commands, which can be used to configure nano on startup without using
the command line options. Additionally, the \fBsyntax\fP, \fBcolor\fP,
and \fBicolor\fP keywords are used to define syntax highlighting rules
-for different text patterns. GNU nano will read one command per line.
+for different text patterns. \fBnano\fP will read one command per line.
-Options in rcfiles take precedence over nano's defaults, and command
-line options override rcfile settings.
-
-Options are unset by default, except for options that take an argument.
+Options in nanorc files take precedence over nano's defaults, and
+command line options override nanorc settings. Also, options are unset
+by default, except for those that take arguments.
Quotes inside string parameters don't have to be escaped with
backslashes. The last double quote in the string will be treated as its
-end. For example, for the brackets option, "\fI"')>]}\fP" will match
-\fI"\fP, \fI'\fP, \fI)\fP, \fI>\fP, \fI]\fP, and \fI}\fP.
+end. For example, for the \fBbrackets\fP option, "\fI"')>]}\fP" will
+match \fI"\fP, \fI'\fP, \fI)\fP, \fI>\fP, \fI]\fP, and \fI}\fP.
The supported commands and arguments are:
.B set operatingdir "\fIdirectory\fP"
\fBnano\fP will only read and write files inside \fIdirectory\fP and its
subdirectories. Also, the current directory is changed to here, so
-files are inserted from this dir. By default the operating directory
-feature is turned off.
+files are inserted from this diractory. By default, the operating
+directory feature is turned off.
.TP
.B set/unset preserve
Preserve the XON and XOFF keys (^Q and ^S).
.B set/unset smooth
Use smooth scrolling by default.
.TP
-.B set speller \fIspellprog\fP
+.B set speller "\fIspellprog\fP"
Use spelling checker \fIspellprog\fP instead of the built-in one, which
calls \fIspell\fP.
.TP
.B set/unset suspend
-Allow nano to be suspended.
+Allow \fBnano\fP to be suspended.
.TP
.B set tabsize \fIn\fP
Use a tab size of \fIn\fP columns. The value of \fIn\fP must be greater
characters as part of a word.
.TP
.B syntax "\fIstr\fP" ["\fIfileregex\fP" ... ]
-Defines a syntax named \fIstr\fP which can be activated via the \fB-Y\fP
-flag, or will be automatically activated if the current filename matches
-the extended regular expression \fIfileregex\fP. All following
-\fBcolor\fP and \fBicolor\fP statements will apply to \fIsyntax\fP until
-a new syntax is defined.
+Defines a syntax named \fIstr\fP which can be activated via the
+-Y/--syntax command line option, or will be automatically activated if
+the current filename matches the extended regular expression
+\fIfileregex\fP. All following \fBcolor\fP and \fBicolor\fP statements
+will apply to \fIsyntax\fP until a new syntax is defined.
The \fInone\fP syntax is reserved; specifying it on the command line is
the same as not having a syntax at all. The \fIdefault\fP syntax is
* Editor Basics::
* Online Help::
* Feature Toggles::
+* Nanorc Files::
* The File Browser::
* Pico Compatibility::
* Building and Configure Options::
Don't convert files from DOS/Mac format.
@item -Q [str], --quotestr [str]
-Set the quoting string for justifying. The default is
+Set the quoting string for justifying. The default value is
@quotation
@code{^([ \t]*[|>:@}#])+}
@item -Y, --syntax=[str]
Specify a specific syntax highlighting from the nanorc to use, if
-available.
+available. See @xref{Nanorc Files}, for more info.
@item -c, --const
Constantly display the cursor position and line number on the statusbar.
and ^V (Page Down) keys. ^X exits the help system.
-@node Feature Toggles, The File Browser, Online Help, Top
+@node Feature Toggles, Nanorc Files, Online Help, Top
@chapter Feature Toggles
Toggles allow you to change certain aspects of the editor that
would normally be done via command line options. They are invoked via
-certain Meta key sequences. See @xref{Special Functions}, for more info.
-The following global toggles are available:
+certain Meta key sequences. See @xref{Special Functions}, for more
+info. The following global toggles are available:
@table @code
@item Whitespace Display Toggle (Meta-P)
toggles whitespace display mode if you have a "whitespace" option in
-your nanorc.
+your nanorc. See @xref{Nanorc Files}, for more info.
@item Tabs to Spaces Toggle (Meta-Q)
toggles the -E (@code{--tabstospaces}) command line option.
@item Color Syntax Highlighting Toggle (Meta-Y)
toggles color syntax highlighting if you have color syntaxes in your
-nanorc.
+nanorc. See @xref{Nanorc Files}, for more info.
@item Suspend Toggle (Meta-Z)
toggles the -z (@code{--suspend}) command line option.
@end table
-@node The File Browser, Pico Compatibility, Feature Toggles, Top
+@node Nanorc Files, The File Browser, Feature Toggles, Top
+@chapter Nanorc Files
+
+The nanorc files contain the default settings for @code{nano}. They
+should not be in DOS or Mac format. During startup, @code{nano} will
+first read its system-wide settings from SYSCONFDIR/nanorc, and then
+user-specific settings from ~/.nanorc.
+
+A nanorc file accepts a series of "set" and "unset" commands, which can
+be used to configure @code{nano} on startup without using the command
+line options. Additionally, the "syntax", "color", and "icolor"
+keywords are used to define syntax highlighting rules for different text
+patterns. @code{nano} will read one command per line.
+
+Options in nanorc files take precedence over @code{nano}'s defaults, and
+command line options override nanorc settings. Options are also unset
+by default, except for those that take arguments.
+
+Quotes inside string parameters don't have to be escaped with
+backslashes. The last double quote in the string will be treated as its
+end. For example, for the "brackets" option,
+
+@quotation
+@code{""')>]@}"}
+@end quotation
+
+will match @code{"}, @code{'}, @code{)}, @code{>}, @code{]}, and
+@code{@}}.
+
+The supported commands and arguments are:
+
+@table @code
+
+@item set/unset autoindent
+Use auto-indentation.
+
+@item set/unset backup
+Create backup files in "filename~".
+
+@item set backupdir "directory"
+Set the directory where @code{nano} puts unique backup files if file
+backups are enabled.
+
+@item set/unset backwards
+Do backwards searches by default.
+
+@item set/unset boldtext
+Use bold text instead of reverse video text.
+
+@item set brackets "string"
+Set the characters treated as closing brackets. They cannot contain
+blank characters. Only closing punctuation, optionally followed by
+closing brackets, can end sentences. The default value is
+
+@quotation
+@code{""')>]@}"}
+@end quotation
+
+@item set/unset casesensitive
+Do case sensitive searches by default.
+
+@item set/unset const
+Constantly display the cursor position in the status bar.
+
+@item set/unset cut
+Use cut to end of line by default.
+
+@item set fill "n"
+Wrap lines at column number "n". If "n" is 0 or less, the maximum line
+length will be the screen width less "n" columns. The default value is
+-8.
+
+@item set/unset historylog
+Enable ~/.nano_history for saving and reading search/replace strings.
+
+@item set matchbrackets "string"
+Set the opening and closing brackets that can be found by bracket
+searches. They cannot contain blank characters. The former set must
+come before the latter set, and both must be in the same order. The
+default value is
+
+@quotation
+@code{"(<[@{)>]@}"}
+@end quotation
+
+@item set/unset morespace
+Allow use of the blank line below the titlebar as extra editing space.
+
+@item set/unset mouse
+Enable mouse support, so that mouse clicks can be used to set the mark
+and run shortcuts.
+
+@item set/unset multibuffer
+Allow inserting files into their own buffers.
+
+@item set/unset noconvert
+Don't convert files from DOS/Mac format.
+
+@item set/unset nofollow
+Don't follow symlinks when writing files.
+
+@item set/unset nohelp
+Don't display the help lists at the bottom of the screen.
+
+@item set/unset nonewlines
+Don't add newlines to the ends of files.
+
+@item set/unset nowrap
+Don't wrap text at all.
+
+@item set operatingdir "directory"
+@code{nano} will only read and write files inside "directory" and its
+subdirectories. Also, the current directory is changed to here, so
+files are inserted from this diractory. By default, the operating
+directory feature is turned off.
+
+@item set/unset preserve
+Preserve the XON and XOFF keys (^Q and ^S).
+
+@item set punct "string"
+Set the characters treated as closing punctuation. They cannot contain
+blank characters. Only closing punctuation, optionally followed by
+closing brackets, can end sentences. The default value is @code{"!.?"}.
+
+@item set/unset quickblank
+Do quick statusbar blanking. Statusbar messages will disappear after 1
+keystroke instead of 25.
+
+@item set quotestr "string"
+The email-quote string, used to justify email-quoted paragraphs. This
+is an extended regular expression if your system supports them,
+otherwise a literal string. The default value is
+
+@quotation
+@code{"^([ \\t]*[#:>\\|@}])+"}
+@end quotation
+
+if you have extended regular expression support, or "> " otherwise.
+Note that '\\t' stands for a literal Tab character.
+
+@item set/unset rebinddelete
+Interpret the Delete key differently so that both Backspace and Delete
+work properly. You should only need to use this option if Backspace
+acts like Delete on your system.
+
+@item set/unset rebindkeypad
+Interpret the numeric keypad keys so that they all work properly. You
+should only need to use this option if they don't, as mouse support
+won't work properly with this option enabled.
+
+@item set/unset regexp
+Do extended regular expression searches by default.
+
+@item set/unset smarthome
+Make the Home key smarter. When Home is pressed anywhere but at the
+very beginning of non-whitespace characters on a line, the cursor will
+jump to that beginning (either forwards or backwards). If the cursor is
+already at that position, it will jump to the true beginning of the
+line.
+
+@item set/unset smooth
+Use smooth scrolling by default.
+
+@item set speller "spellprog"
+Use spelling checker "spellprog" instead of the built-in one, which
+calls "spell".
+
+@item set/unset suspend
+Allow @code{nano} to be suspended.
+
+@item set tabsize "n"
+Use a tab size of "n" columns. The value of "n" must be greater than 0.
+The default value is 8.
+
+@item set/unset tabstospaces
+Convert typed tabs to spaces.
+
+@item set/unset tempfile
+Save automatically on exit, don't prompt.
+
+@item set/unset view
+Disallow file modification.
+
+@item set whitespace "string"
+Set the two characters used to display the first characters of tabs and
+spaces. They must be single-column characters.
+
+@item set/unset wordbounds
+Detect word boundaries more accurately by treating punctuation
+characters as part of a word.
+
+@item syntax "str" ["fileregex" ... ]
+Defines a syntax named "str" which can be activated via the -Y/--syntax
+command line option, or will be automatically activated if the current
+filename matches the extended regular expression "fileregex". All
+following "color" and "icolor" statements will apply to "syntax" until a
+new syntax is defined.
+
+The "none" syntax is reserved; specifying it on the command line is the
+same as not having a syntax at all. The "default" syntax is special: it
+takes no "fileregex", and applies to files that don't match any other
+syntax's "fileregex".
+
+@item color fgcolor,bgcolor "regex" ...
+For the currently defined syntax, display all expressions matching the
+extended regular expression "regex" with foreground color "fgcolor" and
+background color "bgcolor", at least one of which must be specified.
+Legal colors for foreground and background color are: white, black, red,
+blue, green, yellow, magenta, and cyan. You may use the prefix "bright"
+to force a stronger color highlight for the foreground. If your
+terminal supports transparency, not specifying a "bgcolor" tells "nano"
+to attempt to use a transparent background.
+
+@item icolor fgcolor,bgcolor "regex" ...
+Same as above, except that the expression matching is case insensitive.
+
+@item color fgcolor,bgcolor start="sr" end="er"
+Display expressions which start with the extended regular expression
+"sr" and end with the extended regular expression "er" with foreground
+color "fgcolor" and background color "bgcolor", at least one of which
+must be specified. This allows syntax highlighting to span multiple
+lines. Note that all subsequent instances of "sr" after an initial "sr"
+is found will be highlighted until the first instance of "er".
+
+@item icolor fgcolor,bgcolor start="sr" end="er"
+Same as above, except that the expression matching is case insensitive.
+
+@item include "syntaxfile"
+Read in self-contained color syntaxes from "syntaxfile". Note that
+"syntaxfile" can only contain "syntax", "color", and "icolor" commands.
+
+@end table
+
+
+@node The File Browser, Pico Compatibility, Nanorc Files, Top
@chapter The File Browser
When reading or writing files, pressing ^T will invoke the file browser.
stuff.
@item --enable-color
-Enable support for syntax coloring of files. See the nanorc
-documentation for more details. The nanorc feature will also be
-enabled.
+Enable support for syntax coloring of files using the nanorc file. This
+enables nanorc support as well.
@item --enable-multibuffer
Enable support for opening multiple files at a time and switching
@item --enable-nanorc
Enable support for reading the nanorc file at startup. You can store
custom settings in the nanorc file rather than having to pass command
-line options to get desired behavior.
+line options to get desired behavior. See @xref{Nanorc Files}, for
+more info.
@item --enable-all
Shortcut for enabling the above four features (extra, color,
projects / nano.git / commitdiff