erase_line

Synopsis

/bind <key> erase_line

Description

Clear the contents of the input line and move the cursor to its beginning, after the input prompt. The cleared text is not submitted or preserved in command history by this action.

For a nonempty line, this built-in action replaces the cut buffer with the cleared text, subject to the length limitation below. Use yank_from_cutbuffer to insert that saved text again. On an already empty line, the cut buffer is unchanged.

The action takes no arguments or options; extra text supplied with the binding is ignored. It behaves the same in insert and overwrite modes, redraws the input line, and sends nothing to an IRC server.

The default binding is Control-U (^U). Scripts can change it.

Limitation

The current implementation saves only the first 1,000 logical input characters to the cut buffer when a line is longer than that. It still clears the entire input line, so any remaining text cannot be recovered from this cut buffer.

Example

/bind ^U erase_line

With hello in the input line, pressing Control-U empties the line and saves hello in the cut buffer.

See bind for key sequence syntax and reset_line for an action that replaces input without changing the cut buffer.

Source references

• source/keys.c: action registration and the default Control-U binding.
• source/input.c: input_clear_line calls cut_input(0, 999) for nonempty input, then clears the whole buffer and resets the cursor; input_yank_cut_buffer restores saved text.
• source/ircaux.c: strext2 copies the selected text into the cut buffer.