Re: [Help-nano] Features I like a lot ...

[Benno Schulenberg]

Op 16-01-18 om 23:52 schreef Andreas Schamanek:
> Let me start by mentioning the 2 features that I consciously use most often,
> even though they are not quite recent additions: Syntax highlighting and
> undo.

Yes, syntax highlighting is quite old, starting somewhere in 2002, and
usable probably since 1.2.0, fifteen years ago.  But in the beginning
distros didn't enable this by default, so very few people saw it.

The undo/redo system is in a usable state since 2.4.0, three years ago.

> However, I indeed referred to features that had been added later, like
>
> ^S to save the file (which I am using frequently, currently ;)
>
> BTW, it puzzles me how hard it is to unlearn ^O Enter.

Yes.  :|  Took me a couple of weeks.  But now I have the inverse problem:
when on a server with an older nano: "mumble mumble".

> Also very frequently I use Alt+Up/Down to find further matches of the last
> search pattern.

Ah.  I don't use those, I'm too used to M-W and M-Q.  (The latter binding
I always add myself.)

> Recent stuff from my .nanorc and command line (i.e. always used defaults):
> atblanks, trimblanks, smooth, smarthome, wordbounds

Atblanks I use when editing the FAQ.  Trimblanks is in my .nanorc now.
Smooth and smarthome I have used since starting to use nano, somewhere
in 2004.

> Then there are features that I do not use often but which sometimes come in
> very handy:
>
> - comment/uncomment lines

I use this nearly daily, to temporarily disable a few lines of code.

> - indent/unindent lines (works even with tabs!),

I never used this because it didn't work the way I wanted, and the
keystrokes were awkward: Shift+Alt+{ and Shift+Alt+}.  Now with
<Tab> and <Shift+Tab> I will probably start using it.

> - line numbering (not yet used but definitely good to have)

I sometimes use this when I want to know how big a piece of code is.

> - whitespace display (also usually not needed but can be a life saver)

I use this every other day, when I suspect having messed up the
whitespace.

> - improved navigation (^Up/Down, ^Left/Right, ^Home/End, ...)

All the time.  Sometimes I try other editors and when those keystrokes
don't work, at least ^Left/^Right, I'm disgusted.  :)

> I would love to be able to select (mark) text by holding Shift together with
> cursor keys. Unfortunately, I haven't yet managed to get this working in my
> terminal (I use lilyterm either directly or "around" a tmux). It works fine in
> an xterm, though.

It seems you can stop lilyterm from interpreting those keystrokes by
rightclicking and disabling them in the [Set key binding] menu item.

> I'd also like to use the opportunity to say thanks for the incredible support
> Benno is providing here on the list. That's worth more than any feature could
> ever be.

Please, please, don't exaggerate.  :)  Support is good, but... a coveted
feature is better.

But thanks.

Benno