README

	GNU nano - an enhanced clone of the Pico text editor.

Overview

     The nano project was started because of a few "problems" with the
     wonderfully easy-to-use and friendly Pico text editor.

     First and foremost is its license: the Pine suite does not use the
     GPL or a GPL-friendly license, and has unclear restrictions on 
     redistribution.  Because of this, Pine and Pico are not included with
     many GNU/Linux distributions.  Also, other features (like goto line
     number or search and replace) were unavailable until recently or
     require a command line flag.  Yuck.

     nano aims to solve these problems by emulating the functionality of
     Pico as closely as possible while addressing the problems above and
     perhaps providing other extra functionality.

     The nano editor is now an official GNU package.  For more information
     on GNU and the Free Software Foundation please see http://www.gnu.org.
     
How to compile and install nano

     Download the nano source code, then:
     tar zxvf nano-x.y.z.tar.gz
     cd nano-x.y.z
     ./configure
     make
     make install
     
     It's that simple. Use --prefix with configure to override the 
     default installation directory of /usr/local.
     
Web Page

	http://www.nano-editor.org
     
Mailing List and Bug Reports

	Savannah hosts all the nano-related mailing-lists.
	+ info-nano@gnu.org is a very low traffic list
	  used to announce new Nano versions or other important information
	  about the project.
	+ help-nano@gnu.org is for those seeking to get help without
	  wanting to hear about the technical details of its
	  development.
	+ nano-devel@gnu.org is the list used by the people
	  that make Nano and a general development discussion list, with
	  moderate traffic.
	To subscribe, send email to nano-<name>-request@gnu.org
	with a subject of "subscribe", where <name> is the list you want to
	subscribe to.
	For general bug reports, send a description of the problem to
	nano@nano-editor.org or directly to the development list.

Current Status

	This is the 1.1 or unstable branch of nano.  New features
	will be added and things will be changed around and basically
	stability is not guaranteed.  If this is not what you're
	interested in, please use the latest 1.0.x release of nano.

	New features in this branch include:
	+ .nanorc file support (--enable-nanorc configure option, 
	  see sample.nanorc file)
	+ Negative -r value for "#cols from right", allows dynamic adjustment
	  of wrap margin based on window size.
	+ Write marked text to separate file (^O after selecting with ^^).
	+ Append to file (Meta-A at write file menu).
	+ Multiple file buffers! (--enable-multibuffer configure option,
	  --multibuffer, -F cmdline flag, Meta-F toggle, then ^R to load).
	+ Better compatibility with Pico.  Mouse mode now supports clicking
	  shortcuts and files in browser, search toggles that are Pico 
	  extensions moved to Meta keys so as to not interfere with Pico
	  control sequences.
	+ Smooth scrolling through files, instead of the jerky half-page
	  down, half-page up method.  This is available by using the 
	  -S or --smooth switch, or the Meta-S toggle.
	+ Better non-*nix file support.  GNU nano now automatically
	  converts files from DOS format or Mac format to standard file
	  format.  It can also write files in either format by using the
	  appropriate command line (-D, --dos or -M, --mac) or toggle
	  (Meta-D, Meta-O).

   Chris Allegretta (chrisa@asty.org)

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