ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

     NAME
          acme, win - interactive text windows

     SYNOPSIS
          acme [ -aib ] [ -c ncol ] [ -f varfont ] [ -F fixfont ] [ -l
          loadfile | file ... ]

          win [ command ]

     DESCRIPTION
          Acme manages windows of text that may be edited interac-
          tively or by external programs.  The interactive interface
          uses the keyboard and mouse; external programs use a set of
          files served by acme; these are discussed in acme(4).

          Any named files are read into acme windows before acme
          accepts input.  With the -l option, the state of the entire
          system is loaded from loadfile, which should have been cre-
          ated by a Dump command (q.v.), and subsequent file names are
          ignored.  Plain files display as text; directories display
          as columnated lists of the names of their components, as in
          ls -p directory|mc except that the names of subdirectories
          have a slash appended.

          The -f (-F) option sets the main font, usually variable-
          pitch (alternate, usually fixed-pitch); the default is
          /lib/font/bit/lucidasans/euro.8.font
          (.../lucm/unicode.9.font).  Tab intervals are set to the
          width of 4 (or the value of $tabstop) numeral zeros in the
          appropriate font.

        Windows
          Acme windows are in two parts: a one-line tag above a
          multi-line body. The body typically contains an image of a
          file, as in sam(1), or the output of a program, as in an
          rio(1) window.  The tag contains a number of blank-separated
          words, followed by a vertical bar character, followed by
          anything.  The first word is the name of the window, typi-
          cally the name of the associated file or directory, and the
          other words are commands available in that window.  Any text
          may be added after the bar; examples are strings to search
          for or commands to execute in that window.  Changes to the
          text left of the bar will be ignored, unless the result is
          to change the name of the window.

          If a window holds a directory, the name (first word of the
          tag) will end with a slash.

        Scrolling
          Each window has a scroll bar to the left of the body.  The

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     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

          scroll bar behaves much as in sam(1) or rio(1) except that
          scrolling occurs when the button is pressed, rather than
          released, and continues as long as the mouse button is held
          down in the scroll bar.  For example, to scroll slowly
          through a file, hold button 3 down near the top of the
          scroll bar.  Moving the mouse down the scroll bar speeds up
          the rate of scrolling.

        Layout
          Acme windows are arranged in columns.  By default, it cre-
          ates two columns when starting; this can be overridden with
          the -c option.  Placement is automatic but may be adjusted
          using the layout box in the upper left corner of each window
          and column.  Pressing and holding any mouse button in the
          box drags the associated window or column.  For windows,
          just clicking in the layout box grows the window in place:
          button 1 grows it a little, button 2 grows it as much as it
          can, still leaving all other tags in that column visible,
          and button 3 takes over the column completely, temporarily
          hiding other windows in the column.  (They will return en
          masse if any of them needs attention.)  The layout box in a
          window is normally white; when it is black in the center, it
          records that the file is `dirty': acme believes it is modi-
          fied from its original contents.

          Tags exist at the top of each column and across the whole
          display.  Acme pre-loads them with useful commands.  Also,
          the tag across the top maintains a list of executing long-
          running commands.

        Typing
          The behavior of typed text is similar to that in rio(1)
          except that the characters are delivered to the tag or body
          under the mouse; there is no `click to type'.  (The experi-
          mental option -b causes typing to go to the most recently
          clicked-at or made window.)  The usual backspacing conven-
          tions apply.  As in sam(1) but not rio, the ESC key selects
          the text typed since the last mouse action, a feature par-
          ticularly useful when executing commands.  A side effect is
          that typing ESC with text already selected is identical to a
          Cut command (q.v.).

          Most text, including the names of windows, may be edited
          uniformly.  The only exception is that the command names to
          the left of the bar in a tag are maintained automatically;
          changes to them are repaired by acme.

          When a window is in autoindent mode (see the Indent command
          below) and a newline character is typed, acme copies leading
          white space on the current line to the new line.  The option
          -a causes each window to start in autoindent mode.

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     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

          When a window is in spacesindent mode (see the Spaces com-
          mand below) and a tab character is typed, acme indents the
          line with spaces equal to the current tabstop for the win-
          dow. The option -i causes each window to start in spacesin-
          dent mode.

        Directory context
          Each window's tag names a directory: explicitly if the win-
          dow holds a directory; implicitly if it holds a regular file
          (e.g. the directory /adm if the window holds /adm/users).
          This directory provides a context for interpreting file
          names in that window.  For example, the string users in a
          window labeled /adm/ or /adm/keys will be interpreted as the
          file name /adm/users.  The directory is defined purely tex-
          tually, so it can be a non-existent directory or a real
          directory associated with a non-existent file (e.g.
          /adm/not-a-file).  File names beginning with a slash are
          assumed to be absolute file names.

        Errors
          Windows whose names begin with - or + conventionally hold
          diagnostics and other data not directly associated with
          files.  A window labeled +Errors receives all diagnostics
          produced by acme itself.  Diagnostics from commands run by
          acme appear in a window named directory/+Errors where
          directory is identified by the context of the command.
          These error windows are created when needed.

        Mouse button 1
          Mouse button 1 selects text just as in sam(1) or rio(1),
          including the usual double-clicking conventions.

        Mouse button 2
          By an action similar to selecting text with button 1, button
          2 indicates text to execute as a command.  If the indicated
          text has multiple white-space-separated words, the first is
          the command name and the second and subsequent are its argu-
          ments.  If button 2 is `clicked'-indicates a null string-
          acme expands the indicated text to find a command to run: if
          the click is within button-1-selected text, acme takes that
          selection as the command; otherwise it takes the largest
          string of valid file name characters containing the click.
          Valid file name characters are alphanumerics and _ . - + /.
          This behavior is similar to double-clicking with button 1
          but, because a null command is meaningless, only a single
          click is required.

          Some commands, all by convention starting with a capital
          letter, are built-ins that are executed directly by acme:

          Cut  Delete most recently selected text and place in snarf
               buffer.

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     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

          Del  Delete window.  If window is dirty, instead print a
               warning; a second Del will succeed.

          Delcol
               Delete column and all its windows, after checking that
               windows are not dirty.

          Delete
               Delete window without checking for dirtiness.

          Dump Write the state of acme to the file name, if specified,
               or $home/acme.dump by default.

          Edit Treat the argument as a text editing command in the
               style of sam(1). The full Sam language is implemented
               except for the commands k, n, q, and !.  The = command
               is slightly different: it includes the file name and
               gives only the line address unless the command is
               explicitly =#.  The `current window' for the command is
               the body of the window in which the Edit command is
               executed.  Usually the Edit command would be typed in a
               tag; longer commands may be prepared in a scratch win-
               dow and executed, with Edit itself in the current win-
               dow, using the 2-1 chord described below.

          Exit Exit acme after checking that windows are not dirty.

          Font With no arguments, change the font of the associated
               window from fixed-spaced to proportional-spaced or vice
               versa. Given a file name argument, change the font of
               the window to that stored in the named file.  If the
               file name argument is prefixed by var (fix), also set
               the default proportional-spaced (fixed-spaced) font for
               future use to that font.  Other existing windows are
               unaffected.

          Get  Load file into window, replacing previous contents
               (after checking for dirtiness as in Del).  With no
               argument, use the existing file name of the window.
               Given an argument, use that file but do not change the
               window's file name.

          ID   Print window ID number (q.v.).

          Incl When opening `include' files (those enclosed in <>)
               with button 3, acme searches in directories
               /$objtype/include and /sys/include.  Incl adds its
               arguments to a supplementary list of include directo-
               ries, analogous to the -I option to the compilers.
               This list is per-window and is inherited when windows
               are created by actions in that window, so Incl is most
               usefully applied to a directory containing relevant

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     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

               source.  With no arguments, Incl prints the supplemen-
               tary list.  This command is largely superseded by
               plumbing (see plumb(6)).

          Indent
               Set the autoindent mode according to the argument: on
               and off set the mode for the current window; ON and OFF
               set the mode for all existing and future windows.

          Kill Send a kill note to acme-initiated commands named as
               arguments.

          Load Restore the state of acme from a file (default
               $home/acme.dump) created by the Dump command.

          Local
               When prefixed to a command run the command in the same
               file name space and environment variable group as acme.
               The environment of the command is restricted but is
               sufficient to run bind(1), 9fs (see srv(4)), import(4),
               etc., and to set environment variables such as
               $objtype.

          Look Search in body for occurrence of literal text indicated
               by the argument or, if none is given, by the selected
               text in the body.

          New  Make new window.  With arguments, load the named files
               into windows.

          Newcol
               Make new column.

          Paste
               Replace most recently selected text with contents of
               snarf buffer.

          Put  Write window to the named file.  With no argument,
               write to the file named in the tag of the window.

          Putall
               Write all dirty windows whose names indicate existing
               regular files.

          Redo Complement of Undo.

          Send Append selected text or snarf buffer to end of body;
               used mainly with win.

          Snarf
               Place selected text in snarf buffer.

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     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

          Sort Arrange the windows in the column from top to bottom in
               lexicographical order based on their names.

          Spaces
               Set the spacesindent mode according to the argument: on
               and off set the mode for the current window; ON and OFF
               set the mode for all existing and future windows.

          Tab  Set the width of tab stops for this window to the value
               of the argument, in units of widths of the zero charac-
               ter.  With no arguments, it prints the current value.

          Undo Undo last textual change or set of changes.

          Zerox
               Create a copy of the window containing most recently
               selected text.

          <|>  If a regular shell command is preceded by a <, |, or >
               character, the selected text in the body of the window
               is affected by the I/O from the command.  The < charac-
               ter causes the selection to be replaced by the standard
               output of the command; > causes the selection to be
               sent as standard input to the command; and | does both
               at once, `piping' the selection through the command and
               replacing it with the output.

          A common place to store text for commands is in the tag; in
          fact acme maintains a set of commands appropriate to the
          state of the window to the left of the bar in the tag.

          If the text indicated with button 2 is not a recognized
          built-in, it is executed as a shell command.  For example,
          indicating date with button 2 runs date(1). The standard and
          error outputs of commands are sent to the error window asso-
          ciated with the directory from which the command was run,
          which will be created if necessary.  For example, in a win-
          dow /adm/users executing pwd will produce the output /adm in
          a (possibly newly-created) window labeled /adm/+Errors; in a
          window containing /sys/src/cmd/sam/sam.c executing mk will
          run mk(1) in /sys/src/cmd/sam, producing output in a window
          labeled /sys/src/cmd/sam/+Errors.  The environment of such
          commands contains the variable $% with value set to the
          filename of the window in which the command is run, and
          $winid set to the window's id number (see acme(4)).

        Mouse button 3
          Pointing at text with button 3 instructs acme to locate or
          acquire the file, string, etc. described by the indicated
          text and its context.  This description follows the actions
          taken when button 3 is released after sweeping out some
          text.  In the description, text refers to the text of the

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     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

          original sweep or, if it was null, the result of applying
          the same expansion rules that apply to button 2 actions.

          If the text names an existing window, acme moves the mouse
          cursor to the selected text in the body of that window.  If
          the text names an existing file with no associated window,
          acme loads the file into a new window and moves the mouse
          there.  If the text is a file name contained in angle brack-
          ets, acme loads the indicated include file from the direc-
          tory appropriate to the suffix of the file name of the win-
          dow holding the text.  (The Incl command adds directories to
          the standard list.)

          If the text begins with a colon, it is taken to be an
          address, in the style of sam(1), within the body of the win-
          dow containing the text.  The address is evaluated, the
          resulting text highlighted, and the mouse moved to it.
          Thus, in acme, one must type :/regexp or :127 not just
          /regexp or 127.  (There is an easier way to locate literal
          text; see below.)

          If the text is a file name followed by a colon and an
          address, acme loads the file and evaluates the address.  For
          example, clicking button 3 anywhere in the text file.c:27
          will open file.c, select line 27, and put the mouse at the
          beginning of the line.  The rules about Error files, direc-
          tories, and so on all combine to make this an efficient way
          to investigate errors from compilers, etc.

          If the text is not an address or file, it is taken to be
          literal text, which is then searched for in the body of the
          window in which button 3 was clicked.  If a match is found,
          it is selected and the mouse is moved there.  Thus, to
          search for occurrences of a word in a file, just click but-
          ton 3 on the word.  Because of the rule of using the selec-
          tion as the button 3 action, subsequent clicks will find
          subsequent occurrences without moving the mouse.

          In all these actions, the mouse motion is not done if the
          text is a null string within a non-null selected string in
          the tag, so that (for example) complex regular expressions
          may be selected and applied repeatedly to the body by just
          clicking button 3 over them.

        Chords of mouse buttons
          Several operations are bound to multiple-button actions.
          After selecting text, with button 1 still down, pressing
          button 2 executes Cut and button 3 executes Paste.  After
          clicking one button, the other undoes the first; thus (while
          holding down button 1) 2 followed by 3 is a Snarf that
          leaves the file undirtied; 3 followed by 2 is a no-op.
          These actions also apply to text selected by double-clicking

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     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

          because the double-click expansion is made when the second
          click starts, not when it ends.

          Commands may be given extra arguments by a mouse chord with
          buttons 2 and 1.  While holding down button 2 on text to be
          executed as a command, clicking button 1 appends the text
          last pointed to by button 1 as a distinct final argument.
          For example, to search for literal text one may execute Look
          text with button 2 or instead point at text with button 1 in
          any window, release button 1, then execute Look, clicking
          button 1 while 2 is held down.

          When an external command (e.g.  echo(1)) is executed this
          way, the extra argument is passed as expected and an envi-
          ronment variable $acmeaddr is created that holds, in the
          form interpreted by button 3, the fully-qualified address of
          the extra argument.

        Support programs
          Win creates a new acme window and runs a command (default
          /bin/rc) in it, turning the window into something analogous
          to an rio(1) window.  Executing text in a win window with
          button 2 is similar to using Send.

        Applications and guide files
          In the directory /acme live several subdirectories, each
          corresponding to a program or set of related programs that
          employ acme's user interface.  Each subdirectory includes
          source, binaries, and a readme file for further information.
          It also includes a guide, a text file holding sample com-
          mands to invoke the programs.  The idea is to find an exam-
          ple in the guide that best matches the job at hand, edit it
          to suit, and execute it.

          Whenever a command is executed by acme, the default search
          path includes the directory of the window containing the
          command and its subdirectory $cputype.  The program directo-
          ries in /acme contain appropriately labeled subdirectories
          of binaries, so commands named in the guide files will be
          found automatically when run.  Also, acme binds the directo-
          ries /acme/bin and /acme/bin/$cputype to the beginning of
          /bin when it starts; this is where acme-specific programs
          such as win reside.

     FILES
          $home/acme.dump  default file for Dump and Load; also where
                           state is written if acme dies or is killed
                           unexpectedly, e.g. by deleting its window.
          /acme/*/guide    template files for applications
          /acme/*/readme   informal documentation for applications
          /acme/*/src      source for applications
          /acme/*/mips     MIPS-specific binaries for applications

     Page 8                       Plan 9             (printed 12/4/24)

     ACME(1)                                                   ACME(1)

     SOURCE
          /sys/src/cmd/acme
          /acme/bin/source/win

     SEE ALSO
          acme(4)
          Rob Pike, Acme: A User Interface for Programmers.

     BUGS
          With the -l option or Load command, the recreation of win-
          dows under control of external programs such as win is just
          to rerun the command; information may be lost.

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