I found other articles online which mention editing ~/.bash.rc and ~./bash_profile but these are more work than necessary.

Simply use:

open -e [filename]

However, I noticed this functionality has some limitations concerning the files edited.

After trying the following commands on a secure file, it still would not save after making changes.

sudo open -e [filename]

sudo chmod 777 [filename]
sudo open -e [filename]

sudo chown -R [currentusershortname]:staff [filename]
sudo open -e [filename]

su
open -e [filename]

If you run into this issue where you cannot save after opening the file or any others with TextEdit, an awesome alternative and what I ultimately used is the tried and true vi.

See my “vi keyboard shortcuts quick reference” article for more info.

References
vi keyboard shortcuts quick reference, https://ronniediaz.com/2011/04/14/vi-keyboard-shortcuts-quick-reference

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