pico()

Syntax

       pico [ options ] [ 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   justification,   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-^), delete (ctrl-k) and undelete (ctrl-u).   The
       delete command will remove text between the "mark" and the current cur-
       sor 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

       -h     List valid command line options.

       -j     Enable  "Goto"  command  in  the file browser.  This enables the
              command to permit explicitly telling pilot  which  directory  to
              visit.

       -g     Enable  "Show  Cursor" mode in file browser.  Cause cursor to be
              positioned before the current selection rather  than  placed  at
              the lower left of the display.

       -k     Causes  "Cut  Text" command to remove characters from the cursor
              position to the end of the line rather than  remove  the  entire
              line.

       -m     Enable  mouse  functionality.   This only works when pico is run
              from within an X Window System "xterm" window.

       -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)

       -o dir Sets  operating directory.  Only files within this directory are
              accessible.  Likewise, the file browser is limited to the speci-
              fied directory subtree.

       -rn    Sets column used to limit the "Justify" command's right margin

       -s speller
              Specify an alternate program spell to use when spell checking.

       -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).

       -x     Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen.

       -z     Enable ^Z suspension of pico.

       -q     Termcap or terminfo definition for input  escape  sequences  are
              used in preference to sequences defined by default.  This option
              is only available if pico was  compiled  with  the  TERMCAP_WINS
              define turned on.

       Lastly,  when a running pico is disconnected (i.e., receives a SIGHUP),

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 1989-1999 by the University of Washington.

See Also

       pine(1)
       Source distribution (part of the Pine Message System):
          ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/mail/pine.tar.Z

       $Date: 1999/02/04 18:40:44 $

                                  Version 3.5                          pico(1)