pico(1)pico(1)Namepico - simple text editor in the style of the Pine Composer
Syntaxpico [-f] [+n] [-nn] [-t] [-v] [-w] [-z] [file]
Description
Pico is a simple, display-oriented text editor based on the Pine mes‐
sage system composer. As with Pine, commands are displayed at the bot‐
tom of the screen, and context-sensitive help is provided. As charac‐
ters are typed they are immediately inserted into the text. Editing
commands are entered using control-key combinations. As a work-around
for communications programs that swallow certain control characters,
you can emulate a control key by pressing ESCAPE twice, followed by the
desired control character, e.g. "ESC ESC c" would be equivalent to
entering a ctrl-c. The editor has five basic features: paragraph jus‐
tification, searching, block cut/paste, a spelling checker, and a file
browser.
Paragraph justification (or filling) takes place in the paragraph that
contains the cursor, or, if the cursor is between lines, in the para‐
graph immediately below. Paragraphs are delimited by blank lines, or
by lines beginning with a space or tab. Unjustification can be done
immediately after justification using the control-U key combination.
String searches are not sensitive to case. A search begins at the cur‐
rent cursor position and wraps around the end of the text. The most
recent search string is offered as the default in subsequent searches.
Blocks of text can be moved, copied or deleted with creative use of the
command for mark (ctrl-underscore), delete (ctrl-k) and undelete (ctrl-
u). The delete command will remove text between the "mark" and the
current cursor position, and place it in the "cut" buffer. The
undelete command effects a "paste" at the current cursor position.
The spell checker examines all words in the text. It then offers, in
turn, each misspelled word for correction while highlighting it in the
text. Spell checking can be cancelled at any time. Alternatively,
pico will substitute for the default spell checking routine a routine
defined by the SPELL environment variable. The replacement routine
should read standard input and write standard output.
The file browser is offered as an option in the "Read File" and "Write
Out" command prompts. It is intended to help in searching for specific
files and navigating directory hierarchies. Filenames with sizes and
names of directories in the current working directory are presented for
selection. The current working directory is displayed on the top line
of the display while the list of available commands takes up the bottom
two. Several basic file manipulation functions are supported: file
renaming, copying, and deletion.
More specific help is available in pico's online help.
Options-f Use function keys for commands. This option supported only in
conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet.
+n Causes pico to be started with the cursor located n lines into
the file. (Note: no space between "+" sign and number)
-nn The -nn option enables new mail notification. The n argument is
optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your mailbox is
checked for new mail. For example, -n60 causes pico to check
for new mail once every minute. The default interval is 180
seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space
between "n" and the number)
-t Enable "tool" mode. Intended for when pico is used as the edi‐
tor within other tools (e.g., Elm, Pnews). Pico will not prompt
for save on exit, and will not rename the buffer during the
"Write Out" command.
-v View the file only, disallowing any editing.
-w Disable word wrap (thus allow editing of long lines).
-z Enable ^Z suspension of pico.
Lastly, when a running pico is disconnected (i.e., receives a SIGHUP),
pico will save the current work if needed before exiting. Work is
saved under the current filename with ".save" appended. If the current
work is unnamed, it is saved under the filename "pico.save".
Bugs
The manner in which lines longer than the display width are dealt is
not immediately obvious. Lines that continue beyond the edge of the
display are indicated by a '$' character at the end of the line. Long
lines are scrolled horizontally as the cursor moves through them.
Files
pico.save Unnamed interrupted work saved here.
*.save Interrupted work on a named file is saved here.
Authors
Michael Seibel, mikes@cac.washington.edu
Laurence Lundblade, lgl@cac.washington.edu
Pico was originally derived from MicroEmacs 3.6, by Dave G. Conroy.
Pico is a trademark of the University of Washington.
Copyright 1989-1994 by the University of Washington.
See Alsopine(1)
Source distribution (part of the Pine Message System):
ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/mail/pine.tar.Z
Version 2.4 pico(1)