Select all in linux command

How do I select all text from a file with nano?

I open a file in Ubuntu nano editor from the comand line and I want to copy all the contents of the file so I can paste it in an another application outside the shell. So far I can only copy using shift on the screen that is visible but not on all content.

Are you in a command line only environment? If not, why don’t you open the file in something like gedit?

Btw this is why I hate linux and the command-line: In theory a wonderful thing, but in reality extremely unuintutive, even the most simple and common things don’t work like expected. Usability Super-Fail.

nano is not powerful. just to edit some config files it is pretty ok, but as an code editor it sucks!

Question is too vague and the answers are all over the map as a result, leading to confusion. Typically you use nano on a remote server, not your desktop computer. This sounds more like a question about your terminal emulator, which is how you access nano. I really think the question should be changed or flagged for removal.

13 Answers 13

You can’t use the buffer of nano to use it elsewhere, you need to use the buffer of X or Gnome.

A command line interface to the X11 clipboard. It can also be used for copying files, as an alternative to sftp/scp, avoiding password prompts when X11 forwarding has already been setup.

• Cursor at the beginning of a file
• Ctrl 6 to set a mark
• Alt Shift T (or try Alt T ) to cut to the end of the file
• If Alt T doesn’t work, try Ctrl K
• to just copy the file content do Ctrl U to uncut the text again

this works only inside nano — after you’ll close it you can not uncut it in another app as OP wanted.

you can use cat and then copy it from the console:

Select the output printed in the console.

Alternatively you can zoom out using Ctrl + — to fit all the file contents on ‘one screen page’ and select everything using the mouse. After you zoom back with Ctrl + 0 or zoom in progressively with Ctrl + + .

I don’t like the mouse part, but this is a fast way to copy bulk text in nano.

Amazing, thank you! Of note: it only works with the +/- keys on the main part of the keyboard, not the num pad (even when num lock is ON).

Actually, this answer might be a bit late but I was looking for an answer for the same question and I just figured it out. when you have the file you want to copy to open in nano. you can hit ctl-R and enter the file you want copied from. this will bring in the whole file.

In my case I was just copying my old fstab so it wasn’t a big deal. but could get ridiculous with huge files.

You can cut from the current cursor position to the end of the file with meta key plus T. Meta key is either alt or escape, depending on your keyboard. For me, accessing Ubuntu via ssh from my OSX it was escape.

Here’s another solution. One that I personally prefer. It uses Xsel. It’s very similar to Xclip but with a key difference.

While Xclip puts everything in the main clipboard, Xsel manipulates the selection buffer letting you paste the selection with a middle-click. This is great for one-offs! So if you have something in your clipboard that you haven’t pasted yet, that would stay unaffected!

And if you want to paste the content, xsel -o will spit it right out.

You can install it on a debian based system using

The source is available here otherwise! Hope this helps someone.

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How To Select All In Vim/Vi Editor? [VI/VIM select all]

An editor that allows for faster text editing and with a powerful and highly customizable command-line tool is known as vim editor. Bram Moolenaar created Vim editor, which is recognized as a developer’s editor, as it enables major file formats. Depending on our demands, we can use the other plugins which are available in Vim. this article will give you a brief understanding of how to select all in vim editor.

In Vim or Vi, you wish to select all of a file’s content. In a command-line editor, the mouse pointer cannot be used to select any or all of the information. To pick all of a file’s content from beginning to end, you should use the select all command.

To select all in Vim, use ggVG.

it allows you to select all in vim of a file’s content. To go to normal mode, hit the ESC key first. Then, using the gg keys, we’ll jump to the beginning of the file. Then, with the V key, enable the visual mode, and last, with the G key, choose from the beginning to the conclusion of the file. In a nutshell, the key sequences of the Linux command below may be used to Vim select all.

Use 99999yy to select and copy everything.

There is a different way to select and copy all data. The yy instruction is used to yank or copy the current line, but we may pick and duplicate all lines by specifying the line count. We’ll give you a huge amount of 99999 to choose from and copy. To begin, use the ESC key to return to normal mode. Then use gg to return to the beginning of the file. To copy to the end of the file, use the 99999yy command. this command is also listed in our vim cheat sheet article.

To select and copy all, use $yy.

There is one more different way to pick and copy all data. The yy instruction is used to yank or copy the current line, but we may pick and duplicate all lines by specifying the line count. To begin, use the ESC key to return to normal mode. Then use gg to revert to the file’s start. The last command y$ to copy from the current cursor point, the file’s beginning, to the file’s end.

Conclusion

Hence, by following the above three methods, you can select all in Vim editor and carry out the required task. This will help you to reduce the efforts to select the whole document if the file size is too huge and help in improving your performance efficiency. If you know any other vim select all commands then share with us from the comment box.

People are also looking frequently at Linux VPS to have a test environment to learn and execute these commands.

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How To “Select All” In Vim/Vi?

You want to select all content of a file in Vim or Vi. As a command-line editor, the mouse pointer can not be used to select some or all of the content. You should use some command in order to select all content of a file from beginning to end. In other GUI based text or document applications the CTRL+A is used to select all text.

Use ggVG To Select All

All content of a file can be selected by using the Visual Mode of Vim or Vi. First, we will press the ESC key to change normal mode. Then we will move to the start of the file by using the gg keys. Then enable the visual mode with the V key and the last step is pressing G which will select from the start of the file to the end of the file. In short, you can use the following key sequences to select all content.

Use 99999yy To Select and Copy All

There is an alternative way that can be used to select and copy all content. The yy command is used to yank or copy the current line but providing the line count we can select and copy all lines. We will provide a very high number of 99999 to select and copy. First change to normal mode with the ESC. Then use gg to move the cursor to the start of the file. the last issue 99999yy command to copy to the end of the file.

Use $yy To Select and Copy All

There is an alternative way that can be used to select and copy all content. The yy command is used to yank or copy the current line but providing the line count we can select and copy all lines. First change to normal mode with the ESC. Then use gg to move the cursor to the start of the file. the last issue y$ to copy from the current cursor location which is the start of the file to the end of the file.

Select and Delete All Lines

There is the % command which can be used to select all text and then run another command for action. The %d can be used to select and delete all lines with a single command.

Select and Copy All Lines

The %y command can be used to select and copy all lines with a single command.

Select All In Gvim

Gvim is a GUI frontend for the vim command line text editor. The GUI features can be used to select all lines or content. Just use the mouse cursor to select all in Gvim.

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Select all in Vim / Vi

To perform the command traditionally known as “ctrl + a” to select all in Vim, do [.inline-code]ggVG[.inline-code].

1. Check that you are in normal mode — hit the [.inline-code]ESC[.inline-code] key.

2. Move the cursor to the beginning of the file — [.inline-code]gg[.inline-code].

3. Enter visual mode which lets you see the highlight portions — [.inline-code]V[.inline-code]

Pressing [.inline-code]V[.inline-code] enters line visual mode while pressing lower case [.inline-code]v[.inline-code] will enter character visual mode. Being in [.inline-code]v[.inline-code] mode will cause the below command to highlight until the first character of the last line in the file.

4. Select from the current cursor position to the end of the file — [.inline-code]G[.inline-code]

At this point, you can scroll up and down or use Vim commands to de-select lines.

[#copy-all-lines]Vim copy all lines[#copy-all-lines]

After performing the select all sequence above, you can use this command to copy the whole entire file: [.inline-code]y[.inline-code]. This will yank and copy the selected lines.

Vim copy all to clipboard

Using yank alone only copies the portion to the default register (i.e. Vim). It won’t copy to the clipboard. So if you wanted to copy the selected code to use outside the terminal you’ll need to use [.inline-code]gg»*yG[.inline-code]

• Move the cursor to the beginning of the file — [.inline-code]gg[.inline-code]
• Copy it to the clipboard from current position — [.inline-code]»*y[.inline-code]
• Move the cursor to the end of the file — [.inline-code]G[.inline-code]

[#paste-all]Vim paste all[#paste-all]

In order to paste what you’ve copied, you can hit [.inline-code]p[.inline-code] to paste after the cursor and [.inline-code]P[.inline-code] to paste before the cursor.

[#delete-all-lines]Vim delete all lines[#delete-all-lines]

To clear all the lines of a file: [.inline-code]:%d[.inline-code]

• Go to normal mode — [.inline-code]ESC[.inline-code]
• Enter command mode — [.inline-code]:[.inline-code]
• Select All — [.inline-code]%[.inline-code]
• Delete — [.inline-code]d[.inline-code]

‍Make a mistake? If you want to undo an accidental deletion, you can use the [.inline-code]u[.inline-code] command ([.inline-code]:u[.inline-code]) to undo in Vim, and the lines that were deleted will show up again.

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