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When I open a file in nano, if I add a character then remove it, so the file is exactly the same as it was initially, upon close I'm prompted to "save changes" and I have to type N for no. Is there any way to change this? It would be nice to not have it prompt unless changes have actually been made.
Vim seems to follow the pattern I prefer, but maybe that's just my impression because Vim's separate command mode/edit modes prevent the tendency to add & then remove whitespace (ie. when considering whether to edit some code before moving on to another file)
Nathan Smith
Posted 2017-09-24T01:34:03.523
Reputation: 103
1You did make changes. You added a character and you removed a character. – Appleoddity – 2017-09-24T01:56:50.970
that's true, but I never made changes to the file (other than modification time). I'm pretty sure that it's not saving a history of changes to jump in & undo things from where I left off or anything. personally, i'd find the behavior of prompting a save only for a change to the file more consistent & preferable ux. Should I edit Q? to make it clearer? – Nathan Smith – 2017-09-24T03:52:22.900
No it's clear. But the point is you DID make a change. It's seeing a change and flagging the need to save. It's not considering you are putting the file back to original. This is how almost every program and UI works. Even when making config setting changes. Changing an option and then changing it back enables the "Apply" button. Just normal behavior. Try the undo feature like suggested in the answer. – Appleoddity – 2017-09-24T12:21:24.050
Yeah, I suppose the feature I want would be a bit of trouble to add in, because it would require computing a
diffupon close, instead of just having a booleanmodifiedflag that's set on once you've made changes. I thought of forking the git repo & making my own version, but making that a priority would be hardcore procrastination on my part lol. Anyway, thanks for your feedback – Nathan Smith – 2017-09-24T21:13:27.487