commit 9a4c384afa64b016a4efca41ce30c7d2191f4429
parent 040bd93cc4a032804136233ca4bc2b06a32e8c56
Author: Benno Schulenberg <bensberg@justemail.net>
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2017 20:31:04 +0200
docs: reword the main paragraph of the man page
Mention some things that really set nano apart from Pico.
Plus some other small tweaks here and there.
Diffstat:
2 files changed, 26 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/nano.1 b/doc/nano.1
@@ -27,15 +27,14 @@ nano \- Nano's ANOther editor, an enhanced free Pico clone
.RI [ options "] [[+" line [, column "]]\ " file "]..."
.SH DESCRIPTION
-\fBnano\fP is a small, free and friendly editor which aims to replace
-Pico, the default editor included in the non-free Pine package. On
-top of copying Pico's look and feel, \fBnano\fP also implements some
-missing (or disabled by default) features in Pico, such as "search and
-replace" and "go to line and column number".
+\fBnano\fP is a small and friendly editor. It copies the look and feel
+of Pico, but is free software, and implements several features that Pico
+lacks, such as: opening multiple files, scrolling per line, undo/redo,
+syntax coloring, line numbering, and soft-wrapping overlong lines.
-When opening a file, the cursor can be put on a specific line by adding
-the line number with a plus sign (\fB+\fR) before the filename, and even
-in a specific column by adding it with a comma.
+When giving filename on the command line, the cursor can be put on a
+specific line by adding the line number with a plus sign (\fB+\fR) before
+the filename, and even in a specific column by adding it with a comma.
If the first file specified is a dash (\fB\-\fR), \fBnano\fR will read
data from standard input.
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@ Since nano-2.7.0, text can also be selected by holding Shift and moving the
cursor with the arrow keys. Holding down the Alt key too will increase the
stride.
.PP
-The two lines at the bottom of the screen show the most important commands;
+The two lines at the bottom of the screen show some important commands;
the built-in help (\fB^G\fR) lists all the available ones.
The default key bindings can be changed via the .nanorc file -- see
.BR nanorc (5).
@@ -80,7 +79,7 @@ filename suffixed with a tilde (\fB~\fP).
.TP
.BR \-C\ \fIdirectory\fR ", " \-\-backupdir= \fIdirectory
Make and keep not just one backup file, but make and keep a uniquely
-numbered one every time a file is saved -- when backups are enabled.
+numbered one every time a file is saved -- when backups are enabled (\fB\-B\fR).
The uniquely numbered files are stored in the specified \fIdirectory\fR.
.TP
.BR \-D ", " \-\-boldtext
@@ -90,10 +89,10 @@ Use bold text instead of reverse video text.
Convert typed tabs to spaces.
.TP
.BR \-F ", " \-\-multibuffer
-Enable multiple file buffers (if support for them has been compiled in).
+Read a file into a new buffer by default.
.TP
.BR \-G ", " \-\-locking
-Enable vim-style file locking when editing files.
+Use vim-style file locking when editing files.
.TP
.BR \-H ", " \-\-historylog
Log search and replace strings to \fI~/.nano/search_history\fP, so they can be
@@ -137,7 +136,7 @@ This restricted mode is also accessible by invoking \fBnano\fP
with any name beginning with 'r' (e.g. "rnano").
.TP
.BR \-S ", " \-\-smooth
-Enable smooth scrolling. Text will scroll line-by-line, instead of the
+Use smooth scrolling: text will scroll line-by-line, instead of the
usual chunk-by-chunk behavior.
.TP
.BR \-T\ \fInumber\fR ", " \-\-tabsize= \fInumber
@@ -145,7 +144,7 @@ Set the size (width) of a tab to \fInumber\fP columns. The value of
\fInumber\fP must be greater than 0. The default value is 8.
.TP
.BR \-U ", " \-\-quickblank
-Do quick statusbar blanking. Statusbar messages will disappear after 1
+Do quick statusbar blanking: statusbar messages will disappear after 1
keystroke instead of 25. Note that \fB\-c\fP overrides this.
.TP
.BR \-V ", " \-\-version
@@ -165,7 +164,8 @@ Specify the name of the syntax highlighting to use from among the ones
defined in the \fInanorc\fP files.
.TP
.BR \-c ", " \-\-constantshow
-Constantly show the cursor position. Note that this overrides \fB\-U\fP.
+Constantly show the cursor position on the statusbar.
+Note that this overrides \fB\-U\fP.
.TP
.BR \-d ", " \-\-rebinddelete
Interpret the Delete key differently so that both Backspace and Delete
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@ Please report any other bugs that you encounter via:
\fIhttps://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=nano\fR.
.SH HOMEPAGE
-https://nano-editor.org/
+\fIhttps://nano-editor.org/\fR
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR nanorc (5)
diff --git a/doc/nanorc.5 b/doc/nanorc.5
@@ -289,14 +289,14 @@ good fit for a small editor like \fBnano\fR.
A separate syntax can be defined for each kind of file
via the following commands:
.TP
-.BR syntax " ""\fIstr\fR"" [""\fIfileregex\fR"" ...]"
-Defines a syntax named \fIstr\fP which can be activated via the
+.BR syntax " ""\fIname\fR"" [""\fIfileregex\fR"" ...]"
+Defines a syntax named \fIname\fP which can be activated via the
.BR \-Y / \-\-syntax
command-line option, or will be automatically activated if
the current filename matches the extended regular expression
\fIfileregex\fP. All subsequent \fBcolor\fR, \fBicolor\fR,
\fBheader\fR and other such statements will apply to this
-\fIstr\fP syntax until a new \fBsyntax\fR command is encountered.
+\fIname\fP syntax until a new \fBsyntax\fR command is encountered.
The \fBnone\fP syntax is reserved; specifying it on the command line is
the same as not having a syntax at all. The \fBdefault\fP syntax is
@@ -365,13 +365,14 @@ Read in self-contained color syntaxes from \fIsyntaxfile\fP. Note that
\fIsyntaxfile\fP may contain only the above commands, from \fBsyntax\fP
to \fBicolor\fP.
.TP
-.BI extendsyntax " str directive " \fR[ "arg " \fR...]
-Extend the syntax previously defined as \fIstr\fP to include
-new information. This allows you to add a new \fBcolor\fP, \fBicolor\fP,
-\fBheader\fP, \fBmagic\fP, \fBcomment\fP, \fBlinter\fP, or \fBformatter\fP directive
-to an already defined syntax -- useful when you want to
+.BI extendsyntax " name directive " \fR[ "arg " \fR...]
+Extend the syntax previously defined as \fIname\fP to include
+new information. This allows adding a new \fBcolor\fP, \fBicolor\fP,
+\fBheader\fP, \fBmagic\fP, \fBcomment\fP, \fBlinter\fP, or \fBformatter\fP
+directive to an already defined syntax -- useful when you want to
slightly improve a syntax defined in one of the system-installed
-files (which are normally not writable)
+files (which are normally not writable).
+
.SH REBINDING KEYS
Key bindings can be changed via the following two commands:
.TP
