File Editing

File Editing Software

The following are the three most commonly used editors

nano

nano is the easiest to use editor available on the clusters.

Use the following command to open a file for editing with nano:

user@host> nano filename

vim

vim is the improved version of vi with code syntax highlighting and other features useful for programming. This editor has a steep learning curve, but is very efficient.

​ Vim Introduction

Use the following command to open a file for editing with vim:

user@host> vim filename

emacs

emacs also has code syntax highlighting along with auto-indentation and a whole list of other advanced editing features.

​Emacs Introduction

Use the following command to open a file for editing with emacs:

user@host> emacs filename

GUI Based Editors

There are a number of GUI based editors available across platforms (gedit, notepad++, sublime text edit just to name a few). The choice of GUI based text editor is a personal one and we offer no opinions on which is best.

That being said, any GUI based editor you use should be able to save files in a clean text format (so Microsoft Word is out).

Exercise

Exercise

Next Section

Transferring Files