Re: Help w/ vi command mode

From: Alan Connor (zzzzzz_at_xxx.yyy)
Date: 03/27/04 

Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 23:03:41 GMT

On 26 Mar 04 13:54:57 -0800, Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:
>
>
> In article <PQ09c.1979$Dv2.300@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net>
> zzzzzz@xxx.yyy (Alan Connor) writes:
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> xyzzy
>
> Nothing happens.
>
>>:wq
>>
>>will write and close the file.
>
> For some reason lost in the mists of time, I fell into the habit
> of using :x - it's one less keystroke and seems to work just fine.
> I've heard that this is an old "ex"ism. Is there any reason I
> shouldn't be doing it?

According to the ex man page, the command is ":xit", but apparently our vi's accept
":x" as a shorthand for this. Seems to work fine and a good stroke-saver.

Am using ed now, myself, and "x" from its command mode means to copy the contents of
the cut buffer to after the addressed line, syntax "(address)x".

>
> --
> /~\ cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid (Charlie Gibbs)
> \ / I'm really at ac.dekanfrus if you read it the right way.
> X Top-posted messages will probably be ignored. See RFC1855.
> / \ HTML will DEFINITELY be ignored. Join the ASCII ribbon campaign!
>

Couldn't agree with you more, Charlie. I have scripts that delete the body
of any post that isn't in plain-text and if I display the article I see only:

               [message body deleted: non-plain-text format]

....and can choose to respond to what I see there or ignore the post.

Procmail works very well with news....

Okay. Maybe I can trade you for that ":x" shortcut here:

If hitting "Esc" is awkward from a particular hands position, use "Ctrl-[" instead.

AC 

-- 
ed(1) Check out the original tutorials by Brian W.
Kernighan at the Ed Home Page  http://tinyurl.com/2aa6g