SYNTAX

primitiveName [[-count number] [window]]

DESCRIPTION

The term editor primitives covers 38 different commands that can be used to select, move, or delete text within the MPW shell. You can specify the window you want the primitive to act upon, which makes editor primitives useful in scripts. The editor primitives are grouped as shown below.

In general, the primitives do what their names imply. However, there are variations among primitives with regard to their treatment of blank lines and preexisting selections. In some cases, the action with respect to a preexisting selection depends on whether the selection was made manually or by the action of a previous primitive. We recommend that you check the behavior of the primitives before using them in a script.

In addition to being used as independent commands, the editor primitives may also be used as operands for the SetKey command.

INPUT

None

OUTPUT

None

ALIAS RESOLUTION

These commands resolve Finder aliases that are part of a partial or complete pathname substituted for the window name. The resolved pathname must specify the name of an open window. Note that using a shell variable to designate a window is usually faster than requiring MPW to resolve a Finder alias.

PARAMETERS

window

Specifies the window you want the editor primitive to act upon. If you do not specify a window, the primitive acts upon the active window.

OPTIONS

-count number

Repeat the command. The integer number specifies how many times to execute this primitive.

EXAMPLES

The following editor primitive command selects the three lines below the cursor in the window specified by "{target}".

SelectLineDown -count 3 "{target}"

SEE ALSO

SetKey