Input character bindings¶

All default bindings described below can be overridden by individual programs and can be changed with the editrc(5) bind builtin command.

In the following tables, `Ctrl-' indicates a character with the bit 0x40 flipped, and `Meta-' indicates a character with the bit 0x80 set. In vi insert mode and in emacs mode, all Meta-characters considered printable by the current locale(1) are bound to ed-insert instead of to the editor command listed below. Consequently, in UTF-8 mode, most of the Meta-characters are not directly accessible because their code points are occupied by printable Unicode characters, and Meta-characters are usually input using the em-meta-next editor command. For example, to enter `Meta-B' in order to call the ed-prev-word editor command in emacs mode, call em-meta-next by pressing and releasing the escape key (or equivalently, Ctrl-[), then press and release the `B' key. If you have configured a Meta-key on your keyboard, for example with `setxkbmap' -option altwin:left_meta_win , the Ctrl-Meta-characters are directly accessible. For example, to enter `Ctrl-Meta-H' in order to call the ed-delete-prev-word editor command in emacs mode, hold down the keys `Ctrl', `Meta', and `H' at the same time. Alternatively, press and release the escape key, then press and release `Ctrl-H'.

In vi input mode, input characters are bound to the following editor commands by default: It Ctrl-D, EOF Ta vi-list-or-eof It Ctrl-H, BS Ta vi-delete-prev-char It Ctrl-J, LF Ta ed-newline It Ctrl-M, CR Ta ed-newline It Ctrl-Q Ta ed-tty-start-output It Ctrl-S Ta ed-tty-stop-output It Ctrl-U Ta vi-kill-line-prev It Ctrl-V Ta ed-quoted-insert It Ctrl-W Ta ed-delete-prev-word It Ctrl-[, ESC Ta vi-command-mode It Ctrl-\, QUIT Ta ed-tty-sigquit It Ctrl-?, DEL Ta vi-delete-prev-char

All other input characters except the NUL character (Ctrl-@) are bound to ed-insert.

In vi command mode, input characters are bound to the following editor commands by default: It Ctrl-A Ta ed-move-to-beg It Ctrl-C, INT Ta ed-tty-sigint It Ctrl-E Ta ed-move-to-end It Ctrl-H, BS Ta ed-delete-prev-char It Ctrl-J, LF Ta ed-newline It Ctrl-K Ta ed-kill-line It Ctrl-L, FF Ta ed-clear-screen It Ctrl-M, CR Ta ed-newline It Ctrl-N Ta ed-next-history It Ctrl-O Ta ed-tty-flush-output It Ctrl-P Ta ed-prev-history It Ctrl-Q Ta ed-tty-start-output It Ctrl-R Ta ed-redisplay It Ctrl-S Ta ed-tty-stop-output It Ctrl-U Ta vi-kill-line-prev It Ctrl-W Ta ed-delete-prev-word It Ctrl-[, ESC Ta em-meta-next It Ctrl-\, QUIT Ta ed-tty-sigquit It Space Ta ed-next-char It # Ta vi-comment-out It $ Ta ed-move-to-end It % Ta vi-match It + Ta ed-next-history It , Ta vi-repeat-prev-char It - Ta ed-prev-history It . Ta vi-redo It / Ta vi-search-prev It 0 Ta vi-zero It 1 to 9 Ta ed-argument-digit It : Ta ed-command It ; Ta vi-repeat-next-char It ? Ta vi-search-next It @ Ta vi-alias It A Ta vi-add-at-eol It B Ta vi-prev-big-word It C Ta vi-change-to-eol It D Ta ed-kill-line It E Ta vi-end-big-word It F Ta vi-prev-char It G Ta vi-to-history-line It I Ta vi-insert-at-bol It J Ta ed-search-next-history It K Ta ed-search-prev-history It N Ta vi-repeat-search-prev It O Ta ed-sequence-lead-in It P Ta vi-paste-prev It R Ta vi-replace-mode It S Ta vi-substitute-line It T Ta vi-to-prev-char It U Ta vi-undo-line It W Ta vi-next-big-word It X Ta ed-delete-prev-char It Y Ta vi-yank-end It [ Ta ed-sequence-lead-in It ^ Ta ed-move-to-beg It _ Ta vi-history-word It a Ta vi-add It b Ta vi-prev-word It c Ta vi-change-meta It d Ta vi-delete-meta It e Ta vi-end-word It f Ta vi-next-char It h Ta ed-prev-char It i Ta vi-insert It j Ta ed-next-history It k Ta ed-prev-history It l Ta ed-next-char It n Ta vi-repeat-search-next It p Ta vi-paste-next It r Ta vi-replace-char It s Ta vi-substitute-char It t Ta vi-to-next-char It u Ta vi-undo It v Ta vi-histedit It w Ta vi-next-word It x Ta ed-delete-next-char It y Ta vi-yank It | Ta vi-to-column It ~ Ta vi-change-case It Ctrl-?, DEL Ta ed-delete-prev-char It Meta-O Ta ed-sequence-lead-in It Meta-[ Ta ed-sequence-lead-in

In emacs mode, input characters are bound to the following editor commands by default: It 0 to 9 Ta ed-digit It Ctrl-@, NUL Ta em-set-mark It Ctrl-A Ta ed-move-to-beg It Ctrl-B Ta ed-prev-char It Ctrl-C, INT Ta ed-tty-sigint It Ctrl-D, EOF Ta em-delete-or-list It Ctrl-E Ta ed-move-to-end It Ctrl-F Ta ed-next-char It Ctrl-H, BS Ta em-delete-prev-char It Ctrl-J, LF Ta ed-newline It Ctrl-K Ta ed-kill-line It Ctrl-L, FF Ta ed-clear-screen It Ctrl-M, CR Ta ed-newline It Ctrl-N Ta ed-next-history It Ctrl-O Ta ed-tty-flush-output It Ctrl-P Ta ed-prev-history It Ctrl-Q Ta ed-tty-start-output It Ctrl-R Ta ed-redisplay It Ctrl-S Ta ed-tty-stop-output It Ctrl-T Ta ed-transpose-chars It Ctrl-U Ta ed-kill-line It Ctrl-V Ta ed-quoted-insert It Ctrl-W Ta em-kill-region It Ctrl-X Ta ed-sequence-lead-in It Ctrl-Y Ta em-yank It Ctrl-Z, TSTP Ta ed-tty-sigtstp It Ctrl-[, ESC Ta em-meta-next It Ctrl-\, QUIT Ta ed-tty-sigquit It Ctrl-] Ta ed-tty-dsusp It Ctrl-?, DEL Ta em-delete-prev-char It Ctrl-Meta-H Ta ed-delete-prev-word It Ctrl-Meta-L Ta ed-clear-screen It Ctrl-Meta-_ Ta em-copy-prev-word It Meta-0 to 9 Ta ed-argument-digit It Meta-B Ta ed-prev-word It Meta-C Ta em-capitol-case It Meta-D Ta em-delete-next-word It Meta-F Ta em-next-word It Meta-L Ta em-lower-case It Meta-N Ta ed-search-next-history It Meta-O Ta ed-sequence-lead-in It Meta-P Ta ed-search-prev-history It Meta-U Ta em-upper-case It Meta-W Ta em-copy-region It Meta-X Ta ed-command It Meta-[ Ta ed-sequence-lead-in It Meta-b Ta ed-prev-word It Meta-c Ta em-capitol-case It Meta-d Ta em-delete-next-word It Meta-f Ta em-next-word It Meta-l Ta em-lower-case It Meta-n Ta ed-search-next-history It Meta-p Ta ed-search-prev-history It Meta-u Ta em-upper-case It Meta-w Ta em-copy-region It Meta-x Ta ed-command It Ctrl-Meta-? Ta ed-delete-prev-word

The remaining ascii(7) characters in the range 0x20 to 0x7e are bound to ed-insert.

If standard output is not connected to a terminal device or el_set(3) was used to set EL_EDITMODE to 0, all input character bindings are disabled and all characters typed are appended to the edit buffer. In that case, the edit buffer is returned to the program after a newline or carriage return character is typed, or after the first character typed if el_set(3) was used to set EL_UNBUFFERED to non-zero.

Editor commands¶

Most editor commands accept an optional argument. The argument is entered by prefixing the editor command with one or more of the editor commands ed-argument-digit, ed-digit, em-universal-argument, or vi-zero. When an argument is not provided, it defaults to 1. For most editor commands, the effect of an argument is to repeatedly execute the command that number of times.

When talking about a character string from a left character to a right character, the left character is included in the string, while the right character is not included.

If an editor command causes an error, the input character is discarded, no action occurs, and the terminal bell is rung. In case of a non-fatal error, the terminal bell is also rung, but the editor command takes effect anyway.

In the following list, the default key bindings are listed after each editor command.

ed-argument-digit Pq vi command: 1 to 9; emacs: Meta-0 to Meta-9

If in argument input mode, append the input digit to the argument being read. Otherwise, switch to argument input mode and use the input digit as the most significant digit of the argument. It is an error if the input character is not a digit or if the existing argument is already greater than a million.

ed-clear-screen Pq vi command: Ctrl-L; emacs: Ctrl-L, Ctrl-Meta-L

Clear the screen and display the edit buffer at the top. Ignore any argument.

ed-command Pq vi command: So : Sc ; emacs: Meta-X, Meta-x

Read a line from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing functionality and execute that line as an editrc(5) builtin command. If in vi command mode, also switch back to vi insert mode. Ignore any argument.

ed-delete-next-char Pq vi command: x

Delete the character at the cursor position. With an argument, delete that number of characters. In emacs mode, it is an error if the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer. In vi mode, the last character in the edit buffer is deleted in that case, and it is an error if the buffer is empty.

ed-delete-prev-char Pq vi command: X, Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL

Delete the character to the left of the cursor position. With an argument, delete that number of characters. It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.

ed-delete-prev-word Pq vi: Ctrl-W; emacs: Ctrl-Meta-H, Ctrl-Meta-?

Move to the left to the closest beginning of a word, delete the string from that position to the cursor, and save it to the cut buffer. With an argument, delete that number of words. It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.

ed-digit Pq emacs: 0 to 9

If in argument input mode, append the input digit to the argument being read. Otherwise, call ed-insert. It is an error if the input character is not a digit or if the existing argument is already greater than a million.

ed-end-of-file Pq not bound by default

Discard the edit buffer and indicate end of file to the program. Ignore any argument.

ed-ignore Pq various

Discard the input character and do nothing.

ed-insert Pq vi input: almost all; emacs: printable characters

In insert mode, insert the input character left of the cursor position. In replace mode, overwrite the character at the cursor and move the cursor to the right by one character position. Accept an argument to do this repeatedly. It is an error if the input character is the NUL character (Ctrl-@). Failure to enlarge the edit buffer also results in an error.

ed-kill-line Pq vi command: D, Ctrl-K; emacs: Ctrl-K, Ctrl-U

Delete the string from the cursor position to the end of the line and save it to the cut buffer. Ignore any argument.

ed-move-to-beg Pq vi command: ^, Ctrl-A; emacs: Ctrl-A

In vi mode, move the cursor to the first non-space character in the edit buffer. In emacs mode, move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer. Ignore any argument. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.

ed-move-to-end Pq vi command: $, Ctrl-E; emacs: Ctrl-E

Move the cursor to the end of the edit buffer. Ignore any argument. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.

ed-newline Pq all modes: Ctrl-J, LF, Ctrl-M, CR

Append a newline character to the edit buffer and return the edit buffer to the program. Ignore any argument.

ed-next-char Pq vi command: Space, l; emacs: Ctrl-F

Move the cursor one character position to the right. With an argument, move by that number of characters. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer.

ed-next-history Pq vi command: j, +, Ctrl-N; emacs: Ctrl-N

Replace the edit buffer with the next history line. That line is older than the current line. With an argument, go forward by that number of history lines. It is a non-fatal error to advance by more lines than are available.

ed-next-line Pq not bound by default

Move the cursor down one line. With an argument, move down by that number of lines. It is an error if the edit buffer does not contain enough newline characters to the right of the cursor position.

ed-prev-char Pq vi command: h; emacs: Ctrl-B

Move the cursor one character position to the left. With an argument, move by that number of characters. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer.

ed-prev-history Pq vi command: k, -, Ctrl-P; emacs: Ctrl-P

Replace the edit buffer with the previous history line. That line is newer than the current line. With an argument, go back by that number of lines. It is a non-fatal error to back up by more lines than are available.

ed-prev-line Pq not bound by default

Move the cursor up one line. With an argument, move up by that number of lines. It is an error if the edit buffer does not contain enough newline characters to the left of the cursor position.

ed-prev-word Pq emacs: Meta-B, Meta-b

Move the cursor to the left to the closest beginning of a word. With an argument, repeat that number of times. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer.

ed-quoted-insert Pq vi insert, emacs: Ctrl-V

Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing functionality and call ed-insert on it. If trying to read the character returns end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file instead.

ed-redisplay Pq vi command, emacs: Ctrl-R

Redisplay everything. Ignore any argument.

ed-search-next-history Pq vi command: J; emacs: Meta-N, Meta-n

Replace the edit buffer with the next matching history entry.

ed-search-prev-history Pq vi command: K; emacs: Meta-P, Meta-p

Replace the edit buffer with the previous matching history entry.

ed-sequence-lead-in Pq vi cmd: O, [; emacs: Ctrl-X;\fP

both: Meta-O, Meta-[ Call a macro. See the section about Macros below for details.

ed-start-over Pq not bound by default

Discard the contents of the edit buffer and start from scratch. Ignore any argument.

ed-transpose-chars Pq emacs: Ctrl-T

Exchange the character at the cursor position with the one to the left of it and move the cursor to the character to the right of the two exchanged characters. Ignore any argument. It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer or if the edit buffer contains less than two characters.

ed-unassigned Pq all characters not listed

This editor command always results in an error.

em-capitol-case Pq emacs: Meta-C, Meta-c

Capitalize the string from the cursor to the end of the current word. That is, if it contains at least one alphabetic character, convert the first alphabetic character to upper case, and convert all characters to the right of it to lower case. In any case, move the cursor to the next character after the end of the current word.

em-copy-prev-word Pq emacs: Ctrl-Meta-_

Copy the string from the beginning of the current word to the cursor and insert it to the left of the cursor. Move the cursor to the character after the inserted string. It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.

em-copy-region Pq emacs: Meta-W, Meta-w

Copy the string from the cursor to the mark to the cut buffer. It is an error if the mark is not set.

em-delete-next-word Pq emacs: Meta-D, Meta-d

Delete the string from the cursor to the end of the current word and save it to the cut buffer. It is an error if the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer.

em-delete-or-list Pq emacs: Ctrl-D, EOF

If the cursor is not at the end of the line, delete the character at the cursor. If the edit buffer is empty, indicate end of file to the program. It is an error if the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer and the edit buffer is not empty.

em-delete-prev-char Pq emacs: Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL

Delete the character to the left of the cursor. It is an error if the cursor is at the beginning of the edit buffer.

em-exchange-mark Pq not bound by default

Exchange the cursor and the mark.

em-gosmacs-transpose Pq not bound by default

Exchange the two characters to the left of the cursor. It is an error if the cursor is on the first or second character of the edit buffer.

em-inc-search-next Pq not bound by default

Emacs incremental next search.

em-inc-search-prev Pq not bound by default

Emacs incremental reverse search.

em-kill-line Pq not bound by default

Delete the entire contents of the edit buffer and save it to the cut buffer.

em-kill-region Pq emacs: Ctrl-W

Delete the string from the cursor to the mark and save it to the cut buffer. It is an error if the mark is not set.

em-lower-case Pq emacs: Meta-L, Meta-l

Convert the characters from the cursor to the end of the current word to lower case.

em-meta-next Pq vi command, emacs: Ctrl-[, ESC

Set the bit 0x80 on the next character typed. Unless the resulting code point is printable, holding down the `Meta-' key while typing that character is a simpler way to achieve the same effect.

em-next-word Pq Meta-F, Meta-f

Move the cursor to the end of the current word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer.

em-set-mark Pq emacs: Ctrl-Q, NUL

Set the mark at the current cursor position.

em-toggle-overwrite Pq not bound by default

Switch from insert to overwrite mode or vice versa.

em-universal-argument Pq not bound by default

If in argument input mode, multiply the argument by 4. Otherwise, switch to argument input mode and set the argument to 4. It is an error if the existing argument is already greater than a million.

em-upper-case Pq emacs: Meta-U, Meta-u

Convert the characters from the cursor to the end of the current word to upper case.

em-yank Pq emacs: Ctrl-Y

Paste the cut buffer to the left of the cursor.

vi-add Pq vi command: a

Switch to vi insert mode. Unless the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer, move it one character position to the right.

vi-add-at-eol Pq vi command: A

Switch to vi insert mode and move the cursor to the end of the edit buffer.

vi-alias Pq vi command: @

If an alias function was defined by calling the el_set(3) or el_wset(3) function with the argument EL_ALIAS_TEXT , read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing functionality, call the alias function passing the argument that was specified with EL_ALIAS_TEXT as the first argument and the character read, with an underscore prepended, as the second argument, and pass the string returned from the alias function to el_wpush(3). It is an error if no alias function is defined or if trying to read the character results in end of file or an error.

vi-change-case Pq vi command: ~

Change the case of the character at the cursor and move the cursor one character position to the right. It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer.

vi-change-meta Pq vi command: c

Delete the string from the cursor to the position specified by the following movement command and save a copy of it to the cut buffer. When given twice in a row, instead delete the whole contents of the edit buffer and save a copy of it to the cut buffer. In either case, switch to vi insert mode after that.

vi-change-to-eol Pq vi command: C

Delete the string from the cursor position to the end of the line and save it to the cut buffer, then switch to vi insert mode.

vi-command-mode Pq vi insert: Ctrl-[, ESC

Discard pending actions and arguments and switch to vi command mode. Unless the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer, move it to the left by one character position.

vi-comment-out Pq vi command: #

Insert a `#' character at the beginning of the edit buffer and return the edit buffer to the program.

vi-delete-meta Pq vi command: d

Delete the string from the cursor to the position specified by the following movement command and save a copy of it to the cut buffer. When given twice in a row, instead delete the whole contents of the edit buffer and save a copy of it to the cut buffer.

vi-delete-prev-char Pq vi insert: Ctrl-H, BS, Ctrl-?, DEL

Delete the character to the left of the cursor. It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer.

vi-end-big-word Pq vi command: E

Move the cursor to the end of the current space delimited word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer.

vi-end-word Pq vi command: e

Move the cursor to the end of the current word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer.

vi-history-word Pq vi command: _

Insert the first word from the most recent history entry after the cursor, move the cursor after to the character after the inserted word, and switch to vi insert mode. It is an error if there is no history entry or the most recent history entry is empty.

vi-insert Pq vi command: i

Enter insert mode.

vi-insert-at-bol Pq vi command: I

Move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer and switch to vi insert mode.

vi-kill-line-prev Pq vi: Ctrl-U

Delete the string from the beginning of the edit buffer to the cursor and save it to the cut buffer.

vi-list-or-eof Pq vi insert: Ctrl-D, EOF

If the edit buffer is empty, indicate end of file to the program. It is an error if the edit buffer is not empty.

vi-match Pq vi command: %

Consider opening and closing parentheses, braces, and brackets as delimiters. If the cursor is not at a delimiter, move it to the right until it gets to one, then move it to the matching delimiter. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if there is no delimiter at the cursor or in the string to the right of the cursor, or if the first such delimiter has no matching delimiter.

vi-next-big-word Pq vi command: W

Move the cursor to the right to the beginning of the next space delimited word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer or on its last character.

vi-next-char Pq vi command: f

Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing functionality and move the cursor to the right to the next instance of that character in the edit buffer. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file instead. It is an error if the character is not found searching to the right in the edit buffer.

vi-next-word Pq vi command: w

Move the cursor to the right to the beginning of the next word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the end of the edit buffer or on its last character.

vi-paste-next Pq vi command: p

Insert a copy of the cut buffer to the right of the cursor. It is an error if the cut buffer is empty.

vi-paste-prev Pq vi command: P

Insert a copy of the cut buffer to the left of the cursor. It is an error if the cut buffer is empty.

vi-prev-big-word Pq vi command: B

Move the cursor to the left to the next beginning of a space delimited word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer.

vi-prev-char Pq vi command: F

Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing functionality and move the cursor to the left to the next instance of that character in the edit buffer. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file instead. It is an error if the character is not found searching to the left in the edit buffer.

vi-prev-word Pq vi command: b

Move the cursor to the left to the next beginning of a word. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. It is an error if the cursor is already at the beginning of the edit buffer.

vi-redo Pq vi command: Sq .

Redo the last non-motion command.

vi-repeat-next-char Pq vi command: Sq ;

Repeat the most recent character search in the same search direction. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.

vi-repeat-prev-char Pq vi command: Sq ,

Repeat the most recent character search in the opposite search direction. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.

vi-repeat-search-next Pq vi command: n

Repeat the most recent history search in the same search direction.

vi-repeat-search-prev Pq vi command: N

Repeat the most recent history search in the opposite search direction.

vi-replace-char Pq vi command: r

Switch to vi replace mode, and automatically switch back to vi command mode after the next character typed. See ed-insert for a description of replace mode. It is an error if the cursor is at the end of the edit buffer.

vi-replace-mode Pq vi command: R

Switch to vi replace mode. This is a variant of vi insert mode; see ed-insert for the difference.

vi-search-next Pq vi command: ?

Replace the edit buffer with the next matching history entry.

vi-search-prev Pq vi command: /

Replace the edit buffer with the previous matching history entry.

vi-substitute-char Pq vi command: s

Delete the character at the cursor and switch to vi insert mode.

vi-substitute-line Pq vi command: S

Delete the entire contents of the edit buffer, save a copy of it in the cut buffer, and enter vi insert mode.

vi-to-column Pq vi command: |

Move the cursor to the column specified as the argument. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.

vi-to-history-line Pq vi command: G

Replace the edit buffer with the specified history entry.

vi-to-next-char Pq vi command: t

Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing functionality and move the cursor to the right to the character before the next instance of that character in the edit buffer. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file instead. It is an error if the character is not found searching to the right in the edit buffer.

vi-to-prev-char Pq vi command: T

Read one character from the terminal bypassing the normal line editing functionality and move the cursor to the left to the character after the next instance of that character in the edit buffer. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank. If trying to read the character results in end of file or an error, call ed-end-of-file instead. It is an error if the character is not found searching to the left in the edit buffer.

vi-undo Pq vi command: u

Undo the last change.

vi-undo-line Pq vi command: U

Undo all changes to the edit buffer.

vi-yank Pq vi command: y

Copy the string from the cursor to the position specified by the following movement command to the cut buffer. When given twice in a row, instead copy the whole contents of the edit buffer to the cut buffer.

vi-yank-end Pq vi command: Y

Copy the string from the cursor to the end of the edit buffer to the cut buffer.

vi-zero Pq vi command: 0

If in argument input mode, multiply the argument by ten. Otherwise, move the cursor to the beginning of the edit buffer. Can be used as a movement command after vi_change_meta, vi_delete_meta, or vi_yank.

Macros¶

If an input character is bound to the editor command ed-sequence-lead-in, editline attempts to call a macro. If the input character by itself forms the name of a macro, that macro is executed. Otherwise, additional input characters are read until the string read forms the name of a macro, in which case that macro is executed, or until the string read matches the beginning of none of the existing macro names, in which case the string including the final, mismatching character is discarded and the terminal bell is rung.

There are two kinds of macros. Command macros execute a single editor command. Keyboard macros return a string of characters that is appended as a new line to the Input Queue .

The following command macros are defined by default in vi command mode and in emacs mode: It Esc [ A, Esc O A Ta ed-prev-history It Esc [ B, Esc O B Ta ed-next-history It Esc [ C, Esc O C Ta ed-next-char It Esc [ D, Esc O D Ta ed-prev-char It Esc [ F, Esc O F Ta ed-move-to-end It Esc [ H, Esc O H Ta ed-move-to-beg

In vi command mode, they are also defined by default without the initial escape character.

In addition, the editline library tries to bind the strings generated by the arrow keys as reported by the terminfo(5) database to these editor commands, unless that would clobber user settings.

In emacs mode, the two-character string ``Ctrl-X Ctrl-X'' is bound to the em-exchange-mark editor command.

Input Queue¶

The editline library maintains an input queue operated in FIFO mode. Whenever it needs an input character, it takes the first character from the first line of the input queue. When the queue is empty, it reads from the terminal.

A line can be appended to the end of the input queue in several ways: It By calling one of the keyboard Macros . It By calling the editor command vi-redo. It By calling the editor command vi-alias. It By pressing a key in emacs incremental search mode that doesn't have a special meaning in that mode but returns to normal emacs mode. It If an application program directly calls the functions el_push(3) or el_wpush(3), it can provide additional, program-specific ways of appending to the input queue.