Nano/Guide

Article description::This guide covers basic operations in nano, and is meant to be very concise. For more information about nano check out: http://www.nano-editor.org.

Opening and creating files
For opening and creating files type:

Nano is a modeless editor so you can start typing immediately to insert text. If you are editing a configuration file like use the   switch to disable wrapping on long lines as it might render the configuration file unparseable by whatever tools depend on it. For example:

Saving and exiting
If you want to save the changes you've made, press +. To exit nano, type +. If you ask nano to exit from a modified file, it will ask you if you want to save it. Just press in case you don't, or  in case you do. It will then ask you for a filename. Just type it in and press.

If you accidentally confirmed that you want to save the file but you actually don't, you can always cancel by pressing +  when you're prompted for a filename.

Cutting and pasting
To cut a single line, you use +  (hold down  and then press ). The line disappears. To paste it, you simply move the cursor to where you want to paste it and punch +. The line reappears. To move multiple lines, simply cut them with several +  in a row, then paste them with a single  +. The whole paragraph appears wherever you want it.

If you need a little more fine-grained control, then you have to mark the text. Move the cursor to the beginning of the text you want to cut. Hit +  (or  + ). Now move your cursor to the end of the text you want to cut: the marked text gets highlighted. If you need to cancel your text marking, simply hit +  again. Press +  to cut the marked text. Use +  to paste it.

Searching for text
Searching for a string is easy as long as you think "WhereIs" instead of "Search". Simply hit +, type in your search string, and press. To search for the same string again, hit +.

More options
If you're interested in tweaking nano, be sure to read.

Wrap up
Thanks to kiyose and quazion from.