mirror of https://github.com/MidnightCommander/mc
506 lines
16 KiB
Groff
506 lines
16 KiB
Groff
.TH MCEDIT 1 "January 2003" "MC Version 4.6.0" "GNU Midnight Commander"
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.SH NAME
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mcedit \- Internal file editor of GNU Midnight Commander.
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.SH USAGE
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.B mcedit
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[\-bcCdfhstVx?] [+number] file
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.SH DESCRIPTION
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.LP
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mcedit is a link to
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.BR mc ,
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the main GNU Midnight Commander executable. Executing GNU Midnight
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Commander under this name requests staring the internal editor and
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opening the
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.I file
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specified on the command line. The editor is based on the terminal
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version of
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.B cooledit
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\- standalone editor for X Window System.
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.SH OPTIONS
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.TP
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.I "+number"
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Go to the line specified by number (do not put a space between the
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.I "+"
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sign and the number).
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.TP
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.I "\-b"
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Force black and white display.
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.TP
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.I "\-c"
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Force ANSI color mode on terminals that don't seem to have color
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support.
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.TP
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.I "\-C <keyword>=<FGcolor>,<BGcolor>:<keyword>= ..."
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Specify a different color set. See the
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.B Colors
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section in mc(1) for more information.
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.TP
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.I "\-d"
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Disable mouse support.
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.TP
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.I "\-f"
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Display the compiled-in search path for GNU Midnight Commander data
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files.
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.TP
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.I "\-t"
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Force using termcap database instead of terminfo. This option is only
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applicable if GNU Midnight Commander was compiled with S-Lang library
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with terminfo support.
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.TP
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.I "\-V"
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Display the version of the program.
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.TP
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.I "\-x"
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Force xterm mode. Used when running on xterm-capable terminals (two
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screen modes, and able to send mouse escape sequences).
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.SH FEATURES
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The internal file editor is a full-featured full screen editor. It can
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edit files up to 64 megabytes. It is possible to edit binary files.
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The features it presently supports are: block copy, move, delete, cut,
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paste; key for key undo; pull-down menus; file insertion; macro
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commands; regular expression search and replace (and our own
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scanf-printf search and replace); shift-arrow text highlighting (if
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supported by the terminal); insert-overwrite toggle; word wrap;
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autoindent; tunable tab size; syntax highlighting for various file
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types; and an option to pipe text blocks through shell commands like
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indent and ispell.
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.SH KEYS
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The editor is easy to use and can be used without learning. The
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pull-down menu is invoked by pressing F9. You can learn other keys from
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the menu and from the button bar labels.
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.PP
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In addition to that, Shift combined with arrows does text highlighting
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(if supported by the terminal):
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.B Ctrl-Ins
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copies to the file
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.BR ~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.clip ,
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.B Shift-Ins
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pastes from
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.BR ~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.clip ,
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.B Shift-Del
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cuts to
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.BR ~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.clip ,
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and
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.B Ctrl-Del
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deletes highlighted text. Mouse highlighting also works on some
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terminals. To use the standard mouse support provided by your terminal,
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hold the Shift key. Please note that the mouse support in the terminal
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doesn't share the clipboard with
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.BR mcedit .
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.PP
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The completion key (usually
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.B "Alt-Tab"
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or
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.BR "Escape Tab" )
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completes the word under the cursor using the words used earlier in the
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file.
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.PP
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To define a macro, press
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.B Ctrl-R
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and then type out the keys you want to be executed. Press
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.B Ctrl-R
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again when finished. You can then assign the macro to any key you like
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by pressing that key. The macro is executed when you press
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.B Ctrl-A
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and then the assigned key. The macro is also executed if you press
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Meta, Ctrl, or Esc and the assigned key, provided that the key is not
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used for any other function. The macro commands are stored in the file
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.BR ~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.macros .
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Do NOT edit this file if you are going to use macros again in the same
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editing session, because
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.B mcedit
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caches macro key defines in memory.
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.B mcedit
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now overwrites a macro if a macro with the same key already exists,
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so you won't have to edit this file. You will also have to restart
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other running editors for macros to take effect.
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.P
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.B F19
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will format C, C++, Java or HTML code when it is highlighted. An executable
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file called
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.B ~/.mc/cedit/edit.indent.rc
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will be created for you from the default template. Feel free to edit it
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if you need.
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.PP
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.B C-p
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will run ispell on a block of text in a similar way. The script file
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will be called
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.BR ~/.mc/cedit/edit.spell.rc .
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.PP
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If some keys don't work, you can use
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.B Learn Keys
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in the
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.B Options
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menu.
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.SH SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING
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.B mcedit
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supports syntax highlighting. This means that keywords and contexts
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(like C comments, string constants, etc) are highlighted in different
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colors. The following section explains the format of the file
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.BR ~/.mc/cedit/Syntax .
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If this file is missing, system-wide
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.B @prefix@/share/mc/syntax/Syntax
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is used.
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The file
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.B ~/.mc/cedit/Syntax
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is rescanned on opening of a any new editor file. The file contains
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rules for highlighting, each of which is given on a separate line, and
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define which keywords will be highlighted to what color.
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.PP
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The file is divided into sections, each beginning with a line with the
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.B file
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command. The sections are normally put into separate files using the
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.B include
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command.
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.PP
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The
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.B file
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command has three arguments. The first argument is a regular expression
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that is applied to the file name to determine if the following section
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applies to the file. The second argument is the description of the file
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type. It is used in
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.BR cooledit ;
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future versions of
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.B mcedit
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may use it as well. The third optional argument is a regular expression
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to match the first line of text of the file. The rules in the following
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section apply if either the file name or the first line of text matches.
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.PP
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A section ends with the start of another section. Each section is
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divided into contexts, and each context contains rules. A context is a
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scope within the text that a particular set of rules belongs to. For
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instance, the text within a C style comment (i.e. between
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.B /*
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and
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.BR */ )
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has its own color. This is a context, although it has no further rules
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inside it because there is probably nothing that we want highlighted
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within a C comment.
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.PP
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A trivial C programming section might look like this:
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.PP
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.nf
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file .\\*\\\\.c C\\sProgram\\sFile (#include|/\\\\\\*)
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wholechars abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ_
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# default colors
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define comment brown
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context default
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keyword whole if yellow
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keyword whole else yellow
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keyword whole for yellow
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keyword whole while yellow
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keyword whole do yellow
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keyword whole switch yellow
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keyword whole case yellow
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keyword whole static yellow
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keyword whole extern yellow
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keyword { brightcyan
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keyword } brightcyan
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keyword '*' green
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# C comments
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context /\\* \\*/ comment
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# C preprocessor directives
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context linestart # \\n red
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keyword \\\\\\n brightred
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# C string constants
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context " " green
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keyword %d brightgreen
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keyword %s brightgreen
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keyword %c brightgreen
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keyword \\\\" brightgreen
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.fi
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.PP
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Each context starts with a line of the form:
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.PP
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.B context
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.RB [ exclusive ]
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.RB [ whole | wholeright | wholeleft ]
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.RB [ linestart ]
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.I delim
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.RB [ linestart ]
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.I delim
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.RI [ foreground ]
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.RI [ background ]
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.PP
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The first context is an exception. It must start with the command
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.PP
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.B context default
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.RI [ foreground ]
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.RI [ background ]
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.PP
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otherwise
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.B mcedit
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will report an error. The
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.B linestart
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option specifies that
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.I delim
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must start at the beginning of a line. The
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.B whole
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option tells that
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.I delim
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must be a whole word. To specify that a word must begin on the word
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boundary only on the left side, you can use the
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.B wholeleft
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option, and similarly a word that must end on the word boundary is specified by
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.BR wholeright .
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.PP
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The set of characters that constitute a whole word can be changed at any
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point in the file with the
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.B wholechars
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command. The left and right set of characters can be set separately
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with
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.PP
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.B wholechars
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.RB [ left | right ]
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.I characters
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.PP
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The
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.B exclusive
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option causes the text between the delimiters to be highlighted, but not
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the delimiters themselves.
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.PP
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Each rule is a line of the form:
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.PP
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.B keyword
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.RB [ whole | wholeright | wholeleft ]
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.RB [ linestart ]
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.I string foreground
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.RI [ background ]
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.PP
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Context or keyword strings are interpreted, so that you can include tabs
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and spaces with the sequences \\t and \\s. Newlines and backslashes are
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specified with \\n and \\\\ respectively. Since whitespace is used as a
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separator, it may not be used as is. Also, \\* must be used to specify
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an asterisk. The * itself is a wildcard that matches any length of
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characters. For example,
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.PP
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.nf
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keyword '*' green
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.fi
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.PP
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colors all C single character constants green. You also could use
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.PP
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.nf
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keyword "*" green
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.fi
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.PP
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to color string constants, but the matched string would not be allowed
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to span across multiple newlines. The wildcard may be used within
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context delimiters as well, but you cannot have a wildcard as the last
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or first character.
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.PP
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Important to note is the line
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.PP
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.nf
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keyword \\\\\\n brightgreen
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.fi
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.PP
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This line defines a keyword containing the backslash and newline
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characters. Since the keywords are matched before the context
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delimiters, this keyword prevents the context from ending at the end of
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the lines that end in a backslash, thus allowing C preprocessor
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directive to continue across multiple lines.
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.PP
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The possible colors are: black, gray, red, brightred, green,
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brightgreen, brown, yellow, blue, brightblue, magenta, brightmagenta,
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cyan, brightcyan, lightgray and white. If the syntax file is shared
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with
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.BR cooledit ,
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it is possible to specify different colors for
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.B mcedit
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and
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.B cooledit
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by separating them with a slash, e.g.
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.PP
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.nf
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keyword #include red/Orange
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.fi
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.PP
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.B mcedit
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uses the color before the slash. See cooledit(1) for supported
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.B cooledit
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colors.
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.PP
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Comments may be put on a separate line starting with the hash sign (#).
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.PP
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Because of the simplicity of the implementation, there are a few
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intricacies that will not be dealt with correctly but these are a minor
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irritation. On the whole, a broad spectrum of quite complicated
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situations are handled with these simple rules. It is a good idea to
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take a look at the syntax file to see some of the nifty tricks you can
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do with a little imagination. If you cannot get by with the rules I
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have coded, and you think you have a rule that would be useful, please
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email me with your request. However, do not ask for regular expression
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support, because this is flatly impossible.
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.PP
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A useful hint is to work with as much as possible with the things you
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can do rather than try to do things that this implementation cannot deal
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with. Also remember that the aim of syntax highlighting is to make
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programming less prone to error, not to make code look pretty.
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.SH COLORS
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The default colors may be changed by appending to the
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.B MC_COLOR_TABLE
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environment variable. Foreground and background colors pairs may be
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specified for example with:
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.PP
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.nf
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MC_COLOR_TABLE="$MC_COLOR_TABLE:\\
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editnormal=lightgray,black:\\
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editbold=yellow,black:\\
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editmarked=black,cyan"
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.fi
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.SH OPTIONS
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Most options can now be set from the editors options dialog box. See
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the
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.B Options
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menu. The following options are defined in
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.B ~/.mc/ini
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and have obvious counterparts in the dialog box. You can modify them to
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change the editor behavior, by editing the file. Unless specified, a 1
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sets the option to on, and a 0 sets it to off, as is usual.
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.TP
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.I use_internal_edit
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This option is ignored when invoking
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.BR mcedit .
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.TP
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.I editor_key_emulation
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1 for
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.B Emacs
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keys, and 0 for normal
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.B Cooledit
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keys.
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.TP
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.I editor_tab_spacing
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Interpret the tab character as being of this length.
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Default is 8. You should avoid using
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other than 8 since most other editors and text viewers
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assume a tab spacing of 8. Use
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.B editor_fake_half_tabs
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to simulate a smaller tab spacing.
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.TP
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.I editor_fill_tabs_with_spaces
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Never insert a tab space. Rather insert spaces (ascii 20h) to fill to the
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desired tab size.
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.TP
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.I editor_return_does_auto_indent
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Pressing return will tab across to match the indentation
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of the first line above that has text on it.
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.TP
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.I editor_backspace_through_tabs
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Make a single backspace delete all the space to the left
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margin if there is no text between the cursor and the left
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margin.
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.TP
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.I editor_fake_half_tabs
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This will emulate a half tab for those who want to program
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with a tab spacing of 4, but do not want the tab size changed
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from 8 (so that the code will be formatted the same when displayed
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by other programs). When editing between text and the left
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margin, moving and tabbing will be as though a tab space were
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4, while actually using spaces and normal tabs for an optimal fill.
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When editing anywhere else, a normal tab is inserted.
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.TP
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.I editor_option_save_mode
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Possible values 0, 1 and 2. The save mode (see the options menu also)
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allows you to change the method of saving a file. Quick save (0) saves
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the file by immediately, truncating the disk file to zero length (i.e.
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erasing it) and the writing the editor contents to the file. This
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method is fast, but dangerous, since a system error during a file save
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will leave the file only partially written, possibly rendering the data
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irretrievable. When saving, the safe save (1) option enables creation
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of a temporary file into which the file contents are first written. In
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the event of an problem, the original file is untouched. When the
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temporary file is successfully written, it is renamed to the name of the
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original file, thus replacing it. The safest method is create backups
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(2). Where a backup file is created before any changes are made. You
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can specify your own backup file extension in the dialog. Note that
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saving twice will replace your backup as well as your original file.
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.SH MISCELLANEOUS
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You can use scanf search and replace to search and replace a C format
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string. First take a look at the
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.B sscanf
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and
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.B sprintf
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man pages to see what a format string is and how it works. Here's an
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example: suppose that you want to replace all occurrences of an open
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bracket, three comma separated numbers, and a close bracket, with the
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word
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.IR apples ,
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the third number, the word
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.I oranges
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and then the second number. You would fill in the Replace dialog box as
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follows:
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.PP
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.nf
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.B Enter search string
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(%d,%d,%d)
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.B Enter replace string
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apples %d oranges %d
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.B Enter replacement argument order
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3,2
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.fi
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.PP
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The last line specifies that the third and then the second number are to
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be used in place of the first and second.
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.PP
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It is advisable to use this feature with Prompt On Replace on, because a
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match is thought to be found whenever the number of arguments found
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matches the number given, which is not always a real match. Scanf also
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treats whitespace as being elastic. Note that the scanf format %[ is
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very useful for scanning strings, and whitespace.
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.PP
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The editor also displays non-us characters (160+). When editing
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binary files, you should set
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.B display bits
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to 7 bits in the Midnight Commander options menu to keep the spacing
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clean.
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.SH FILES
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.I @prefix@/share/mc/mc.hlp
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.IP
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The help file for the program.
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.PP
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.I @prefix@/share/mc/mc.ini
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.IP
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The default system-wide setup for GNU Midnight Commander, used only if
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the user's own ~/.mc/ini file is missing.
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.PP
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.I @prefix@/share/mc/mc.lib
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.IP
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Global settings for the Midnight Commander. Settings in this file
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affect all users, whether they have ~/.mc/ini or not.
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.PP
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.I @prefix@/share/mc/syntax/*
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.IP
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The default system-wide syntax files for mcedit, used only if
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the corresponding user's own ~/.mc/cedit/ file is missing.
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.PP
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.I $HOME/.mc/ini
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.IP
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User's own setup. If this file is present then the setup is loaded
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from here instead of the system-wide setup file.
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.PP
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.I $HOME/.mc/cedit/
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.IP
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User's own directory where block commands are processed and saved and
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user's own syntax files are located.
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.SH LICENSE
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This program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public
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License as published by the Free Software Foundation. See the built-in
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help of the Midnight Commander for details on the License and the lack
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of warranty.
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.SH AVAILABILITY
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The latest version of this program can be found at
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ftp://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/utils/file/managers/mc/.
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.SH SEE ALSO
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cooledit(1), mc(1), gpm(1), terminfo(1), scanf(3).
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.SH AUTHORS
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Paul Sheer (psheer@obsidian.co.za) is the original author of
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the Midnight Commander's internal editor.
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.SH BUGS
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Bugs should be reported to mc-devel@gnome.org
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