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LEDIT(1)		     General Commands Manual			LEDIT(1)

NAME
     ledit - line editor, version 2.06

SYNOPSIS
     ledit [-h file] [-x] [-t] [-l length] [-a | -u] [command options]

DESCRIPTION
     The  command ledit allows to edit lines one by one when running an interac-
     tive command. When typing a line, some keys with control or meta are inter-
     preted: it is possible to insert characters in the middle of the  line,  go
     to  the beginning or the end of the line, get a previous line, search for a
     line with a pattern, etc.

OPTIONS
     The options are:

     -h file
	    Save the lines typed (history) in file. The default is to have  them
	    only in memory (so, they are lost at the end of the program).

     -x     Extend the history file (given in option "-h") if it already exists.
	    The default is to truncate the history file.

     -t     Display the sequences generated by the keys (for debugging).

     -v     Print ledit version and exit.

     -l length
	    Tells  that length is the maximum line length displayed. If the line
	    edited is longer than this length, the  line  scrolls  horizontally,
	    while editing. The default value is 70.

     -a     Ascii  encoding:  characters whose code is greater than 128 are dis-
	    played with a backslash followed by their code.

     -u     Unicode encoding: the terminal must have been set in  unicode  mode.
	    See commands unicode_start and unicode_stop.

     command options
	    Runs  the command command and its possible options. This must be the
	    last option of ledit. The default value is "cat".

KEYS BINDINGS
     When ledit starts, some default key bindings are defined. The can	be  com-
     pleted with a "leditrc" file. See the section LEDITRC.

     In the following lines, the caret sign "^" means "control" and the sequence
     "M-"  means  "meta" (either with the "meta" prefix, or by pressing the "es-
     cape" key before). Examples:

     ^a        press the "control" key, then press "a", then release  "a",  then
	       release "control".

     M-a       press  the "meta" key, then press "a", then release "a", then re-
	       lease "meta", or: press and release the "escape" key, then  press
	       and  release  "a"  (the	manipulation with "meta" may not work in
	       some systems: in this case, use the manipulation with "escape").

     The default editing commands are:

	   ^a	: beginning of line
	   ^e	: end of line
	   ^f	: forward char
	   ^b	: backward char
	   M-f	: forward word
	   M-b	: backard word
	   TAB	: complete file name
	   ^p	: previous line in history
	   ^n	: next line in history
	   M-<	: first line in history
	   M->	: last line in history
	   ^r	: reverse search in history (see below)
	   ^d	: delete char (or EOF if the line is empty)
	   ^h	: (or backspace) backward delete char
	   ^t	: transpose chars
	   M-c	: capitalize word
	   M-u	: upcase word
	   M-l	: downcase word
	   M-d	: kill word
	   M-^h : (or M-del or M-backspace) backward kill word
	   ^q	: insert next char
	   M-/	: expand abbreviation
	   ^k	: cut until end of line
	   ^y	: paste
	   ^u	: line discard
	   ^l	: redraw current line
	   ^g	: abort prefix
	   ^c	: interrupt
	   ^z	: suspend
	   ^\	: quit
	   return : send line
	   ^x	  : send line and show next history line
	   other  : insert char

     The arrow keys can be used, providing your keyword returns standard key se-
     quences:

	   up arrow    : previous line in history
	   down arrow  : next line in history
	   right arrow : forward char
	   left arrow  : backward char

     Other keys:

	   home        : beginning of line
	   end	       : end of line
	   delete      : delete char
	   page up     : previous line in history
	   page down   : next line in history
	   shift home  : beginning of history
	   shift end   : end of history

REVERSE SEARCH
     The reverse search in incremental, i.e. ledit backward searchs in the  his-
     tory  a  line holding the characters typed. If you type "a", its search the
     first line before the current line holding an "a" and displays it.  If  you
     then  type a "b", its search a line holding "ab", and so on. If you type ^h
     (or backspace), it returns to  the  previous  line  found.  To  cancel  the
     search,  type ^g. To find another line before holding the same string, type
     ^r.  To stop the editing and display the current line found, type	"escape"
     (other  commands  of the normal editing, different from ^h, ^g, and ^r stop
     the editing too).

     Summary of reverse search commands:

	   ^g  : abort search
	   ^r  : search previous same pattern
	   ^h  : (or backspace) search without the last char
	   del : search without the last char
	   any other command : stop search and show the line found

LEDITRC
     If the environment variable LEDITRC is set, it contains  the  name  of  the
     leditrc  file. Otherwise it is the file named ".leditrc" in user's home di-
     rectory. When starting, ledit reads this file, if it exists, to  modify  or
     complete the default bindings. If this file is changed while reading lines,
     it is read again to take the new file into account.

     Bindings  lines are the ones which start with a string defining the key se-
     quence and follow with a colon and a binding. A binding is either a  string
     or a command. The other lines are ignored For example,the line:

	 "\C-a": beginning-of-line

     binds the sequence "control-a" to the command "beginning-of-line".

     The key sequence may contain the specific meta-sequences:

	 \C-   followed by a key: "control" of this key
	 \M-   followed by a key: "meta" of this key
	 \e    the "escape" key
	 \nnn  where nnn is one, two, or three octal digits, or:
	 \xnn  where nn is one or two hexadecimal digits:
		 the binary representation of a byte
	 \a    bell = \C-g
	 \b    backspace = \C-h
	 \d    delete = \277
	 \f    form feed = \C-l
	 \n    newline = \C-j
	 \r    carriage return = \C-m
	 \t    tabulation = \C-i
	 \v    vertical tabulation = \C-k

     The commands are:

       abort: do nothing
       accept-line: send the current line
       backward-char: move the cursor to the previous character
       backward-delete-char: delete the previous character
       backward-kill-word: delete the previous word
       backward-word: move the cursor before the previous word
       beginning-of-history: display the first line of the history
       beginning-of-line: move the cursor at the beginning of the line
       capitalize-word: uppercase the first char and lowercase the rest
       delete-char: delete the character under the cursor
       delete-char-or-end-of-file: same but eof if no character in the line
       downcase-word: lowercase whole word
       end-of-history: display the last line of the history
       end-of-line: move the cursor to the end of the line
       expand-abbrev: try to complete the word by looking at the history
       expand-to-file-name: try to complete the word from a file name
       forward-char: move the cursor after the next word
       forward-word: move the cursor to the next character
       interrupt: interrupt command (send control-C)
       kill-line: delete from the cursor to the end and save in buffer
       kill-word: delete the next word
       next-history: display the next line of the history
       operate-and-get-next: send line and display the next history line
       previous-history: display the previous line of the history
       quit: quit ledit
       quoted-insert: insert the next character as it is
       redraw-current-line: redisplay the current line
       reverse-search-history: backward search in the history
       suspend: suspend ledit (send control-Z)
       transpose-chars: exchange the last two characters
       unix-line-discard: kill current line
       upcase-word: uppercase whole word
       yank: insert kill buffer

KNOWN BUGS
     If  ledit has been launched in a shell script, the suspend command kills it
     and its command... Use "exec ledit comm" instead of "ledit comm".
     The suspend command stops ledit but not the called program. Do not do  this
     if the called program is not waiting on standard input.
     In some systems (e.g. alpha), pasting two many characters works bad and may
     block the terminal. Probably a kernel problem. No solution.

SEE ALSO
     unicode_start(1), unicode_stop(1).

AUTHOR
     Daniel de Rauglaudre, at INRIA, france.
     daniel.de_rauglaudre@inria.fr

INRIA				Wed Jan 23, 2008			LEDIT(1)

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