Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:47:26 +0200 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: Jamie Griffin <griffin8j@gmail.com> Cc: FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Moving Text In vi(1) To Another File Message-ID: <20140829104726.dc4aa238.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <540037DE.4030404@gmail.com> References: <540037DE.4030404@gmail.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Fri, 29 Aug 2014 09:20:46 +0100, Jamie Griffin wrote: > What is the best way to copy large sections of text in a file and copy > it to another file, possibly a new file or not. Is vi even the best > utility to do that? The "best" utility is the one you're most familiar with, regarding the particular task. When I read your task, I immediately thought: "Well, that sounds like a job for joe." (joe = Joe's own editor, a WS-inspired advanced text editor). I'd work like that: % joe input.txt move cursor to text segment you want to copy cursor and page scroll keys work as expected ^KB (block begin) -> where to begin ^KK (block end) -> where to stop begin and end can be set independently (!) without losing the selection ^KE out1.txt creates new file or opens existing file if existing file: move cursor to where you want the segment to be copied at ^KC (block copy) ^KX (save and exit) file out1.txt will be closed, you're back at input.txt repeat from ^KB/^KK step as needed ^C Y (exit without saving - refers to input.txt file) when done Note that you can use ^KN (next) and ^KP (prev) to switch between the files you're editing. If you want to move a block of text rather than copying it, use ^KM instead of ^KC; this changes the input file. At the end of the session, use ^KX to save it, or ^C Y to lose the changes. You can surely solve the task with vi, but my use of vi is too limited in order to give you the required advice, that's why I suggested a different editor. It's not that vi cannot do it. It's just that I can't remember how, at the moment. Still I hope this comment will be helpful for you. :-) -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?20140829104726.dc4aa238.freebsd>