Using nano (text editor)

 Hi Linuxers, 

Are you new to Linux? Ever used nano? If no, this article is for you. 

Nano is the simplest of all text editors so far I've seen. In my last post, I recommended you people to use nano, to edit GRUB defaults. This article speaks about the usage of nano. Without further delay, let's move on!

Start with Nano

You can open this text editor by typing nano in the terminal. It looks like this:

 You can type nano /path/to/file/name to open a file in nano. If a file doesn't exist, nano will create a new one. 

This editor is simple to use, just like the GUI based ones. Whatever you type directly goes into the text field (unlike vim). You have a set of shortcuts to use, which is kinda helpful. 

Essential Shortcuts (Hot Keys)

Ctrl + X (F2): Close the current buffer / Exit from nano

You can use this combination to exit from nano. It'll ask you whether to save the file if it isn't.

Ctrl+G (F1): Display help 

You can use this combination, or press F1 to get to the help menu. Here, you'll find all the shortcut keys for using nano. As usual, to get out from help, press Ctrl+X.

Ctrl + O (F3): Write the current buffer to disk (save) 

With this shortcut, you can save the current file if you've made changes. It's the same as Ctrl+S to save in a word processor.If you haven't saved the file, it'll humbly ask you to save it.

Ctrl + W (F6): Search forward for a string or a regular expression 

This is similar to the Find menu in the word processor. Just press Ctrl+W, enter the text that you want to search, and hit enter.

If you want to find the next text, press Ctrl+W again, and hit enter. Continue this process to find the next one.

Ctrl + K (F9): Cut current line and store it in cutbuffer  

This is the shortcut to cut the whole line.

Before cutting the line

 

After cutting the line (the third line)

 

Ctrl + U (F10): Paste the contents of cutbuffer at current cursor position 

You can paste the text somewhere which you've cut previously.

Previously, I've cut a bunch of text. Now, I've pasted it on the bottom most line. 

Note: The cut and paste shortcuts only work inside the nano text editor, i.e., you can't cut text from anywhere else and paste it inside nano using the above shortcuts. 

Anyways, you can paste text from some other source by middle-clicling into the text field. 

Ctrl + J (F4): Justify the current paragraph 

You may notice the symbol ">" at the end of some of the lines. It means that there is some text beyond the border.  You can use this combination to justify the paragraph.

Before Justification

After Justification

 

 After justification, the paragraph appears to be adjusted enough to be visible inside the border. This is a handy feature. 

Ctrl + C (F11): Display the position of the cursor 

Use this combination to display the position of the cursor in the text editor.

This combination displays the position of cursor only when you're editing the file. If you've opened something like Find menu, then Ctrl+C is used to cancel the operation.

Ctrl + _ (M-G): Go to line and column number 

Use this combination to place your cursor at a particular line, like 2nd line, 5th column, etc. and press [Enter]. Your cursor will be placed at the location.

M-U and M-E: Undo and Redo the last operation 

Done something wrong? Wanna undo the action? Press Meta+U. For redoing it, press Meta+E.

Here, M refers to Meta key (which mostly refers to Alt). It can alternatively be used by Alt and Esc keys. 

 

Video demonstrating undo and redo

Wrapping up

So, I hope you people find this tutorial helpful. There are tons of other shortcut keys used in nano, but these are the essential ones. 

The comment section is yours, please give your feedback. 

Happy Linuxing :)