Re: [Nano-devel] the mechanics of wrapping

[James Freer]

On Mon, 2 Jun 2014, Benno Schulenberg wrote:
> Hello James,
>
> On Mon, Jun 2, 2014, at 8:42, James Freer wrote:
> > I'd be grateful if someone could clarify if nano can be set up for
> > what I call 'softwrap' for long lines. In gedit wordwrap is exactly
> > that and the same with emacs 'visual line mode' or Vim's set
> > linebreak.
>
> Ah.  You mean a softwrap that only breaks at whitespace?
> Nano doesn't do that.  It would require a patch.
>
> > There is softwrap in nano but it wraps long lines without removing
> > spaces and not saving in that mode.
>
> "Saving in that mode"?  Softwrap is a setting of the editor, not an
> attribute associated with a file.  Also in vim, when using :set linebreak
> for some file, vim doesn't remember this for the next session.
>
> So no, nano doesn't do wordwrap, it doesn't respect the integrity
> of words when doing softwrap.
>
> Benno

Hello Benno

Thanks for the reply and explaining.

I am a writer, using a text editor for prose, and so I am trying to find a 
console editor that can do wordwrap. Of the 600-700 editors there are only a 
few that suit... most editors being for coders.

For the console there is only vim and emacs that can be configured for what I 
am seeking. Ideally I'd like a smaller editor that doesn't have so many 
features and 'bells & whistles' - I was hoping nano was what I was looking for.

Gedit does exactly what I want for gui but would like something similar for the 
console. There is a need I think for a prose editor and maybe one day nano may 
get the patch you mentioned.

Thanks
james