How do I use the Pico editor from the Unix shell?

In Unix, to edit a file using the Pico editor, enter: pico filename Replace filename with the name of the file you want to edit; this can be an existing file or a new one that Pico will create for you. Pico will open the file, and you can then edit it much as you would a mail message in Pine or a document in a word processor. If you are accustomed to using Pine, you will notice that Pico, like Pine, has a menu at the bottom displaying important commands.

Note: The commands in Pico are not always the same as those in Pine. For example, Ctrl-c will cancel a message in Pine, but in Pico, it displays the cursor position in the document.

The caret ( ^ ) in front of the commands in the menu indicates that you should hold down the Ctrl key and press the corresponding letter. For example,  ^A  means you should hold down the Ctrl key, then press  a . (The commands are listed on the screen in uppercase letters, but you type them in lowercase.)

For more help, press Ctrl-g while editing in Pico, or at the Unix prompt, enter: man pico

At Indiana University, to get support for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?

Also see:

• In Emacs and Pico, how do I delete many lines of a document at once?
• In Emacs or Pico, what should I do if a huge chunk of my document disappears while I'm editing?
• In Pico, how do I turn off word wrap?