Text-mode editor (non-emacsy/non-vimmy) for a windows guy
 

I've been more of a Windows guy than a Unix guy since the Win3.1 days, and as such I find that I don't really like emacs and have a complete inability to use vi/vim. So usually when I need a text-mode text editor on Linux I go for nano, but it appears to have some very painful limitations: No standard select/cut/copy/paste, no undo, and a rather weird (ie, current line only) form of horizontal scrolling.

Is there any text-mode editor anyone can suggest that's not like emacs or vi, but more powerful than nano?

Most of us Vi or VIM because they work. Sure you have to learn to use them but you had to learn windows the first time also. You can try pico but I am afraid if you are looking for a middle ground you may not find it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_%28text_editor%29 that will give you an idea of what it is.

@ Reply
 

AuroraZero is right. Most of us use vi/vim/emacs/nano/pico. If you want text editor which is similar to notepad in Windows then you can go with gedit. Remember that gedit require's GUI.

You can go with notepad++ but that will require wine to install it on linux. If you are looking for pure text based editor without any GUI then the one of those which are mentioned in the beginning should be your choice.

I think you will have to learn Linux if you want to use it. If you don't want to learn you'd be better off to stay with Windows.I agree with the above posters, vi and emacs are very powerful editors but as with any powerful tool you'll have to learn it.

In general Linux is much about reading the documentation and learning. Windows is made for people who want to use things without learning (but also a Windows-user has advantages when he learns to use the system). So I think it's up to you to decide if you really want to use Linux or if you want to stay with Windows.

Markus

I never said I was unwilling to learn. It was a simple honest question. If there's no such thing as what I was looking for, that's one matter, but I don't need any of the RTFM attitude.

@ Reply
 

@ Abscissa256,

Nobody have RTFM attitude here. We just wanted to make you aware that linux is dominant and there are many ways to achieve the same thing.

I hope you will agree that linux has more online documentation as compare to Window$. Windows is all about left and right click whereas linux is much much more than that.

As far as your query is concerned we have already mentioned the options that you have in linux.

You can use a regular text editor like kwrite or mousepad (mousepad is outdated though so be careful).

Could you tell us what Linux distro you're running? Those who use that same distribution may know of a text editor in that distribution like notepad.

Also, if you want to learn vi(m) you can do so by typing in "vimtutor" in a terminal. Read through it carefully and learn it thoroughly (i.e. use vim a lot).

I asked if there were suggestions that fit a certain criteria, and got three people all essentially telling me "Your criteria is wrong. If you're going to use Linux, you should be willing to learn it." That may as well have been an "RTFM".

Additionally, I never said I was a Linux novice, just that I've historically been more Windows (which I only mentioned in the first place to give an idea of my taste in editor interfaces). Is there some overall assumption that just because I'm not on either side of the vi/emacs war I must therefore be a Linux novice? Or that being experienced in Windows precludes having any experience in Linux?

As a side note, labeling Windows as "all about left and right click" is about as sensible a thing to say as "Linux is all about sitting and pushing keys." I'm not saying Windows is better, worse or equal, but such a blatant and derogatory over-generalization is inappropriate even on a Linux board.

@Konphine:

Thanks, but I'm looking specifically for a text-mode (ie, non-GUI) editor. Normally I use things like kate and gedit, but I've been coming across the need to do some basic text editing in a text-only situation.

The only such text-mode editors I've been able to find have been nano/pico, vi, emacs, and derivatives of such. There's certainly ways of getting around the matter (including the patronizingly obvious "ideas" of learning vi or getting better with emacs that some have felt the need to bash over my head), but it would help if there were a "middle-ground" text-mode editor.

I kinda agree with the OP. I personally use nano for text base editor, and IMO, Vi sucks big time.

!:q...I'm not sure if that how to exit out!

at the very beginning, but then one becomes more and more familiar with vi.
:q! the ! means "urgent", there is also :help! ;)

Markus

@OP for a gui editor there is also medit.

Not sure about cli except as has been mentioned nano, pico.

I have never tried them, but for the commandline there are joe and jed. You may also try mcedit, which comes as part of the mc file-manager.

Thanks, those all seem to be steps up from nano, especially mcedit. Although the "shift-" combinations don't seem to work over ssh, and there's still a little bit of what I would consider weirdness (some of which I may be able to take care of through the config), mcedit looks like it will do nicely.

Actually, the basics of vi is easy enough to learn and can be very handy as it's the one editor guaranteed to be avail on just about all *nix eg Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, all Linux, all *BSDs, OS/X.
Doubly so in a rescue situation.
I've been using it for years, but still get away with probably only knowing 5-10 cmds (plus variations).
With modern xterms on *nix or via eg MS desktops, I cheat on the copy-n-paste by using the GUI to do it :)