1MG(1) BSD General Commands Manual MG(1)
2
4 mg — emacs-like text editor
5
7 mg [-n] [-f mode] [+number] [file ...]
8
10 mg is intended to be a small, fast, and portable editor for people who
11 can't (or don't want to) run emacs for one reason or another, or are not
12 familiar with the vi(1) editor. It is compatible with emacs because
13 there shouldn't be any reason to learn more editor types than emacs or
14 vi(1).
15 The options are as follows:
17 +number
19 Go to the line specified by number (do not insert a space between
20 the ‘+’ sign and the number). If a negative number is specified,
21 the line number counts backwards from the end of the file i.e.
22 +-1 will be the last line of the file, +-2 will be second last,
23 and so on.
24 -f mode
26 Run the mode command for all buffers created from arguments on
27 the command line, including the scratch buffer and all files.
28 -n Turn off backup file generation.
30
32 When a file is loaded into mg, it is stored in a buffer. This buffer may
33 be displayed on the screen in more than one window. At present, windows
34 may only be split horizontally, so each window is delineated by a mode‐
35 line at the bottom. If changes are made to a buffer, it will be
36 reflected in all open windows.
37 If a buffer name begins and ends with an asterisk, the buffer is consid‐
39 ered throwaway; i.e. the user will not be prompted to save changes when
40 the buffer is killed.
41
43 The current cursor location in mg is called the point (or dot). It is
44 possible to define a window-specific region of text by setting a second
45 location, called the mark. The region is the text between point and mark
46 inclusive. Deleting the character at the mark position leaves the mark
47 at the point of deletion.
48 Note: The point and mark are window-specific in mg, not buffer-specific,
50 as in other emacs flavours.
51
53 Normal editing commands are very similar to GNU Emacs. In the following
54 examples, C-x means Control-x, and M-x means Meta-x, where the Meta key
55 may be either a special key on the keyboard or the ALT key; otherwise ESC
56 followed by the key X works as well.
57 C-SPC set-mark-command
59 C-a beginning-of-line
60 C-b backward-char
61 C-d delete-char
62 C-e end-of-line
63 C-f forward-char
64 C-g keyboard-quit
65 C-h C-h help-help
66 C-h a apropos
67 C-h b describe-bindings
68 C-h c describe-key-briefly
69 C-j newline-and-indent
70 C-k kill-line
71 C-l recenter
72 RET newline
73 C-n next-line
74 C-o open-line
75 C-p previous-line
76 C-q quoted-insert
77 C-r isearch-backward
78 C-s isearch-forward
79 C-t transpose-chars
80 C-u universal-argument
81 C-v scroll-up
82 C-w kill-region
83 C-x C-b list-buffers
84 C-x C-c save-buffers-kill-emacs
85 C-x C-f find-file
86 C-x C-g keyboard-quit
87 C-x C-l downcase-region
88 C-x C-o delete-blank-lines
89 C-x C-q toggle-read-only
90 C-x C-r find-file-read-only
91 C-x C-s save-buffer
92 C-x C-u upcase-region
93 C-x C-v find-alternate-file
94 C-x C-w write-file
95 C-x C-x exchange-point-and-mark
96 C-x ( start-kbd-macro
97 C-x ) end-kbd-macro
98 C-x 0 delete-window
99 C-x 1 delete-other-windows
100 C-x 2 split-window-vertically
101 C-x 4 C-f find-file-other-window
102 C-x 4 C-g keyboard-quit
103 C-x 4 b switch-to-buffer-other-window
104 C-x 4 f find-file-other-window
105 C-x = what-cursor-position
106 C-x ^ enlarge-window
107 C-x ` next-error
108 C-x b switch-to-buffer
109 C-x d dired
110 C-x e call-last-kbd-macro
111 C-x f set-fill-column
112 C-x g goto-line
113 C-x i insert-file
114 C-x k kill-buffer
115 C-x n other-window
116 C-x o other-window
117 C-x p previous-window
118 C-x s save-some-buffers
119 C-x u undo
120 C-y yank
121 C-z suspend-emacs
122 M-C-v scroll-other-window
123 M-SPC just-one-space
124 M-% query-replace
125 M-< beginning-of-buffer
126 M-> end-of-buffer
127 M-\ delete-horizontal-space
128 M-^ join-line
129 M-b backward-word
130 M-c capitalize-word
131 M-d kill-word
132 M-f forward-word
133 M-l downcase-word
134 M-m back-to-indentation
135 M-q fill-paragraph
136 M-r search-backward
137 M-s search-forward
138 M-u upcase-word
139 M-v scroll-down
140 M-w copy-region-as-kill
141 M-x execute-extended-command
142 M-{ backward-paragraph
143 M-} forward-paragraph
144 M-~ not-modified
145 M-DEL backward-kill-word
146 C-_ undo
147 ) blink-and-insert
148 DEL delete-backward-char
149 For a complete description of mg commands, see MG COMMANDS. To see the
151 active keybindings at any time, type “M-x describe-bindings”.
152
154 Commands are invoked by “M-x”, or by binding to a key. Many commands
155 take an optional numerical parameter, n. This parameter is set either by
156 M-<n> (where n is the numerical argument) before the command, or by one
157 or more invocations of the universal argument, usually bound to C-U.
158 When invoked in this manner, the value of the numeric parameter to be
159 passed is displayed in the minibuffer before the M-x. One common use of
160 the parameter is in mode toggles (e.g. make-backup-files). If no parame‐
161 ter is supplied, the mode is toggled to its alternate state. If a posi‐
162 tive parameter is supplied, the mode is forced to on. Otherwise, it is
163 forced to off.
164 apropos
166 Help Apropos. Prompt the user for a string, open the *help* buf‐
167 fer, and list all mg commands that contain that string.
168 auto-execute
170 Register an auto-execute hook; that is, specify a filename pattern
171 (conforming to the shell's filename globbing rules) and an associ‐
172 ated function to execute when a file matching the specified pat‐
173 tern is read into a buffer.
174 auto-fill-mode
176 Toggle auto-fill mode (sometimes called mail-mode), where text
177 inserted past the fill column is automatically wrapped to a new
178 line.
179 auto-indent-mode
181 Toggle indent mode, where indentation is preserved after a new‐
182 line.
183 back-to-indentation
185 Move the dot to the first non-whitespace character on the current
186 line.
187 backward-char
189 Move cursor backwards one character.
190 backward-kill-word
192 Kill text backwards by n words.
193 backward-paragraph
195 Move cursor backwards n paragraphs. Paragraphs are delimited by
196 <NL><NL> or <NL><TAB> or <NL><SPACE>.
197 backward-word
199 Move cursor backwards by the specified number of words.
200 beginning-of-buffer
202 Move cursor to the top of the buffer.
203 beginning-of-line
205 Move cursor to the beginning of the line.
206 blink-and-insert
208 Self-insert a character, then search backwards and blink its
209 matching delimeter. For delimeters other than parenthesis, brack‐
210 ets, and braces, the character itself is used as its own match.
211 bsmap-mode
213 Toggle bsmap mode, where DEL and c-H are swapped.
214 c-mode
216 Toggle a KNF-compliant mode for editing C program files.
217 call-last-kbd-macro
219 Invoke the keyboard macro.
220 capitalize-word
222 Capitalize n words; i.e. convert the first character of the word
223 to upper case, and subsequent letters to lower case.
224 cd Change the global working directory. See also global-wd-mode.
226 copy-region-as-kill
228 Copy all of the characters in the region to the kill buffer,
229 clearing the mark afterwards. This is a bit like a kill-region
230 followed by a yank.
231 count-matches
233 Count the number of lines matching the supplied regular expres‐
234 sion.
235 count-non-matches
237 Count the number of lines not matching the supplied regular
238 expression.
239 define-key
241 Prompts the user for a named keymap (mode), a key, and an mg com‐
242 mand, then creates a keybinding in the appropriate map.
243 delete-backward-char
245 Delete backwards n characters. Like delete-char, this actually
246 does a kill if presented with an argument.
247 delete-blank-lines
249 Delete blank lines around dot. If dot is sitting on a blank line,
250 this command deletes all the blank lines above and below the cur‐
251 rent line. Otherwise, it deletes all of the blank lines after the
252 current line.
253 delete-char
255 Delete n characters forward. If any argument is present, it kills
256 rather than deletes, saving the result in the kill buffer.
257 delete-horizontal-space
259 Delete any whitespace around the dot.
260 delete-leading-space
262 Delete leading whitespace on the current line.
263 delete-trailing-space
265 Delete trailing whitespace on the current line.
266 delete-matching-lines
268 Delete all lines after dot that contain a string matching the sup‐
269 plied regular expression.
270 delete-non-matching-lines
272 Delete all lines after dot that contain a string matching the sup‐
273 plied regular expression.
274 delete-other-windows
276 Make the current window the only window visible on the screen.
277 delete-window
279 Delete current window.
280 describe-bindings
282 List all global and local keybindings, putting the result in the
283 *help* buffer.
284 describe-key-briefly
286 Read a key from the keyboard, and look it up in the keymap. Dis‐
287 play the name of the function currently bound to the key.
288 digit-argument
290 Process a numerical argument for keyboard-invoked functions.
291 downcase-region
293 Set all characters in the region to lower case.
294 downcase-word
296 Set characters to lower case, starting at the dot, and ending n
297 words away.
298 emacs-version
300 Return an mg version string.
301 end-kbd-macro
303 Stop defining a keyboard macro.
304 end-of-buffer
306 Move cursor to the end of the buffer.
307 end-of-line
309 Move cursor to the end of the line.
310 enlarge-window
312 Enlarge the current window by shrinking either the window above or
313 below it.
314 eval-current-buffer
316 Evaluate the current buffer as a series of mg commands. Useful
317 for testing mg startup files.
318 eval-expression
320 Get one line from the user, and run it. Useful for testing
321 expressions in mg startup files.
322 exchange-point-and-mark
324 Swap the values of "dot" and "mark" in the current window. Return
325 an error if no mark is set.
326 execute-extended-command
328 Invoke an extended command; i.e. M-x. Call the message line rou‐
329 tine to read in the command name and apply autocompletion to it.
330 When it comes back, look the name up in the symbol table and run
331 the command if it is found, passing arguments as necessary. Print
332 an error if there is anything wrong.
333 fill-paragraph
335 Justify a paragraph, wrapping text at the current fill column.
336 find-file
338 Select a file for editing. First check if the file can be found
339 in another buffer; if it is there, just switch to that buffer. If
340 the file cannot be found, create a new buffer, read in the file
341 from disk, and switch to the new buffer.
342 find-file-read-only
344 Same as find-file, except the new buffer is set to read-only.
345 find-alternate-file
347 Replace the current file with an alternate one. Semantics for
348 finding the replacement file are the same as find-file, except the
349 current buffer is killed before the switch. If the kill fails, or
350 is aborted, revert to the original file.
351 find-file-other-window
353 Opens the specified file in a second buffer. Splits the current
354 window if necessary.
355 forward-char
357 Move cursor forwards (or backwards, if n is negative) n charac‐
358 ters. Returns an error if the end of buffer is reached.
359 forward-paragraph
361 Move forward n paragraphs. Paragraphs are delimited by <NL><NL>
362 or <NL><TAB> or <NL><SPACE>.
363 forward-word
365 Move the cursor forward by the specified number of words.
366 global-set-key
368 Bind a key in the global (fundamental) key map.
369 global-unset-key
371 Unbind a key from the global (fundamental) key map; i.e. set it to
372 'rescan'.
373 global-wd-mode
375 Toggle global working-directory mode. When enabled, mg defaults
376 to opening files (and executing commands like compile and grep)
377 relative to the global working directory. When disabled, a work‐
378 ing directory is set for each buffer.
379 goto-line
381 Go to a specific line. If an argument is present, then it is the
382 line number, else prompt for a line number to use.
383 help-help
385 Prompts for one of (a)propos, (b)indings, des(c)ribe key briefly.
386 insert
388 Insert a string, mainly for use from macros.
389 insert-buffer
391 Insert the contents of another buffer at dot.
392 insert-file
394 Insert a file into the current buffer at dot.
395 insert-with-wrap
397 Insert the bound character with word wrap. Check to see if we're
398 past the fill column, and if so, justify this line.
399 isearch-backward
401 Use incremental searching, initially in the reverse direction.
402 isearch ignores any explicit arguments. If invoked during macro
403 definition or evaluation, the non-incremental search-backward is
404 invoked instead.
405 isearch-forward
407 Use incremental searching, initially in the forward direction.
408 isearch ignores any explicit arguments. If invoked during macro
409 definition or evaluation, the non-incremental search-forward is
410 invoked instead.
411 join-line
413 Join the current line to the previous. If called with an argu‐
414 ment, join the next line to the current one.
415 just-one-space
417 Delete any whitespace around dot, then insert a space.
418 keyboard-quit
420 Abort the current action.
421 kill-buffer
423 Dispose of a buffer, by name. If the buffer name does not start
424 and end with an asterisk, prompt the user if the buffer has been
425 changed.
426 kill-line
428 Kill line. If called without an argument, it kills from dot to
429 the end of the line, unless it is at the end of the line, when it
430 kills the newline. If called with an argument of 0, it kills from
431 the start of the line to dot. If called with a positive argument,
432 it kills from dot forward over that number of newlines. If called
433 with a negative argument it kills any text before dot on the cur‐
434 rent line, then it kills back abs(n) lines.
435 kill-paragraph
437 Delete n paragraphs starting with the current one.
438 kill-region
440 Kill the currently defined region.
441 kill-word
443 Delete forward n words.
444 line-number-mode
446 Toggle whether line and column numbers are displayed in the mode‐
447 line.
448 list-buffers
450 Display the list of available buffers.
451 load Prompt the user for a filename, and then execute commands from
453 that file.
454 local-set-key
456 Bind a key mapping in the local (topmost) mode.
457 local-unset-key
459 Unbind a key mapping in the local (topmost) mode.
460 make-backup-files
462 Toggle generation of backup files.
463 meta-key-mode
465 When disabled, the meta key can be used to insert extended-ascii
466 (8-bit) characters. When enabled, the meta key acts as usual.
467 negative-argument
469 Process a negative argument for keyboard-invoked functions.
470 newline
472 Insert a newline into the current buffer.
473 newline-and-indent
475 Insert a newline, then enough tabs and spaces to duplicate the
476 indentation of the previous line. Assumes tabs are every eight
477 characters.
478 next-line
480 Move forward n lines.
481 no-tab-mode
483 Toggle notab mode. In this mode, spaces are inserted rather than
484 tabs.
485 not-modified
487 Turn off the modified flag in the current buffer.
488 open-line
490 Open up some blank space. Essentially, insert n newlines, then
491 back up over them.
492 other-window
494 The command to make the next (down the screen) window the current
495 window. There are no real errors, although the command does noth‐
496 ing if there is only 1 window on the screen.
497 overwrite-mode
499 Toggle overwrite mode, where typing in a buffer overwrites exist‐
500 ing characters rather than inserting them.
501 prefix-region
503 Inserts a prefix string before each line of a region. The prefix
504 string is settable by using 'set-prefix-string'.
505 previous-line
507 Move backwards n lines.
508 previous-window
510 This command makes the previous (up the screen) window the current
511 window. There are no errors, although the command does not do a
512 lot if there is only 1 window.
513 push-shell
515 Suspend mg and switch to alternate screen, if available.
516 pwd Display current (global) working directory in the status area.
518 query-replace
520 Query Replace. Search and replace strings selectively, prompting
521 after each match.
522 replace-string
524 Replace string globally without individual prompting.
525 query-replace-regexp
527 Replace strings selectively. Does a search and replace operation
528 using regular expressions for both patterns.
529 quoted-insert
531 Insert the next character verbatim into the current buffer; i.e.
532 ignore any function bound to that key.
533 re-search-again
535 Perform a regular expression search again, using the same search
536 string and direction as the last search command.
537 re-search-backward
539 Search backwards using a regular expression. Get a search string
540 from the user, and search, starting at dot and proceeding toward
541 the front of the buffer. If found, dot is left pointing at the
542 first character of the pattern [the last character that was
543 matched].
544 re-search-forward
546 Search forward using a regular expression. Get a search string
547 from the user and search for it starting at dot. If found, move
548 dot to just after the matched characters. display does all the
549 hard stuff. If not found, it just prints a message.
550 recenter
552 Reposition dot in the current window. By default, the dot is cen‐
553 tered. If given a positive argument (n), the display is reposi‐
554 tioned to line n. If n is negative, it is that line from the bot‐
555 tom.
556 redraw-display
558 Refresh the display. Recomputes all window sizes in case some‐
559 thing has changed.
560 save-buffer
562 Save the contents of the current buffer if it has been changed,
563 optionally creating a backup copy.
564 save-buffers-kill-emacs
566 Offer to save modified buffers and quit mg.
567 save-some-buffers
569 Look through the list of buffers, offering to save any buffer that
570 has been changed. Buffers that are not associated with files
571 (such as *scratch*, *grep*, *compile*) are ignored.
572 scroll-down
574 Scroll backwards n pages. A two-line overlap between pages is
575 assumed. If given a repeat argument, scrolls back lines, not
576 pages.
577 scroll-one-line-down
579 Scroll the display down n lines without changing the cursor posi‐
580 tion.
581 scroll-one-line-up
583 Scroll the display n lines up without moving the cursor position.
584 scroll-other-window
586 Scroll the next window in the window list window forward n pages.
587 scroll-up
589 Scroll forward one page. A two-line overlap between pages is
590 assumed. If given a repeat argument, scrolls back lines, not
591 pages.
592 search-again
594 Search again, using the same search string and direction as the
595 last search command.
596 search-backward
598 Reverse search. Get a search string from the user, and search,
599 starting at dot and proceeding toward the front of the buffer. If
600 found, dot is left pointing at the first character of the pattern
601 (the last character that was matched).
602 search-forward
604 Search forward. Get a search string from the user, and search for
605 it starting at dot. If found, dot gets moved to just after the
606 matched characters, if not found, print a message.
607 self-insert-command
609 Insert a character.
610 set-case-fold-search
612 Set case-fold searching, causing case nopt to matter in regular
613 expression searches. This is the default.
614 set-default-mode
616 Append the supplied mode to the list of default modes used by sub‐
617 sequent buffer creation. Built in modes include: fill, indent,
618 overwrite, and notab.
619 set-fill-column
621 Prompt the user for a fill column. Used by auto-fill-mode.
622 set-mark-command
624 Sets the mark in the current window to the current dot location.
625 set-prefix-string
627 Sets the prefix string to be used by the 'prefix-region' command.
628 shrink-window
630 Shrink current window by one line. The window immediately below
631 is expanded to pick up the slack. If only one window is present,
632 this command has no effect.
633 space-to-tabstop
635 Insert enough spaces to reach the next tab-stop position. By
636 default, tab-stops occur every 8 characters.
637 split-window-vertically
639 Split the current window. A window smaller than 3 lines cannot be
640 split.
641 start-kbd-macro
643 Start defining a keyboard macro. Macro definition is ended by
644 invoking end-kbd-macro.
645 suspend-emacs
647 Suspend mg and switch back to alternate screen, if in use.
648 switch-to-buffer
650 Prompt and switch to a new buffer in the current window.
651 switch-to-buffer-other-window
653 Switch to buffer in another window.
654 toggle-read-only
656 Toggle the read-only flag on the current buffer.
657 transpose-chars
659 Transpose the two characters on either side of dot. If dot is at
660 the end of the line, transpose the two characters before it.
661 Return with an error if dot is at the beginning of line; it seems
662 to be a bit pointless to make this work.
663 undo Undo the most recent action. If invoked again without an inter‐
665 vening command, move the undo pointer to the previous action and
666 undo it.
667 undo-boundary
669 Add an undo boundary. This is not usually done interactively.
670 undo-boundary-toggle
672 Toggle whether undo boundaries are generated. Undo boundaries are
673 often disabled before operations that should be considered atomi‐
674 cally undoable.
675 undo-enable
677 Toggle whether undo information is kept.
678 undo-list
680 Show the undo records for the current buffer in a new buffer.
681 universal-argument
683 Repeat the next command 4 times. Usually bound to C-u. This com‐
684 mand may be stacked; e.g. C-u C-u C-f moves the cursor forward 16
685 characters.
686 upcase-region
688 Upper case region. Change all of the lower case characters in the
689 region to upper case.
690 upcase-word
692 Move the cursor forward by the specified number of words. As it
693 moves, convert any characters to upper case.
694 what-cursor-position
696 Display a bunch of useful information about the current location
697 of dot. The character under the cursor (in octal), the current
698 line, row, and column, and approximate position of the cursor in
699 the file (as a percentage) is displayed. The column position
700 assumes an infinite position display; it does not truncate just
701 because the screen does.
702 write-file
704 Ask for a file name and write the contents of the current buffer
705 to that file. Update the remembered file name and clear the buf‐
706 fer changed flag.
707 yank Yank text from kill-buffer. Unlike emacs, the mg kill buffer con‐
709 sists only of the most recent kill. It is not a ring.
710
712 There are two configuration files, .mg, and .mg-TERM. Here, TERM repre‐
713 sents the name of the terminal type; e.g., if the terminal type is set to
714 “vt100”, mg will use .mg-vt100 as a startup file. The terminal type
715 startup file is used first.
716 The startup file format is a list of commands, one per line, as used for
718 interactive evaluation. Strings that are normally entered by the user at
719 any subsequent prompts may be specified after the command name; e.g.:
720 global-set-key ")" self-insert-command
722 global-set-key "\^x\^f" find-file
723 global-set-key "\e[Z" backward-char
724 set-default-mode fill
725 set-fill-column 72
726 auto-execute *.c c-mode
727
729 ~/.mg normal startup file
730 ~/.mg-TERM terminal-specific startup file
731 /usr/share/doc/mg/tutorial concise tutorial
732
734 vi(1)
735
737 Since it is written completely in C, there is currently no language in
738 which extensions can be written; however, keys can be rebound and certain
739 parameters can be changed in startup files.
740 In order to use 8-bit characters (such as German umlauts), the Meta key
742 needs to be disabled via the “meta-key-mode” command.
743BSD June 22, 2019 BSD