On Thu, 9 Apr 1998, Ian Keith Setford wrote: > > Is there a way I can multi-task in debian? Like with Win95, you can > > open two programs and switch between them. I compare files, and it would > > make my life easier if I could switch between two files, rather then > > editing it, looking at a section, quiting, then editing and comparing it > > with the other. I use pico when I edit the files. > > Yes! Debian has true multi-tasking. You didn't mention if you are > running X-Windows or not. In any case, with X you may act just as if you > are in Windows when editing a file. If you are using the console just use > your ALT-Key with a FUNCTION-Key at the same time to switch between VT's > or virtual consoles. So just use ALT-F1,F2 etc. to switch between them.
To add to that, there are a few things you can do regarding editing: 1) If you are using X, open up two pico sessions and then you can just cut and paste between them. 2) If you are not using X, then (although I am not sure about this as I always use X) you can install a non-X mouse cut-and-paste driver called gpm, open up pico in two different VTs and then do the same sort of thing 3) If you are going to be doing a lot of editing, I would recommend dumping pico for emacs:) Steep learning curve, but highly functional, runs under both X and non-X, allows you to open up multiple buffers (i.e. with a different file in each) and has a killer mode called ediff which does a great colorful job at diff'ing files in different buffers (along with a whole lot more). However, if you are just working with text files and not programming languages, this option might be overkill. Cheers. -- Colin Telmer, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.telmer.com> -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
