Editing and evaluation

Syntax-aware submission

Press Enter to submit. Spectral first asks m2-syn whether the buffer is complete:

• complete input is split into cells and queued for Macaulay2;
• input that ended while a construct was still open receives another line;
• invalid input stays in the editor with a local diagnostic and source range.

For example, pressing Enter after the first line keeps editing because the parenthesized expression is unfinished:

f = x -> (
    x^2 + 1)

Use Shift+Space, Shift+Enter, or Alt+Enter when you want a newline regardless of completeness.

Pending and completed cells

Submitted code moves into the feed immediately. As Macaulay2 answers, Spectral appends printed text, values, types, warnings, or errors; consecutive values share one border. Cell numbers remain session metadata but are not displayed until cells become focusable.

Only one submission can evaluate in a workspace at a time. Trying to submit another while it is busy produces an input diagnostic and does not disturb the running evaluation.

Semicolons remain part of their cell, so M2 still controls whether a value is printed:

R = QQ[x, y];
I = ideal(x^2, x*y, y^2);
degree I

History and navigation

Up and Down move inside multiline input. At the first or last line they recall older or newer submissions. Commands chosen after typing / are recorded in the same history; opening the full command picker with Ctrl+/ does not add a history entry.

The usual editing keys are available for horizontal movement, line boundaries, deletion, and tabs. Ctrl+L clears the current input without clearing the feed.

Selection and clipboard

Hold Shift with Left, Right, Home, or End to extend an input selection. Ctrl+Y copies it. Typing or deleting replaces the selected range.

You can also drag over input, feed, code previews, or syntax trees with the mouse. Releasing a real drag copies the selectable text through OSC 52. UI markers, borders, type annotations, and picker rows are excluded where appropriate so copied text stays useful.