Editing Text Files

Text files (also referred to as ``ASCII files'' or ``plain text files'') are those which contain only typed text -- letters, digits, punctuation, spaces and tabs -- with no formatting extras like font information or graphics.
In contrast, the following are binary files, i.e., NOT text files: Text files are special in that they are the lingua franca of file formats -- all computers can do stuff with plain text, whereas other formats are usually peculiar to specific software or specific computer architectures. (Unfortunately, there are slight differences between Unix, Mac, and Wintel text newlines.) Text files can be sent without modification in the body of email; they can be displayed in simple text windows; they are the basis of all computer work and are cannot be proprietary to any software company.

Editing text is the most important single activity involving text files, but there are lots of cute Unix commands to do other stuff with text.

Text Editors

Word processors (StarOffice, Word, WordPerfect, etc.) can edit text files but are unnecessarily large and complicated. Because text files are as simple as files can get (much simpler than standard word-processor documents), they should be edited with the trimmer, simpler, more streamlined text editors, of which there are several:

vi
This is a powerful editor available on all Unix computers. It does not make use of the mouse or windows or menus -- it is purely keyboard-based. Every key on the keyboard either performs an operation or inputs a character into the file, depending on which mode vi is in. Vi requires some time to learn, but it is worth it. (Sometimes it is the only text editor available.) On the Newton Lab Sun workstations there are two VI tutorial programs you can run; type either ``vitutor'' or ``vilearn'' at the Unix prompt. Or, see links to more tutorials and manuals and reference pages.

A supercharged version of vi called vim is also available on many Unix computers, and is even available for Mac and PC computers!

emacs
Even more powerful than vi, but even more complicated. Emacs is on almost all Unix computers, and it too uses only keyboard. (You have to use a keyboard-only editor when you are editing your files via the internet.)

pico
This is the keyboard-only editor used in the pine email program. If you use pine, then perhaps you are familiar enough with pico to use it as an editor without going nuts.

nedit
If you are sitting at a workstation (rather than accessing the workstation via ssh) then you can use the graphical user interface -- windows, mouse, menus, bells & whistles -- with the fancy text editor nedit.

xedit and others
There are other text editors which make use of the windowing system, mouse, etc.; xedit, textedit and others. However, there is no reason to use these rather than nedit.
For all of these, the usual way to invoke the editor is to type the command plus the name of the existing or new text file, e.g.,
All of these editors provide ways to save work and to open old or new files from within the editor.