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.TH pico 1 "Version 4.92"
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pico \- simple text editor in the style of the Pine Composer
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\fIPico\fR is a simple, display-oriented text editor based on
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the Pine message system composer. As with Pine, commands are
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displayed at the bottom of the screen, and context-sensitive
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help is provided. As characters are typed they are immediately
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inserted into the text.
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Editing commands are entered using control-key
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combinations. As a work-around for communications programs that
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swallow certain control characters, you can emulate a control key
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by pressing ESCAPE twice, followed by the desired control character,
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e.g. "ESC ESC c" would be equivalent to entering a ctrl-c.
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The editor has five basic features: paragraph justification,
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searching, block cut/paste, a spelling checker, and a file browser.
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Paragraph justification (or filling) takes place in the paragraph that
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contains the cursor, or, if the cursor is between lines, in the paragraph
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immediately below. Paragraphs are delimited by blank lines, or by lines
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beginning with a space or tab. Unjustification can be done immediately
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after justification using the control-U key combination.
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String searches are not sensitive to case. A search begins at the current
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cursor position and wraps around the end of the text. The most recent
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search string is offered as the default in subsequent searches.
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Blocks of text can be moved, copied or deleted with creative use of the
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command for mark (ctrl-^), delete (ctrl-k) and undelete (ctrl-u).
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The delete command will remove text between the "mark" and the current
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cursor position, and place it in the "cut" buffer. The undelete command
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effects a "paste" at the current cursor position.
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The spell checker examines all words in the text. It then offers, in
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turn, each misspelled word for correction while
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highlighting it in the text. Spell checking can be cancelled at any time.
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Alternatively, \fIpico\fR will substitute for the default spell checking
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routine a routine defined by the SPELL environment variable. The replacement
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routine should read standard input and write standard output.
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The file browser is offered as an option in the "Read File" and "Write Out"
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command prompts. It is intended to help in searching for specific files
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and navigating directory hierarchies. Filenames with sizes and names of
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directories in the current working directory are presented for selection.
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The current working directory is displayed on the top line of the display
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while the list of available commands takes up the bottom two. Several
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basic file manipulation functions are supported: file renaming, copying,
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More specific help is available in \fIpico\fR's online help.
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Causes \fIpico\fR to be started with the cursor located \fIn\fR lines
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into the file. (Note: no space between "+" sign and number)
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Display all files including those beginning with a period (.).
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Enable the option to Replace text matches found using the
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Rebind the "delete" key so the character the cursor is on is rubbed out
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rather than the character to its left.
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Enable file name completion.
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Use function keys for commands. This option supported only in
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conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.
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List valid command line options.
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Enable "Goto" command in the file browser. This enables the command to
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permit explicitly telling \fIpilot\fR which directory to visit.
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Enable "Show Cursor" mode in file browser. Cause cursor to be positioned
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before the current selection rather than placed at the lower left of the
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Causes "Cut Text" command to remove characters from the cursor position
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to the end of the line rather than remove the entire line.
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Enable mouse functionality. This only works when \fIpico\fR is run from
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within an X Window System "xterm" window.
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The \-n\fIn\fR option enables new mail notification. The \fIn\fR
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argument is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your
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mailbox is checked for new mail. For example, \-n60 causes \fIpico\fR
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to check for new mail once every minute. The default interval is 180
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seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space between "n" and
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.IP \fB-o\ \fIdir\fB\fR
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Sets operating directory. Only files within this directory are accessible.
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Likewise, the file browser is limited to the specified directory subtree.
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Sets column used to limit the "Justify" command's right margin
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.IP \fB-s\ \fIspeller\fR
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Specify an alternate program
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to use when spell checking.
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Enable "tool" mode. Intended for when \fIpico\fR is used as the
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editor within other tools (e.g., Elm, Pnews). \fIPico\fR will not prompt
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for save on exit, and will not rename the buffer during the "Write Out"
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View the file only, disallowing any editing.
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Print Pico version and exit.
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Disable word wrap (thus allow editing of long lines).
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Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen.
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Enable ^Z suspension of \fIpico\fR.
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Preserve the "start" and "stop" characters, typically Ctrl-Q and Ctrl-S,
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which are sometimes used in communications paths to control data flow
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between devices that operate at different speeds.
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.IP \fB-Q\ \fIquotestr\fB\fR
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Set the quote string. Especially useful when composing email, setting this
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allows the quote string to be checked for when Justifying paragraphs.
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A common quote string is "> ".
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Termcap or terminfo definition for input escape sequences are used in
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preference to sequences defined by default. This option is only available
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if \fIpico\fR was compiled with the TERMCAP_WINS define turned on.
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.IP \fB-setlocale_ctype\fR
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Do setlocale(LC_CTYPE) if available. Default is to not do this setlocale.
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.IP \fB-no_setlocale_collate\fR
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Do not do setlocale(LC_COLLATE). Default is to do this setlocale.
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Lastly, when a running \fIpico\fR is disconnected (i.e., receives a
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SIGHUP), \fIpico\fR will save the current work if needed before exiting.
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Work is saved under the current filename with ".save" appended.
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If the current work is unnamed, it is saved under the filename "pico.save".
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The manner in which lines longer than the display width are dealt
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is not immediately obvious. Lines that continue beyond the edge
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of the display are indicated by a '$' character at the end
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of the line. Long lines are scrolled horizontally as the cursor
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pico.save Unnamed interrupted work saved here.
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*.save Interrupted work on a named file is saved here.
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Michael Seibel <mikes@cac.washington.edu>
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Laurence Lundblade <lgl@cac.washington.edu>
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Pico was originally derived from MicroEmacs 3.6, by Dave G. Conroy.
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Copyright 1989-2007 by the University of Washington.
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Source distribution (part of the Pine Message System):
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ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/mail/pine.tar.Z
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$Date: 2005/04/28 18:28:33 $
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