Editing Command Lines

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The Command Line is actually a miniature editor, and you can edit the text there using the mouse and normal editing keys like Backspace, Delete, Insert and the Arrow Keys. Typing Ctrl+^ lets you insert any character including Ctrl+X.

 

For more complicated editing of the command line information, you can move the command line information in and out of the Command Line. This is useful because you can edit and create complicated editing macros using other edit macros. The most common way of moving commands in and out of the Command Line is by using the Windows clipboard. The editor can Cut, Copy and Paste to and from the Command Line. This is accomplished by highlighting the appropriate text on the Command Line. You can use the mouse or by holding down the Shift key and moving the cursor. Once the text is highlighted, you can use the standard Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V to do the standard Windows Cut, Copy and Paste operations. You can also right click on the Command Line to bring up a menu that lets you do Cut, Copy or Paste.

 

A second method uses a keyboard command that copies text between the Command Line and the edit screen. The first command, “V”, is itself executed from the Command Line. It copies text from the edit buffer into the Command Line. This way, you can create a macro in the edit buffer then copy it into the Command Line for execution. The “V” command copies text starting at the cursor. It copies forward from the cursor to the first double Esc. (You can insert Esc by typing Ctrl+^ followed by Esc.)

 

The editor also lets you move macros that are already in the Command Line into the edit buffer by typing Ctrl+Shift+V. This can be used to modify or repair a macro that’s on a Command Line.