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<td class="head-ltitle">MCEDIT(1)</td>
<td class="head-vol">GNU Midnight Commander</td>
<td class="head-rtitle">MCEDIT(1)</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class="manual-text">
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="NAME"><a class="permalink" href="#NAME">NAME</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">mcedit - Internal file editor of GNU Midnight Commander.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="SYNOPSIS"><a class="permalink" href="#SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></h1>
<p class="Pp"><b>mcedit</b> [-bcCdfhstVx?] [+lineno] [file1] [file2] ...</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>mcedit</b> [-bcCdfhstVx?] file1:lineno[:] file2:lineno[:]
...</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="DESCRIPTION"><a class="permalink" href="#DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">mcedit is a link to <b>mc</b>, the main GNU Midnight Commander
executable. Executing GNU Midnight Commander under this name runs the
internal editor and opens files specified on the command line. The editor is
based on the terminal version of <b>cooledit</b> - standalone editor for X
Window System.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="OPTIONS"><a class="permalink" href="#OPTIONS">OPTIONS</a></h1>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt><i>+lineno</i></dt>
<dd>Go to the line specified by number (do not put a space between the
<i>+</i> sign and the number). Several line numbers are allowed but only
the last one will be used, and it will be applied to the first file
only.</dd>
<dt id="b"><a class="permalink" href="#b"><i>-b</i></a></dt>
<dd>Force black and white display.</dd>
<dt id="c"><a class="permalink" href="#c"><i>-c</i></a></dt>
<dd>Force ANSI color mode on terminals that don't seem to have color
support.</dd>
<dt id="C"><a class="permalink" href="#C"><i>-C
<keyword>=<fgcolor>,<bgcolor>,<attributes>:<keyword>=
...</i></a></dt>
<dd>Specify a different color set. See the <b>Colors</b> section in mc(1) for
more information.</dd>
<dt id="d"><a class="permalink" href="#d"><i>-d</i></a></dt>
<dd>Disable mouse support.</dd>
<dt id="f"><a class="permalink" href="#f"><i>-f</i></a></dt>
<dd>Display the compiled-in search path for GNU Midnight Commander data
files.</dd>
<dt id="t"><a class="permalink" href="#t"><i>-t</i></a></dt>
<dd>Force using termcap database instead of terminfo. This option is only
applicable if GNU Midnight Commander was compiled with S-Lang library with
terminfo support.</dd>
<dt id="V"><a class="permalink" href="#V"><i>-V</i></a></dt>
<dd>Display the version of the program.</dd>
<dt id="x"><a class="permalink" href="#x"><i>-x</i></a></dt>
<dd>Force xterm mode. Used when running on xterm-capable terminals (two screen
modes, and able to send mouse escape sequences).</dd>
</dl>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="FEATURES"><a class="permalink" href="#FEATURES">FEATURES</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">The internal file editor is a full-featured windowed editor. It
can edit several files at the same time. Maximum size of each file is 64
megabytes. It is possible to edit binary files. The features it presently
supports are: block copy, move, delete, cut, paste; key for key undo;
pull-down menus; file insertion; macro commands; regular expression search
and replace; shift-arrow text highlighting (if supported by the terminal);
insert-overwrite toggle; autoindent; tunable tab size; syntax highlighting
for various file types; and an option to pipe text blocks through shell
commands like indent and ispell.</p>
<p class="Pp">Each file is opened in its own window in full-screen mode. Window
control in mcedit is similar to the window control in other multi-window
program: double click on window title maximizes the window to full-screen or
restores window size and position; left-click on window title and mouse drag
moves the window in editor area; left-click on low-right frame corner and
mouse drag resizes the window. These actions can be made using
"Window" menu.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="KEYS"><a class="permalink" href="#KEYS">KEYS</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">The editor is easy to use and can be used without learning. The
pull-down menu is invoked by pressing F9. You can learn other keys from the
menu and from the button bar labels.</p>
<p class="Pp">In addition to that, Shift combined with arrows does text
highlighting (if supported by the terminal): <b>Ctrl-Ins</b> copies to the
file <b>~/.cache/mc/mcedit/mcedit.clip</b>, <b>Shift-Ins</b> pastes from
<b>~/.cache/mc/mcedit/mcedit.clip</b>, <b>Shift-Del</b> cuts to
<b>~/.cache/mc/mcedit/mcedit.clip</b>, and <b>Ctrl-Del</b> deletes
highlighted text. Mouse highlighting also works on some terminals. To use
the standard mouse support provided by your terminal, hold the Shift key.
Please note that the mouse support in the terminal doesn't share the
clipboard with <b>mcedit</b>.</p>
<p class="Pp">The completion key (usually <b>Meta-Tab</b> or <b>Escape Tab</b>)
completes the word under the cursor using the words used in the file.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="MACRO"><a class="permalink" href="#MACRO">MACRO</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">To define a macro, press <b>Ctrl-R</b> and then type out the keys
you want to be executed. Press <b>Ctrl-R</b> again when finished. The macro
can be assigned to any key by pressing that key. The macro is executed when
you press the assigned key.</p>
<p class="Pp">The macro commands are stored in section <b>[editor]</b> it the
file <b>~/.local/share/mc/mc.macros</b>.</p>
<p class="Pp">External scripts (filters) can be assigned into the any hotkey by
edit <b>mc.macros</b> like following:</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>[editor]
ctrl-W=ExecuteScript:25;</pre>
<p class="Pp">This means that ctrl-W hotkey initiates the
<i>ExecuteScript(25)</i> action, then editor handler translates this into
execution of <b>~/.local/share/mc/mcedit/macros.d/macro.25.sh</b> shell
script.</p>
<p class="Pp">External scripts are stored in
<b>~/.local/share/mc/mcedit/macros.d/</b> directory and must be named as
<b>macro.XXXX.sh</b> where <b>XXXX</b> is the number from 0 to 9999. See
<b>Edit Menu File</b> for more detail about format of the script.</p>
<p class="Pp">Following macro definition and directives can be used:</p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt><i>#silent</i></dt>
<dd>If this directive is set, then script starts without interactive
subshell.</dd>
<dt><i>%c</i></dt>
<dd>The cursor column position number.</dd>
<dt><i>%i</i></dt>
<dd>The indent of blank space, equal the cursor column.</dd>
<dt><i>%y</i></dt>
<dd>The syntax type of current file.</dd>
<dt><i>%b</i></dt>
<dd>The block file name.</dd>
<dt><i>%f</i></dt>
<dd>The current file name.</dd>
<dt><i>%n</i></dt>
<dd>Only the current file name without extension.</dd>
<dt><i>%x</i></dt>
<dd>The extension of current file name.</dd>
<dt><i>%d</i></dt>
<dd>The current directory name.</dd>
<dt><i>%F</i></dt>
<dd>The current file in the unselected panel.</dd>
<dt><i>%D</i></dt>
<dd>The directory name of the unselected panel.</dd>
<dt><i>%t</i></dt>
<dd>The currently tagged files.</dd>
<dt><i>%T</i></dt>
<dd>The tagged files in the unselected panel.</dd>
<dt><i>%v</i> and <i>%V</i></dt>
<dd>Similar to the <i>%t</i> and <i>%T</i> , but expands to full names of
tagged files.</dd>
<dt><i>%u</i> and <i>%U</i></dt>
<dd>Similar to the <i>%t</i> and <i>%T</i> macros, but in addition the files
are untagged. You can use this macro only once per menu file entry or
extension file entry, because next time there will be no tagged
files.</dd>
<dt><i>%s</i> and <i>%S</i></dt>
<dd>The selected files: The tagged files if there are any. Otherwise the
current file.</dd>
</dl>
<p class="Pp">Feel free to edit this files, if you need. Here is a sample
external script:</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>l comment selection
TMPFILE=`mktemp ${MC_TMPDIR:-/tmp}/up.XXXXXX` || exit 1
echo #if 0 > $TMPFILE
cat %b >> $TMPFILE
echo #endif >> $TMPFILE
cat $TMPFILE > %b
rm -f $TMPFILE</pre>
<p class="Pp">If some keys don't work, you can use <b>Learn Keys</b> in the
<b>Options</b> menu.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="CODE_NAVIGATION"><a class="permalink" href="#CODE_NAVIGATION">CODE
NAVIGATION</a></h1>
<p class="Pp"><b>mcedit</b> can be used for navigation through code with tags
files created by etags or ctags commands. If there is no TAGS file code
navigation will not work. For example, in case of exuberant-ctags for C
language command will be:</p>
<p class="Pp">ctags -e --language-force=C -R ./</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>Meta-Enter</b> shows list box to select item under cursor
(cursor should stand at the end of the word).</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>Meta-Minus</b> where minus is symbol "-" goes to
previous function in navigation list (like browser's Back button).</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>Meta-Equal</b> where equal is symbol "=" goes to next
function in navigation list (like browser's Forward button).</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="SYNTAX_HIGHLIGHTING"><a class="permalink" href="#SYNTAX_HIGHLIGHTING">SYNTAX
HIGHLIGHTING</a></h1>
<p class="Pp"><b>mcedit</b> supports syntax highlighting. This means that
keywords and contexts (like C comments, string constants, etc) are
highlighted in different colors. The following section explains the format
of the file <b>~/.local/share/mc/syntax/Syntax</b>. If this file is missing,
system-wide <b>/__w/mc/mc/install-prefix/share/mc/syntax/Syntax</b> is used.
The file <b>~/.local/share/mc/syntax/Syntax</b> is rescanned on opening of
every new editor file. The file contains rules for highlighting, each of
which is given on a separate line, and define which keywords will be
highlighted with what color.</p>
<p class="Pp">The file is divided into sections, each beginning with a line with
the <b>file</b> command. The sections are normally put into separate files
using the <b>include</b> command.</p>
<p class="Pp">The <b>file</b> command has three arguments. The first argument is
a regular expression that is applied to the file name to determine if the
following section applies to the file. The second argument is the
description of the file type. It is used in <b>cooledit</b>; future versions
of <b>mcedit</b> may use it as well. The third optional argument is a
regular expression to match the first line of text of the file. The rules in
the following section apply if either the file name or the first line of
text matches.</p>
<p class="Pp">A section ends with the start of another section. Each section is
divided into contexts, and each context contains rules. A context is a scope
within the text that a particular set of rules belongs to. For instance, the
text within a C style comment (i.e. between <b>/*</b> and <b>*/</b>) has its
own color. This is a context, although it has no further rules inside it
because there is probably nothing that we want highlighted within a C
comment.</p>
<p class="Pp">A trivial C programming section might look like this:</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>file .\*\\.c C\sProgram\sFile (#include|/\\\*)
wholechars abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ_
# default colors
define comment brown
context default
<br/>
keyword whole if yellow
<br/>
keyword whole else yellow
<br/>
keyword whole for yellow
<br/>
keyword whole while yellow
<br/>
keyword whole do yellow
<br/>
keyword whole switch yellow
<br/>
keyword whole case yellow
<br/>
keyword whole static yellow
<br/>
keyword whole extern yellow
<br/>
keyword { brightcyan
<br/>
keyword } brightcyan
<br/>
keyword '*' green
# C comments
context /\* \*/ comment
# C preprocessor directives
context linestart # \n red
<br/>
keyword \\\n brightred
# C string constants
context " " green
<br/>
keyword %d brightgreen
<br/>
keyword %s brightgreen
<br/>
keyword %c brightgreen
<br/>
keyword \\" brightgreen</pre>
<p class="Pp">Each context starts with a line of the form:</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>context</b> [<b>exclusive</b>]
[<b>whole</b>|<b>wholeright</b>|<b>wholeleft</b>] [<b>linestart</b>]
<i>delim</i> [<b>linestart</b>] <i>delim</i> [<i>foreground</i>]
[<i>background</i>] [<i>attributes</i>]</p>
<p class="Pp">The first context is an exception. It must start with the
command</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>context default</b> [<i>foreground</i>] [<i>background</i>]
[<i>attributes</i>]</p>
<p class="Pp">otherwise <b>mcedit</b> will report an error. The <b>linestart</b>
option specifies that <i>delim</i> must start at the beginning of a line.
The <b>whole</b> option tells that <i>delim</i> must be a whole word. To
specify that a word must begin on the word boundary only on the left side,
you can use the <b>wholeleft</b> option, and similarly a word that must end
on the word boundary is specified by <b>wholeright</b>.</p>
<p class="Pp">The set of characters that constitute a whole word can be changed
at any point in the file with the <b>wholechars</b> command. The left and
right set of characters can be set separately with</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>wholechars</b> [<b>left</b>|<b>right</b>] <i>characters</i></p>
<p class="Pp">The <b>exclusive</b> option causes the text between the delimiters
to be highlighted, but not the delimiters themselves.</p>
<p class="Pp">Each rule is a line of the form:</p>
<p class="Pp"><b>keyword</b> [<b>whole</b>|<b>wholeright</b>|<b>wholeleft</b>]
[<b>linestart</b>] <i>string foreground</i> [<i>background</i>]
[<i>attributes</i>]</p>
<p class="Pp">Context or keyword strings are interpreted, so that you can
include tabs and spaces with the sequences \t and \s. Newlines and
backslashes are specified with \n and \\ respectively. Since whitespace is
used as a separator, it may not be used as is. Also, \* must be used to
specify an asterisk. The * itself is a wildcard that matches any length of
characters. For example,</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>
<br/>
keyword '*' green</pre>
<p class="Pp">colors all C single character constants green. You also could
use</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>
<br/>
keyword "*" green</pre>
<p class="Pp">to color string constants, but the matched string would not be
allowed to span across multiple newlines. The wildcard may be used within
context delimiters as well, but you cannot have a wildcard as the last or
first character.</p>
<p class="Pp">Important to note is the line</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>
<br/>
keyword \\\n brightgreen</pre>
<p class="Pp">This line defines a keyword containing the backslash and newline
characters. Since the keywords are matched before the context delimiters,
this keyword prevents the context from ending at the end of the lines that
end in a backslash, thus allowing C preprocessor directive to continue
across multiple lines.</p>
<p class="Pp">The possible colors are: black, gray, red, brightred, green,
brightgreen, brown, yellow, blue, brightblue, magenta, brightmagenta, cyan,
brightcyan, lightgray and white. The special keyword "default"
means the terminal's default. Another special keyword "base" means
mc's main colors, it is useful as a placeholder if you want to specify
attributes without modifying the background color. When 256 colors are
available, they can be specified either as color16 to color255, or as rgb000
to rgb555 and gray0 to gray23.</p>
<p class="Pp">If the syntax file is shared with <b>cooledit</b>, it is possible
to specify different colors for <b>mcedit</b> and <b>cooledit</b> by
separating them with a slash, e.g.</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>keyword #include red/Orange</pre>
<p class="Pp"><b>mcedit</b> uses the color before the slash. See cooledit(1) for
supported <b>cooledit</b> colors.</p>
<p class="Pp">Attributes can be any of bold, italic, underline, reverse and
blink, appended by a plus sign if more than one are desired.</p>
<p class="Pp">Comments may be put on a separate line starting with the hash sign
(#).</p>
<p class="Pp">If you are describing case insensitive language you need to use
<b>caseinsensitive</b> directive. It should be specified at the beginning of
syntax file.</p>
<p class="Pp">Because of the simplicity of the implementation, there are a few
intricacies that will not be dealt with correctly but these are a minor
irritation. On the whole, a broad spectrum of quite complicated situations
are handled with these simple rules. It is a good idea to take a look at the
syntax file to see some of the nifty tricks you can do with a little
imagination. If you cannot get by with the rules I have coded, and you think
you have a rule that would be useful, please email me with your request.
However, do not ask for regular expression support, because this is flatly
impossible.</p>
<p class="Pp">A useful hint is to work with as much as possible with the things
you can do rather than try to do things that this implementation cannot deal
with. Also remember that the aim of syntax highlighting is to make
programming less prone to error, not to make code look pretty.</p>
<p class="Pp">The syntax highlighting can be toggled using Ctrl-s shortcut.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="COLORS"><a class="permalink" href="#COLORS">COLORS</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">The default colors may be changed by appending to the
<b>MC_COLOR_TABLE</b> environment variable. Foreground and background colors
pairs may be specified for example with:</p>
<p class="Pp"></p>
<pre>MC_COLOR_TABLE="$MC_COLOR_TABLE:\
editnormal=lightgray,black:\
editbold=yellow,black:\
editmarked=black,cyan"</pre>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="OPTIONS~2"><a class="permalink" href="#OPTIONS~2">OPTIONS</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">Most options can be set from Options dialog box. See the
<b>Options</b> menu. The following options are defined in
<b>~/.config/mc/ini</b> and have obvious counterparts in the dialog box. You
can modify them to change the editor behavior, by editing the file. Unless
specified, a 1 sets the option to on, and a 0 sets it to off, as usual.</p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt id="use_internal_edit"><a class="permalink" href="#use_internal_edit"><i>use_internal_edit</i></a></dt>
<dd>This option is ignored when invoking <b>mcedit</b>.</dd>
<dt id="editor_tab_spacing"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_tab_spacing"><i>editor_tab_spacing</i></a></dt>
<dd>Interpret the tab character as being of this length. Default is 8. You
should avoid using other than 8 since most other editors and text viewers
assume a tab spacing of 8. Use <b>editor_fake_half_tabs</b> to simulate a
smaller tab spacing.</dd>
<dt id="editor_fill_tabs_with_spaces"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_fill_tabs_with_spaces"><i>editor_fill_tabs_with_spaces</i></a></dt>
<dd>Never insert a tab character. Rather insert spaces (ascii 32) to fill to
the desired tab size.</dd>
<dt id="editor_return_does_auto_indent"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_return_does_auto_indent"><i>editor_return_does_auto_indent</i></a></dt>
<dd>Pressing return will tab across to match the indentation of the first line
above that has text on it.</dd>
<dt id="editor_backspace_through_tabs"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_backspace_through_tabs"><i>editor_backspace_through_tabs</i></a></dt>
<dd>Make a single backspace delete all the space to the left margin if there
is no text between the cursor and the left margin.</dd>
<dt id="editor_fake_half_tabs"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_fake_half_tabs"><i>editor_fake_half_tabs</i></a></dt>
<dd>This will emulate a half tab for those who want to program with a tab
spacing of 4, but do not want the tab size changed from 8 (so that the
code will be formatted the same when displayed by other programs). When
editing between text and the left margin, moving and tabbing will be as
though a tab space were 4, while actually using spaces and normal tabs for
an optimal fill. When editing anywhere else, a normal tab is
inserted.</dd>
<dt id="editor_option_save_mode"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_option_save_mode"><i>editor_option_save_mode</i></a></dt>
<dd>Possible values 0, 1 and 2. The save mode (see the options menu also)
allows you to change the method of saving a file. Quick save (0) saves the
file immediately, truncating the disk file to zero length (i.e. erasing
it) and then writing the editor contents to the file. This method is fast,
but dangerous, since a system error during a file save will leave the file
only partially written, possibly rendering the data irretrievable. When
saving, the safe save (1) option enables creation of a temporary file into
which the file contents are first written. In the event of a problem, the
original file is untouched. When the temporary file is successfully
written, it is renamed to the name of the original file, thus replacing
it. The safest method is create backups (2): a backup file is created
before any changes are made. You can specify your own backup file
extension in the dialog. Note that saving twice will replace your backup
as well as your original file.</dd>
<dt id="editor_word_wrap_line_length"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_word_wrap_line_length"><i>editor_word_wrap_line_length</i></a></dt>
<dd>Line length to wrap at. Default is 72.</dd>
<dt id="editor_backup_extension"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_backup_extension"><i>editor_backup_extension</i></a></dt>
<dd>Symbol to add to name of backup files. Default is "~".</dd>
<dt id="editor_line_state"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_line_state"><i>editor_line_state</i></a></dt>
<dd>Show state line of editor. Currently it shows current line number (in the
future it might show things like folding, breakpoints, etc.). M-n toggles
this option.</dd>
<dt id="editor_visible_spaces"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_visible_spaces"><i>editor_visible_spaces</i></a></dt>
<dd>Toggle "show visible trailing spaces". If
editor_visible_spaces=1, they are shown as '.'</dd>
<dt id="editor_visible_tabs"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_visible_tabs"><i>editor_visible_tabs</i></a></dt>
<dd>Toggle "show visible tabs". If editor_visible_tabs=1, tabs are
shown as '<---->'</dd>
<dt id="editor_persistent_selections"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_persistent_selections"><i>editor_persistent_selections</i></a></dt>
<dd>Do not remove block selection after cursor movement.</dd>
<dt id="editor_drop_selection_on_copy"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_drop_selection_on_copy"><i>editor_drop_selection_on_copy</i></a></dt>
<dd>Reset selection after copy to clipboard.</dd>
<dt id="editor_cursor_beyond_eol"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_cursor_beyond_eol"><i>editor_cursor_beyond_eol</i></a></dt>
<dd>Allow moving cursor beyond the end of line.</dd>
<dt id="editor_cursor_after_inserted_block"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_cursor_after_inserted_block"><i>editor_cursor_after_inserted_block</i></a></dt>
<dd>Allow moving cursor after inserted block.</dd>
<dt id="editor_syntax_highlighting"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_syntax_highlighting"><i>editor_syntax_highlighting</i></a></dt>
<dd>enable syntax highlighting.</dd>
<dt id="editor_edit_confirm_save"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_edit_confirm_save"><i>editor_edit_confirm_save</i></a></dt>
<dd>Show confirmation dialog on save.</dd>
<dt id="editor_option_typewriter_wrap"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_option_typewriter_wrap"><i>editor_option_typewriter_wrap</i></a></dt>
<dd>to be described</dd>
<dt id="editor_option_auto_para_formatting"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_option_auto_para_formatting"><i>editor_option_auto_para_formatting</i></a></dt>
<dd>to be described</dd>
<dt id="editor_option_save_position"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_option_save_position"><i>editor_option_save_position</i></a></dt>
<dd>Save file position on exit.</dd>
<dt id="source_codepage"><a class="permalink" href="#source_codepage"><i>source_codepage</i></a></dt>
<dd>Symbol representation of codepage name for file (i.e. CP1251, ~ -
default).</dd>
<dt id="editor_group_undo"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_group_undo"><i>editor_group_undo</i></a></dt>
<dd>Combine UNDO actions for several of the same type of action
(inserting/overwriting, deleting, navigating, typing)</dd>
<dt id="editor_wordcompletion_collect_entire_file"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_wordcompletion_collect_entire_file"><i>editor_wordcompletion_collect_entire_file</i></a></dt>
<dd>Search autocomplete candidates in entire file (1) or just from beginning
of file to cursor position (0).</dd>
<dt id="editor_wordcompletion_collect_all_files"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_wordcompletion_collect_all_files"><i>editor_wordcompletion_collect_all_files</i></a></dt>
<dd>Search autocomplete candidates from all loaded files (1, default), not
only from the currently edited one (0).</dd>
<dt id="spell_language"><a class="permalink" href="#spell_language"><i>spell_language</i></a></dt>
<dd>Spelling language (en, en-variant_0, ru, etc) installed with aspell
package (a full list can be obtained using 'aspell' utility). Use
<b>spell_language = NONE</b> to disable aspell support. Default value is
'en'. Option must be located in the [Misc] section.</dd>
<dt id="editor_stop_format_chars"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_stop_format_chars"><i>editor_stop_format_chars</i></a></dt>
<dd>Set of characters to stop paragraph formatting. If one of those characters
is found in the beginning of line, that line and all following lines of
paragraph will be untouched. Default value is
"<b>-</b><b>+</b><b>*</b><b>\</b><b>,</b><b>.</b><b>;</b><b>:</b><b>&</b><b>></b>".</dd>
<dt id="editor_state_full_filename"><a class="permalink" href="#editor_state_full_filename"><i>editor_state_full_filename</i></a></dt>
<dd>Show full path name in the status line. If disabled (default), only base
name of the file is shown.</dd>
</dl>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="FILES"><a class="permalink" href="#FILES">FILES</a></h1>
<p class="Pp"><i>/__w/mc/mc/install-prefix/share/mc/help/mc.hlp</i></p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt></dt>
<dd>The help file for the program.</dd>
</dl>
<p class="Pp"><i>/__w/mc/mc/install-prefix/share/mc/mc.ini</i></p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt></dt>
<dd>The default system-wide setup for GNU Midnight Commander, used only if the
user's own ~/.config/mc/ini file is missing.</dd>
</dl>
<p class="Pp"><i>/__w/mc/mc/install-prefix/share/mc/mc.lib</i></p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt></dt>
<dd>Global settings for Midnight Commander. Settings in this file affect all
users, whether they have ~/.config/mc/ini or not.</dd>
</dl>
<p class="Pp"><i>/__w/mc/mc/install-prefix/share/mc/syntax/*</i></p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt></dt>
<dd>The default system-wide syntax files for mcedit, used only if the
corresponding user's own file in <b>~/.local/share/mc/syntax/</b> is
missing.</dd>
</dl>
<p class="Pp"><i>~/.config/mc/ini</i></p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt></dt>
<dd>User's own setup. If this file is present then the setup is loaded from
here instead of the system-wide setup file.</dd>
</dl>
<p class="Pp"><i>~/.local/share/mc/mcedit/</i></p>
<dl class="Bl-tag">
<dt></dt>
<dd>User's own directory where block commands are processed and saved and
user's own syntax files are located.</dd>
</dl>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="LICENSE"><a class="permalink" href="#LICENSE">LICENSE</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">This program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General
Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation. See the
built-in help of Midnight Commander for details on the License and the lack
of warranty.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="AVAILABILITY"><a class="permalink" href="#AVAILABILITY">AVAILABILITY</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">The latest version of this program can be found at
https://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/midnightcommander/ .</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="SEE_ALSO"><a class="permalink" href="#SEE_ALSO">SEE
ALSO</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">cooledit(1), mc(1), gpm(1), terminfo(1), scanf(3).</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="AUTHORS"><a class="permalink" href="#AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">Paul Sheer (psheer@obsidian.co.za) is the original author of
Midnight Commander's internal editor.</p>
</section>
<section class="Sh">
<h1 class="Sh" id="BUGS"><a class="permalink" href="#BUGS">BUGS</a></h1>
<p class="Pp">Bugs should be reported to
https://github.com/MidnightCommander/mc/issues .</p>
</section>
</div>
<table class="foot">
<tr>
<td class="foot-date">December 2025</td>
<td class="foot-os">MC Version 2d0ec82</td>
</tr>
</table>
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