macosterminal
$ I want to be able to tab from the start of one word to the next in this line, but how?
usually if I paste something in the input line then want to change something in the start or middle, I have to press the left arrow for a long time, is there a faster way to do this?
You might want to take a look at iTerm2, where you can set the word delimiter in the preferences. I'm a recent convert myself and like it a lot better than Terminal.app. There's a special Terminal.app keyboard shortcut compatibility set to make switching easier.
You can use Karabiner (formerly known as KeyRemap4MacBook) with the following setting in private.xml:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
<appdef>
<appname>Terminal</appname>
<equal>com.apple.Terminal</equal>
</appdef>
<item>
<name>Disable middle-click</name>
<identifier>private.disablemiddleclick</identifier>
<only>Terminal</only>
<autogen>
__PointingButtonToKey__ PointingButton::MIDDLE, KeyCode::VK_NONE
</autogen>
</item>
</root>
Best Answer
Use option ⌥+→ and option ⌥+←. You will be able to step by one word.
Update:
You can also go to start of the line using control+A or to end of the line using control+E