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From: gbastin@x102c.harris-atd.com (Gary Bastin 60293)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: A vi question
Message-ID: <4173@trantor.harris-atd.com>
Date: 23 Aug 90 13:20:28 GMT
References: <14420003@hp-lsd.COS.HP.COM> <3440002@hprnd.HP.COM> <1990Aug19.174035.3946@cid.aes.doe.CA> <2394@root44.co.uk> <1117@ssp11.idca.tds.philips.nl>
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Reply-To: gbastin@x102c.ess.harris.com (Gary Bastin 60293)
Organization: Harris Corporation GSS, Melbourne, Florida
Lines: 29

In article <1117@ssp11.idca.tds.philips.nl> dolf@idca.tds.PHILIPS.nl (Dolf Grunbauer) writes:
>In article <2394@root44.co.uk> gwc@root.co.uk (Geoff Clare) writes:
><Somebody asked:
><
><>>> > I need to do the following in vi.
><>>> > ccccoooossss -> cos
><
>This can be done in plain vi by typing:
>
>	%s/^H.//g
>
>As the backspace sequence is used only to reprint the preceding character and
>with this command all duplications are removed.

Nope.  Afraid this one won't work, either.  It DOES clean up all the
occurences of "^H."   But there is a subtle problem.  For example, on
my system, the man pages for csh when piped to a file create lots of
"^H." occurences, which this does clean.  This works fine for overstrikes
used to just embolden particular words.  But also generated are lines
of the form _^HC_^Hs_^Hh,  which generates "Csh" with an underline.  Using
the global replacement of "^H." with nothing completely obliterates the stuff
that uses the overstrike for really making underlined words, leaving just
the underline characters with nothing above them!  Which is
not what is desired, I am sure.  (Not a flame, just a subtle point!)

Gary Bastin              /-/-/      Internet: gbastin@x102c.ess.harris.com
Mail Stop 102-4826         |        phone: (407) 729-3045
Harris Corporation GASD    |        packet: WB4YAF @ N4JLR.FL.USA.NA   
P.O.B. 94000, Melbourne FL 32902    Speaking from, but not for, Harris!