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user12096
Asked: 2010-01-28 12:30:41 +0800 CST

How to extend a selection in the linux console editors nano and pico?

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How do I extend a selection in nano and pico with the keyboard, so I can move and copy blocks?

Sorry, this is a question I would normally find out by myself but I have searched a lot in different occasions now without success.

linux command-line-interface gnu

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    I got this from inside the help screen in nano by pressing ctrl-g:

    Ctrl    F-Key   Esc Key
^^      (F15)   (M-A)   Mark text at the cursor position  
M-^             (M-6)   Copy the current line and store it in the cutbuffer
^U      (F10)           Uncut from the cutbuffer into the current line

    ^ = ctrl
    M = esc

    So you position your cursor at the beginning of where you want to select and press esc-a or ctrl-shift-6 or F15 then move the cursor with the arrow keys to highlight the text. Once it is highlighted press esc-6 to copy the text. Lastly move to where you want to paste and press ctrl-u or F10. I just tested this in nano 2.0.6 on OS X but should work across the board.

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