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tzero86 edited this page May 2, 2026 · 1 revision

Editor

Zeta includes a full-featured embedded text editor so you never have to leave the file manager to make a quick change. Open any file with F4 from the file pane.

Opening and Closing the Editor

Key Action
F4 Open selected file in editor
Ctrl+S Save
Ctrl+Q Close editor (prompts if unsaved)

If the file has unsaved changes, Zeta shows a save / discard confirmation dialog before closing. You cannot accidentally lose work.

Editing

  • Full Unicode input support
  • Configurable tab width (tab_width in config) — tabs insert the configured number of spaces
  • Optional word wrap (word_wrap in config) — wraps long lines at the viewport width
  • Dirty-state indicator in the editor title bar when unsaved changes exist

Undo / Redo

Zeta uses a delta-based undo history backed by ropey::Rope (B-tree). Operations are O(log n) even on large files.

Key Action
Ctrl+Z Undo
Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z Redo

Text Selection and Clipboard

Key Action
Shift+Arrow Extend selection
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+C Copy selection
Ctrl+X Cut selection
Ctrl+V Paste

Typing while a selection is active replaces the selected text.

Search

Press Ctrl+F to open the in-editor search bar.

  • Match count is shown while searching (3 of 17)
  • Wrap-around: search loops from end back to beginning automatically
  • Enter / n advances to the next match; Shift+Enter / N goes to the previous match
  • Esc closes search and returns focus to the editor

Matches are highlighted across the entire visible buffer.

Syntax Highlighting

Zeta uses syntect for syntax highlighting. Highlighting is computed once per edit (keyed by edit version) — never per frame — so it is fast even on large files.

Supported languages include all common programming languages: Rust, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, C/C++, Shell, TOML, YAML, JSON, Markdown, and many more.

Markdown Live Preview

When editing a .md file, the editor pane splits vertically:

  • Left: the editor as normal
  • Right: a live rendered preview of the Markdown

The preview updates on every keystroke with zero latency — no background job, no delay.

Supported Markdown elements:

  • Headings (H1–H6)
  • Bold and italic text
  • Inline code and fenced code blocks
  • Bullet and ordered lists
  • Blockquotes
  • Horizontal rules

Editor Configuration

Add these keys to your config.toml under the [editor] section:

[editor]
tab_width = 4
word_wrap = false

Access these settings at runtime in the settings panel (Ctrl+O).

See also: Key Bindings · Configuration · File Management

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