Pending Delete Pending delete lets you erase a selection by simply typing new text or by using DELETE. Steps: 1. To enable pending delete, use the SET PENDING DELETE command. 2. To select the text you want to erase, use any of the following: SELECT BOX SELECT M1 clicks or drag (DECwindows only---see help on Mouse) WPS Continue Search/Select key (GOLD-/ or GOLD-?) 3. To erase the selected text, use DELETE (for example, press the <X] key), or type new text (such as pressing the space bar). 4. To put back the text you erased, use the RESTORE SELECTION or RESTORE BOX SELECTION command. Usage notes: o Pending delete uses the $RESTORE$SELECTION$ buffer. Thus, you can use pending delete and RESTORE SELECTION for cutting and pasting text without affecting the contents of the INSERT HERE buffer or the clipboard. o SELECT ALL (or M1CLICK5) temporarily disables pending delete to prevent your accidentally erasing the entire buffer. o Erasing a box selection works like BOX CUT, usually padding the area with spaces to keep the column alignment of text to the right of the box. If SET BOX NOPAD is in effect, erasing a box from an insert-mode buffer makes text to the right of the box "collapse" to the left, closing the gap. o If SET BOX NOPAD is in effect, restoring a box in an insert-mode buffer pushes existing text to the right of the box---useful to add columns in the middle of a table. SET BOX SELECT makes RESTORE SELECTION the same as RESTORE BOX SELECTION, usually overwriting existing text. o SET PENDING DELETE applies in all buffers. You can save the setting in a section file or command file for future editing sessions (see help on Attributes). Default is SET NOPENDING DELETE---typing new text or using DELETE works the same whether there is a selection or not. o On DECwindows, you can toggle the setting as follows: 1. Choose Global Attributes from the Customize menu. 2. Click M1 on Set Pending Delete in the dialog box. o On DECwindows, a Quick Copy operation creates a secondary (underlined) selection, moves it to the application having input focus, and then erases the secondary selection like pending delete---see help on Quick Copy. To put back the erased text in EVE, use RESTORE SELECTION or RESTORE BOX SELECTION. Related topics: Attributes Quick Copy Ranges And Boxes DELETE RESTORE BOX SELECTION RESTORE SELECTION SET BOX PAD SET BOX SELECT SET PENDING DELETE