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Nano Editor Keyboard Shortcuts by

Nano Editor keyboard shortcuts

File Management

Key
Action
Ctrl+G
Display help text
Ctrl+X
Close the current file buffer / Exit from nano
Ctrl+O
Write the current file to disk
Ctrl+R
Insert another file into the current one
Alt+>
Switch to the next file buffer
Alt+<
Switch to the previous file buffer

Search and Replace

Key
Action
Ctrl+W
Search for a string or a regular expression
Ctrl+\
Replace a string or a regular expression
Alt+W
Repeat the last search

Navigation

Key
Action
Ctrl+_
Go to line and column number
Ctrl+Y
Go one screenful up
Ctrl+V
Go one screenful down
Alt+\
Go to the first line of the file
Alt+/
Go to the last line of the file
Ctrl+B
Go back one character
Ctrl+F
Go forward one character
Alt+Space
Go back one word
Ctrl+Space
Go forward one word
Ctrl+A
Go to beginning of current line
Ctrl+E
Go to end of current line
Ctrl+P
Go to previous line
Ctrl+N
Go to next line
Alt+(
Go to beginning of paragraph; then of previous paragraph
Alt+)
Go just beyond end of paragraph; then of next paragraph
Alt+-
Scroll up one line without scrolling the cursor
Alt++
Scroll down one line without scrolling the cursor
Alt+<
Switch to the previous file buffer
Alt+>
Switch to the next file buffer
Ctrl+C
Display the position of the cursor
Alt+]
Go to the matching bracket
 

Editing

Key
Action
Alt+U
Undo the last operation
Alt+E
Redo the last undone operation
Alt+}
Indent the current line
Alt+{
Unindent the current line
Alt+^
Copy the current line and store it in the cutbuffer
Ctrl+K
Cut the current line and store it in the cutbuffer
Ctrl+U
Uncut from the cutbuffer into the current line
Ctrl+J
Justify the current paragraph
Ctrl+T
Invoke the spell checker, if available
Alt+V
Insert the next keystroke verbatim
Ctrl+I
Insert a tab at the cursor position
Ctrl+M
Insert a newline at the cursor position
Ctrl+D
Delete the character under the cursor
Ctrl+H
Delete the character to the left of the cursor
Alt+T
Cut from the cursor position to the end of the file
Alt+J
Justify the entire file
Alt+D
Count the number of words, lines, and characters
Ctrl+^
Mark text starting from the cursor position

Settings

Key
Action
Alt+X
Help mode enable­/di­sable
Alt+C
Constant cursor position display enable­/di­sable
Alt+O
Use of one more line for editing enable­/di­sable
Alt+S
Smooth scrolling enable­/di­sable
Alt+$
Soft wrapping of overlong lines enable­/di­sable
Alt+P
Whitespace display enable­/di­sable
Alt+Y
Color syntax highli­ghting enable­/di­sable
Alt+H
Smart home key enable­/di­sable
Alt+I
Auto indent enable­/di­sable
Alt+K
Cut to end enable­/di­sable
Alt+L
Hard wrapping of overlong lines enable­/di­sable
Alt+Q
Conversion of typed tabs to spaces enable­/di­sable
Alt+B
Backup files enable­/di­sable
Alt+F
Reading file into separate buffer enable­/di­sable
                   

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Metadata

  • Languages:
  • Published: 9th April, 2017
  • Rated: 5 stars based on 5 ratings

Favourited By

buckster12 memfail Zyrmph ehcelino moalex Sylarvolkoff nire0510

Comments

Note that some keyboard set ups, on e.g. Macbooks, cannot utilise the "Alt" key sequences. Instead, use the Esc key.

Per the nano in-app help: "Escape-key sequences are notated
with the Meta (M-) symbol and can be entered using either the Esc, Alt, or
Meta key depending on your keyboard setup." M- here, refers to Alt- in the instructions above.

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