Text Editor TasksOpening and Saving DocumentsEntering and Editing TextFormatting and Printing DocumentsThese instructions assume that you are using a mouse. Most tasks
can also be done without a mouse. See Keyboard Shortcuts for the Desktop
for more information.
See AlsoTo Create a New Documentcreating: documentdocument: creatingcreating: new linesopening: new documentClick the Text Editor control in the Front Panel
to open a new document.Start typing your text. To begin a new line, press Return.To automatically break lines at the edge of the window instead
of typing line returns, see .
&sigspace;A new document is automatically named UNTITLED. When you save your work, you can provide a new document name.
See AlsoTo Start Text Editor
To Open an Existing DocumentYou can use Text Editor or File Manager to open a document
you have created.document: openingopening: existing document&sigspace;
To open an existing document from Text Editor:Choose Open from the File menu.The Open a File dialog box lists files and folders on your system.
You can browse the documents listed, or change to a new folder
to locate other files on your system.Select the document you want to open in the Files list or type the
file name in the Enter file name field.If the document is not in the current folder, first change
to the folder that contains your document. Then choose a name in the Folders list or type the path
name of the folder you wish to view in the Enter path or folder name field.Press Return or click OK.&sigspace;To open an existing document from File Manager:opening: document from File Managerdocument: opening from File ManagerFile Manager: opening Text Editor documentDisplay the document's file icon in a File Manager window.Do one of the following:
Double-click the document's file icon.Select the document, then choose Open from the Selected menu.Drag the document to the Text Editor control in the Front Panel.See AlsoTo Save a Document to a New Filesaving: document to new fileChoose Save As from the File menu.The Save As dialog box is displayed.&sigspace;If you used Wrap To Fit, choose whether you
want to add newline characters (hard carriage returns) to the end of
wrapped lines. If you do not add newline characters, the
line endings remain dynamic and will adjust to the width of the
window when the document is reopened.If Wrap To Fit is not set (the default), this choice does not appear in the dialog box.
&sigspace;Type a new file name in the Enter file name field to store
the document in your current folder.To store your document in a different location, do one of the following:
To save your document in a subfolder, select the folder from the
Folders list, and press Return or click Update. Then type a file name in the
Enter file name field.To save your document in a different folder than your home folder,
type the folder name in the Enter path or folder name field. Then provide a
file name in the Enter file name field.Or, type the complete path name of your document in the Enter
file name field.
See AlsoTo Save a Document to the Current Filedocument: savingsaving: document to current fileChoose Save from the File menu to save your work and continue editing
your document.If you used Wrap To Fit, choose whether you
want to add newline characters (hard carriage returns) to the end of
wrapped lines. If you do not add newline characters, the
line endings remain dynamic and will adjust to the width of the
window when the document is reopened.&newline;Click Yes to save your changes and close the dialog box.If Wrap To Fit is off (the default), the Save dialog box is not displayed.See AlsoTo Recover a Filefile: recoveringrecovering, a fileIf Text Editor is interrupted due to a system error, it attempts
to save your document in a recovery file in your current
folder. The recovery file is named #filename#, where
filename is the name of the document. If you had never
saved your file, the recovery file name is #UNTITLED#.Start Text Editor.Open the recovery file.Save the document using your original file name or provide a
new name for a previously unsaved document.
See AlsoTo Open Text Editor
To Close Text Editorclosing: Text EditorText Editor: closingexiting: Text EditorSave your open document (if necessary).Choose Close from the File menu or press Alt+F4.
If your keyboard does not have an Alt key, ask your system administrator
to identify the corresponding key.
See AlsoTo Enter Textentering texttext: enteringcreating: paragraphparagraph indentClick in the document and start typing.The cursor, an I-bar, indicates where characters will be inserted as you
type.To start a new line, press Return.Or, you can use Wrap To Fit to automatically
wrap lines to fit the width of the window. As you type, lines break
once the text reaches the edge of the window. To turn Wrap To Fit on,
see To Set Wrap To Fit.To start a paragraph, press Return twice.To create a paragraph indent, press the Tab key or type
spaces to indent your text. Subsequent lines will use the
indented style.See for a description
of the keys you can use while typing and editing
your document.See AlsoTo Set Wrap To FitWrap To Fit, setting on and offline breaksUse Wrap To Fit to automatically
wrap lines at the edge of the window. Line endings inserted
by Wrap To Fit are dynamic. Resizing the Text Editor window
will cause the text to conform to the new size.
To set Wrap To Fit on, choose Wrap To Fit from the Options menu.&newline;To set it off, choose Wrap To Fit again.
&sigspace;If you use Wrap To Fit, it affects how you save your document
(see or
).&sigspace;See AlsoTo Display the Status Linestatus line: displayingcurrent line number, findingline countapplication messages
The status line reports the line number where the insertion cursor is
located and the total number of lines in a document. It also displays
Text Editor messages and indicates whether Overstrike mode is active.
To display the status line, choose Status Line from the Options menu. To
remove the status line, choose Status Line again from the menu.
See AlsoTo Set Overstrike Mode
As you type, new characters are inserted. If you want to
type over existing characters, change to Overstrike mode.Overstrike modeInsert modeTo set Overstrike mode, choose Overstrike from the Options menu. To return to Insert mode, choose Overstrike again from the menu.Or, use the Insert key to change between Insert and
Overstrike mode.
The status line reports when Overstrike mode is active (see
).
&sigspace;See AlsoTo Scroll a DocumentUse the mouse or keyboard scrolling keys to display a
long document.scrolling keyskeys:scrollingMouseDrag the vertical scroll bar to view additional text. Use the
horizontal scroll bar to view long lines of text.
KeyboardKey Scroll MovementPage UpUp one page
Page DownDown one page
Control+Page UpLeft one page
Control+Page Down&sigspace;Right one page
Control+HomeBeginning of the document
EndEnd of document
Control+GGo to a specified line number
Some key combinations may be different for the system you
are using. If so, ask your system administrator to identify the
corresponding keys.
&sigspace;See AlsoTo Go to a Specific Line Numbergo to lineDisplay the status line (see ).Press Control+G or click in the Line field of the status line.Type the line number you want to go to and press Return.
See AlsoTo Insert Special Characterscontrol key, inserting special charactersspecial characters, usingSome key combinations used to insert special characters may be
reserved by Text Editor. For example, a Text Editor mnemonic for
displaying a menu might conflict with a key sequence used on your
system to produce a special character.To insert the character you may need to override the
reserved behavior by preceding the key combination with
Control+Q.See AlsoAlt key
To Select Texttext: selectingselecting texthighlighting textselection: keyboardselection: mousetext: deselectingdeselecting textBefore using edit commands (such as cut and copy) first select the text
you want to change.
To select by clicking:WordDouble-click the wordLineTriple-click the lineAll textQuadruple-click anywhere in the documentDeselect textClick any empty area in the window
To select a text block:Click at the beginning of the text block.Press and hold mouse button 1 and drag to the end of
the text block.To modify a selection you have made, press and hold the Shift key
and mouse button 1. Then drag forward or backward to adjust
the amount of selected text. Or, press and hold Shift and
one of the arrow keys to change the selection.text:deselectingdeselecting textTo select and replace text using secondary selection:Select the text that you want to replace.&newline;Move the pointer to the beginning of the text you want in your
second selection. Hold down the Alt key and mouse
button 2, and drag to the end of the text you want to select.The text is underlined.Release the Alt key and mouse button.The underlined text overwrites your first selection.
See for ways to select
text using the keyboard.
&sigspace;See AlsoTo Select Text Using the Keyboardkeyboard selectionYou can use the keyboard to select text in these ways:
Text blockMove the cursor to the beginning of the text
block. Hold down Shift and one of the arrow keys to move the
cursor to the end of the text you want to select.Cursor to beginning of line&sigspace;Shift+HomeCursor to end of lineShift+EndCursor to beginning of paragraphShift+Control+Up ArrowCursor to end of paragraphShift+Control+Down ArrowCursor to beginning of documentShift+Control+HomeCursor to end of documentShift+Control+EndAll textShift+Control+/Deselect textShift+Control+\See AlsoTo Delete Textdeleting texttext: deletingThe Delete command erases text but does not store the data on the
clipboard. Delete is useful if you want to remove text but not overwrite
data previously stored on the clipboard using the cut or copy commands.
Select the text.Choose Delete from the Edit menu or press the Delete key.
See AlsoTo Clear TextThe Clear command replaces a block of text with spaces.clearing texttext: clearingSelect the text to be cleared.Choose Clear from the Edit menu.
See AlsoTo Undo An EditUndo commandrestoring: texttext: restoringUndo reverses the last cut, copy, paste, clear, delete, include,
or format command.
Choose Undo from the Edit menu or press Control+Z.
See AlsoTo Copy Textcopying texttext: copyingSelect the text to copy.Choose Copy from the Edit menu or press Control+C.The text is stored on a clipboard where it can be accessed or
replaced by other applications.Click where you want to insert the text.Choose Paste from the Edit menu or press Control+V.
Use this shortcut to copy a word or phrase: Select the text,
move the pointer to where you want to insert the text, and click
mouse button 2. This is a quick way to copy text into a dialog
box.
See AlsoTo Move Text (Cut and Paste)moving textcut and pastecutting textpasting texttext: cuttingtext: pastingSelect the text.Choose Cut from the Edit menu or press Control+X.The text is erased and stored on a clipboard where it can
be accessed or replaced by other applications.Click where you want to insert the text.Choose Paste from the Edit menu or press Control+V.
See AlsoTo Drag and Drop Datadrag and dropdragging and dropping data
You can use drag and drop to copy or move text in a document or
to transfer text between desktop applications.
To Copy Text:Select the text that you want to copy.
With the pointer over the selection, press and hold Control and mouse
button 1 and drag to where you want to insert the text.
Release the mouse button.
The text is inserted relative to the position of the drag icon.
To Move Text:Select the text that you want to move.With the pointer over the selection, press and hold Shift and mouse button 1
and drag to where you want to insert the text.Release the mouse button.The text is inserted relative to the position of the drag icon.For instructions to drag and drop a file icon, see .See AlsoTo Find or Change Textfinding textchanging textreplacing textsearch and replacetext searchsearchingtext: findtext: changetext: searchtext: replaceTo Find Text:Choose Find/Change from the Edit menu.Type the text you are looking for into the Find field.Searches are case sensitive. To
find all occurrences, search for both lowercase and uppercase instances.Click Find or press Return to locate the next occurrence of the text.The Find command starts from the position of the insertion cursor and
proceeds through the entire document.To find additional occurrences, choose Find or press Return.
&sigspace;To Find and Change Text:Type the text to locate in the Find field.Searches are case sensitive. To
find all occurrences, search for both lowercase and uppercase instances.Type the replacement text in the Change To field.To delete a word or phrase, leave the Change To field blank.Click Find or press Return to locate the first occurrence of the text.The Find command starts from the position of the insertion cursor and
proceeds through the entire document.Click Change to replace a single occurrence.Repeat steps 3 and 4 to replace additional occurrences.Or, click Change All to replace all occurrences.&newline;(Undo is not available for Change All.)
Click Close when you are done.
See AlsoTo Check Spellingcheck spellingspelling, correctingspell checkerChoose Check Spelling from the Edit menu.The Spell dialog box lists misspelled or unrecognized words.Select the word you want to correct in the Misspelled Word list.Type the correct word into the Change To field.Click Find or press Return to locate the first occurrence.Click Change to replace a single occurrence.Repeat steps 4 and 5 to visit each occurrence.Or, click Change All to replace all occurrences.&newline;(Undo is not available for Change All.)Repeat steps 2 - 5 to correct other words.Click Close when you are done.
The Spell dialog box is only available for English.
See AlsoTo Include a Fileincluding: fileinserting: filefile: includingfile: insertingYou can insert a text file into your document using a menu
command or by dragging a file from File Manager.
To use a menu command:Position the cursor where you want to insert the document.Choose Include from the File menu.The Include a File dialog box lists files and folders on your system.
You can insert a file from the current folder, a subfolder, or
a different folder.Select a document to include in one of these ways:To include a file from the current folder, select the file name in the Files
list and press Return.To include a file from a subfolder, double-click the folder name in the
Folders list, then select the file name and press Return.To locate a file in a different folder, type the path name of the folder
in the Enter path or folder name field and press Return. Then select the
file name and press Return.Or, you can type the complete path name of the document in
the Enter file name field.browsing file to includeTo drag a file from File Manager:Click in the document where you want the file inserted.Open a File Manager window and locate the file that you want
to include.Hold down mouse button 1 and drag the file's icon from
File Manager to the Text Editor document.Release the mouse button.
See AlsoTo Format a Documentformatting documentmargins: settingalignment: texttext alignmentdocument: formattingWhen you finish editing your document, format
it by setting margins and paragraph alignment.
Choose Settings from the Format menu.Enter new left and right margins, if desired.The default left margin is 0 and the right margin is dynamically
set to the width of the window. Margins are specified as the number
of character columns.Select right, left, justify (block style), or center alignment.Left-aligned text is the default setting.Do one of the following:To format a single paragraph, place the cursor in the paragraph, then
click Paragraph.To format the entire document, click All.
Click Close when you are done.To reapply format settings after closing the dialog box, choose
Paragraph or All from the Format menu.
See AlsoTo Print a Documentprinting: documentdocument: printingprintTo print an open document with default options:Text Editorprinting document with default optionsprintingdocument with default optionsdocumentprinting with default optionsOpen the document in Text Editor.
Choose Print from the File menu.
To print an open document with specific options:
Text Editorprinting document with specific optionsprintingdocument with specific optionsdocumentprinting with specific optionsOpen the document in Text Editor.
Choose Print... from the File menu or press Control+P.
The Print dialog box appears.
To select a different printer,
type the new printer name in the Printer Name field.
To output multiple copies, type
the number of copies in the Copies field.
To print to a file, click the Print to File checkbox
and type the path and filename for the file.
To have long lines wrap to fit the page size,
click the Use Word Wrap checkbox.
To set the margins
for the printed output, type the desired values in the Top, Left,
Right, and Bottom fields. You can specify margin values in
inches (in), centimeters (cm), or pixels (pi).
The default value for all margins is one inch.
If no unit value is specified, pixels are used.
Your margin settings remain in effect until you change them. They are used when you
print with default options.
To include headers and/or footers on the printed output,
choose the type of information you want for Top Left, Bottom Left,
Top Right, and/or Bottom Right. For each position, you can select:
Date, to display the current date.
Document Name, to display the name of the document being printed.
Page Number, to display page numbers.
User Name, to display your user name.
None, to display nothing.
The following defaults are used:
Top Left—None
Top Right—Document Name
Bottom Left—None
Bottom Right—Page Number
Your header and footer settings remain in effect until you change
them. They are used when you print with default options.
To set printer-specific options, click the Setup... button on the Print dialog box.
The Print Setup window appears. From this window, you can
examine printer information and define both Printer and Job options.
See
Print Setup
Window for more information.
To send the open document to the printer from the
Print dialog box, click Print.To print a closed document:Display the document's file icon in File Manager.Drag the file icon to the Front Panel Printer control.Optional.&newline;Enter printing options.Click Print in the Print dialog box.
See AlsoThese instructions assume that you are using a mouse. Most
tasks can also be done without a mouse.
See Keyboard
Shortcuts for the Desktop for more information.