Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!labrea!rutgers!mtunx!whuts!homxb!mtuxo!mtgzz!drutx!clive
From: clive@drutx.ATT.COM (Clive Steward)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Hey!  What about us, Mac+ users!
Message-ID: <8046@drutx.ATT.COM>
Date: 4 Jun 88 06:22:14 GMT
References: <11505@apple.Apple.Com>
Organization: resident visitor
Lines: 22

From article <11505@apple.Apple.Com>, by dan@Apple.COM (Dan Allen):

> *** I am dumb: will somebody tell me how to quote stuff with vi ? ***


Dear Dan.  You are not dumb at all.  Most of us have news reply
software that does the indent quotes automatically.  

In vi, you could try:

    go to the top of the quotable.     key in ma  (Mark a)
    go to the bottom of the quotable.  key in mb  (Mark b)
    then, with a return after it:      key in :'a,'b s/^/> /

This will do it.  I tried it.  In a crooked sort of way (what consistency)
it substitutes '> ' for line beginnings (regular expression is prefix ^),
without losing the line beginnings.  Between and including the marks.
In ex mode (the colon).

Well, you asked.  Cheers, and welcome to *nix, 


Clive