1EDITLINE(7) BSD Miscellaneous Information Manual EDITLINE(7)
2
4 editline — line editing user interface
5
7 When a program using the editline(3) library prompts for an input string
8 using the function el_wgets(3), it reads characters from the terminal.
9 Invalid input bytes that do not form characters are silently discarded.
10 For each character read, one editor command is executed. The mapping of
11 input characters to editor commands depends on the editing mode. There
12 are three editing modes: vi insert mode, vi command mode, and emacs mode.
13 The default is vi insert mode. The program can switch the default to
14 emacs mode by using the el_set(3) or el_parse(3) functions, and the user
15 can switch to emacs mode either in the editrc(5) configuration file or
16 interactively with the ed-command editor command, in all three cases exe‐
17 cuting the bind -e builtin command.
18 If trying to read from the terminal results in end of file or an error,
20 the library signals end of file to the program and does not return a
21 string.
22 Input character bindings
24 All default bindings described below can be overridden by individual pro‐
25 grams and can be changed with the editrc(5) bind builtin command.
26 In the following tables, ‘Ctrl-’ indicates a character with the bit 0x40
28 flipped, and ‘Meta-’ indicates a character with the bit 0x80 set. In vi
29 insert mode and in emacs mode, all Meta-characters considered printable
30 by the current locale(1) are bound to ed-insert instead of to the editor
31 command listed below. Consequently, in UTF-8 mode, most of the Meta-
32 characters are not directly accessible because their code points are
33 occupied by printable Unicode characters, and Meta-characters are usually
34 input using the em-meta-next editor command. For example, to enter
35 ‘Meta-B’ in order to call the ed-prev-word editor command in emacs mode,
36 call em-meta-next by pressing and releasing the escape key (or equiva‐
37 lently, Ctrl-[), then press and release the ‘B’ key. If you have config‐
38 ured a Meta-key on your keyboard, for example with ‘setxkbmap -option
39 altwin:left_meta_win’, the Ctrl-Meta-characters are directly accessible.
40 For example, to enter ‘Ctrl-Meta-H’ in order to call the
41 ed-delete-prev-word editor command in emacs mode, hold down the keys
42 ‘Ctrl’, ‘Meta’, and ‘H’ at the same time. Alternatively, press and
43 release the escape key, then press and release ‘Ctrl-H’.
44 In vi input mode, input characters are bound to the following editor com‐
46 mands by default:
47 Ctrl-D, EOF vi-list-or-eof
49 Ctrl-H, BS vi-delete-prev-char
50 Ctrl-J, LF ed-newline
51 Ctrl-M, CR ed-newline
52 Ctrl-Q ed-tty-start-output
53 Ctrl-S ed-tty-stop-output
54 Ctrl-U vi-kill-line-prev
55 Ctrl-V ed-quoted-insert
56 Ctrl-W ed-delete-prev-word
57 Ctrl-[, ESC vi-command-mode
58 Ctrl-\, QUIT ed-tty-sigquit
59 Ctrl-?, DEL vi-delete-prev-char
60 All other input characters except the NUL character (Ctrl-@) are bound to
62 ed-insert.
63 In vi command mode, input characters are bound to the following editor
65 commands by default:
66 Ctrl-A ed-move-to-beg
68 Ctrl-C, INT ed-tty-sigint
69 Ctrl-E ed-move-to-end
70 Ctrl-H, BS ed-delete-prev-char
71 Ctrl-J, LF ed-newline
72 Ctrl-K ed-kill-line
73 Ctrl-L, FF ed-clear-screen
74 Ctrl-M, CR ed-newline
75 Ctrl-N ed-next-history
76 Ctrl-O ed-tty-flush-output
77 Ctrl-P ed-prev-history
78 Ctrl-Q ed-tty-start-output
79 Ctrl-R ed-redisplay
80 Ctrl-S ed-tty-stop-output
81 Ctrl-U vi-kill-line-prev
82 Ctrl-W ed-delete-prev-word
83 Ctrl-[, ESC em-meta-next
84 Ctrl-\, QUIT ed-tty-sigquit
85 Space ed-next-char
86 # vi-comment-out
87 $ ed-move-to-end
88 % vi-match
89 + ed-next-history
90 , vi-repeat-prev-char
91 - ed-prev-history
92 . vi-redo
93 / vi-search-prev
94 0 vi-zero
95 1 to 9 ed-argument-digit
96 : ed-command
97 ; vi-repeat-next-char
98 ? vi-search-next
99 @ vi-alias
100 A vi-add-at-eol
101 B vi-prev-big-word
102 C vi-change-to-eol
103 D ed-kill-line
104 E vi-end-big-word
105 F vi-prev-char
106 G vi-to-history-line
107 I vi-insert-at-bol
108 J ed-search-next-history
109 K ed-search-prev-history
110 N vi-repeat-search-prev
111 O ed-sequence-lead-in
112 P vi-paste-prev
113 R vi-replace-mode
114 S vi-substitute-line
115 T vi-to-prev-char
116 U vi-undo-line
117 W vi-next-big-word
118 X ed-delete-prev-char
119 Y vi-yank-end
120 [ ed-sequence-lead-in
121 ^ ed-move-to-beg
122 _ vi-history-word
123 a vi-add
124 b vi-prev-word
125 c vi-change-meta
126 d vi-delete-meta
127 e vi-end-word
128 f vi-next-char
129 h ed-prev-char
130 i vi-insert
131 j ed-next-history
132 k ed-prev-history
133 l ed-next-char
134 n vi-repeat-search-next
135 p vi-paste-next
136 r vi-replace-char
137 s vi-substitute-char
138 t vi-to-next-char
139 u vi-undo
140 v vi-histedit
141 w vi-next-word
142 x ed-delete-next-char
143 y vi-yank
144 | vi-to-column
145 ~ vi-change-case
146 Ctrl-?, DEL ed-delete-prev-char
147 Meta-O ed-sequence-lead-in
148 Meta-[ ed-sequence-lead-in
149 In emacs mode, input characters are bound to the following editor com‐
151 mands by default:
152 0 to 9 ed-digit
154 Ctrl-@, NUL em-set-mark
155 Ctrl-A ed-move-to-beg
156 Ctrl-B ed-prev-char
157 Ctrl-C, INT ed-tty-sigint
158 Ctrl-D, EOF em-delete-or-list
159 Ctrl-E ed-move-to-end
160 Ctrl-F ed-next-char
161 Ctrl-H, BS em-delete-prev-char
162 Ctrl-J, LF ed-newline
163 Ctrl-K ed-kill-line
164 Ctrl-L, FF ed-clear-screen
165 Ctrl-M, CR ed-newline
166 Ctrl-N ed-next-history
167 Ctrl-O ed-tty-flush-output
168 Ctrl-P ed-prev-history
169 Ctrl-Q ed-tty-start-output
170 Ctrl-R ed-redisplay
171 Ctrl-S ed-tty-stop-output
172 Ctrl-T ed-transpose-chars
173 Ctrl-U ed-kill-line
174 Ctrl-V ed-quoted-insert
175 Ctrl-W em-kill-region
176 Ctrl-X ed-sequence-lead-in
177 Ctrl-Y em-yank
178 Ctrl-Z, TSTP ed-tty-sigtstp
179 Ctrl-[, ESC em-meta-next
180 Ctrl-\, QUIT ed-tty-sigquit
181 Ctrl-] ed-tty-dsusp
182 Ctrl-?, DEL em-delete-prev-char
183 Ctrl-Meta-H ed-delete-prev-word
184 Ctrl-Meta-L ed-clear-screen
185 Ctrl-Meta-_ em-copy-prev-word
186 Meta-0 to 9 ed-argument-digit
187 Meta-B ed-prev-word
188 Meta-C em-capitol-case
189 Meta-D em-delete-next-word
190 Meta-F em-next-word
191 Meta-L em-lower-case
192 Meta-N ed-search-next-history
193 Meta-O ed-sequence-lead-in
194 Meta-P ed-search-prev-history
195 Meta-U em-upper-case
196 Meta-W em-copy-region
197 Meta-X ed-command
198 Meta-[ ed-sequence-lead-in
199 Meta-b ed-prev-word
200 Meta-c em-capitol-case
201 Meta-d em-delete-next-word
202 Meta-f em-next-word
203 Meta-l em-lower-case
204 Meta-n ed-search-next-history
205 Meta-p ed-search-prev-history
206 Meta-u em-upper-case
207 Meta-w em-copy-region
208 Meta-x ed-command
209 Ctrl-Meta-? ed-delete-prev-word
210 The remaining ascii(7) characters in the range 0x20 to 0x7e are bound to
212 ed-insert.
213 If standard output is not connected to a terminal device or el_set(3) was
215 used to set EL_EDITMODE to 0, all input character bindings are disabled
216 and all characters typed are appended to the edit buffer. In that case,
217 the edit buffer is returned to the program after a newline or carriage
218 return character is typed, or after the first character typed if
219 el_set(3) was used to set EL_UNBUFFERED to non-zero.
220 Editor commands
222 Most editor commands accept an optional argument. The argument is
223 entered by prefixing the editor command with one or more of the editor
224 commands ed-argument-digit, ed-digit, em-universal-argument, or vi-zero.
225 When an argument is not provided, it defaults to 1. For most editor com‐
226 mands, the effect of an argument is to repeatedly execute the command
227 that number of times.
228 When talking about a character string from a left character to a right
230 character, the left character is included in the string, while the right
231 character is not included.
232 If an editor command causes an error, the input character is discarded,
234 no action occurs, and the terminal bell is rung. In case of a non-fatal
235 error, the terminal bell is also rung, but the editor command takes
236 effect anyway.
237 In the following list, the default key bindings are listed after each
239 editor command.
240 ed-argument-digit (vi command: 1 to 9; emacs: Meta-0 to Meta-9)
242 If in argument input mode, append the input digit to the argument
243 being read. Otherwise, switch to argument input mode and use the
244 input digit as the most significant digit of the argument. It is
245 an error if the input character is not a digit or if the existing
246 argument is already greater than a million.
247 ed-clear-screen (vi command: Ctrl-L; emacs: Ctrl-L, Ctrl-Meta-L)
249 Clear the screen and display the edit buffer at the top. Ignore
250 any argument.
251 ed-command (vi command: ‘:’; emacs: Meta-X, Meta-x)
253 Read a line from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing
254 functionality and execute that line as an editrc(5) builtin com‐
255 mand. If in vi command mode, also switch back to vi insert mode.
256 Ignore any argument.
257 ed-delete-next-char (vi command: x)
259 Delete the character at the cursor position. With an argument,
260 delete that number of characters. In emacs mode, it is an error if
261 the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer. In vi mode, the last
262 character in the edit buffer is deleted in that case, and it is an
263 error if the buffer is empty.
264 ed-delete-prev-char (vi command: X, Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL)
266 Delete the character to the left of the cursor position. With an
267 argument, delete that number of characters. It is an error if the
268 cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
269 ed-delete-prev-word (vi: Ctrl-W; emacs: Ctrl-Meta-H, Ctrl-Meta-?)
271 Move to the left to the closest beginning of a word, delete the
272 string from that position to the cursor, and save it to the cut
273 buffer. With an argument, delete that number of words. It is an
274 error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
275 ed-digit (emacs: 0 to 9)
277 If in argument input mode, append the input digit to the argument
278 being read. Otherwise, call ed-insert. It is an error if the
279 input character is not a digit or if the existing argument is
280 already greater than a million.
281 ed-end-of-file (not bound by default)
283 Discard the edit buffer and indicate end of file to the program.
284 Ignore any argument.
285 ed-ignore (various)
287 Discard the input character and do nothing.
288 ed-insert (vi input: almost all; emacs: printable characters)
290 In insert mode, insert the input character left of the cursor posi‐
291 tion. In replace mode, overwrite the character at the cursor and
292 move the cursor to the right by one character position. Accept an
293 argument to do this repeatedly. It is an error if the input char‐
294 acter is the NUL character (Ctrl-@). Failure to enlarge the edit
295 buffer also results in an error.
296 ed-kill-line (vi command: D, Ctrl-K; emacs: Ctrl-K, Ctrl-U)
298 Delete the string from the cursor position to the end of the line
299 and save it to the cut buffer. Ignore any argument.
300 ed-move-to-beg (vi command: ^, Ctrl-A; emacs: Ctrl-A)
302 In vi mode, move the cursor to the first non-space character in the
303 edit buffer. In emacs mode, move the cursor to the beginning of
304 the edit buffer. Ignore any argument. Can be used as a movement
305 command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
306 ed-move-to-end (vi command: $, Ctrl-E; emacs: Ctrl-E)
308 Move the cursor to the end of the edit buffer. Ignore any argu‐
309 ment. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
310 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
311 ed-newline (all modes: Ctrl-J, LF, Ctrl-M, CR)
313 Append a newline character to the edit buffer and return the edit
314 buffer to the program. Ignore any argument.
315 ed-next-char (vi command: Space, l; emacs: Ctrl-F)
317 Move the cursor one character position to the right. With an argu‐
318 ment, move by that number of characters. Can be used as a movement
319 command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an
320 error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer.
321 ed-next-history (vi command: j, +, Ctrl-N; emacs: Ctrl-N)
323 Replace the edit buffer with the next history line. That line is
324 older than the current line. With an argument, go forward by that
325 number of history lines. It is a non-fatal error to advance by
326 more lines than are available.
327 ed-next-line (not bound by default)
329 Move the cursor down one line. With an argument, move down by that
330 number of lines. It is an error if the edit buffer does not con‐
331 tain enough newline characters to the right of the cursor position.
332 ed-prev-char (vi command: h; emacs: Ctrl-B)
334 Move the cursor one character position to the left. With an argu‐
335 ment, move by that number of characters. Can be used as a movement
336 command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an
337 error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer.
338 ed-prev-history (vi command: k, -, Ctrl-P; emacs: Ctrl-P)
340 Replace the edit buffer with the previous history line. That line
341 is newer than the current line. With an argument, go back by that
342 number of lines. It is a non-fatal error to back up by more lines
343 than are available.
344 ed-prev-line (not bound by default)
346 Move the cursor up one line. With an argument, move up by that
347 number of lines. It is an error if the edit buffer does not con‐
348 tain enough newline characters to the left of the cursor position.
349 ed-prev-word (emacs: Meta-B, Meta-b)
351 Move the cursor to the left to the closest beginning of a word.
352 With an argument, repeat that number of times. Can be used as a
353 movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
354 It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the
355 edit buffer.
356 ed-quoted-insert (vi insert, emacs: Ctrl-V)
358 Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
359 editing functionality and call ed-insert on it. If trying to read
360 the character returns end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file
361 instead.
362 ed-redisplay (vi command, emacs: Ctrl-R)
364 Redisplay everything. Ignore any argument.
365 ed-search-next-history (vi command: J; emacs: Meta-N, Meta-n)
367 Replace the edit buffer with the next matching history entry.
368 ed-search-prev-history (vi command: K; emacs: Meta-P, Meta-p)
370 Replace the edit buffer with the previous matching history entry.
371 ed-sequence-lead-in (vi cmd: O, [; emacs: Ctrl-X; both: Meta-O, Meta-[)
373 Call a macro. See the section about Macros below for details.
374 ed-start-over (not bound by default)
376 Discard the contents of the edit buffer and start from scratch.
377 Ignore any argument.
378 ed-transpose-chars (emacs: Ctrl-T)
380 Exchange the character at the cursor position with the one to the
381 left of it and move the cursor to the character to the right of the
382 two exchanged characters. Ignore any argument. It is an error if
383 the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer or if the edit
384 buffer contains less than two characters.
385 ed-unassigned (all characters not listed)
387 This editor command always results in an error.
388 em-capitol-case (emacs: Meta-C, Meta-c)
390 Capitalize the string from the cursor to the end of the current
391 word. That is, if it contains at least one alphabetic character,
392 convert the first alphabetic character to upper case, and convert
393 all characters to the right of it to lower case. In any case, move
394 the cursor to the next character after the end of the current word.
395 em-copy-prev-word (emacs: Ctrl-Meta-_)
397 Copy the string from the beginning of the current word to the cur‐
398 sor and insert it to the left of the cursor. Move the cursor to
399 the character after the inserted string. It is an error if the
400 cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
401 em-copy-region (emacs: Meta-W, Meta-w)
403 Copy the string from the cursor to the mark to the cut buffer. It
404 is an error if the mark is not set.
405 em-delete-next-word (emacs: Meta-D, Meta-d)
407 Delete the string from the cursor to the end of the current word
408 and save it to the cut buffer. It is an error if the cursor is at
409 the end of the edit buffer.
410 em-delete-or-list (emacs: Ctrl-D, EOF)
412 If the cursor is not at the end of the line, delete the character
413 at the cursor. If the edit buffer is empty, indicate end of file
414 to the program. It is an error if the cursor is at the end of the
415 edit buffer and the edit buffer is not empty.
416 em-delete-prev-char (emacs: Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL)
418 Delete the character to the left of the cursor. It is an error if
419 the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.
420 em-exchange-mark (not bound by default)
422 Exchange the cursor and the mark.
423 em-gosmacs-transpose (not bound by default)
425 Exchange the two characters to the left of the cursor. It is an
426 error if the cursor is on the first or second character of the edit
427 buffer.
428 em-inc-search-next (not bound by default)
430 Emacs incremental next search.
431 em-inc-search-prev (not bound by default)
433 Emacs incremental reverse search.
434 em-kill-line (not bound by default)
436 Delete the entire contents of the edit buffer and save it to the
437 cut buffer.
438 em-kill-region (emacs: Ctrl-W)
440 Delete the string from the cursor to the mark and save it to the
441 cut buffer. It is an error if the mark is not set.
442 em-lower-case (emacs: Meta-L, Meta-l)
444 Convert the characters from the cursor to the end of the current
445 word to lower case.
446 em-meta-next (vi command, emacs: Ctrl-[, ESC)
448 Set the bit 0x80 on the next character typed. Unless the resulting
449 code point is printable, holding down the ‘Meta-’ key while typing
450 that character is a simpler way to achieve the same effect.
451 em-next-word (Meta-F, Meta-f)
453 Move the cursor to the end of the current word. Can be used as a
454 movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
455 It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buf‐
456 fer.
457 em-set-mark (emacs: Ctrl-Q, NUL)
459 Set the mark at the current cursor position.
460 em-toggle-overwrite (not bound by default)
462 Switch from insert to overwrite mode or vice versa.
463 em-universal-argument (not bound by default)
465 If in argument input mode, multiply the argument by 4. Otherwise,
466 switch to argument input mode and set the argument to 4. It is an
467 error if the existing argument is already greater than a million.
468 em-upper-case (emacs: Meta-U, Meta-u)
470 Convert the characters from the cursor to the end of the current
471 word to upper case.
472 em-yank (emacs: Ctrl-Y)
474 Paste the cut buffer to the left of the cursor.
475 vi-add (vi command: a)
477 Switch to vi insert mode. Unless the cursor is already at the end
478 of the edit buffer, move it one character position to the right.
479 vi-add-at-eol (vi command: A)
481 Switch to vi insert mode and move the cursor to the end of the edit
482 buffer.
483 vi-alias (vi command: @)
485 If an alias function was defined by calling the el_set(3) or
486 el_wset(3) function with the argument EL_ALIAS_TEXT, read one char‐
487 acter from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing function‐
488 ality, call the alias function passing the argument that was speci‐
489 fied with EL_ALIAS_TEXT as the first argument and the character
490 read, with an underscore prepended, as the second argument, and
491 pass the string returned from the alias function to el_wpush(3).
492 It is an error if no alias function is defined or if trying to read
493 the character results in end of file or an error.
494 vi-change-case (vi command: ~)
496 Change the case of the character at the cursor and move the cursor
497 one character position to the right. It is an error if the cursor
498 is already at the end of the edit buffer.
499 vi-change-meta (vi command: c)
501 Delete the string from the cursor to the position specified by the
502 following movement command and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.
503 When given twice in a row, instead delete the whole contents of the
504 edit buffer and save a copy of it to the cut buffer. In either
505 case, switch to vi insert mode after that.
506 vi-change-to-eol (vi command: C)
508 Delete the string from the cursor position to the end of the line
509 and save it to the cut buffer, then switch to vi insert mode.
510 vi-command-mode (vi insert: Ctrl-[, ESC)
512 Discard pending actions and arguments and switch to vi command
513 mode. Unless the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit
514 buffer, move it to the left by one character position.
515 vi-comment-out (vi command: #)
517 Insert a ‘#’ character at the beginning of the edit buffer and
518 return the edit buffer to the program.
519 vi-delete-meta (vi command: d)
521 Delete the string from the cursor to the position specified by the
522 following movement command and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.
523 When given twice in a row, instead delete the whole contents of the
524 edit buffer and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.
525 vi-delete-prev-char (vi insert: Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL)
527 Delete the character to the left of the cursor. It is an error if
528 the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer.
529 vi-end-big-word (vi command: E)
531 Move the cursor to the end of the current space delimited word.
532 Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
533 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is
534 already at the end of the edit buffer.
535 vi-end-word (vi command: e)
537 Move the cursor to the end of the current word. Can be used as a
538 movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
539 It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buf‐
540 fer.
541 vi-history-word (vi command: _)
543 Insert the first word from the most recent history entry after the
544 cursor, move the cursor after to the character after the inserted
545 word, and switch to vi insert mode. It is an error if there is no
546 history entry or the most recent history entry is empty.
547 vi-insert (vi command: i)
549 Enter insert mode.
550 vi-insert-at-bol (vi command: I)
552 Move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer and switch to
553 vi insert mode.
554 vi-kill-line-prev (vi: Ctrl-U)
556 Delete the string from the beginning of the edit buffer to the cur‐
557 sor and save it to the cut buffer.
558 vi-list-or-eof (vi insert: Ctrl-D, EOF)
560 If the edit buffer is empty, indicate end of file to the program.
561 It is an error if the edit buffer is not empty.
562 vi-match (vi command: %)
564 Consider opening and closing parentheses, braces, and brackets as
565 delimiters. If the cursor is not at a delimiter, move it to the
566 right until it gets to one, then move it to the matching delimiter.
567 Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
568 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if there is no delim‐
569 iter at the cursor or in the string to the right of the cursor, or
570 if the first such delimiter has no matching delimiter.
571 vi-next-big-word (vi command: W)
573 Move the cursor to the right to the beginning of the next space
574 delimited word. Can be used as a movement command after
575 vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the
576 cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer or on its last
577 character.
578 vi-next-char (vi command: f)
580 Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
581 editing functionality and move the cursor to the right to the next
582 instance of that character in the edit buffer. Can be used as a
583 movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
584 If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error,
585 call ed-end-of-file instead. It is an error if the character is
586 not found searching to the right in the edit buffer.
587 vi-next-word (vi command: w)
589 Move the cursor to the right to the beginning of the next word.
590 Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
591 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is
592 already at the end of the edit buffer or on its last character.
593 vi-paste-next (vi command: p)
595 Insert a copy of the cut buffer to the right of the cursor. It is
596 an error if the cut buffer is empty.
597 vi-paste-prev (vi command: P)
599 Insert a copy of the cut buffer to the left of the cursor. It is
600 an error if the cut buffer is empty.
601 vi-prev-big-word (vi command: B)
603 Move the cursor to the left to the next beginning of a space delim‐
604 ited word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
605 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is
606 already at the beginning of the edit buffer.
607 vi-prev-char (vi command: F)
609 Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
610 editing functionality and move the cursor to the left to the next
611 instance of that character in the edit buffer. Can be used as a
612 movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
613 If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error,
614 call ed-end-of-file instead. It is an error if the character is
615 not found searching to the left in the edit buffer.
616 vi-prev-word (vi command: b)
618 Move the cursor to the left to the next beginning of a word. Can
619 be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta,
620 or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the begin‐
621 ning of the edit buffer.
622 vi-redo (vi command: ‘.’)
624 Redo the last non-motion command.
625 vi-repeat-next-char (vi command: ‘;’)
627 Repeat the most recent character search in the same search direc‐
628 tion. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
629 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
630 vi-repeat-prev-char (vi command: ‘,’)
632 Repeat the most recent character search in the opposite search
633 direction. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
634 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.
635 vi-repeat-search-next (vi command: n)
637 Repeat the most recent history search in the same search direction.
638 vi-repeat-search-prev (vi command: N)
640 Repeat the most recent history search in the opposite search direc‐
641 tion.
642 vi-replace-char (vi command: r)
644 Switch to vi replace mode, and automatically switch back to vi com‐
645 mand mode after the next character typed. See ed-insert for a
646 description of replace mode. It is an error if the cursor is at
647 the end of the edit buffer.
648 vi-replace-mode (vi command: R)
650 Switch to vi replace mode. This is a variant of vi insert mode;
651 see ed-insert for the difference.
652 vi-search-next (vi command: ?)
654 Replace the edit buffer with the next matching history entry.
655 vi-search-prev (vi command: /)
657 Replace the edit buffer with the previous matching history entry.
658 vi-substitute-char (vi command: s)
660 Delete the character at the cursor and switch to vi insert mode.
661 vi-substitute-line (vi command: S)
663 Delete the entire contents of the edit buffer, save a copy of it in
664 the cut buffer, and enter vi insert mode.
665 vi-to-column (vi command: |)
667 Move the cursor to the column specified as the argument. Can be
668 used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or
669 vi_yank.
670 vi-to-history-line (vi command: G)
672 Replace the edit buffer with the specified history entry.
673 vi-to-next-char (vi command: t)
675 Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
676 editing functionality and move the cursor to the right to the char‐
677 acter before the next instance of that character in the edit buf‐
678 fer. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
679 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. If trying to read the character
680 results in end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file instead.
681 It is an error if the character is not found searching to the right
682 in the edit buffer.
683 vi-to-prev-char (vi command: T)
685 Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line
686 editing functionality and move the cursor to the left to the char‐
687 acter after the next instance of that character in the edit buffer.
688 Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta,
689 vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. If trying to read the character
690 results in end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file instead.
691 It is an error if the character is not found searching to the left
692 in the edit buffer.
693 vi-undo (vi command: u)
695 Undo the last change.
696 vi-undo-line (vi command: U)
698 Undo all changes to the edit buffer.
699 vi-yank (vi command: y)
701 Copy the string from the cursor to the position specified by the
702 following movement command to the cut buffer. When given twice in
703 a row, instead copy the whole contents of the edit buffer to the
704 cut buffer.
705 vi-yank-end (vi command: Y)
707 Copy the string from the cursor to the end of the edit buffer to
708 the cut buffer.
709 vi-zero (vi command: 0)
711 If in argument input mode, multiply the argument by ten. Other‐
712 wise, move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer. Can be
713 used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or
714 vi_yank.
715 Macros
717 If an input character is bound to the editor command ed-sequence-lead-in,
718 editline attempts to call a macro. If the input character by itself
719 forms the name of a macro, that macro is executed. Otherwise, additional
720 input characters are read until the string read forms the name of a
721 macro, in which case that macro is executed, or until the string read
722 matches the beginning of none of the existing macro names, in which case
723 the string including the final, mismatching character is discarded and
724 the terminal bell is rung.
725 There are two kinds of macros. Command macros execute a single editor
727 command. Keyboard macros return a string of characters that is appended
728 as a new line to the Input Queue.
729 The following command macros are defined by default in vi command mode
731 and in emacs mode:
732 Esc [ A, Esc O A ed-prev-history
734 Esc [ B, Esc O B ed-next-history
735 Esc [ C, Esc O C ed-next-char
736 Esc [ D, Esc O D ed-prev-char
737 Esc [ F, Esc O F ed-move-to-end
738 Esc [ H, Esc O H ed-move-to-beg
739 In vi command mode, they are also defined by default without the initial
741 escape character.
742 In addition, the editline library tries to bind the strings generated by
744 the arrow keys as reported by the terminfo(5) database to these editor
745 commands, unless that would clobber user settings.
746 In emacs mode, the two-character string “Ctrl-X Ctrl-X” is bound to the
748 em-exchange-mark editor command.
749 Input Queue
751 The editline library maintains an input queue operated in FIFO mode.
752 Whenever it needs an input character, it takes the first character from
753 the first line of the input queue. When the queue is empty, it reads
754 from the terminal.
755 A line can be appended to the end of the input queue in several ways:
757 - By calling one of the keyboard Macros.
759 - By calling the editor command vi-redo.
761 - By calling the editor command vi-alias.
763 - By pressing a key in emacs incremental search mode that doesn't
765 have a special meaning in that mode but returns to normal emacs
766 mode.
767 - If an application program directly calls the functions
769 el_push(3) or el_wpush(3), it can provide additional, program-
770 specific ways of appending to the input queue.
771
773 mg(1), vi(1), editline(3), el_wgets(3), el_wpush(3), el_wset(3),
774 editrc(5)
775
777 This manual page first appeared in OpenBSD 6.0 and NetBSD 8.
778
780 This manual page was written by Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>.
781BSD May 7, 2016 BSD