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MCEDIT(1)		    GNU Midnight Commander		     MCEDIT(1)

NAME
       mcedit - Internal file editor of GNU Midnight Commander.

USAGE
       mcedit [-bcCdfhstVx?] [+number] file

DESCRIPTION
       mcedit  is  a  link  to mc, the main GNU Midnight Commander executable.
       Executing GNU Midnight Commander under this name requests  staring  the
       internal	 editor	 and  opening  the file specified on the command line.
       The editor is based on the terminal version of  cooledit	 -  standalone
       editor for X Window System.

OPTIONS
       +number
	      Go   to the line specified by number (do not put a space between
	      the + sign and the number).

       -b     Force black and white display.

       -c     Force ANSI color mode on terminals that don't seem to have color
	      support.

       -C <keyword>=<FGcolor>,<BGcolor>:<keyword>= ...
	      Specify  a different color set.  See the Colors section in mc(1)
	      for more information.

       -d     Disable mouse support.

       -f     Display the compiled-in search path for GNU  Midnight  Commander
	      data files.

       -t     Force  using  termcap database instead of terminfo.  This option
	      is only applicable if GNU Midnight Commander was	compiled  with
	      S-Lang library with terminfo support.

       -V     Display the version of the program.

       -x     Force  xterm mode.  Used when running on xterm-capable terminals
	      (two screen modes, and able to send mouse escape sequences).

FEATURES
       The internal file editor is a full-featured full screen editor.	It can
       edit  files  up	to 64 megabytes.  It is possible to edit binary files.
       The features it presently supports are: block copy, move, delete,  cut,
       paste;  key  for	 key undo; pull-down menus; file insertion; macro com‐
       mands; regular expression search and replace (and our own  scanf-printf
       search and replace); shift-arrow text highlighting (if supported by the
       terminal); insert-overwrite toggle; word wrap; autoindent; tunable  tab
       size; syntax highlighting for various file types; and an option to pipe
       text blocks through shell commands like indent and ispell.

KEYS
       The editor is easy to use and can be used without learning.  The	 pull-
       down menu is invoked by pressing F9.  You can learn other keys from the
       menu and from the button bar labels.

       In addition to that, Shift combined with arrows does text  highlighting
       (if   supported	 by   the  terminal):  Ctrl-Ins	 copies	 to  the  file
       ~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.clip,	 Shift-Ins	   pastes	  from
       ~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.clip, Shift-Del cuts to ~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.clip,
       and Ctrl-Del deletes highlighted text.  Mouse highlighting  also	 works
       on  some terminals.  To use the standard mouse support provided by your
       terminal, hold the Shift key.  Please note that the  mouse  support  in
       the terminal doesn't share the clipboard with mcedit.

       The  completion	key (usually Alt-Tab or Escape Tab) completes the word
       under the cursor using the words used earlier in the file.

       To define a macro, press Ctrl-R and then type out the keys you want  to
       be  executed.   Press  Ctrl-R again when finished.  You can then assign
       the macro to any key you like by pressing that key.  The macro is  exe‐
       cuted  when  you	 press Ctrl-A and then the assigned key.  The macro is
       also executed if you press Meta, Ctrl, or Esc  and  the	assigned  key,
       provided	 that  the  key is not used for any other function.  The macro
       commands are stored in the file	~/.mc/cedit/cooledit.macros.   Do  NOT
       edit this file if you are going to use macros again in the same editing
       session, because mcedit caches macro key defines in memory.  mcedit now
       overwrites  a macro if a macro with the same key already exists, so you
       won't have to edit this file. You will also have to restart other  run‐
       ning editors for macros to take effect.

       F19  will  format C, C++, Java or HTML code when it is highlighted.  An
       executable file called ~/.mc/cedit/edit.indent.rc will be  created  for
       you from the default template.  Feel free to edit it if you need.

       C-p  will  run  ispell on a block of text in a similar way.  The script
       file will be called ~/.mc/cedit/edit.spell.rc.

       If some keys don't work, you can use Learn Keys in the Options menu.

SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING
       mcedit supports syntax highlighting.  This means that keywords and con‐
       texts  (like C comments, string constants, etc) are highlighted in dif‐
       ferent colors.  The following section explains the format of  the  file
       ~/.mc/cedit/Syntax.     If    this   file   is	missing,   system-wide
       /usr/local/share/mc/syntax/Syntax is used.  The file ~/.mc/cedit/Syntax
       is  rescanned  on  opening of a any new editor file.  The file contains
       rules for highlighting, each of which is given on a separate line,  and
       define which keywords will be highlighted to what color.

       The  file is divided into sections, each beginning with a line with the
       file command.  The sections are normally put into separate files	 using
       the include command.

       The  file command has three arguments.  The first argument is a regular
       expression that is applied to the file name to determine if the follow‐
       ing  section  applies to the file.  The second argument is the descrip‐
       tion of the file type.  It is used  in  cooledit;  future  versions  of
       mcedit  may  use	 it as well.  The third optional argument is a regular
       expression to match the first line of text of the file.	The  rules  in
       the  following  section apply if either the file name or the first line
       of text matches.

       A section ends with the start of	 another  section.   Each  section  is
       divided into contexts, and each context contains rules.	A context is a
       scope within the text that a particular set of rules belongs  to.   For
       instance,  the  text  within a C style comment (i.e. between /* and */)
       has its own color.  This is a context, although it has no further rules
       inside  it  because  there is probably nothing that we want highlighted
       within a C comment.

       A trivial C programming section might look like this:

       file .\*\\.c C\sProgram\sFile (#include|/\\\*)

       wholechars abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ_

       # default colors
       define  comment	 brown
       context default
	 keyword  whole	 if	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 else	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 for	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 while	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 do	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 switch	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 case	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 static	  yellow
	 keyword  whole	 extern	  yellow
	 keyword	 {	  brightcyan
	 keyword	 }	  brightcyan
	 keyword	 '*'	  green

       # C comments
       context /\* \*/ comment

       # C preprocessor directives
       context linestart # \n red
	 keyword  \\\n	brightred

       # C string constants
       context " " green
	 keyword  %d	brightgreen
	 keyword  %s	brightgreen
	 keyword  %c	brightgreen
	 keyword  \\"	brightgreen

       Each context starts with a line of the form:

       context	[exclusive]  [whole|wholeright|wholeleft]  [linestart]	 delim
       [linestart] delim [foreground] [background]

       The first context is an exception.  It must start with the command

       context default [foreground] [background]

       otherwise  mcedit will report an error.	The linestart option specifies
       that delim must start at the beginning of a  line.   The	 whole	option
       tells  that  delim  must	 be a whole word.  To specify that a word must
       begin on the word boundary only on the  left  side,  you	 can  use  the
       wholeleft option, and similarly a word that must end on the word bound‐
       ary is specified by wholeright.

       The set of characters that constitute a whole word can  be  changed  at
       any  point in the file with the wholechars command.  The left and right
       set of characters can be set separately with

       wholechars [left|right] characters

       The exclusive option causes the text between the delimiters to be high‐
       lighted, but not the delimiters themselves.

       Each rule is a line of the form:

       keyword	 [whole|wholeright|wholeleft]  [linestart]  string  foreground
       [background]

       Context or keyword strings are interpreted, so  that  you  can  include
       tabs and spaces with the sequences \t and \s.  Newlines and backslashes
       are specified with \n and \\ respectively.  Since whitespace is used as
       a  separator, it may not be used as is.	Also, \* must be used to spec‐
       ify an asterisk.	 The * itself is a wildcard that matches any length of
       characters.  For example,

	 keyword	 '*'	  green

       colors all C single character constants green.  You also could use

	 keyword	 "*"	  green

       to  color string constants, but the matched string would not be allowed
       to span across multiple newlines.  The wildcard may be used within con‐
       text  delimiters as well, but you cannot have a wildcard as the last or
       first character.

       Important to note is the line

	 keyword  \\\n	brightgreen

       This line defines a keyword containing the backslash and newline	 char‐
       acters.	 Since the keywords are matched before the context delimiters,
       this keyword prevents the context from ending at the end of  the	 lines
       that end in a backslash, thus allowing C preprocessor directive to con‐
       tinue across multiple lines.

       The possible colors are: black, gray, red,  brightred,  green,  bright‐
       green,  brown,  yellow, blue, brightblue, magenta, brightmagenta, cyan,
       brightcyan, lightgray and white.	 If the syntax	file  is  shared  with
       cooledit,  it  is  possible  to specify different colors for mcedit and
       cooledit by separating them with a slash, e.g.

       keyword	#include  red/Orange

       mcedit uses the color before the slash.	See cooledit(1) for  supported
       cooledit colors.

       Comments may be put on a separate line starting with the hash sign (#).

       Because of the simplicity of the implementation, there are a few intri‐
       cacies that will not be dealt with correctly  but  these	 are  a	 minor
       irritation.  On the whole, a broad spectrum of quite complicated situa‐
       tions are handled with these simple rules.  It is a good idea to take a
       look at the syntax file to see some of the nifty tricks you can do with
       a little imagination.  If you cannot get	 by  with  the	rules  I  have
       coded, and you think you have a rule that would be useful, please email
       me with your request.  However, do not ask for regular expression  sup‐
       port, because this is flatly impossible.

       A  useful  hint is to work with as much as possible with the things you
       can do rather than try to do things  that  this	implementation	cannot
       deal  with.   Also  remember  that the aim of syntax highlighting is to
       make programming less prone to error, not to make code look pretty.

COLORS
       The default colors may be changed by appending  to  the	MC_COLOR_TABLE
       environment  variable.	Foreground  and background colors pairs may be
       specified for example with:

       MC_COLOR_TABLE="$MC_COLOR_TABLE:\
       editnormal=lightgray,black:\
       editbold=yellow,black:\
       editmarked=black,cyan"

OPTIONS
       Most options can now be set from the editors options dialog  box.   See
       the  Options  menu.  The following options are defined in ~/.mc/ini and
       have obvious counterparts in the dialog box.  You can  modify  them  to
       change the editor behavior, by editing the file.	 Unless specified, a 1
       sets the option to on, and a 0 sets it to off, as is usual.

       use_internal_edit
	      This option is ignored when invoking mcedit.

       editor_key_emulation
	      1 for Emacs keys, and 0 for normal Cooledit keys.

       editor_tab_spacing
	      Interpret the tab character as being of this length.  Default is
	      8.  You should avoid using other than 8 since most other editors
	      and  text	 viewers  assume  a  tab  spacing  of  8.   Use	  edi‐
	      tor_fake_half_tabs to simulate a smaller tab spacing.

       editor_fill_tabs_with_spaces
	      Never  insert  a	tab space. Rather insert spaces (ascii 20h) to
	      fill to the desired tab size.

       editor_return_does_auto_indent
	      Pressing return will tab across to match the indentation of  the
	      first line above that has text on it.

       editor_backspace_through_tabs
	      Make  a single backspace delete all the space to the left margin
	      if there is no text between the cursor and the left margin.

       editor_fake_half_tabs
	      This will emulate a half tab for those who want to program  with
	      a	 tab spacing of 4, but do not want the tab size changed from 8
	      (so that the code will be formatted the same when	 displayed  by
	      other  programs). When editing between text and the left margin,
	      moving and tabbing will be as though a tab space were  4,	 while
	      actually using spaces and normal tabs for an optimal fill.  When
	      editing anywhere else, a normal tab is inserted.

       editor_option_save_mode
	      Possible values 0, 1 and 2.  The save mode (see the options menu
	      also)  allows  you to change the method of saving a file.	 Quick
	      save (0) saves the file by immediately, truncating the disk file
	      to  zero	length	(i.e.	erasing it) and the writing the editor
	      contents to the file.  This method is fast, but dangerous, since
	      a	 system error during a file save will leave the file only par‐
	      tially written, possibly rendering the data irretrievable.  When
	      saving, the safe save (1) option enables creation of a temporary
	      file into which the file contents are  first  written.   In  the
	      event  of	 an problem, the original file is untouched.  When the
	      temporary file is successfully written, it  is  renamed  to  the
	      name of the original file, thus replacing it.  The safest method
	      is create backups (2).  Where a backup file  is  created	before
	      any  changes  are	 made.	 You  can specify your own backup file
	      extension in the dialog.	Note that saving  twice	 will  replace
	      your backup as well as your original file.

MISCELLANEOUS
       You  can	 use scanf search and replace to search and replace a C format
       string.	First take a look at the sscanf and sprintf man pages  to  see
       what  a	format string is and how it works.  Here's an example: suppose
       that you want to replace all occurrences	 of  an	 open  bracket,	 three
       comma separated numbers, and a close bracket, with the word apples, the
       third number, the word oranges and then the second number.   You	 would
       fill in the Replace dialog box as follows:

       Enter search string
       (%d,%d,%d)
       Enter replace string
       apples %d oranges %d
       Enter replacement argument order
       3,2

       The  last  line specifies that the third and then the second number are
       to be used in place of the first and second.

       It is advisable to use this feature with Prompt On Replace on,  because
       a  match	 is thought to be found whenever the number of arguments found
       matches the number given, which is not always a real match. Scanf  also
       treats  whitespace  as being elastic.  Note that the scanf format %[ is
       very useful for scanning strings, and whitespace.

       The editor also displays non-us characters (160+).  When editing binary
       files,  you should set display bits to 7 bits in the Midnight Commander
       options menu to keep the spacing clean.

FILES
       /usr/local/share/mc/mc.hlp

	      The help file for the program.

       /usr/local/share/mc/mc.ini

	      The default system-wide setup for GNU Midnight  Commander,  used
	      only if the user's own ~/.mc/ini file is missing.

       /usr/local/share/mc/mc.lib

	      Global  settings	for  the Midnight Commander.  Settings in this
	      file affect all users, whether they have ~/.mc/ini or not.

       /usr/local/share/mc/syntax/*

	      The default system-wide syntax files for mcedit,	used  only  if
	      the corresponding user's own ~/.mc/cedit/ file is missing.

       $HOME/.mc/ini

	      User's  own  setup.   If	this file is present then the setup is
	      loaded from here instead of the system-wide setup file.

       $HOME/.mc/cedit/

	      User's own directory where  block	 commands  are	processed  and
	      saved and user's own syntax files are located.

LICENSE
       This  program  is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public
       License as published by the Free Software Foundation.  See the built-in
       help  of the Midnight Commander for details on the License and the lack
       of warranty.

AVAILABILITY
       The latest version of this program  can	be  found  at  ftp://ftp.ibib‐
       lio.org/pub/Linux/utils/file/managers/mc/.

SEE ALSO
       cooledit(1), mc(1), gpm(1), terminfo(1), scanf(3).

AUTHORS
       Paul  Sheer  (psheer@obsidian.co.za) is the original author of the Mid‐
       night Commander's internal editor.

BUGS
       Bugs should be reported to mc-devel@gnome.org

MC Version 4.6.1-pre4		   June 2005			     MCEDIT(1)
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