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Zep’s Standard Mode (ZepMode_Standard) provides a familiar editing experience similar to notepad or common text editors. This mode uses conventional keyboard shortcuts that work across most desktop applications.
Standard mode is designed to feel like a typical text editor. It always stays in insert mode and uses standard shortcuts for clipboard operations.

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Overview

Standard mode features:
  • Always in insert mode (no mode switching)
  • Standard clipboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X)
  • Shift-based text selection
  • Familiar undo/redo (Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y)
  • Insert cursor type by default
  • Undo operations grouped by continuous typing

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Basic Editing

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Insertion and Deletion

  • Type to insert text at cursor
  • <Backspace> - Delete character before cursor
  • <Del> - Delete character under cursor or selected text
  • <Return> - Insert newline
  • <Tab> - Insert tab character

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Basic Movement

  • <Left> - Move left one character
  • <Right> - Move right one character
  • <Up> - Move up one line
  • <Down> - Move down one line

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Word Movement

  • <Ctrl-Left> - Move left one word
  • <Ctrl-Right> - Move right one word

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Line Boundaries

  • <Home> - Move to start of line (toggles between column 0 and first non-whitespace)
  • <End> - Move to end of line (beyond last character)

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Page Navigation

  • <PageUp> - Move up one page
  • <PageDown> - Move down one page

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Text Selection

Hold Shift while navigating to select text:

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Character Selection

  • <Shift-Left> - Extend selection left
  • <Shift-Right> - Extend selection right
  • <Shift-Up> - Extend selection up
  • <Shift-Down> - Extend selection down

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Word Selection

  • <Ctrl-Shift-Left> - Extend selection left by word
  • <Ctrl-Shift-Right> - Extend selection right by word

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Select All

  • <Ctrl-A> - Select all text in buffer
All selection commands work just like in notepad or most text editors - hold Shift and navigate to select text.

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Clipboard Operations

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Standard Shortcuts

  • <Ctrl-C> - Copy selected text (visual mode only)
  • <Ctrl-X> - Cut selected text
  • <Ctrl-V> - Paste from clipboard

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Alternative Delete

When text is selected:
  • <Del> - Delete selection
  • <Backspace> - Delete selection

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Undo and Redo

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Undo Operations

  • <Ctrl-Z>, <Ctrl-U> - Undo last change
  • <Ctrl-Shift-Z>, <Ctrl-Y> - Redo
Standard mode groups consecutive typing into single undo operations, so Ctrl+Z will undo a whole word or sentence rather than character by character.

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Additional Features

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Font Size

  • <Ctrl-=> - Increase font size
  • <Ctrl--> - Decrease font size

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File Operations

  • <Ctrl-S> - Save current buffer

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Mode Switching

Unlike Vim mode, pressing <Escape> in Standard mode simply returns to insert mode (which is already the current mode). This prevents confusion for users who might accidentally press Escape.

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Implementation Details

Standard mode is implemented in src/mode_standard.cpp:4-21 with a focus on simplicity and familiarity. The mode sets the InsertModeGroupUndo and StayInInsertMode flags to provide notepad-like behavior.

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Key Differences from Vim Mode

FeatureStandard ModeVim Mode
Default stateAlways insert modeNormal mode
Cursor typeInsert (vertical bar)Block in normal, bar in insert
SelectionShift + arrowsVisual mode (v/V)
ClipboardCtrl+C/V/Xy/p/P with registers
Undo groupingGroup by typing sessionPer-command

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Usage Example

// Create editor with standard mode
auto& editor = ...; // Your ZepEditor instance
auto* mode = new ZepMode_Standard(editor);
editor.SetMode(mode);

// Standard mode is now active
// Users can type and edit like in notepad

Vim Mode

Learn about the alternative Vim editing mode

Keymapping

Customize standard mode keybindings

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