Text editing Mini Howto for linux. (I am using ubuntu 7.04 and kde 3.5.6)               Back to Main Page          

This i a very short version, and if you want to know more, go to the Internet etc.                                    

This howto is without any guarantee, and you may use it on your own responsibility only.

There may be errors, but I do not want to use too much time to  write this howto.

My idea is to make documentation, so you can at least start using the system, without reading lots of documentation scrolling down your screen.

I (66 years old) have abstracted what I find most important, from lots and lots of documentation.

To check specific words you may  click here to open wikipedia  (use search box, left side middle).

It's easiest to print this howto out, to use it, by your side !


Index:


A sample standard keyboard is shown

"new line character"

"ctrl+c" (copy to clipboard)

"ctrl+v" (paste from clipboard)- insert text

Keyboards of other countries

The "Alt Gr" button

To copy some text

To delete selected text

To delete text (using "Backspace")

To delete text (using the "del" button)

To insert tex

To insert the "@" (at) character

To move lines up
                                                                                                                                                                                Back to the Index
To open "Kwrite"

To remove an empty line

To write capital letters



To explain how to edit text, I have chosen the "Kwrite" text editor, which I find fairly simple to use - it's really a lightweight variant of the "Kate" editor - but this

text editing should be almost the same in any other linux text editor.

To open "Kwrite" just open a konsole, and write "kwrite" on the command line.

Below is "Kwrite" shown with some sample text, and the text cursor is shown (after the dot):

The "Kwrite" text editor with some sample text

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A sample standard keyboard is shown below, with the most important buttons:

A standard keyboard, with the most important editing buttons circled with black

You can only work one place at a time in the text, and that is where the text cursor is placed (a small vertical blinking line).

You can move the cursor with the arrow keys (there are 4 of them - lower right on keyboard) or by by left clicking the mouse cursor where you want the cursor to

be placed - in our start case, the cursor is placed to the right of the dot (see the black vertical line on sample text above).

To delete text (using "Backspace"), one characher at a time (letter/number/graphic character) click on the "Backspace" button, and the letters to the left of the

cursor are deleted, one at a time, and the text to the right of the cursor, on the line is moved to the left as glued (made fast) to the text cursor (see below):
                                                                                                                                                                                                                Back to the Index
After deleting some text with the "backspace" button

To delete text (using the "del" button), click on the "Del" The delete button "Del" button, and then the characters are deleted from the right, one charachter at a time (see

above/below):

Characters deleted (from the right on the line) with the "del" button                                                                    Back to the Index

To move lines up using the "del" button, place the cursor at the end of the line, after the word "animals" - use the arrow keys or click with the left mouse

cursor to place the text cursor (see below):

Text cursor placed at end of line after "animals"

Then click on the "del" button once, and then click on the "space" button once, and then "Line two" are moved one line up, and a "space" is inserted after the

word "animals" (see below):

The text cursor placed at end of line, and then "del" are pressed once and then "space" is pressed once, to insert a space                                                                        Back to the Index

Please note, that when you press "Enter" you insert a "new line character" (which is invincible to you) where the text cursor is placed, and any text (if any)

are moved down onto the next line together with the text cursor.

When the cursor is placed at the end of a line, and you press "enter", a new empty line is inserted below, and a "new line character" is inserted at the end of the

line above (invincible to the eye).

To move the text cursor down onto next line, press "Enter" once, and then press "Enter" once more, to move the text cursor further one line down (see

above/below):

Enter pressed twice, and the text cursor are moved two lines down                                                                            Back to the Index

To remove an empty line, place the text curson on the empty line (see below):

The text cursor placed on an empty line

Then press the "del" button, and the empty line is removed (if there was several empty lines, press the "del" one time for each empty line to remove) - see

above/below:

An empty line removed with the "del" button                                                                                Back to the Index

To insert text, place the text cursor, where you want the text to be insertet, and then insert the text, and any any text to the right of the text cursor is moved

to the right (and if the text becomes longer than the line, it is moved from the end of the line down onto the next line automatic).

Please note, that each time the "space" button in pressed, a "space charachter" is created (invincible to the eye) except for the space seen - this "space

character" can be deleted exactly as any other character.

Now we will insert some text between "Line" and "two", and therefore place the text cursor before "two" (see below):

The text cursor placed before the "two" word                                                                        Back to the Index

Then we will insert the word "one" followed by a "space" (see below):

The word "one" followed by a "space" is inserted

To copy some text, mark the text to be copied with the left mouse cursor and then press "ctrl+c" (copy to clipboard - a place in the computer memory) see below:

Some text selected with the left mouse cursor                                                                            Back to the Index

Then place the text cursor two lines below the selected text - place the cursor at the end of line after the word "three" and then press "enter" twice (see below):

The text cursor placed at the end of the third line, and the "enter" is pressed twice

Then press "ctrl+v" (paste from clipboard) - and the selection is inserted at the position of the text cursor (see below):

Text pasted "ctrl+v"                                                                    Back to the Index

To delete selected text, select some text, (as above), and then press the "del" button.

To write capital letters (letters in big - A, B, C etc), press the "Ctrl" The "ctrl" button (lower left of keyboard) button at the same time as the letter button is pressed.

Please note, that some of the keys of the keyboard are double, both at the left -and right side of the keyboard.

There are two "Alt" buttons and one "Alt Gr" (alternative graphics).

Below is shown a Danish keyboard, in order to show how to use the "Alt Gr" button:

Danish keyboard - to show how to use the "Alt Gr" key

On order to insert the "@" (at) character, press the "Alt Gr + 2", and the same principle for "£", "$" etc.

The keyboards of other countries has other characters, which are special for their language.                                            Back to the Index

To see keymaps of keyboards of other countries, click here

In order to learn the above, try the exercises explained, and then try again "to morrow", so your brain can get time to absorb (your subconsiousness - brain -

must have time to absorb the new information - a principle valid for all new information) - better to train fairly quickly, and then let some time pass, and then

try again - interesting, that you cannot feel when your subconsiousness is working!



10/2009                                                                                                                                                                                                    Back to the Index