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UNIX: Pico Editor

Introduction

Starting Pico

Entering Text in Pico

Editing Text in Pico

Summary of Pico Commands

Introduction

Pico is the editor provided with the popular iUniversity of Washington i mail client Pine. It is descibed here because it is a simple "terminal-based" editor, available on a large number of UNIX systems. For some reason, many new Unix users have difficulty using vi (editor of the Gods).

Conventions

The character ^, which accompanies many commands, represents the control key.

Starting Pico

To start the pico editor, enter

% pico filename

at the Unix prompt ('$' or '%'), and press <return>. You will be presented with the pico editor window.

The ``banner'' line shows the version of pico and the name of the file being edited (or New Buffer if you did not enter a filename on the command line). Above The list of commands at the bottom of the window, pico indicates the status of the current file (in this case [New File]).

Entering Text in Pico

You can type text at the cursor position. Move the cursor by using the arrow keys. Pico automatically word-wraps the text of your message. You can insert blank lines for neater formatting by pressing <return>. If you delete words or lines, you can press ^J to rejustify the text so that unusual line breaks will not occur in your letter. If you want to delete a line, press ^K. Pine has a word find command (^W) and also a spell-checker (^T). When you have finished writing, press ^X to exit.

Spell-checking

To invoke the spell-checker press ^T. The message text will disappear and the following will appear:

Edit a replacement: misspelled_word

Editing Text in Pico

Moving Blocks of Text

The simplest method of moving a large block of text is with the Mark Set command. To set the mark, simultaneously depress the control key, the shift key and the ^. You should see the Mark Set prompt appear. Next, use the arrow key and scroll to the end of the block of text you wish to move. The entire block of text should be highlighted. Press ^K to cut this section to the clipboard. To paste the selection into your letter, relocate your cursor to the place where you wish the block of text to appear and press ^U. (Note: some terminal emulations do not allow you to use this command. Instead, use repeated ^K commands to delete the block of text. Then move your cursor and press ^U to paste the entire set of deletions into your letter).

Summary of Pico Commands

The ^ indicates that the <Ctrl> key should be held down when typing the following letter.

COMMAND FUNCTION

^A Move to the beginning of the current line.

^B Move backward a character.

^C (F11) Report current cursor position.

^D Delete the character at the cursor position.

^E Move to the end of the current line.

^F Move forward a character.

^G (F1) Display help text.

^I Insert a tab at the current cursor position.

^J (F4) Format (justify) the current paragraph.

Note: Paragraphs are delimited by blank lines or indents.

^K (F9) Cut selected text (inverse characters) or a whole line.

^L Refresh the display.

^N Move to the next line.

^O (F3) Output the current buffer to a file, saving it.

^P Move to the previous line.

^R (F5) Insert an external file at the current cursor position.

^T (F12) Invoke the spell checker.

^U (F10) Uncut (paste) last cut text, at the current cursor position.

^V (F8) Move forward a page of text.

^W (F6) Search for text, neglecting case.

^X (F2) Exit pico, saving buffer.

^Y (F7) Move backward a page of text.

^^ Mark cursor position as beginning of selected text.

Note: Setting mark when already set unselects text.


	UNIX,BOLUM 5 \| home UNIX: Pico Editor Introduction Starting Pico Entering Text in Pico Editing Text in Pico Summary of Pico Commands Introduction Pico is the editor provided with the popular iUniversity of Washington i mail client Pine. It is descibed here because it is a simple "terminal-based" editor, available on a large number of UNIX systems. For some reason, many new Unix users have difficulty using vi (editor of the Gods). Conventions The character ^, which accompanies many commands, represents the control key. Starting Pico To start the pico editor, enter % pico filename at the Unix prompt ('$' or '%'), and press <return>. You will be presented with the pico editor window. The ``banner'' line shows the version of pico and the name of the file being edited (or New Buffer if you did not enter a filename on the command line). Above The list of commands at the bottom of the window, pico indicates the status of the current file (in this case [New File]). Entering Text in Pico You can type text at the cursor position. Move the cursor by using the arrow keys. Pico automatically word-wraps the text of your message. You can insert blank lines for neater formatting by pressing <return>. If you delete words or lines, you can press ^J to rejustify the text so that unusual line breaks will not occur in your letter. If you want to delete a line, press ^K. Pine has a word find command (^W) and also a spell-checker (^T). When you have finished writing, press ^X to exit. Spell-checking To invoke the spell-checker press ^T. The message text will disappear and the following will appear: Edit a replacement: misspelled_word Editing Text in Pico Moving Blocks of Text The simplest method of moving a large block of text is with the Mark Set command. To set the mark, simultaneously depress the control key, the shift key and the ^. You should see the Mark Set prompt appear. Next, use the arrow key and scroll to the end of the block of text you wish to move. The entire block of text should be highlighted. Press ^K to cut this section to the clipboard. To paste the selection into your letter, relocate your cursor to the place where you wish the block of text to appear and press ^U. (Note: some terminal emulations do not allow you to use this command. Instead, use repeated ^K commands to delete the block of text. Then move your cursor and press ^U to paste the entire set of deletions into your letter). Summary of Pico Commands The ^ indicates that the <Ctrl> key should be held down when typing the following letter. COMMAND FUNCTION ^A Move to the beginning of the current line. ^B Move backward a character. ^C (F11) Report current cursor position. ^D Delete the character at the cursor position. ^E Move to the end of the current line. ^F Move forward a character. ^G (F1) Display help text. ^I Insert a tab at the current cursor position. ^J (F4) Format (justify) the current paragraph. Note: Paragraphs are delimited by blank lines or indents. ^K (F9) Cut selected text (inverse characters) or a whole line. ^L Refresh the display. ^N Move to the next line. ^O (F3) Output the current buffer to a file, saving it. ^P Move to the previous line. ^R (F5) Insert an external file at the current cursor position. ^T (F12) Invoke the spell checker. ^U (F10) Uncut (paste) last cut text, at the current cursor position. ^V (F8) Move forward a page of text. ^W (F6) Search for text, neglecting case. ^X (F2) Exit pico, saving buffer. ^Y (F7) Move backward a page of text. ^^ Mark cursor position as beginning of selected text. Note: Setting mark when already set unselects text.