The latest version, 8.0 of the popular terminal text editor Nano, codenamed “Grus grus”, has been released, introducing a suite of modernized keyboard shortcuts and improved functionalities. Here’s more on that.
In this update, Nano developers have redefined several default key bindings to streamline common tasks and make navigation more intuitive. Notably, ^F now initiates a forward search, with ^B triggering a backward search. Users looking to repeat searches can use M-F and M-B to search in the corresponding direction.
The developers assure those accustomed to the previous bindings that they can easily revert to the old settings by consulting the updated documentation.
A significant addition is the --modernbindings (-/) command-line option, which modifies several key bindings to align with more commonly used shortcuts in other software. This includes “^Q” for quit, “^X” for cut, “^C” for copy, and “^V” for paste. Other tasks like undo “^Z,” redo “^Y,” and opening files “^O” are also covered under this new setup.
Further enhancing its usability, Nano 8.0 now supports opening files directly at a specified line number through the syntax nano filename:number, in addition to the existing method.
Additional improvements include new shortcuts for easier text marking and navigation within the text. The “Alt+Home” and “Alt+End” keys have been programmed to jump to the file’s first and last visible row, respectively, while preserving the horizontal cursor position. But the novelties don’t stop here.
Nano 8.0 also brings a unique feature for users working with color codes. When using RGB notation, where all three digits are identical, the code now maps directly to the Xterm grey scale. This update provides access to fourteen levels of grey, enhancing the options for developers who utilize color coding in their work.
For those using macros or bind strings, a new safety feature clears the keystroke buffer if an error is detected, preventing unintended actions during macro execution. Additionally, the mouse wheel has been updated to scroll through the viewport rather than moving the cursor, further smoothing the navigation experience.
For more information about all changes in Nano 8.0, refer to the release announcement. The full changelog can be found here, and downloads are available here. In the coming days, users of the rolling release distributions are expected to be among the first to receive the new version as an update.
Wow, I might even use it now. People always home about editing vi. But I've referred every time I ran nano, ever, because I couldn't edit it … the key bindings were so unfamiliar and idiosyncratic. The only credit I have it was that scrutiny of the bottom line menu generally found me some easy way forward and out. But because I was weened on vi in the ‘80s I found and so run that to edit basic text files on a console and I just know my way round still. But nano always asked me to discover and learn a while me set of commands, worse so as most of these became standardised across other tools nano didn't … it's been a long time coming and might take the pain out of future tries and see me using it more. We shall see.