Ubuntu: Up and Running

Using Nano to Edit Files

Most of the time you’ll probably edit files from the desktop using either the Gedit or OpenOffice.org program. But when you are already using a Terminal window, sometimes it’s quicker and easier to use the Nano text editor. It’s very easy to use, and unlike the Linux or Unix editors that programmers use for heavy text editing, Nano doesn’t require learning a complex series of keyboard shortcuts.

To edit an already existing file, type nano followed by its path and filename. For example, to edit the document chapter7.txt in the Documents folder, I entered the following, resulting in the screen shown in Figure 7-10:

nano ~/Documents/chapter7.txt

Figure 7-10. Editing a document using Nano

To navigate around the document, use the cursor keys. All the other actions you need are listed at the bottom of the screen, with the ^ character representing the Ctrl key. So, to save a document, press Ctrl-O, edit the filename shown near the bottom of the screen (if necessary), and then press Enter. If you want to save a file and exit the program at the same time, you can press Ctrl-X, press the y key when asked to confirm the save, edit the filename if necessary, and then press Enter.

You can also create a brand new document by entering nano without any argument. You would then specify your document’s path and filename upon saving it.