-.TH "SELECTOR" "1"
+.TH "SELECTOR" 1 "" "Francois Fleuret"
.SH "NAME"
-selector - A simple command line for dynamic pattern selection
+selector \- A simple command line utility for dynamic pattern selection
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.PP
\fBselector\fP [\fBoptions\fP] [<filename1> [<filename2> ...]]
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
-\fBselector\fP is a command line 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 ^R key switches between the standard multi-substring mode and the
-regexp mode.
+\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 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 regexp quickly.
+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 on the left of the cursor, while Delete key and ^D delete
-the character at cursor location.
+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 Left and Right cursor keys move the editing cursor
+accordingly. The Up and Down cursor keys move the selected line one
+entry at a time, and PageUp and PageDown move it by ten entries. 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 cancel the selection by either interrupting the command
-with ^C or by typing ^G.
+The keys "^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 key "^R" switches between the multi-substring and the regexp
+selection mode, and "^I" between the case-sensitive and
+case-insensitive modes.
.SH "OPTIONS"
.IP "\fB-h\fP" 10
.IP "\fB-m\fP" 10
force the monochrome mode
.IP "\fB-i\fP" 10
-inverse the order of the lines
+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
+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 with the regexp mode activated
+start in regexp mode
.IP "\fB-a\fP" 10
-make the matching case sensitive
+start in 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
select the modeline and highlight color numbers
.IP "\fB-v\fP" 10
inject the selected line into the tty input buffer
+.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 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 "EXAMPLES"
+.SH "EXAMPLE"
To use selector to search into your bash history, you can use
-.B selector -d -i -b -v <(history)
+.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.
+
+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.
.SH "BUGS"
-Modeline display problems if the pattern is too long. Probably many
-others.
+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.
projects / selector.git / blobdiff