Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!ukc!stc!root44!gwc
From: gwc@root.co.uk (Geoff Clare)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: tough bug in vi
Summary: Map DEL to backspace-space-backspace
Message-ID: <652@root44.co.uk>
Date: 24 Nov 88 10:49:42 GMT
References: <11500001@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu>
Reply-To: gwc@root.co.uk (Geoff Clare)
Organization: UniSoft Ltd, London, England
Lines: 34

In article <11500001@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu> phil@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
>I go into insert mode with "i" and type in some new text.  I then backspace
>over that text with ^H (backspace).  The text is no longer in the buffer
>but is still showing on the screen.  To me this is a serious bug because
>I frequently make mistakes and go back and correct them.  I get totally
>out of whack when I have to work in the blind, or exit insert mode just
>to see what I am doing (and go back in it again).

I haven't seen an answer to this, so I'm posting my suggestion in case
it is of use to others.

If you could get used to using DELETE instead of BACKSPACE you could
map DELETE onto the sequence BACKSPACE-SPACE-BACKSPACE so that the
characters are erased on the screen.  I have tried this and it works well.
(If you use DELETE as your interrupt character, you will need to change
it to something else, like CTRL-C, using stty in your .profile/.login).

To set it up put the line:

	map! ^? ^H ^H

in your .exrc file.  (To enter the text after the 'map! ' you need to type
CTRL-V DELETE SPACE CTRL-V BACKSPACE SPACE CTRL-V BACKSPACE).

You might also want to use the following mapping so that you can use
DELETE in command mode to delete the character to the left.

	map ^? X

Hope this helps.
-- 

Geoff Clare    UniSoft Limited, Saunderson House, Hayne Street, London EC1A 9HH
gwc@root.co.uk   ...!mcvax!ukc!root44!gwc   +44-1-606-7799  FAX: +44-1-726-2750