life.exe is a keyboard-controlled Game of Life simulator.
Interactive commands
Interactive commands cause a visible effect as soon as you press a key.
Additionally, almost all interactive commands can be prefixed with a number, in which case they will repeat that many times. For instance
50 <left arrow>
will move the selected square 50 squares to the left and
100 <Enter>
will step the game forward 100 steps.
The Escape key can be used to cancel a numeric prefix argument
entirely, and Backspace can be used to delete the most
recently-added number.
Motion
Left Arrow: Move left.
Right Arrow: Move right.
Up Arrow: Move up.
Down Arrow: Move down.
Editing
Space: Toggle selected square.
Selecting Regions
Selected regions can be used with extended commands. The selected
region can be abandoned by pressing the Escape key. (A region of
one square is still considered a region.)
Shift+Left Arrow: Select region leftward.
Shift+Right Arrow: Select region rightward.
Shift+Up Arrow: Select region upward.
Shift+Down Arrow: Select region downward.
Camera
Page Up: Zoom In.
Page Down: Zoom Out.
Ctrl+Left Arrow: Move camera left.
Ctrl+Right Arrow: Move camera right.
Ctrl+Up Arrow: Move camera up.
Ctrl+Down Arrow: Move camera down.
Home: Re-center camera on selected square.
The camera will not scroll past the edge of the field.
Stepping Forward
Enter: Step the simulation forward. Also, output the time it took to step forward the entered number of generations.
Extended Commands
Extended commands can be entered by typing a : character, typing the
command, and then pressing Enter.
Exiting the simulator.
:q
Clearing the field.
:c
This will clear the entire field, or the selected region if a region is selected.
Saving and Loading
:s <filename>
:w <filename>
Saves the board's current state into the entered file.
:l <filename>
:o <filename>
Opens a saved file.
Creating a new board
:n <number> <number>
Destroys the current field and creates a new field of the given width and height.
Copying and pasting
:y <name>
If a region is selected, copies it into a named register and selects
that register for pasting. The Space key is used to paste the
contents of the register. The Escape key can be used to de-select
the named register and return to normal editing mode.
:y <name>
If no region is selected or if a named register is selected, selects the specified named register.
Playing the game forward
:p
Toggles playback mode, in which the game steps forward at a stately pace.