.TH "SELECTOR" "1"
.SH "NAME"
-selector - A simple shell command for dynamic pattern selection
+selector - A simple command line utility for dynamic pattern selection
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.PP
-\fBselector\fP [\fBoptions\fP] -f <filename>
+\fBselector\fP [\fBoptions\fP] [<filename1> [<filename2> ...]]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
-\fBselector\fP is a simple shell command which provides a dynamic
-string selection. A you type a list of substring separated by ';', the
-display is updated to show only the lines containing all the said
-substrings.
+\fBselector\fP is a command line utility for dynamic string
+selection. As you type a list of strings separated by ";" or a regexp,
+the display is updated in real time to show only the lines containing
+all the said strings, or matching the regexp.
-The main usage of selector is as a super shell-history. With the
-correct option, it will inject the selected line into the virtual tty
-input buffer, hence allowing the user to edit the line and execute it
-as a standard command.
+The main usage of selector is as an efficient search in the shell
+command history. With the correct option, it will inject the selected
+line into the virtual tty input buffer, hence allowing the user to
+edit the line and execute it as a standard command.
+
+Selector is also a good tool to test regexps, or a way to display
+menus. The -x option allows to specify a label delimiter: the part of
+each line before that character will appear during the selection, and
+the part after that character will be returned.
+
+.SH "KEYS"
+.PP
+
+Keys corresponding to ASCII codes between " " and "~" add a character
+to the pattern string. The Backspace key, "^H" and "^?" delete the
+character immediately on the left of the cursor, while the Delete key
+and "^D" delete the character at cursor location.
+
+The Up and Down cursor keys move the selected line accordingly, and
+PageUp and PageDown move by ten lines. The Home and End key move to
+the top and the bottom of the list respectively. The return key
+selects the current line and exits.
+
+The shortcuts "^A", "^E", "^U", and "^K" do somehow what they do in
+readline, and you can exit selector without doing anything by either
+interrupting the command with "^C" or by typing "^G" or the Escape
+key.
+
+The "^R" key switches between the standard multi-substring mode and
+the regexp mode, and "^I" between the case-sensitive and
+case-insensitive modes.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.IP "\fB-h\fP" 10
display help and exits
+.IP "\fB-m\fP" 10
+force the monochrome mode
+.IP "\fB-i\fP" 10
+invert the order of the lines
+.IP "\fB-b\fP" 10
+remove the numeric prefix from bash history
+.IP "\fB-z\fP" 10
+remove the time prefix from zsh history
+.IP "\fB-d\fP" 10
+remove duplicated lines (note that you can have two different lines
+with the same visible part if you use the -x option)
+.IP "\fB-e\fP" 10
+start in the regexp mode
+.IP "\fB-a\fP" 10
+start in the case-sensitive mode
+.IP "\fB-q\fP" 10
+make a flash instead of a beep when there is an edition error
+.IP "\fB--\fP" 10
+state that all following arguments are filenames
+.IP "\fB-t <title>\fP" 10
+add a title in the modeline
+.IP "\fB-c <fg modeline> <bg modeline> <fg highlight> <bg highlight>\fP" 10
+select the modeline and highlight color numbers
.IP "\fB-v\fP" 10
inject the selected line into the tty input buffer
-.IP "\fB-t <color theme number>\fP" 10
-select a color them
+.IP "\fB-w\fP" 10
+add ^Q between characters during tty injection to quote control characters
.IP "\fB-o <output filename>\fP" 10
write the selected line into the specified file
.IP "\fB-s <pattern separator>\fP" 10
specify the symbol to separate the substrings in the search pattern
+.IP "\fB-x <label separator>\fP" 10
+specify the symbol to separate what to show to the user during the
+selection from the line to return
.IP "\fB-l <max number of lines>\fP" 10
-specify the maximum number of lines to consider
+specify the maximum number of lines to take into account
.IP "\fB-f <input filename>\fP" 10
-specify the file to search into
+specify a file to search into (option kept for compatibility reasons)
+
+.SH "EXAMPLE"
+
+To use selector to search into your bash history, you can use
+
+.B selector -q -b -i -d -v -w -l ${HISTSIZE} <(history)
+
+.SH "KEY-BINDING IN BASH"
+
+You can associate selector to a single key in bash by using the
+command 'bind' in your bash initialization file. For instance, to
+associate it to M-r (that is, the "Alt" and "r" key pressed together),
+just add something like
+
+bind '"\\C-[r":"\\C-a\\C-kselector -q -b -i -d -v -w -l ${HISTSIZE} <(history)\\C-m"'
+
+in your ~/.bashrc.
+
+Note that depending on the configuration of your system, the sequence
+associated to the M-r key, which is here "C-[r", may differ. To figure
+it out, simply press C-q followed by M-r in the console.
-.SH "EXAMPLES"
+The control character "C-a" puts the cursor to the mostleft location,
+"C-k" erases the current content of the readline buffer, and "C-m"
+simulates the enter key.
-To use selector to search into your shell history:
+.SH "BUGS"
-selector -f ${HISTFILE} -v
+There are modeline display problems if the pattern is too long. This
+program does not handle multibyte characters.
.SH "AUTHOR"
.PP
-Written by Francois Fleuret <francois@fleuret.org>. Permission is
-granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the
-terms of the GNU GPL.
+Written by Francois Fleuret <francois@fleuret.org>, and distributed
+under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
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