eFTE(1)

📦 version 1.1, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 eFTE — the text editor that ate 💖

okay bestie, sit down, hydrate, because we're talking about efte — a text editor, and no, it's not "just" a text editor. This is a page from the General Commands Manual, and I'm gonna walk you through every single crumb. 🍓

✨ NAME ✨

efte — Text editor. that's it. that's the name. short, iconic, no notes. 💅

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

efte  [[options] files ...]

vefte [[options] files ...]

nefte [[options] files ...]

yes babes, there are three flavors and they all take [[options] files ...]. pick your girl and go. 👑

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so this manual page documents briefly the efte. it's giving "short and sweet, but make it thorough."

fr fr, this page was written for the Debian GNU/Linux distribution (but it may be used by others 💜), because the original program does not have a manual page. the way that it instead has documentation in html format… iconic behavior honestly. see below, bestie. 👀

efte is a powerful text editor which closely resembles Borlands programming editors for M$-DOS, but — and this is the part that matters — it is far more flexible and configurable. glow up of the century. 🌈

💅 OPTIONS 💅

okay so efte uses a command line syntax which is a little bit different from most of Debian GNU/Linux apps. she's quirky. she's not like other editors. 😌

  • -h -? --help — help on command line options. your little "hey what do these do" moment. 🙋
  • -! — ignore any external configuration file and use internal configuration. just you and the built-ins, no outside influence. 🧘
  • -l<line>[,<column>] — go to line (and column) in the next file on the command line. teleport behavior. ✨
  • -#<line>[<,column>] — same as -l. do not use this option. ⚠️ like why is she even here. don't touch her.
  • -m[<mode>] — set mode for next files to <mode>. if it's just plain -m, then use the default mode.
  • -C[<.cnf>] — use the specified configuration file (compiled). plain -C does the same as -!.
  • -D[<.dsk>] — load/save desktop from file <.dsk>. if there's no argument, disable desktop load/save. (the examples below show this off, stay tuned 🎀)
  • -H[<.his>] — load/save history from file <.his>. if there's no argument, disable history load/save.
  • -T<tagfile> — load tagfile at startup.
  • -t<tag> — look up tag tag and display the file containing it.
  • -- — the rest of the arguments are not options, but filenames. everything after this is just a file, bestie.
  • -+ — the next argument is not an option, even if it starts with a -. super useful when loading files that begin with a -. lifesaver fr. 🫶
  • -noxmb — do not use XMB functions in xefte — useful if you have incorrect locales and you want to use just english fonts.
  • -font — select XWindow font to use with xefte. see VIOFONT also. 👀

🌈 ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES 🌈

this is the list of variables which might change behavior of some internals of efte. the little secret knobs. 🎛️

  • VIOFONT — select font used by xefte.
  • ISOCONSOLE — when set, vefte is usign ascii symbols to draw tables. this is useful when iso latin charset is used on console. (yes, "usign" — we keep the lore exactly as it is, no cap 💀)

⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

here's where she really shines. look at these.

efte -mBIN /usr/bin/vefte

load /usr/bin/vefte in BIN mode. 🧬

efte -mBIN -+ -bla-

load file -bla- in BIN mode. see how -+ protects the -bla- from being read as options? chef's kiss. 👨‍🍳💋

efte -l100,30 win.c

go to (100,30) in win.c. coordinates, but make it text. 📍

efte window.cpp

load file window.cpp. the classic. the vanilla. the default girl. 🎀

efte -- -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6

load files -1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6. yes bestie, SIX of them. 🎉

efte -D -H efte.dsk efte.his

disable desktop and history loading and saving, and load files efte.dsk and efte.his. note how the bare -D and -H disable instead of enable. sneaky. 🙈

🧚 FILES 🧚

~/.efterc
/usr/local/etc/efte/system.fterc
/etc/efte/system.fterc

these are the default configuration files. they include all keybindings and menus compiled with cefte(1) from config files in /usr/share/doc/efte/config-example.tar.gz. that's where all the personality lives. 💜

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

  • cefte(1)
  • /usr/share/doc/efte/contents.html

💖 AUTHORS 💖

this manual page was written by Riku Voipio and Zdenek Kabelac <riku.voipio@iki.fi> <kabi@debian.org> for the Debian GNU/Linux system. legends, honestly. 🫶

📅 DATE 📅

18 Nov 1999

and that's the whole page, bestie. every flag, every file, every example — nothing skipped, nothing invented, everything exactly where it belongs. slay. 💅✨

okay so this was eFTE(1) from the General Commands Manual, dated 18 Nov 1999 — a vintage queen serving us config files and XMB lore ever since. go forth and edit your little heart out. mwah. 💖🎀🦋

📦 where this page comes from