) command-line option.
Next: The File Browser, Previous: Feature Toggles, Up: Top [Contents]
The nanorc files contain the default settings for nano. They
should be in Unix format, not in DOS or Mac format. During startup,
nano will first read the system-wide settings, from /etc/nanorc
(the exact path might be different), and then the user-specific settings,
from ~/.nanorc.
A nanorc file accepts a series of "set" and "unset" commands, which can
be used to configure nano on startup without using command-line
options. Additionally, there are some commands to define syntax highlighting
and to rebind keys — See Syntax Highlighting, and See Rebinding Keys.
nano will read one command per line.
Options in nanorc files take precedence over nano’s defaults, and
command-line options override nanorc settings. Also, options that do not
take an argument are unset by default. So using the unset command
is only needed when wanting to override a setting of the system’s nanorc
file in your own ~/.nanorc. Options that take an argument cannot
be unset.
Quotes inside string parameters don’t have to be escaped with
backslashes. The last double quote in the string will be treated as its
end. For example, for the brackets option, ""')>]}" will match
", ', ), >, ], and }.
| • Settings: | ||
| • Syntax Highlighting: | ||
| • Rebinding Keys: |
Next: Syntax Highlighting, Up: Nanorc Files [Contents]
The supported settings in a nanorc file are:
set allow_insecure_backupWhen 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.
set autoindentUse auto-indentation.
set backupWhen saving a file, back up the previous version of it, using the current
filename suffixed with a tilde (~).
set backupdir "directory"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 set backup or --backup or -B.
The uniquely numbered files are stored in the specified directory.
set backwardsDo backwards searches by default.
set boldtextUse bold instead of reverse video for the titlebar, statusbar, key combos,
and selected text. This can be overridden for the first three by setting
the options titlecolor, statuscolor, and keycolor.
set brackets "string"Set the characters treated as closing brackets when justifying
paragraphs. This may not include blank characters. Only closing
punctuation (see set punct), optionally followed by the specified
closing brackets, can end sentences. The default value is
"')>]}".
set casesensitiveDo case-sensitive searches by default.
set constantshowConstantly display the cursor position in the status bar.
(The old form of this option, set const, is deprecated.)
set cutUse cut-to-end-of-line by default, instead of cutting the whole line.
set fill numberHard-wrap lines at column number number. If number is 0 or less, the maximum line length will be the screen width less number columns. The default value is -8.
set functioncolor fgcolor,bgcolorSpecify the color combination to use for the function descriptions
in the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
See set titlecolor for more details.
set historylogEnable the use of ~/.nano/search_history for saving and reading search/replace strings.
set keycolor fgcolor,bgcolorSpecify the color combination to use for the shortcut key combos
in the two help lines at the bottom of the screen.
See set titlecolor for more details.
set lockingEnable vim-style lock-files for when editing files.
set matchbrackets "string"Set 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 "(<[{)>]}".
set morespaceUse the blank line below the titlebar as extra editing space.
set mouseEnable mouse support, so that mouse clicks can be used to place the cursor, set the mark (with a double click), or execute shortcuts.
set multibufferWhen reading in a file with ^R, insert it into a new buffer by default.
set noconvertDon’t convert files from DOS/Mac format.
set nofollowDon’t follow symlinks when writing files.
set nohelpDon’t display the help lists at the bottom of the screen.
set nonewlinesDon’t add newlines to the ends of files.
set nowrapDon’t hard-wrap text at all.
set operatingdir "directory"nano 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.
set positionlogSave the cursor position of files between editing sessions.
(The old form of this option, set poslog, is deprecated.)
set preservePreserve the XON and XOFF keys (^Q and ^S).
set punct "string"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 set brackets), can end sentences.
The default value is "!.?".
set quickblankDo quick statusbar blanking. Statusbar messages will disappear after 1 keystroke instead of 25.
set quietWhen set, nano will not report errors in the nanorc file nor ask them
to be acknowledged by pressing Enter at startup. If this option is used, it
should be placed at the top of the file to be fully effective.
set quotestr "string"The email-quote string, used to justify email-quoted paragraphs. This
is an extended regular expression if your system supports them,
otherwise a literal string. The default value is
"^([ \\t]*[#:>\\|}])+" if you have extended regular expression
support, and "> " otherwise.
Note that \t stands for a literal Tab character.
set rebinddeleteInterpret the Delete key differently so that both Backspace and Delete work properly. You should only need to use this option if Backspace acts like Delete on your system.
set rebindkeypadInterpret the numeric keypad keys so that they all work properly. You should only need to use this option if they don’t, as mouse support won’t work properly with this option enabled.
set regexpDo extended regular expression searches by default.
set smarthomeMake 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.
set smoothUse smooth scrolling by default.
set softwrapEnable soft line wrapping for easier viewing of very long lines.
set speller "spellprog"Use spelling checker "spellprog" instead of the built-in one, which calls "spell".
set statuscolor fgcolor,bgcolorSpecify the color combination to use for the statusbar.
See set titlecolor for more details.
set suspendAllow nano to be suspended.
set tabsize numberUse a tab size of number columns. The value of number must be greater than 0. The default value is 8.
set tabstospacesConvert typed tabs to spaces.
set tempfileSave automatically on exit, don’t prompt.
set titlecolor fgcolor,bgcolorSpecify the color combination to use for the titlebar. Valid color names for foreground and background are: white, black, red, blue, green, yellow, magenta, and cyan. And either fgcolor or ,bgcolor may be left out.
set unixSave 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 set noconvert.)
set viewDisallow file modification.
set whitespace "string"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 "»·", and for other locales ">.".
set wordboundsDetect word boundaries more accurately by treating punctuation characters as part of a word.
Next: Rebinding Keys, Previous: Settings, Up: Nanorc Files [Contents]
Coloring the different syntactic elements of a file
is done via regular expressions (see the color 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 nano.
A separate syntax can be defined for each kind of file via the following commands in a nanorc file:
syntax "str" ["fileregex" …]Defines a syntax named "str" which can be activated via the -Y/--syntax
command-line option, or will be automatically activated if the current
filename matches the extended regular expression "fileregex". All
subsequent color, icolor, header and other such
statements will apply to this "str" syntax until a new syntax
command is encountered.
The "none" syntax is reserved; specifying it on the command line is the same as not having a syntax at all. The "default" syntax is special: it takes no "fileregex", and applies to files that don’t match any syntax’s "fileregex".
linter program [arg …]Use the given program to do a syntax check on the current file (this overrides the speller function when defined).
formatter program [arg …]Use the given program to automatically reformat text. Useful in certain programming languages (e.g. Go).
header "regex" …Add one or more regexes which will be compared against the very first line of the file to be edited, to determine whether this syntax should be used for that file.
magic "regex" …Add one or more regexes which will be compared against the result of querying the magic database about the file to be edited, to determine whether this syntax should be used for that file. This functionality only works when libmagic is installed on the system and will be silently ignored otherwise.
color fgcolor,bgcolor "regex" …Display all pieces of text that match the
extended regular expression "regex" with foreground color "fgcolor" and
background color "bgcolor", at least one of which must be specified.
Valid colors for foreground and background are: white, black, red,
blue, green, yellow, magenta, and cyan. You may use the prefix "bright"
to get a stronger color highlight for the foreground. If your
terminal supports transparency, not specifying a "bgcolor" tells nano
to attempt to use a transparent background.
icolor fgcolor,bgcolor "regex" …Same as above, except that the text matching is case insensitive.
color fgcolor,bgcolor start="sr" end="er"Display all pieces of text whose start matches extended regular expression "sr" and whose end matches extended regular expression "er" with foreground color "fgcolor" and background color "bgcolor", at least one of which must be specified. This means that, after an initial instance of "sr", all text will be highlighted until the first instance of "er". This allows syntax highlighting to span multiple lines.
icolor fgcolor,bgcolor start="sr" end="er"Same as above, except that the text matching is case insensitive.
include "syntaxfile"Read in self-contained color syntaxes from "syntaxfile". Note that
"syntaxfile" may contain only the above commands, from syntax
to icolor.
extendsyntax str directive [arg …]Extend the syntax previously defined as str to include new information.
This allows you to add a new color, icolor, header,
magic, linter, or formatter directive to an already
defined syntax — useful when you want to slightly improve a syntax defined
in one of the system-installed files (which are normally not writable).
Previous: Syntax Highlighting, Up: Nanorc Files [Contents]
Key bindings can be changed via the following two commands in a nanorc file:
bind key function menuRebinds key to function in the context of menu
(or in all menus where the function exists by using all).
unbind key menuUnbinds key from menu
(or from all menus where it exists by using all).
The format of key should be one of:
^followed by an alpha character or the word "Space".
Example: ^C
M-followed by a printable character or the word "Space".
Example: M-C
Ffollowed by a numeric value from 1 to 16.
Example: F10
Valid names for the function to be bound are:
helpInvokes the help viewer.
cancelCancels the current command.
exitExits from the program (or from the help viewer or the file browser).
writeoutWrites the current buffer to disk, asking for a name.
savefileWrites the current file to disk without prompting or warning.
insertInserts a file into the current buffer (at the current cursor position),
or into a new buffer when option multibuffer is set.
whereisSearches for text in the current buffer — or for filenames matching a string in the current list in the file browser
searchagainRepeats the last search command without prompting.
findpreviousAs searchagain, but always in the backward direction.
findnextAs searchagain, but always in the forward direction.
replaceInteractively replaces text within the current buffer.
cutCuts and stores the current line (or the marked region).
copytextCopies the current line (or the marked region) without deleting it.
uncutCopies the currently stored text into the current buffer at the current cursor position.
markSets the mark at the current position, to start selecting text.
cutwordleftCuts from the cursor position to the beginning of the preceding word.
cutwordrightCuts from the cursor position to the beginning of the next word.
cutrestoffileCuts all text from the cursor position till the end of the buffer.
curposShows the current cursor position: the line, column, and character positions.
wordcountCounts the number of words, lines and characters in the current buffer.
spellerInvokes a spell-checking program (or a linting program, if the current syntax highlighting defines one).
justifyJustifies the current paragraph.
fulljustifyJustifies the entire current buffer.
indentIndents (shifts to the right) the currently marked text.
unindentUnindents (shifts to the left) the currently marked text.
leftGoes left one position (in the editor or browser).
rightGoes right one position (in the editor or browser).
upGoes one line up (in the editor or browser).
downGoes one line down (in the editor or browser).
scrollupScrolls up one line of text from the current position.
scrolldownScrolls down one line of text from the current position.
prevwordMoves the cursor to the beginning of the previous word.
nextwordMoves the cursor to the beginning of the next word.
homeMoves the cursor to the beginning of the current line.
endMoves the cursor to the end of the current line.
beginparaMoves the cursor to the beginning of the current paragraph.
endparaMoves the cursor to the end of the current paragraph.
prevpageGoes up one screenful.
nextpageGoes down one screenful.
firstlineGoes to the first line of the file.
lastlineGoes to the last line of the file.
gotolineGoes to a specific line (and column if specified).
gototextSwitches from targeting a line number to searching for text.
findbracketMoves the cursor to the bracket (brace, parenthesis, etc.) that matches (pairs) with the one under the cursor.
prevbufSwitches to editing/viewing the previous buffer when multiple buffers are open.
nextbufSwitches to editing/viewing the next buffer when multiple buffers are open.
verbatimInserts the next character verbatim into the file.
tabInserts a tab at the current cursor location.
enterInserts a new line below the current one.
deleteDeletes the character under the cursor.
backspaceDeletes the character before the cursor.
undoUndoes the last performed text action (add text, delete text, etc).
redoRedoes the last undone action (i.e., it undoes an undo).
refreshRefreshes the screen.
suspendSuspends the editor (if the suspending function is enabled, see the "suspendenable" entry below).
casesensToggles case sensitivity in searching (search/replace menus only).
regexpToggles whether searching/replacing is based on literal strings or regular expressions.
backwardsToggles whether searching/replacing goes forward or backward.
prevhistoryShows the previous history entry in the prompt menus (e.g. search).
nexthistoryShows the next history entry in the prompt menus (e.g. search).
flipreplaceToggles between searching for something and replacing something.
flipexecuteToggles between inserting a file and executing a command.
flipnewbufferToggles between inserting into the current buffer and into a new empty buffer.
dosformatWhen writing a file, switches to writing a DOS format (CR/LF).
macformatWhen writing a file, switches to writing a Mac format.
appendWhen writing a file, appends to the end instead of overwriting.
prependWhen writing a file, ’prepends’ (writes at the beginning) instead of overwriting.
backupWhen writing a file, creates a backup of the current file.
tofilesStarts the file browser, allowing to select a file from a list.
gotodirGoes to a directory to be specified, allowing to browse anywhere in the filesystem.
firstfileGoes to the first file when using the file browser (reading or writing files).
lastfileGoes to the last file when using the file browser (reading or writing files).
nohelpToggles the presence of the two-line list of key bindings at the bottom of the screen.
constupdateToggles the constant display of the current line, column, and character positions.
morespaceToggles the presence of the blank line which ’separates’ the titlebar from the file text.
smoothscrollToggles smooth scrolling (when moving around with the arrow keys).
softwrapToggles the displaying of overlong lines on multiple screen lines.
whitespacedisplayToggles the showing of whitespace.
nosyntaxToggles syntax highlighting.
smarthomeToggles the smartness of the Home key.
autoindentToggles whether new lines will contain the same amount of whitespace as the preceding line.
cuttoendToggles whether cutting text will cut the whole line or just from the current cursor position to the end of the line.
nowrapToggles whether long lines will be hard-wrapped to the next line.
tabstospacesToggles whether typed tabs will be converted to spaces.
backupfileToggles whether a backup will be made of the file to be edited.
multibufferToggles whether a file is inserted into the current buffer or read into a new buffer.
mouseToggles mouse support.
noconvertToggles automatic conversion of files from DOS/Mac format.
suspendenableToggles whether the suspend sequence (normally ^Z) will suspend the editor window.
Valid names for menu are:
mainThe main editor window where text is entered and edited.
searchThe search menu (AKA whereis).
replaceThe ’search to replace’ menu.
replacewithThe ’replace with’ menu, which comes up after ’search to replace’.
gotolineThe ’goto line (and column)’ menu.
writeoutThe ’write file’ menu.
insertThe ’insert file’ menu.
extcmdThe menu for inserting output from an external command, reached from the insert menu.
helpThe help-viewer menu.
spellThe interactive spell checker Yes/no menu.
linterThe linter menu.
browserThe file browser for inserting or writing a file.
whereisfileThe ’search for a file’ menu in the file browser.
gotodirThe ’go to directory’ menu in the file browser.
allA special name that encompasses all menus. For bind it means
all menus where the specified function exists; for unbind
it means all menus where the specified key exists.
Next: Pico Compatibility, Previous: Nanorc Files, Up: Top [Contents]
When reading or writing 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 the arrow keys, page up, and page down. More advanced movement is accomplished by searching via ^W (or ’w’) and changing directories via ^_ (or ’g’). 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 contents of the directory. If the object is a file, this filename and path are copied to the statusbar, and the file browser exits.
Next: Building and Configure Options, Previous: The File Browser, Up: Top [Contents]
nano attempts to emulate Pico as closely as possible, but there
are certain differences between the editors:
Interactive ReplaceInstead of allowing you to replace either just one occurrence of a search
string or all of them, nano’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).
Search and Replace HistoryWhen the option -H or --historylog is given (or set in
the .nanorc file), text entered as search or replace strings is stored.
These strings can be accessed with the up/down arrow keys. A retrieved
string can subsequently be edited.
Writing, Appending, or Prepending Selected Text to FilesText selected using the marking key (^^) can be written out, appended, or prepended to a new or existing file using the WriteOut key (^O).
TogglesMany 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 the internal help function (^G) for a list of features that can be toggled. Or see See Feature Toggles instead.
Current Cursor PositionThe output of the "Display Cursor Position" command (^C) displays not only the current line and character position of the cursor, but also (between the two) the current column position.
Spell CheckingIn 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.
Previous: Pico Compatibility, Up: Top [Contents]
Building nano from source is fairly straightforward if you are
familiar with compiling programs with autoconf support:
nano)
The possible options to ./configure are:
--disable-browserDisable the mini file browser when reading or writing files.
--disable-colorDisable support for the syntax coloring of files. This also eliminates
the -Y command-line option, which chooses a specific syntax.
--disable-extraDisable extra features. At the moment, this is just easter-egg-type stuff.
--disable-helpDisable the help function. Doing this makes the binary much smaller, but makes it difficult for new users to learn more than very basic things about using the editor.
--disable-historiesDisable the code for the handling of the history files: the search and
replace strings that were used, and the cursor position at which each
file was closed. This also eliminates the -H and -P
command-line options, which switch on the logging of search/replace
strings and cursor positions.
--disable-justifyDisable the justify and unjustify functions.
--disable-libmagicDisable the use of the library of magic-number tests (for determining the file type and thus which syntax to use for colouring — often the tests on filename extension and header line will be enough).
--disable-mouseDisable all mouse functionality. This also eliminates the -m
command-line option, which enables the mouse functionality.
--disable-multibufferDisable support for opening multiple files at a time and switching
between them on the fly. This also eliminates the -F command-line
option, which causes a file to be read into a separate buffer by default.
--disable-nanorcDisable 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 See Nanorc Files, for more info.
Disabling this also eliminates the -I and -q command-line
options; the first inhibits the reading of nanorcfiles, and the second
suppresses warnings about errors in those files.
--disable-operatingdirDisable setting the operating directory. This also eliminates the -o
command-line option, which sets the operating directory.
--disable-spellerDisable use of the spell checker. This also eliminates the -s
command-line option, which allows specifying an alternate spell checker.
--disable-tabcompDisable the tab completion code when reading or writing files.
--disable-wrappingDisable hard-wrapping of overlong lines. This also eliminates the -w
command-line option, which enables long-line wrapping.
--enable-tinyThis option disables all the above. It also disables some of the larger
internals of the editor, like the marking code and the cut-to-end-of-line
code. It also disables the function toggles. By using the enabling
counterpart of the above options together with --enable-tiny,
specific features can be switched back on.
--enable-debugEnable support for runtime debug output. This can get pretty messy, so chances are you only want this feature when you’re working on the nano source.
--disable-nlsDisables Native Language support. This will disable the use of any
available GNU nano translations.
--disable-wrapping-as-rootDisable hard-wrapping of overlong lines by default when nano
is run as root.
--enable-utf8Enable support for reading and writing Unicode files. This will require either a wide version of curses, or a UTF-8-enabled version of Slang.
--disable-utf8Disable support for reading and writing 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.
--with-slangCompile nano against Slang instead of against ncurses or other
curses libraries.