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Readline Init File Syntax
-------------------------
There are only a few basic constructs allowed in the Readline init
file. Blank lines are ignored. Lines beginning with a `#' are
comments. Lines beginning with a `$' indicate conditional constructs
(see Conditional Init Constructs.). Other lines denote variable
settings and key bindings.
Variable Settings
You can change the state of a few variables in Readline by using
the `set' command within the init file. Here is how you would
specify that you wish to use `vi' line editing commands:
set editing-mode vi
Right now, there are only a few variables which can be set; so
few, in fact, that we just list them here:
`bell-style'
Controls what happens when Readline wants to ring the
terminal bell. If set to `none', Readline never rings the
bell. If set to `visible', Readline uses a visible bell if
one is available. If set to `audible' (the default),
Readline attempts to ring the terminal's bell.
`comment-begin'
The string to insert at the beginning of the line when the
`insert-comment' command is executed. The default value is
`"#"'.
`completion-query-items'
The number of possible completions that determines when the
user is asked whether he wants to see the list of
possibilities. If the number of possible completions is
greater than this value, Readline will ask the user whether
or not he wishes to view them; otherwise, they are simply
listed. The default limit is `100'.
`convert-meta'
If set to `on', Readline will convert characters with the
eigth bit set to an ASCII key sequence by stripping the eigth
bit and prepending an <ESC> character, converting them to a
meta-prefixed key sequence. The default value is `on'.
`disable-completion'
If set to `On', readline will inhibit word completion.
Completion characters will be inserted into the line as if
they had been mapped to `self-insert'. The default is `off'.
`editing-mode'
The `editing-mode' variable controls which editing mode you
are using. By default, Readline starts up in Emacs editing
mode, where the keystrokes are most similar to Emacs. This
variable can be set to either `emacs' or `vi'.
`enable-keypad'
When set to `on', readline will try to enable the application
keypad when it is called. Some systems need this to enable
the arrow keys. The default is `off'.
`expand-tilde'
If set to `on', tilde expansion is performed when Readline
attempts word completion. The default is `off'.
`horizontal-scroll-mode'
This variable can be set to either `on' or `off'. Setting it
to `on' means that the text of the lines that you edit will
scroll horizontally on a single screen line when they are
longer than the width of the screen, instead of wrapping onto
a new screen line. By default, this variable is set to `off'.
`keymap'
Sets Readline's idea of the current keymap for key binding
commands. Acceptable `keymap' names are `emacs',
`emacs-standard', `emacs-meta', `emacs-ctlx', `vi',
`vi-command', and `vi-insert'. `vi' is equivalent to
`vi-command'; `emacs' is equivalent to `emacs-standard'. The
default value is `emacs'. The value of the `editing-mode'
variable also affects the default keymap.
`mark-directories'
If set to `on', completed directory names have a slash
appended. The default is `on'.
`mark-modified-lines'
This variable, when set to `on', says to display an asterisk
(`*') at the start of history lines which have been modified.
This variable is `off' by default.
`input-meta'
If set to `on', Readline will enable eight-bit input (it will
not strip the eighth bit from the characters it reads),
regardless of what the terminal claims it can support. The
default value is `off'. The name `meta-flag' is a synonym
for this variable.
`output-meta'
If set to `on', Readline will display characters with the
eighth bit set directly rather than as a meta-prefixed escape
sequence. The default is `off'.
`show-all-if-ambiguous'
This alters the default behavior of the completion functions.
If set to `on', words which have more than one possible
completion cause the matches to be listed immediately instead
of ringing the bell. The default value is `off'.
`visible-stats'
If set to `on', a character denoting a file's type is
appended to the filename when listing possible completions.
The default is `off'.
Key Bindings
The syntax for controlling key bindings in the init file is
simple. First you have to know the name of the command that you
want to change. The following pages contain tables of the command
name, the default keybinding, and a short description of what the
command does.
Once you know the name of the command, simply place the name of
the key you wish to bind the command to, a colon, and then the
name of the command on a line in the init file. The name of the
key can be expressed in different ways, depending on which is most
comfortable for you.
KEYNAME: FUNCTION-NAME or MACRO
KEYNAME is the name of a key spelled out in English. For
example:
Control-u: universal-argument
Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word
Control-o: "> output"
In the above example, `C-u' is bound to the function
`universal-argument', and `C-o' is bound to run the macro
expressed on the right hand side (that is, to insert the text
`> output' into the line).
"KEYSEQ": FUNCTION-NAME or MACRO
KEYSEQ differs from KEYNAME above in that strings denoting an
entire key sequence can be specified, by placing the key
sequence in double quotes. Some GNU Emacs style key escapes
can be used, as in the following example, but the special
character names are not recognized.
"\C-u": universal-argument
"\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file
"\e[11~": "Function Key 1"
In the above example, `C-u' is bound to the function
`universal-argument' (just as it was in the first example),
`C-x C-r' is bound to the function `re-read-init-file', and
`ESC [ 1 1 ~' is bound to insert the text `Function Key 1'.
The following escape sequences are available when specifying
key sequences:
`\C-'
control prefix
`\M-'
meta prefix
`\e'
an escape character
`\\'
backslash
`\"'
<">
`\''
<'>
When entering the text of a macro, single or double quotes
should be used to indicate a macro definition. Unquoted text
is assumed to be a function name. Backslash will quote any
character in the macro text, including `"' and `''. For
example, the following binding will make `C-x \' insert a
single `\' into the line:
"\C-x\\": "\\"