Condensing the descriptions of command-key sequences and of the screen layout;

mentioning how to enter Unicode and that regular expressions are line oriented.

git-svn-id: svn://svn.savannah.gnu.org/nano/trunk/nano@5605 35c25a1d-7b9e-4130-9fde-d3aeb78583b8

diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index a248884c763312314352cfacaf3a56b32b40e27d..b3fab699610f151c4a42043e7f5d04ca5b75b74c 100644 (file)
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+2016-02-05  Benno Schulenberg  <bensberg@justemail.net>
+       * doc/texinfo/nano.texi: Condense the descriptions of command-key
+       sequences and of the screen layout, mention how to enter Unicode,
+       and mention that regular expressions are line oriented.
+
 2016-01-31  Benno Schulenberg  <bensberg@justemail.net>
        * src/files.c (has_valid_path): Be more specific in how a given path
        is invalid.  The change was improved by Rishabh Dave.

diff --git a/doc/texinfo/nano.texi b/doc/texinfo/nano.texi
index a0606bbe0b8542039882a389806678d9ac7e2404..b841d15cd3bc6a5da4881a1cf4112c60bad9e5de 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/texinfo/nano.texi
+++ b/doc/texinfo/nano.texi
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 
 @smallbook
 @set EDITION 0.3
-@set VERSION 2.5.1
-@set UPDATED December 2015
+@set VERSION 2.5.2
+@set UPDATED February 2016
 
 @dircategory Editors
 @direntry
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 @titlepage
 @title GNU @code{nano}
 @subtitle a small and friendly text editor.
-@subtitle version 2.5.1
+@subtitle version 2.5.2
 
 @author Chris Allegretta
 @page
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ as possible while offering a superset of Pico's functionality.  See
 
 Please report bugs via @url{https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=nano}.
 
+
 @node Invoking
 @chapter Invoking
 
@@ -113,6 +114,7 @@ But normallly you would set your preferred options in your
 (making @code{nano} remember the cursor position when you close a file),
 you will rarely need to specify a line number.
 
+
 @node Command-line Options
 @chapter Command-line Options
 
@@ -342,7 +344,7 @@ Don't hard-wrap long lines at any length.  This option conflicts with
 @anchor{Expert Mode}
 @item -x
 @itemx --nohelp
-Expert Mode: don't show the Shortcut Lists at the bottom of the screen.
+Expert Mode: don't show the Shortcut List at the bottom of the screen.
 This affects the location of the statusbar as well, as in Expert Mode it
 is located at the very bottom of the editor.
 
@@ -379,12 +381,11 @@ Ignored, for compatibility with Pico.
 
 @menu
 * Entering Text::
-* Special Functions::
+* Commands::
 * The Cutbuffer::
 * The Mark::
-* The Titlebar::
-* The Statusbar::
-* Shortcut Lists::
+* Screen Layout::
+* Search and Replace::
 * Using the Mouse::
 * Limitation::
 @end menu
@@ -392,34 +393,46 @@ Ignored, for compatibility with Pico.
 @node Entering Text
 @section Entering Text
 
-@code{nano} is a "modeless" editor.  All keystrokes, with the exception
-of Control and Meta key sequences, enter text into the file being edited.
-All key sequences in @code{nano} are entered using the keyboard.
+@code{nano} is a "modeless" editor.  This means that all keystrokes,
+with the exception of Control and Meta sequences, enter text into the
+file being edited.
+
+Characters not present on the keyboard can be entered in two ways:
+
+@itemize @bullet
+@item
+For characters with a single-byte code,
+pressing the Esc key twice and then typing a three-digit decimal number
+(from 000 to 255) will enter the character with the corresponding value.
+
+@item
+For any possible character, pressing M-V (Alt+V) and then typing a
+six-digit hexadecimal number (starting with 0 or 1) will enter the
+character with the corresponding Unicode value.
+@end itemize
 
-@node Special Functions
-@section Special Functions
+@node Commands
+@section Commands
 
-Special functions use the Control key (Ctrl), displayed in the help and
-shortcut lists as ^; the Meta key (Alt or Cmd), displayed as M-; or the
-Escape key (Esc).
+Commands are given by using the Control key (Ctrl, shown as @code{^})
+or the Meta key (Alt or Cmd, shown as @code{M-}).
 
 @itemize @bullet
 @item
-Control key sequences are entered by holding down the Ctrl key and
-pressing the desired key, or by pressing the Esc key twice and then
+A control-key sequence is entered by holding down the Ctrl key and
 pressing the desired key.
+
 @item
-Pressing the Esc key twice and then typing a three-digit number from
-000 to 255 will enter the character with the corresponding value.
-@item
-Meta key sequences are entered by holding down the Meta key (normally
-the Alt key) and pressing the desired key, or by pressing the Esc key
-once and then pressing the desired key.  Certain operating systems "swallow"
-the Alt key so that it never reaches the application; if your operating
-system does this, you should use the Esc key to generate Meta key
-sequences.
+A meta-key sequence is entered by holding down the Meta key (normally
+the Alt key) and pressing the desired key.
 @end itemize
 
+If for some reason on your system the combinations with Ctrl or Alt do
+not work, you can generate them by using the Esc key.  A control-key
+sequence is generated by pressing the Esc key twice and then pressing
+the desired key, and a meta-key sequence by pressing the Esc key once
+and then pressing the desired key.
+
 @node The Cutbuffer
 @section The Cutbuffer
 
@@ -448,35 +461,42 @@ search-and-replace (^\) or spell-checking session (^T).
 Cutting or copying selected text will toggle the mark off automatically.
 If necessary, it can be toggled off manually with another ^6 or M-A.
 
-@node The Titlebar
-@section The Titlebar
+@node Screen Layout
+@section Screen Layout
+
+The default screen of nano consists of five areas.  From top to bottom
+these are: the titlebar, a blank line, the edit window, the statusbar,
+and two help lines.
 
-The titlebar is the line displayed at the top of the editor.  There are
+The titlebar consists of
 three sections: left, center and right.  The section on the left
 displays the version of @code{nano} being used.  The center section
 displays the current filename, or "New Buffer" if the file has not yet
-been named.  The section on the right will display "Modified" if the
+been named.  The section on the right displays "Modified" if the
 file has been modified since it was last saved or opened.
 
-Special modes: When @code{nano} is in "File browser" mode, the center
-section will display the current directory instead of the filename.  See
-@xref{The File Browser}, for more info.
-
-@node The Statusbar
-@section The Statusbar
-
-The statusbar is the third line from the bottom of the screen, or the
-bottom line in Expert Mode.  See @xref{Expert Mode}, for more info.  It
+The statusbar is the third line from the bottom of the screen.  It
 shows important and informational messages.  Any error messages that
 occur from using the editor will appear on the statusbar.  Any questions
 that are asked of the user will be asked on the statusbar, and any user
 input (search strings, filenames, etc.) will be input on the statusbar.
 
-@node Shortcut Lists
-@section Shortcut Lists
+The two help lines at the bottom of the screen show some of the most
+essential functions of the editor.  These two lines are called the
+Shortcut List.
+
+@node Search and Replace
+@section Search and Replace
+
+One can search the current buffer for the occurrence of any string
+with the Search command (default key binding: ^W).  The default search
+mode is forward, case-insensitive, and for literal strings.  But one
+can search backwards by pressing M-B, search case sensitively with M-C,
+and interpret regular expressions in the search string with M-R.
 
-The Shortcut Lists are the two lines at the bottom of the screen which
-show some of the more commonly used functions in the editor.
+A regular expression in a search string always covers just one line;
+it cannot span multiple lines.  And when replacing (with ^\ or M-R)
+the replacement string cannot contain a newline (LF).
 
 @node Using the Mouse
 @section Using the Mouse
@@ -515,7 +535,7 @@ and ^V (Page Down) keys.  ^X exits the help system.
 
 Toggles allow you to change on-the-fly certain aspects of the editor
 which would normally be specified via command-line options.  They are
-invoked via Meta-key sequences.  See @xref{Special Functions}, for more info.
+invoked via Meta-key sequences (see @xref{Commands}, for more info).
 The following global toggles are available:
 
 @table @code