[PATCH 22/31] docs: use typographer's quotation marks

"G. Branden Robinson" <[email protected]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:00:31 -0500
Newsgroups	gmane.editors.nano.devel
Message-ID	<20260423230031.gfwroarx6ymlf4vo@illithid>
...for mundane quotation.  This is easier to read in UTF-8 terminals and
when typeset, because these quotation marks are distinguishable from the
Basic Latin neutral double quote `"` used by shells and system software.
---
 doc/nano.1   | 22 ++++++++++-----------
 doc/nanorc.5 | 55 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------------
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/doc/nano.1 b/doc/nano.1
index cb8fb0d9..631cefa1 100644
--- a/doc/nano.1
+++ b/doc/nano.1
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ .SH DESCRIPTION
 These search modes can be explicitly disabled by using the uppercase variant
 of those letters: \fBC\fR and/or \fBR\fR.  When the string contains spaces,
 it needs to be enclosed in quotes.  To give an example: to open a file at
-the first occurrence of the word "Foo", you would do:
+the first occurrence of the word \[lq]Foo\[rq], you would do:
 .P
 .RS 4
 .EX
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 .TP
 .BI "\-Q \[dq]" regex "\[dq]\fR, \fB\-\-quotestr=\[dq]" regex \[dq]
 Set the regular expression for matching the quoting part of a line.
-The default value is "\fB\[ha]([\ \\t]*([!#%:;>|}]|//))+\fR".
+The default value is \[lq]\fB\[ha]([\ \\t]*([!#%:;>|}]|//))+\fR\[rq].
 (Note that \fB\\t\fR stands for an actual Tab.)
 This makes it possible to rejustify blocks of quoted text when composing
 email, and to rewrap blocks of line comments when writing source code.
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 don't allow a file to be appended to, prepended to, or saved under a
 different name if it already has one; and don't make backup files.
 Restricted mode can also be activated by invoking \fBnano\fR
-with any name beginning with 'r' (e.g., "rnano").
+with any name beginning with \[lq]r\[rq] (e.g., \[lq]rnano\[rq]).
 .TP
 .BR \-S ", " \-\-softwrap
 Display over multiple screen rows lines that exceed the screen's width.
@@ -316,7 +316,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 .BR \-n ", " \-\-noread
 Treat any name given on the command line as a new file.  This allows
 \fBnano\fR to write to named pipes: it starts with a blank buffer,
-and writes to the pipe when the user saves the "file".  This way
+and writes to the pipe when the user saves the \[lq]file\[rq].  This way
 \fBnano\fR can be used as an editor in combination with for instance
 \fBgpg\fR without having to write sensitive data to disk first.
 .TP
@@ -330,7 +330,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 Note that option \fB\-/\fR (\fB\-\-modernbindings\fR) overrides this.
 .TP
 .BR \-q ", " \-\-indicator
-Display a "scrollbar" on the righthand side of the edit window.
+Display a \[lq]scrollbar\[rq] on the righthand side of the edit window.
 It shows the position of the viewport in the buffer
 and how much of the buffer is covered by the viewport.
 .TP
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 .BR \-_ ", " \-\-minibar
 Suppress the title bar and instead show information about
 the current buffer at the bottom of the screen, in the space
-for the status bar.  In this "mini bar" the filename is shown
+for the status bar.  In this \[lq]mini bar\[rq] the filename is shown
 on the left, followed by an asterisk if the buffer has been modified.
 On the right are displayed the current line and column number, the
 code of the character under the cursor (in Unicode format: U+xxxx),
@@ -482,9 +482,9 @@ .SH NOTES
 (If you want a plain \fB\[ha]Z\fR to suspend \fBnano\fR, add
 \fBbind \[ha]Z suspend main\fR to your \fInanorc\fR.)
 .P
-At a Yes-No prompt, \fB\[ha]Y\fR can be used for "Yes", \fB\[ha]N\fR for "No",
-and \fB\[ha]A\fR for "All".
-(And when exiting, \fB\[ha]Q\fR can be used for "Quit with error".)
+At a Yes-No prompt, \fB\[ha]Y\fR can be used for \[lq]Yes\[rq], \fB\[ha]N\fR for \[lq]No\[rq],
+and \fB\[ha]A\fR for \[lq]All\[rq].
+(And when exiting, \fB\[ha]Q\fR can be used for \[lq]Quit with error\[rq].)
 These unlisted bindings work in any locale.
 .P
 When you want to copy marked text from \fBnano\fR to the system's clipboard,
@@ -497,9 +497,9 @@ .SH NOTES
 In some cases \fBnano\fR tries to dump the buffer into an emergency file.
 This happens mainly if \fBnano\fR receives a \%\fISIGHUP\fR or \%\fISIGTERM\fR or runs out
 of memory.  It writes the buffer into a file named \fInano.save\fR if the
-buffer didn't have a name already, or adds a ".save" suffix to the current
+buffer didn't have a name already, or adds a \[lq].save\[rq] suffix to the current
 filename.  If an emergency file with that name already exists in the
-current directory, it adds ".save" plus a number (e.g., ".save.1") to
+current directory, it adds \[lq].save\[rq] plus a number (e.g., \[lq].save.1\[rq]) to
 the current filename in order to make it unique.  In multibuffer mode,
 \fBnano\fR writes all open buffers to their respective emergency files.
 .P
diff --git a/doc/nanorc.5 b/doc/nanorc.5
index d9350fe4..dd527abe 100644
--- a/doc/nanorc.5
+++ b/doc/nanorc.5
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 Set the characters treated as closing brackets when justifying
 paragraphs.  This may not include blank characters.  Only closing
 punctuation (see \fBset punct\fR), optionally followed by the specified
-closing brackets, can end sentences.  The default value is "\fB\[dq]')>]}\fR".
+closing brackets, can end sentences.  The default value is \[lq]\fB\[dq]')>]}\fR\[rq].
 .TP
 .B set breaklonglines
 Automatically hard-wrap the current line when it becomes overlong \[em]
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 executed commands, so they can be easily reused in later sessions.
 .TP
 .B set indicator
-Display a "scrollbar" on the righthand side of the edit window.
+Display a \[lq]scrollbar\[rq] on the righthand side of the edit window.
 It shows the position of the viewport in the buffer
 and how much of the buffer is covered by the viewport.
 .TP
@@ -214,12 +214,12 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 Specify the opening and closing brackets that can be found by bracket
 searches.  This may not include blank characters.  The opening set must
 come before the closing set, and the two sets must be in the same order.
-The default value is "\fB(<[{)>]}\fR".
+The default value is \[lq]\fB(<[{)>]}\fR\[rq].
 .TP
 .B set minibar
 Suppress the title bar and instead show information about
 the current buffer at the bottom of the screen, in the space
-for the status bar.  In this "mini bar" the filename is shown
+for the status bar.  In this \[lq]mini bar\[rq] the filename is shown
 on the left, followed by an asterisk if the buffer has been modified.
 On the right are displayed the current line and column number, the
 code of the character under the cursor (in Unicode format: U+xxxx),
@@ -287,7 +287,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 Set the characters treated as closing punctuation when justifying
 paragraphs.  This may not include blank characters.  Only the
 specified closing punctuation, optionally followed by closing brackets
-(see \fBset brackets\fR), can end sentences.  The default value is "\fB!.?\fR".
+(see \fBset brackets\fR), can end sentences.  The default value is \[lq]\fB!.?\fR\[rq].
 .TP
 .B set quickblank
 Make status-bar messages disappear after 1 keystroke instead of after 20.
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 .TP
 .BI "set quotestr \[dq]" regex \[dq]
 Set the regular expression for matching the quoting part of a line.
-The default value is "\fB\[ha]([\ \et]*([!#%:;>|}]|//))+\fR".
+The default value is \[lq]\fB\[ha]([\ \et]*([!#%:;>|}]|//))+\fR\[rq].
 (Note that \fB\et\fR stands for an actual Tab character.)
 This makes it possible to rejustify blocks of quoted text when composing
 email, and to rewrap blocks of line comments when writing source code.
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 Save a changed buffer automatically on exit (\fB\[ha]X\fR); don't prompt.
 .TP
 .B set scrollercolor \fIfgcolor\fB,\fIbgcolor\fR
-Use this color combination for the indicator alias "scrollbar".
+Use this color combination for the indicator alias \[lq]scrollbar\[rq].
 See \fBset titlecolor\fR for more details.
 .TP
 .B set selectedcolor \fR[\fBbold,\fR][\fBitalic,\fR]\fIfgcolor\fB,\fIbgcolor\fR
@@ -413,7 +413,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 available palette the color that approximates the given values.
 .
 .IP
-Either "\fIfgcolor\fR" or "\fB,\fIbgcolor\fR" may be left out,
+Either \[lq]\fIfgcolor\fR\[rq] or \[lq]\fB,\fIbgcolor\fR\[rq] may be left out,
 and the pair may be preceded by \fBbold\fR and/or \fB\%italic\fR
 (separated by commas) to get a bold and/or slanting typeface,
 if your terminal can do those.
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@ .SH OPTIONS
 .BI "set whitespace \[dq]" characters \[dq]
 Set the two characters used to indicate the presence of tabs and
 spaces.  They must be single-column characters.  The default pair
-for a UTF-8 locale is "\fB\[Fc]\[md]\fR", and for other locales "\fB>.\fR".
+for a UTF-8 locale is \[lq]\fB\[Fc]\[md]\fR\[rq], and for other locales \[lq]\fB>.\fR\[rq].
 .TP
 .B set wordbounds
 Detect word boundaries differently by treating punctuation
@@ -526,13 +526,13 @@ .SH SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING
 .BI "comment \[dq]" string \[dq]
 Use the given \fIstring\fR for commenting and uncommenting lines.
 If the string contains a vertical bar or pipe character (\fB|\fR),
-this designates bracket-style comments; for example, "\fB/*|*/\fR" for
+this designates bracket-style comments; for example, \[lq]\fB/*|*/\fR\[rq] for
 CSS files.  The characters before the pipe are prepended to the line and the
 characters after the pipe are appended at the end of the line.  If no pipe
-character is present, the full string is prepended; for example, "\fB#\fR"
+character is present, the full string is prepended; for example, \[lq]\fB#\fR\[rq]
 for Python files.  If empty double quotes are specified, the comment/uncomment
 function is disabled; for example, \fB""\fR for JSON.
-The default value is "\fB#\fR".
+The default value is \[lq]\fB#\fR\[rq].
 .TP
 .BI "tabgives \[dq]" string \[dq]
 Make the <Tab> key produce the given \fIstring\fR.  Useful for languages like
@@ -635,12 +635,12 @@ .SH REBINDING KEYS
 .TP 7
 .BI \[ha] X
 where \fIX\fR is a Latin letter, or one of several ASCII characters
-(@, ], \e, \[ha], _), or the word "Space".
+(@, ], \e, \[ha], _), or the word \[lq]Space\[rq].
 Example: \[ha]C.
 .TP
 .BI M\- X
 where \fIX\fR is any ASCII character (except [),
-or the word "Space", "Left", "Right", "Up", or "Down".
+or the word \[lq]Space\[rq], \[lq]Left\[rq], \[lq]Right\[rq], \[lq]Up\[rq], or \[lq]Down\[rq].
 Example: M\-8.
 .TP
 .BI Sh\-M\- X
@@ -764,9 +764,10 @@ .SH REBINDING KEYS
 .TP
 .B linter
 Invokes a syntax-checking program (if the active syntax defines one).
-If this program produces lines of the form "filename:linenum:charnum:
-some message", then the cursor is put at the indicated position
-in the mentioned file while showing "some message" on the status bar.
+If this program produces lines of the form
+\[lq]filename:linenum:charnum: some message\[rq],
+then the cursor is put at the indicated position
+in the mentioned file while showing \[lq]some message\[rq] on the status bar.
 You can move from message to message with <PgUp> and <PgDn>,
 and leave linting mode with \fB\[ha]C\fR or <Enter>.
 .TP
@@ -985,7 +986,7 @@ .SH REBINDING KEYS
 When writing a file, appends to the end instead of overwriting.
 .TP
 .B prepend
-When writing a file, "prepends" (writes at the beginning) instead of overwriting.
+When writing a file, \[lq]prepends\[rq] (writes at the beginning) instead of overwriting.
 .TP
 .B backup
 When writing a file, creates a backup of the current file.
@@ -1068,32 +1069,32 @@ .SH REBINDING KEYS
 The search menu (AKA whereis).
 .TP
 .B replace
-The \&'search to replace' menu.
+The \[lq]search to replace\[rq] menu.
 .TP
 .B replacewith
-The \&'replace with' menu, which comes up after \&'search to replace'.
+The \[lq]replace with\[rq] menu, which comes up after \[lq]search to replace\[rq].
 .TP
 .B yesno
-The \&'yesno' menu, where the Yes/No/All/Cancel question is asked.
+The \[lq]yesno\[rq] menu, where the Yes/No/All/Cancel question is asked.
 .TP
 .B gotoline
-The \&'goto line (and column)' menu.
+The \[lq]goto line (and column)\[rq] menu.
 .TP
 .B writeout
-The \&'write file' menu.
+The \[lq]write file\[rq] menu.
 .TP
 .B insert
-The \&'insert file' menu.
+The \[lq]insert file\[rq] menu.
 .TP
 .B browser
-The \&'file browser' menu, for selecting a file to be opened or
+The \[lq]file browser\[rq] menu, for selecting a file to be opened or
 inserted or written to.
 .TP
 .B whereisfile
-The \&'search for a file' menu in the file browser.
+The \[lq]search for a file\[rq] menu in the file browser.
 .TP
 .B gotodir
-The \&'go to directory' menu in the file browser.
+The \[lq]go to directory\[rq] menu in the file browser.
 .TP
 .B execute
 The menu for inserting the output from an external command,
-- 
2.30.2
signature.asc (application/pgp-signature, 833 B)