Ranges And Boxes
There are three ways to highlight text for editing operations, such as
case changes, copying, cutting, and filling:
Select range Use SELECT to highlight a range of text as you move
the cursor. The selection appears in reverse video.
To select the entire buffer, use SELECT ALL. On
DECWindows, you can use the mouse (M1) to select
text (see usage notes below). With the WPS keypad,
you can use the Continue Search/Select key (GOLD-/
or GOLD-?). To cancel a selection, repeat SELECT or
use RESET.
Box selection Use BOX SELECT to select a rectangular area, such as
a list or part of a table. The start and end of the
selection are the diagonally opposite corners of the
box. Highlighting is in bold video. If SET BOX
SELECT is in effect, SELECT is the same as BOX
SELECT without having to redefine keys.
Found range Use FIND to search for a string of text, or WILDCARD
FIND to search for a pattern using wildcards and
literal text. Found text is highlighted in bold
video, with the cursor at the start of the found
text. Most edits that work on a selection work on a
found range. If SET BOX SELECT is in effect, found
ranges are treated like boxes. To cancel the
highlighting, move the cursor off the found text or
use RESET.
Usage notes:
o On DECwindows, you can select text with the mouse by clicking or
dragging M1 as follows:
1 Click ...... Cancels a selection, and repositions the cursor.
2 Clicks ..... Selects all of the word the pointer is on.
3 Clicks ..... Selects all of the line the pointer is on.
4 Clicks ..... Selects all of the paragraph the pointer is on.
5 Clicks ..... Selects all of the buffer (same as SELECT ALL).
Drag ......... Selects text, starting where you press M1
and ending where you release M1.
Shift/Drag ... Extends or shrinks a selection.
o To edit a range or box, use any of the following commands or keys. Some
of these commands or keys also work without highlighted text (for
example, CAPITALIZE WORD, CONVERT TABS, FILL, and SPELL), and some do
not work on a found range (such as SPELL and pending delete).
Case changes Copying
--------------- --------
CAPITALIZE WORD BOX COPY
LOWERCASE WORD STORE TEXT or COPY
UPPERCASE WORD WPS Copy (GOLD-MINUS)
EDT ChngCase (GOLD-KP1)
WPS Lower Case (GOLD-KP3) DECwindows Quick Copy
WPS Upper Case (KP3) ---------------------
Copy To (M2CLICK)
Cutting Move To (ALT/M2CLICK)
-------
BOX CUT Formatting
BOX CUT INSERT ------------
BOX CUT OVERSTRIKE CONVERT TABS
REMOVE or CUT FILL
EDT Append (KP9) FILL RANGE
WPS Cut (MINUS or REMOVE)
Other edits
Replacing ----------------------
--------------------- DELETE (pending delete)
EDT Replace (GOLD-KP9) FIND SELECTED
EDT Subs (GOLD-ENTER) OPEN SELECTED
WPS Replace (GOLD-' or GOLD-") SPELL
o With a standard, linear range, BOX COPY or BOX CUT uses the start and
end of the range as diagonally opposite corners. Thus, you can use
SELECT, FIND, or WILDCARD FIND and then use BOX COPY or BOX CUT.
o With a box selection, STORE TEXT or COPY is the same as BOX COPY, and
REMOVE or CUT is the same as BOX CUT, so you do not have to redefine
keys to copy or cut a box.
o SET BOX SELECT makes most commands and keys for editing a range work
like the corresponding BOX commands---for example, INSERT HERE or PASTE
is then the same as BOX PASTE. Also, a found range is then treated as a
box, using the start and end of the found range as diagonally opposite
corners.
o A selection takes precedence over a found range. Thus, if you use FIND
to move the cursor, extending or shrinking a selection, the found text
may not be part of the selection. If the search is in forward direction
(right and down), the selection is extended up to the start of the
found text, but the found range is not part of the selection. If the
search is in reverse direction (left and up), the found text is part of
the selection.
o Cutting and pasting a box have different effects depending on whether
you disabled box padding:
Settings Effects on BOX CUT and BOX PASTE
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SET BOX PAD Cutting a box pads the area of the cut with spaces to
(default) keep the column alignment of text to the right of the
box, and adds spaces (if necessary) to the start and
end of lines in the cut to keep the rectangular shape.
shape. Pasting a box overwrites existing text. These
effects also apply to erasing a box selection with
pending delete and to RESTORE BOX SELECTION.
SET BOX NOPAD Box editing depends on the mode of the buffer. In
insert mode, cutting a box makes text to the right
"collapse" to left, closing the gap; pasting a box
pushes existing text to the right. In overstrike
mode, the effects are the same as with SET BOX PAD.
These effects also apply to erasing a box selection
with pending delete and to RESTORE BOX SELECTION.)
o To override these effects without changing your settings, use either
BOX CUT INSERT and BOX PASTE INSERT, or BOX CUT OVERSTRIKE and BOX
PASTE OVERSTRIKE.
o SET BOX commands are global attributes, which can be saved in a section
file or command file for future editing sessions---see help on
Attributes. On DECwindows, you can toggle the settings by choosing
Global Attributes from the Customize menu.
o On DECwindows, if you select text, the pop-up menu (displayed by
holding down M2) contains COPY, CUT, FILL RANGE, and other commands for
editing a selection. See help on Menus.
o If you frequently cut and paste boxes as well as linear ranges, you may
want to define keys for BOX SELECT and BOX PASTE. You can use keys
defined as STORE TEXT and REMOVE to copy or cut a box wihout having to
redefine the keys and without having to use SET BOX SELECT.
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Copying, cutting, or pasting a large box selection is slow because |
| EVE must separately process the selected text on each line. Also |
| slow are operations that move large amounts of text when you are |
| using buffer-change journaling. For example, including a large file |
| in your buffer will be slow due to the need to journal each change |
| made to the buffer. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Related topics:
Pending Delete Quick Copy
BOX SELECT FIND
SELECT SET BOX PAD
SET BOX SELECT SET SELECTION GRAB FOCUS
SET SELECTION GRAB SELECTION WILDCARD FIND