| blob | 142344cdae99a399f1f3b91375233fbeaa387912 |
1 *options.txt* For Vim version 7.2. Last change: 2009 Jan 20
4 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar
7 Options *options*
9 1. Setting options |set-option|
10 2. Automatically setting options |auto-setting|
11 3. Options summary |option-summary|
13 For an overview of options see help.txt |option-list|.
15 Vim has a number of internal variables and switches which can be set to
16 achieve special effects. These options come in three forms:
17 boolean can only be on or off *boolean* *toggle*
18 number has a numeric value
19 string has a string value
21 ==============================================================================
22 1. Setting options *set-option* *E764*
24 *:se* *:set*
25 :se[t] Show all options that differ from their default value.
27 :se[t] all Show all but terminal options.
29 :se[t] termcap Show all terminal options. Note that in the GUI the
30 key codes are not shown, because they are generated
31 internally and can't be changed. Changing the terminal
32 codes in the GUI is not useful either...
34 *E518* *E519*
35 :se[t] {option}? Show value of {option}.
37 :se[t] {option} Toggle option: set, switch it on.
38 Number option: show value.
39 String option: show value.
41 :se[t] no{option} Toggle option: Reset, switch it off.
43 :se[t] {option}! or
44 :se[t] inv{option} Toggle option: Invert value. {not in Vi}
46 *:set-default* *:set-&* *:set-&vi* *:set-&vim*
47 :se[t] {option}& Reset option to its default value. May depend on the
48 current value of 'compatible'. {not in Vi}
49 :se[t] {option}&vi Reset option to its Vi default value. {not in Vi}
50 :se[t] {option}&vim Reset option to its Vim default value. {not in Vi}
52 :se[t] all& Set all options, except terminal options, to their
53 default value. The values of 'term', 'lines' and
54 'columns' are not changed. {not in Vi}
56 *:set-args* *E487* *E521*
57 :se[t] {option}={value} or
58 :se[t] {option}:{value}
59 Set string or number option to {value}.
60 For numeric options the value can be given in decimal,
61 hex (preceded with 0x) or octal (preceded with '0')
62 (hex and octal are only available for machines which
63 have the strtol() function).
64 The old value can be inserted by typing 'wildchar' (by
65 default this is a <Tab> or CTRL-E if 'compatible' is
66 set). See |cmdline-completion|.
67 White space between {option} and '=' is allowed and
68 will be ignored. White space between '=' and {value}
69 is not allowed.
70 See |option-backslash| for using white space and
71 backslashes in {value}.
73 :se[t] {option}+={value} *:set+=*
74 Add the {value} to a number option, or append the
75 {value} to a string option. When the option is a
76 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
77 value was empty.
78 If the option is a list of flags, superfluous flags
79 are removed. When adding a flag that was already
80 present the option value doesn't change.
81 Also see |:set-args| above.
82 {not in Vi}
84 :se[t] {option}^={value} *:set^=*
85 Multiply the {value} to a number option, or prepend
86 the {value} to a string option. When the option is a
87 comma separated list, a comma is added, unless the
88 value was empty.
89 Also see |:set-args| above.
90 {not in Vi}
92 :se[t] {option}-={value} *:set-=*
93 Subtract the {value} from a number option, or remove
94 the {value} from a string option, if it is there.
95 If the {value} is not found in a string option, there
96 is no error or warning. When the option is a comma
97 separated list, a comma is deleted, unless the option
98 becomes empty.
99 When the option is a list of flags, {value} must be
100 exactly as they appear in the option. Remove flags
101 one by one to avoid problems.
102 Also see |:set-args| above.
103 {not in Vi}
105 The {option} arguments to ":set" may be repeated. For example: >
106 :set ai nosi sw=3 ts=3
107 If you make an error in one of the arguments, an error message will be given
108 and the following arguments will be ignored.
110 *:set-verbose*
111 When 'verbose' is non-zero, displaying an option value will also tell where it
112 was last set. Example: >
113 :verbose set shiftwidth cindent?
114 < shiftwidth=4 ~
115 Last set from modeline ~
116 cindent ~
117 Last set from /usr/local/share/vim/vim60/ftplugin/c.vim ~
118 This is only done when specific option values are requested, not for ":verbose
119 set all" or ":verbose set" without an argument.
120 When the option was set by hand there is no "Last set" message.
121 When the option was set while executing a function, user command or
122 autocommand, the script in which it was defined is reported.
123 Note that an option may also have been set as a side effect of setting
124 'compatible'.
125 A few special texts:
126 Last set from modeline ~
127 Option was set in a |modeline|.
128 Last set from --cmd argument ~
129 Option was set with command line argument |--cmd| or +.
130 Last set from -c argument ~
131 Option was set with command line argument |-c|, +, |-S| or
132 |-q|.
133 Last set from environment variable ~
134 Option was set from an environment variable, $VIMINIT,
135 $GVIMINIT or $EXINIT.
136 Last set from error handler ~
137 Option was cleared when evaluating it resulted in an error.
139 {not available when compiled without the +eval feature}
141 *:set-termcap* *E522*
142 For {option} the form "t_xx" may be used to set a terminal option. This will
143 override the value from the termcap. You can then use it in a mapping. If
144 the "xx" part contains special characters, use the <t_xx> form: >
145 :set <t_#4>=^[Ot
146 This can also be used to translate a special code for a normal key. For
147 example, if Alt-b produces <Esc>b, use this: >
148 :set <M-b>=^[b
149 (the ^[ is a real <Esc> here, use CTRL-V <Esc> to enter it)
150 The advantage over a mapping is that it works in all situations.
152 The t_xx options cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
153 security reasons.
155 The listing from ":set" looks different from Vi. Long string options are put
156 at the end of the list. The number of options is quite large. The output of
157 "set all" probably does not fit on the screen, causing Vim to give the
158 |more-prompt|.
160 *option-backslash*
161 To include white space in a string option value it has to be preceded with a
162 backslash. To include a backslash you have to use two. Effectively this
163 means that the number of backslashes in an option value is halved (rounded
164 down).
165 A few examples: >
166 :set tags=tags\ /usr/tags results in "tags /usr/tags"
167 :set tags=tags\\,file results in "tags\,file"
168 :set tags=tags\\\ file results in "tags\ file"
170 The "|" character separates a ":set" command from a following command. To
171 include the "|" in the option value, use "\|" instead. This example sets the
172 'titlestring' option to "hi|there": >
173 :set titlestring=hi\|there
174 This sets the 'titlestring' option to "hi" and 'iconstring' to "there": >
175 :set titlestring=hi|set iconstring=there
177 Similarly, the double quote character starts a comment. To include the '"' in
178 the option value, use '\"' instead. This example sets the 'titlestring'
179 option to 'hi "there"': >
180 :set titlestring=hi\ \"there\"
182 For MS-DOS and WIN32 backslashes in file names are mostly not removed. More
183 precise: For options that expect a file name (those where environment
184 variables are expanded) a backslash before a normal file name character is not
185 removed. But a backslash before a special character (space, backslash, comma,
186 etc.) is used like explained above.
187 There is one special situation, when the value starts with "\\": >
188 :set dir=\\machine\path results in "\\machine\path"
189 :set dir=\\\\machine\\path results in "\\machine\path"
190 :set dir=\\path\\file results in "\\path\file" (wrong!)
191 For the first one the start is kept, but for the second one the backslashes
192 are halved. This makes sure it works both when you expect backslashes to be
193 halved and when you expect the backslashes to be kept. The third gives a
194 result which is probably not what you want. Avoid it.
196 *add-option-flags* *remove-option-flags*
197 *E539* *E550* *E551* *E552*
198 Some options are a list of flags. When you want to add a flag to such an
199 option, without changing the existing ones, you can do it like this: >
200 :set guioptions+=a
201 Remove a flag from an option like this: >
202 :set guioptions-=a
203 This removes the 'a' flag from 'guioptions'.
204 Note that you should add or remove one flag at a time. If 'guioptions' has
205 the value "ab", using "set guioptions-=ba" won't work, because the string "ba"
206 doesn't appear.
208 *:set_env* *expand-env* *expand-environment-var*
209 Environment variables in specific string options will be expanded. If the
210 environment variable exists the '$' and the following environment variable
211 name is replaced with its value. If it does not exist the '$' and the name
212 are not modified. Any non-id character (not a letter, digit or '_') may
213 follow the environment variable name. That character and what follows is
214 appended to the value of the environment variable. Examples: >
215 :set term=$TERM.new
216 :set path=/usr/$INCLUDE,$HOME/include,.
217 When adding or removing a string from an option with ":set opt-=val" or ":set
218 opt+=val" the expansion is done before the adding or removing.
221 Handling of local options *local-options*
223 Some of the options only apply to a window or buffer. Each window or buffer
224 has its own copy of this option, thus can each have their own value. This
225 allows you to set 'list' in one window but not in another. And set
226 'shiftwidth' to 3 in one buffer and 4 in another.
228 The following explains what happens to these local options in specific
229 situations. You don't really need to know all of this, since Vim mostly uses
230 the option values you would expect. Unfortunately, doing what the user
231 expects is a bit complicated...
233 When splitting a window, the local options are copied to the new window. Thus
234 right after the split the contents of the two windows look the same.
236 When editing a new buffer, its local option values must be initialized. Since
237 the local options of the current buffer might be specifically for that buffer,
238 these are not used. Instead, for each buffer-local option there also is a
239 global value, which is used for new buffers. With ":set" both the local and
240 global value is changed. With "setlocal" only the local value is changed,
241 thus this value is not used when editing a new buffer.
243 When editing a buffer that has been edited before, the last used window
244 options are used again. If this buffer has been edited in this window, the
245 values from back then are used. Otherwise the values from the window where
246 the buffer was edited last are used.
248 It's possible to set a local window option specifically for a type of buffer.
249 When you edit another buffer in the same window, you don't want to keep
250 using these local window options. Therefore Vim keeps a global value of the
251 local window options, which is used when editing another buffer. Each window
252 has its own copy of these values. Thus these are local to the window, but
253 global to all buffers in the window. With this you can do: >
254 :e one
255 :set list
256 :e two
257 Now the 'list' option will also be set in "two", since with the ":set list"
258 command you have also set the global value. >
259 :set nolist
260 :e one
261 :setlocal list
262 :e two
263 Now the 'list' option is not set, because ":set nolist" resets the global
264 value, ":setlocal list" only changes the local value and ":e two" gets the
265 global value. Note that if you do this next: >
266 :e one
267 You will not get back the 'list' value as it was the last time you edited
268 "one". The options local to a window are not remembered for each buffer.
270 *:setl* *:setlocal*
271 :setl[ocal] ... Like ":set" but set only the value local to the
272 current buffer or window. Not all options have a
273 local value. If the option does not have a local
274 value the global value is set.
275 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
276 local values.
277 Without argument: Display all local option's local
278 values which are different from the default.
279 When displaying a specific local option, show the
280 local value. For a global/local boolean option, when
281 the global value is being used, "--" is displayed
282 before the option name.
283 For a global option the global value is
284 shown (but that might change in the future).
285 {not in Vi}
287 :setl[ocal] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
288 copying the value.
289 {not in Vi}
291 :se[t] {option}< Set the local value of {option} to its global value by
292 making it empty. Only makes sense for |global-local|
293 options.
294 {not in Vi}
296 *:setg* *:setglobal*
297 :setg[lobal] ... Like ":set" but set only the global value for a local
298 option without changing the local value.
299 When displaying an option, the global value is shown.
300 With the "all" argument: display all local option's
301 global values.
302 Without argument: display all local option's global
303 values which are different from the default.
304 {not in Vi}
306 For buffer-local and window-local options:
307 Command global value local value ~
308 :set option=value set set
309 :setlocal option=value - set
310 :setglobal option=value set -
311 :set option? - display
312 :setlocal option? - display
313 :setglobal option? display -
316 Global options with a local value *global-local*
318 Options are global when you mostly use one value for all buffers and windows.
319 For some global options it's useful to sometimes have a different local value.
320 You can set the local value with ":setlocal". That buffer or window will then
321 use the local value, while other buffers and windows continue using the global
322 value.
324 For example, you have two windows, both on C source code. They use the global
325 'makeprg' option. If you do this in one of the two windows: >
326 :set makeprg=gmake
327 then the other window will switch to the same value. There is no need to set
328 the 'makeprg' option in the other C source window too.
329 However, if you start editing a Perl file in a new window, you want to use
330 another 'makeprg' for it, without changing the value used for the C source
331 files. You use this command: >
332 :setlocal makeprg=perlmake
333 You can switch back to using the global value by making the local value empty: >
334 :setlocal makeprg=
335 This only works for a string option. For a boolean option you need to use the
336 "<" flag, like this: >
337 :setlocal autoread<
338 Note that for non-boolean options using "<" copies the global value to the
339 local value, it doesn't switch back to using the global value (that matters
340 when the global value changes later). You can also use: >
341 :set path<
342 This will make the local value of 'path' empty, so that the global value is
343 used. Thus it does the same as: >
344 :setlocal path=
345 Note: In the future more global options can be made global-local. Using
346 ":setlocal" on a global option might work differently then.
349 Setting the filetype
351 :setf[iletype] {filetype} *:setf* *:setfiletype*
352 Set the 'filetype' option to {filetype}, but only if
353 not done yet in a sequence of (nested) autocommands.
354 This is short for: >
355 :if !did_filetype()
356 : setlocal filetype={filetype}
357 :endif
358 < This command is used in a filetype.vim file to avoid
359 setting the 'filetype' option twice, causing different
360 settings and syntax files to be loaded.
361 {not in Vi}
363 :bro[wse] se[t] *:set-browse* *:browse-set* *:opt* *:options*
364 :opt[ions] Open a window for viewing and setting all options.
365 Options are grouped by function.
366 Offers short help for each option. Hit <CR> on the
367 short help to open a help window with more help for
368 the option.
369 Modify the value of the option and hit <CR> on the
370 "set" line to set the new value. For window and
371 buffer specific options, the last accessed window is
372 used to set the option value in, unless this is a help
373 window, in which case the window below help window is
374 used (skipping the option-window).
375 {not available when compiled without the |+eval| or
376 |+autocmd| features}
378 *$HOME*
379 Using "~" is like using "$HOME", but it is only recognized at the start of an
380 option and after a space or comma.
382 On Unix systems "~user" can be used too. It is replaced by the home directory
383 of user "user". Example: >
384 :set path=~mool/include,/usr/include,.
386 On Unix systems the form "${HOME}" can be used too. The name between {} can
387 contain non-id characters then. Note that if you want to use this for the
388 "gf" command, you need to add the '{' and '}' characters to 'isfname'.
390 NOTE: expanding environment variables and "~/" is only done with the ":set"
391 command, not when assigning a value to an option with ":let".
394 Note the maximum length of an expanded option is limited. How much depends on
395 the system, mostly it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
397 *:fix* *:fixdel*
398 :fix[del] Set the value of 't_kD':
399 't_kb' is 't_kD' becomes ~
400 CTRL-? CTRL-H
401 not CTRL-? CTRL-?
403 (CTRL-? is 0177 octal, 0x7f hex) {not in Vi}
405 If your delete key terminal code is wrong, but the
406 code for backspace is alright, you can put this in
407 your .vimrc: >
408 :fixdel
409 < This works no matter what the actual code for
410 backspace is.
412 If the backspace key terminal code is wrong you can
413 use this: >
414 :if &term == "termname"
415 : set t_kb=^V<BS>
416 : fixdel
417 :endif
418 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<BS>" is the backspace key
419 (don't type four characters!). Replace "termname"
420 with your terminal name.
422 If your <Delete> key sends a strange key sequence (not
423 CTRL-? or CTRL-H) you cannot use ":fixdel". Then use: >
424 :if &term == "termname"
425 : set t_kD=^V<Delete>
426 :endif
427 < Where "^V" is CTRL-V and "<Delete>" is the delete key
428 (don't type eight characters!). Replace "termname"
429 with your terminal name.
431 *Linux-backspace*
432 Note about Linux: By default the backspace key
433 produces CTRL-?, which is wrong. You can fix it by
434 putting this line in your rc.local: >
435 echo "keycode 14 = BackSpace" | loadkeys
436 <
437 *NetBSD-backspace*
438 Note about NetBSD: If your backspace doesn't produce
439 the right code, try this: >
440 xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
441 < If this works, add this in your .Xmodmap file: >
442 keysym 22 = BackSpace
443 < You need to restart for this to take effect.
445 ==============================================================================
446 2. Automatically setting options *auto-setting*
448 Besides changing options with the ":set" command, there are three alternatives
449 to set options automatically for one or more files:
451 1. When starting Vim initializations are read from various places. See
452 |initialization|. Most of them are performed for all editing sessions,
453 and some of them depend on the directory where Vim is started.
454 You can create an initialization file with |:mkvimrc|, |:mkview| and
455 |:mksession|.
456 2. If you start editing a new file, the automatic commands are executed.
457 This can be used to set options for files matching a particular pattern and
458 many other things. See |autocommand|.
459 3. If you start editing a new file, and the 'modeline' option is on, a
460 number of lines at the beginning and end of the file are checked for
461 modelines. This is explained here.
463 *modeline* *vim:* *vi:* *ex:* *E520*
464 There are two forms of modelines. The first form:
465 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]{options}
467 [text] any text or empty
468 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
469 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
470 [white] optional white space
471 {options} a list of option settings, separated with white space or ':',
472 where each part between ':' is the argument for a ":set"
473 command (can be empty)
475 Example:
476 vi:noai:sw=3 ts=6 ~
478 The second form (this is compatible with some versions of Vi):
480 [text]{white}{vi:|vim:|ex:}[white]se[t] {options}:[text]
482 [text] any text or empty
483 {white} at least one blank character (<Space> or <Tab>)
484 {vi:|vim:|ex:} the string "vi:", "vim:" or "ex:"
485 [white] optional white space
486 se[t] the string "set " or "se " (note the space)
487 {options} a list of options, separated with white space, which is the
488 argument for a ":set" command
489 : a colon
490 [text] any text or empty
492 Example:
493 /* vim: set ai tw=75: */ ~
495 The white space before {vi:|vim:|ex:} is required. This minimizes the chance
496 that a normal word like "lex:" is caught. There is one exception: "vi:" and
497 "vim:" can also be at the start of the line (for compatibility with version
498 3.0). Using "ex:" at the start of the line will be ignored (this could be
499 short for "example:").
501 *modeline-local*
502 The options are set like with ":setlocal": The new value only applies to the
503 buffer and window that contain the file. Although it's possible to set global
504 options from a modeline, this is unusual. If you have two windows open and
505 the files in it set the same global option to a different value, the result
506 depends on which one was opened last.
508 When editing a file that was already loaded, only the window-local options
509 from the modeline are used. Thus if you manually changed a buffer-local
510 option after opening the file, it won't be changed if you edit the same buffer
511 in another window. But window-local options will be set.
513 *modeline-version*
514 If the modeline is only to be used for some versions of Vim, the version
515 number can be specified where "vim:" is used:
516 vim{vers}: version {vers} or later
517 vim<{vers}: version before {vers}
518 vim={vers}: version {vers}
519 vim>{vers}: version after {vers}
520 {vers} is 600 for Vim 6.0 (hundred times the major version plus minor).
521 For example, to use a modeline only for Vim 6.0 and later:
522 /* vim600: set foldmethod=marker: */ ~
523 To use a modeline for Vim before version 5.7:
524 /* vim<570: set sw=4: */ ~
525 There can be no blanks between "vim" and the ":".
528 The number of lines that are checked can be set with the 'modelines' option.
529 If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is 0 no lines are checked.
531 Note that for the first form all of the rest of the line is used, thus a line
532 like:
533 /* vi:ts=4: */ ~
534 will give an error message for the trailing "*/". This line is OK:
535 /* vi:set ts=4: */ ~
537 If an error is detected the rest of the line is skipped.
539 If you want to include a ':' in a set command precede it with a '\'. The
540 backslash in front of the ':' will be removed. Example:
541 /* vi:set dir=c\:\tmp: */ ~
542 This sets the 'dir' option to "c:\tmp". Only a single backslash before the
543 ':' is removed. Thus to include "\:" you have to specify "\\:".
545 No other commands than "set" are supported, for security reasons (somebody
546 might create a Trojan horse text file with modelines). And not all options
547 can be set. For some options a flag is set, so that when it's used the
548 |sandbox| is effective. Still, there is always a small risk that a modeline
549 causes trouble. E.g., when some joker sets 'textwidth' to 5 all your lines
550 are wrapped unexpectedly. So disable modelines before editing untrusted text.
551 The mail ftplugin does this, for example.
553 Hint: If you would like to do something else than setting an option, you could
554 define an autocommand that checks the file for a specific string. For
555 example: >
556 au BufReadPost * if getline(1) =~ "VAR" | call SetVar() | endif
557 And define a function SetVar() that does something with the line containing
558 "VAR".
560 ==============================================================================
561 3. Options summary *option-summary*
563 In the list below all the options are mentioned with their full name and with
564 an abbreviation if there is one. Both forms may be used.
566 In this document when a boolean option is "set" that means that ":set option"
567 is entered. When an option is "reset", ":set nooption" is used.
569 For some options there are two default values: The "Vim default", which is
570 used when 'compatible' is not set, and the "Vi default", which is used when
571 'compatible' is set.
573 Most options are the same in all windows and buffers. There are a few that
574 are specific to how the text is presented in a window. These can be set to a
575 different value in each window. For example the 'list' option can be set in
576 one window and reset in another for the same text, giving both types of view
577 at the same time. There are a few options that are specific to a certain
578 file. These can have a different value for each file or buffer. For example
579 the 'textwidth' option can be 78 for a normal text file and 0 for a C
580 program.
582 global one option for all buffers and windows
583 local to window each window has its own copy of this option
584 local to buffer each buffer has its own copy of this option
586 When creating a new window the option values from the currently active window
587 are used as a default value for the window-specific options. For the
588 buffer-specific options this depends on the 's' and 'S' flags in the
589 'cpoptions' option. If 's' is included (which is the default) the values for
590 buffer options are copied from the currently active buffer when a buffer is
591 first entered. If 'S' is present the options are copied each time the buffer
592 is entered, this is almost like having global options. If 's' and 'S' are not
593 present, the options are copied from the currently active buffer when the
594 buffer is created.
596 Hidden options *hidden-options*
598 Not all options are supported in all versions. This depends on the supported
599 features and sometimes on the system. A remark about this is in curly braces
600 below. When an option is not supported it may still be set without getting an
601 error, this is called a hidden option. You can't get the value of a hidden
602 option though, it is not stored.
604 To test if option "foo" can be used with ":set" use something like this: >
605 if exists('&foo')
606 This also returns true for a hidden option. To test if option "foo" is really
607 supported use something like this: >
608 if exists('+foo')
609 <
610 *E355*
611 A jump table for the options with a short description can be found at |Q_op|.
613 *'aleph'* *'al'* *aleph* *Aleph*
614 'aleph' 'al' number (default 128 for MS-DOS, 224 otherwise)
615 global
616 {not in Vi}
617 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
618 feature}
619 The ASCII code for the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The
620 routine that maps the keyboard in Hebrew mode, both in Insert mode
621 (when hkmap is set) and on the command-line (when hitting CTRL-_)
622 outputs the Hebrew characters in the range [aleph..aleph+26].
623 aleph=128 applies to PC code, and aleph=224 applies to ISO 8859-8.
624 See |rileft.txt|.
626 *'allowrevins'* *'ari'* *'noallowrevins'* *'noari'*
627 'allowrevins' 'ari' boolean (default off)
628 global
629 {not in Vi}
630 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
631 feature}
632 Allow CTRL-_ in Insert and Command-line mode. This is default off, to
633 avoid that users that accidentally type CTRL-_ instead of SHIFT-_ get
634 into reverse Insert mode, and don't know how to get out. See
635 'revins'.
636 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
638 *'altkeymap'* *'akm'* *'noaltkeymap'* *'noakm'*
639 'altkeymap' 'akm' boolean (default off)
640 global
641 {not in Vi}
642 {only available when compiled with the |+farsi|
643 feature}
644 When on, the second language is Farsi. In editing mode CTRL-_ toggles
645 the keyboard map between Farsi and English, when 'allowrevins' set.
647 When off, the keyboard map toggles between Hebrew and English. This
648 is useful to start the Vim in native mode i.e. English (left-to-right
649 mode) and have default second language Farsi or Hebrew (right-to-left
650 mode). See |farsi.txt|.
652 *'ambiwidth'* *'ambw'*
653 'ambiwidth' 'ambw' string (default: "single")
654 global
655 {not in Vi}
656 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
657 feature}
658 Only effective when 'encoding' is "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding.
659 Tells Vim what to do with characters with East Asian Width Class
660 Ambiguous (such as Euro, Registered Sign, Copyright Sign, Greek
661 letters, Cyrillic letters).
663 There are currently two possible values:
664 "single": Use the same width as characters in US-ASCII. This is
665 expected by most users.
666 "double": Use twice the width of ASCII characters.
668 There are a number of CJK fonts for which the width of glyphs for
669 those characters are solely based on how many octets they take in
670 legacy/traditional CJK encodings. In those encodings, Euro,
671 Registered sign, Greek/Cyrillic letters are represented by two octets,
672 therefore those fonts have "wide" glyphs for them. This is also
673 true of some line drawing characters used to make tables in text
674 file. Therefore, when a CJK font is used for GUI Vim or
675 Vim is running inside a terminal (emulators) that uses a CJK font
676 (or Vim is run inside an xterm invoked with "-cjkwidth" option.),
677 this option should be set to "double" to match the width perceived
678 by Vim with the width of glyphs in the font. Perhaps it also has
679 to be set to "double" under CJK Windows 9x/ME or Windows 2k/XP
680 when the system locale is set to one of CJK locales. See Unicode
681 Standard Annex #11 (http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr11).
683 *'antialias'* *'anti'* *'noantialias'* *'noanti'*
684 'antialias' 'anti' boolean (default off, on for MacVim)
685 global
686 {not in Vi}
687 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled on
688 Mac OS X}
689 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim on Mac OS X
690 v10.2 or later. When on, Vim will use smooth ("antialiased") fonts,
691 which can be easier to read at certain sizes on certain displays.
693 Setting this option in the Carbon version can sometimes cause problems
694 if 'guifont' is set to its default (empty string).
696 Support for this option is not flawless in MacVim. In particular,
697 Monaco always seems to render not antialiased for point sizes up
698 to 10. The ATSUI renderer has better antialias support.
700 *'autochdir'* *'acd'* *'noautochdir'* *'noacd'*
701 'autochdir' 'acd' boolean (default off)
702 global
703 {not in Vi}
704 {only available when compiled with the
705 |+netbeans_intg| or |+sun_workshop| feature}
706 When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
707 open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window.
708 It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened
709 or selected.
710 This option is provided for backward compatibility with the Vim
711 released with Sun ONE Studio 4 Enterprise Edition.
712 Note: When this option is on some plugins may not work.
714 *'arabic'* *'arab'* *'noarabic'* *'noarab'*
715 'arabic' 'arab' boolean (default off)
716 local to window
717 {not in Vi}
718 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
719 feature}
720 This option can be set to start editing Arabic text.
721 Setting this option will:
722 - Set the 'rightleft' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
723 - Set the 'arabicshape' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
724 - Set the 'keymap' option to "arabic"; in Insert mode CTRL-^ toggles
725 between typing English and Arabic key mapping.
726 - Set the 'delcombine' option
727 Note that 'encoding' must be "utf-8" for working with Arabic text.
729 Resetting this option will:
730 - Reset the 'rightleft' option.
731 - Disable the use of 'keymap' (without changing its value).
732 Note that 'arabicshape' and 'delcombine' are not reset (it is a global
733 option.
734 Also see |arabic.txt|.
736 *'arabicshape'* *'arshape'*
737 *'noarabicshape'* *'noarshape'*
738 'arabicshape' 'arshape' boolean (default on)
739 global
740 {not in Vi}
741 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
742 feature}
743 When on and 'termbidi' is off, the required visual character
744 corrections that need to take place for displaying the Arabic language
745 take affect. Shaping, in essence, gets enabled; the term is a broad
746 one which encompasses:
747 a) the changing/morphing of characters based on their location
748 within a word (initial, medial, final and stand-alone).
749 b) the enabling of the ability to compose characters
750 c) the enabling of the required combining of some characters
751 When disabled the display shows each character's true stand-alone
752 form.
753 Arabic is a complex language which requires other settings, for
754 further details see |arabic.txt|.
756 *'autoindent'* *'ai'* *'noautoindent'* *'noai'*
757 'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
758 local to buffer
759 Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR>
760 in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not
761 type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type
762 <Esc>, CTRL-O or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. Moving the cursor
763 to another line has the same effect, unless the 'I' flag is included
764 in 'cpoptions'.
765 When autoindent is on, formatting (with the "gq" command or when you
766 reach 'textwidth' in Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first
767 line.
768 When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in
769 a different way.
770 The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
771 {small difference from Vi: After the indent is deleted when typing
772 <Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the
773 deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}.
775 *'autoread'* *'ar'* *'noautoread'* *'noar'*
776 'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
777 global or local to buffer |global-local|
778 {not in Vi}
779 When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and
780 it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again.
781 When the file has been deleted this is not done. |timestamp|
782 If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to
783 using the global value: >
784 :set autoread<
785 <
786 *'autowrite'* *'aw'* *'noautowrite'* *'noaw'*
787 'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
788 global
789 Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each
790 :next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop, :suspend, :tag, :!,
791 :make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when a :buffer, CTRL-O, CTRL-I,
792 '{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one to another file.
793 Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see
794 'autowriteall' for that.
796 *'autowriteall'* *'awa'* *'noautowriteall'* *'noawa'*
797 'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
798 global
799 {not in Vi}
800 Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":enew", ":quit",
801 ":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window.
802 Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has
803 been set.
805 *'background'* *'bg'*
806 'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light")
807 global
808 {not in Vi}
809 When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a
810 dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that
811 look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal.
812 Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used.
813 This will not always be correct.
814 Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim
815 what the background color looks like. For changing the background
816 color, see |:hi-normal|.
818 When 'background' is set Vim will adjust the default color groups for
819 the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will not
820 change. *g:colors_name*
821 When a color scheme is loaded (the "colors_name" variable is set)
822 setting 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If
823 the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work.
824 However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may
825 be undone. First delete the "colors_name" variable when needed.
827 When setting 'background' to the default value with: >
828 :set background&
829 < Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly,
830 in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
832 When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be
833 "light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects
834 that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to
835 "dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read
836 (because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background
837 color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by
838 putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value
839 of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on").
840 Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly
841 depending on the terminal name. Example: >
842 :if &term == "pcterm"
843 : set background=dark
844 :endif
845 < When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups
846 will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER
847 the setting of the 'background' option.
848 This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file
849 to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this
850 option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be
851 done with ":syntax on".
853 *'backspace'* *'bs'*
854 'backspace' 'bs' string (default "")
855 global
856 {not in Vi}
857 Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert
858 mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows
859 a way to backspace over something:
860 value effect ~
861 indent allow backspacing over autoindent
862 eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines)
863 start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
864 stop once at the start of insert.
866 When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.
868 For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier:
869 value effect ~
870 0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible)
871 1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol"
872 2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start"
874 See |:fixdel| if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want.
875 NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
877 *'backup'* *'bk'* *'nobackup'* *'nobk'*
878 'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
879 global
880 {not in Vi}
881 Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the
882 file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the
883 backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being
884 written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is
885 the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both
886 options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the
887 |backup-table| for more explanations.
888 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
889 When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the
890 oldest version of a file.
891 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
893 *'backupcopy'* *'bkc'*
894 'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
895 global
896 {not in Vi}
897 When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's
898 done. This is a comma separated list of words.
900 The main values are:
901 "yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one
902 "no" rename the file and write a new one
903 "auto" one of the previous, what works best
905 Extra values that can be combined with the ones above are:
906 "breaksymlink" always break symlinks when writing
907 "breakhardlink" always break hardlinks when writing
909 Making a copy and overwriting the original file:
910 - Takes extra time to copy the file.
911 + When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
912 has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
913 - When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link,
914 not of the real file.
916 Renaming the file and writing a new one:
917 + It's fast.
918 - Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
919 file.
920 - When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
922 The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming file
923 is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on and
924 the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected, a
925 copy will be made.
927 The "breaksymlink" and "breakhardlink" values can be used in
928 combination with any of "yes", "no" and "auto". When included, they
929 force Vim to always break either symbolic or hard links by doing
930 exactly what the "no" option does, renaming the original file to
931 become the backup and writing a new file in its place. This can be
932 useful for example in source trees where all the files are symbolic or
933 hard links and any changes should stay in the local source tree, not
934 be propagated back to the original source.
935 *crontab*
936 One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program
937 that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if
938 the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the
939 backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an
940 example.
942 When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled
943 with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and
944 symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file
945 however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The
946 group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this
947 fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for
948 others.
950 When the file is renamed this is the other way around: The backup has
951 the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file
952 is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic)
953 link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't
954 rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly
955 written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but
956 the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will
957 again not rename the file.
959 *'backupdir'* *'bdir'*
960 'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
961 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:/tmp,c:/temp"
962 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
963 global
964 {not in Vi}
965 List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas.
966 - The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
967 where this is possible.
968 - Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is
969 impossible!). Writing may fail because of this.
970 - A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory
971 as the edited file.
972 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
973 put the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The
974 leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
975 ("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
976 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
977 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
978 name, precede it with a backslash.
979 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
980 - A directory name may end in an '/'.
981 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
982 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
983 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
984 :set bdir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
985 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
986 of the option is removed.
987 See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options.
988 If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value: >
989 :set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
990 < You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your
991 home directory for this to work properly.
992 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
993 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
994 uses another default.
995 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
996 security reasons.
998 *'backupext'* *'bex'* *E589*
999 'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
1000 global
1001 {not in Vi}
1002 String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the
1003 backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids
1004 accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might
1005 prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with
1006 ".bak" that you want to keep.
1007 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
1009 If you like to keep a lot of backups, you could use a BufWritePre
1010 autocommand to change 'backupext' just before writing the file to
1011 include a timestamp. >
1012 :au BufWritePre * let &bex = '-' . strftime("%Y%b%d%X") . '~'
1013 < Use 'backupdir' to put the backup in a different directory.
1015 *'backupskip'* *'bsk'*
1016 'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*")
1017 global
1018 {not in Vi}
1019 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
1020 feature}
1021 A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the
1022 name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both
1023 the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used.
1024 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
1025 Watch out for special characters, see |option-backslash|.
1026 When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the
1027 default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
1029 Note that environment variables are not expanded. If you want to use
1030 $HOME you must expand it explicitly, e.g.: >
1031 :let backupskip = escape(expand('$HOME'), '\') . '/tmp/*'
1033 < Note that the default also makes sure that "crontab -e" works (when a
1034 backup would be made by renaming the original file crontab won't see
1035 the newly created file). Also see 'backupcopy' and |crontab|.
1037 *'balloondelay'* *'bdlay'*
1038 'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
1039 global
1040 {not in Vi}
1041 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1042 feature}
1043 Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.
1045 *'ballooneval'* *'beval'* *'noballooneval'* *'nobeval'*
1046 'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
1047 global
1048 {not in Vi}
1049 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1050 feature}
1051 Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality.
1053 *'balloonexpr'* *'bexpr'*
1054 'balloonexpr' 'bexpr' string (default "")
1055 global or local to buffer |global-local|
1056 {not in Vi}
1057 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1058 feature}
1059 Expression for text to show in evaluation balloon. It is only used
1060 when 'ballooneval' is on. These variables can be used:
1062 v:beval_bufnr number of the buffer in which balloon is going to show
1063 v:beval_winnr number of the window
1064 v:beval_lnum line number
1065 v:beval_col column number (byte index)
1066 v:beval_text word under or after the mouse pointer
1068 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects!
1069 Example: >
1070 function! MyBalloonExpr()
1071 return 'Cursor is at line ' . v:beval_lnum .
1072 \', column ' . v:beval_col .
1073 \ ' of file ' . bufname(v:beval_bufnr) .
1074 \ ' on word "' . v:beval_text . '"'
1075 endfunction
1076 set bexpr=MyBalloonExpr()
1077 set ballooneval
1078 <
1079 NOTE: The balloon is displayed only if the cursor is on a text
1080 character. If the result of evaluating 'balloonexpr' is not empty,
1081 Vim does not try to send a message to an external debugger (Netbeans
1082 or Sun Workshop).
1084 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
1085 |sandbox-option|.
1087 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
1088 evaluating 'balloonexpr' |textlock|.
1090 To check whether line breaks in the balloon text work use this check: >
1091 if has("balloon_multiline")
1092 < When they are supported "\n" characters will start a new line. If the
1093 expression evaluates to a |List| this is equal to using each List item
1094 as a string and putting "\n" in between them.
1096 *'binary'* *'bin'* *'nobinary'* *'nobin'*
1097 'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
1098 local to buffer
1099 {not in Vi}
1100 This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also
1101 use the |-b| Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few
1102 options will be changed (also when it already was on):
1103 'textwidth' will be set to 0
1104 'wrapmargin' will be set to 0
1105 'modeline' will be off
1106 'expandtab' will be off
1107 Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the
1108 file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL>
1109 separates lines).
1110 The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the
1111 file is read without conversion.
1112 NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is
1113 on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g.,
1114 'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set
1115 'bin' again when the file has been loaded.
1116 The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when
1117 'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of
1118 saved option values.
1119 To edit a file with 'binary' set you can use the |++bin| argument.
1120 This avoids you have to do ":set bin", which would have effect for all
1121 files you edit.
1122 When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if
1123 there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to
1124 the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See
1125 the 'endofline' option.
1127 *'bioskey'* *'biosk'* *'nobioskey'* *'nobiosk'*
1128 'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
1129 global
1130 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1131 When on the BIOS is called to obtain a keyboard character. This works
1132 better to detect CTRL-C, but only works for the console. When using a
1133 terminal over a serial port reset this option.
1134 Also see |'conskey'|.
1136 *'bomb'* *'nobomb'*
1137 'bomb' boolean (default off)
1138 local to buffer
1139 {not in Vi}
1140 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1141 feature}
1142 When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte
1143 Order Mark) is prepended to the file:
1144 - this option is on
1145 - the 'binary' option is off
1146 - 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
1147 endian variants.
1148 Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file.
1149 Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it
1150 causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2
1151 appear halfway the resulting file.
1152 When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a
1153 check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly.
1154 Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you
1155 don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM
1156 will be restored when writing the file.
1158 *'breakat'* *'brk'*
1159 'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
1160 global
1161 {not in Vi}
1162 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1163 feature}
1164 This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line
1165 break if 'linebreak' is on. Only works for ASCII and also for 8-bit
1166 characters when 'encoding' is an 8-bit encoding.
1168 *'browsedir'* *'bsdir'*
1169 'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default: "last")
1170 global
1171 {not in Vi} {only for Motif, Athena, GTK, Mac and
1172 Win32 GUI}
1173 Which directory to use for the file browser:
1174 last Use same directory as with last file browser, where a
1175 file was opened or saved.
1176 buffer Use the directory of the related buffer.
1177 current Use the current directory.
1178 {path} Use the specified directory
1180 *'bufhidden'* *'bh'*
1181 'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
1182 local to buffer
1183 {not in Vi}
1184 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1185 feature}
1186 This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer
1187 displayed in a window:
1188 <empty> follow the global 'hidden' option
1189 hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), also when 'hidden'
1190 is not set
1191 unload unload the buffer, also when 'hidden' is set or using
1192 |:hide|
1193 delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1194 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1195 |:bdelete|
1196 wipe wipe out the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1197 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1198 |:bwipeout|
1200 CAREFUL: when "unload", "delete" or "wipe" is used changes in a buffer
1201 are lost without a warning.
1202 This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify
1203 special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1205 *'buflisted'* *'bl'* *'nobuflisted'* *'nobl'* *E85*
1206 'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
1207 local to buffer
1208 {not in Vi}
1209 When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If
1210 it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc.
1211 This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember
1212 a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer.
1213 But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
1215 *'buftype'* *'bt'* *E382*
1216 'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
1217 local to buffer
1218 {not in Vi}
1219 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1220 feature}
1221 The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
1222 <empty> normal buffer
1223 nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
1224 written
1225 nowrite buffer which will not be written
1226 acwrite buffer which will always be written with BufWriteCmd
1227 autocommands. {not available when compiled without the
1228 |+autocmd| feature}
1229 quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors |:cwindow|
1230 or list of locations |:lwindow|
1231 help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
1232 manually)
1234 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to
1235 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1237 Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
1239 A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list and the location
1240 list. This value is set by the |:cwindow| and |:lwindow| commands and
1241 you are not supposed to change it.
1243 "nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar:
1244 both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
1245 work (":w filename" does work though).
1246 both: The buffer is never considered to be |'modified'|.
1247 There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for
1248 example when you quit Vim.
1249 both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
1250 (when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap
1251 file).
1252 nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
1253 file name. It is not modified in response to a |:cd|
1254 command.
1255 *E676*
1256 "acwrite" implies that the buffer name is not related to a file, like
1257 "nofile", but it will be written. Thus, in contrast to "nofile" and
1258 "nowrite", ":w" does work and a modified buffer can't be abandoned
1259 without saving. For writing there must be matching |BufWriteCmd|,
1260 |FileWriteCmd| or |FileAppendCmd| autocommands.
1262 *'casemap'* *'cmp'*
1263 'casemap' 'cmp' string (default: "internal,keepascii")
1264 global
1265 {not in Vi}
1266 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1267 feature}
1268 Specifies details about changing the case of letters. It may contain
1269 these words, separated by a comma:
1270 internal Use internal case mapping functions, the current
1271 locale does not change the case mapping. This only
1272 matters when 'encoding' is a Unicode encoding,
1273 "latin1" or "iso-8859-15". When "internal" is
1274 omitted, the towupper() and towlower() system library
1275 functions are used when available.
1276 keepascii For the ASCII characters (0x00 to 0x7f) use the US
1277 case mapping, the current locale is not effective.
1278 This probably only matters for Turkish.
1280 *'cdpath'* *'cd'* *E344* *E346*
1281 'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
1282 global
1283 {not in Vi}
1284 {not available when compiled without the
1285 |+file_in_path| feature}
1286 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
1287 |:cd| and |:lcd| commands, provided that the directory being searched
1288 for has a relative path, not an absolute part starting with "/", "./"
1289 or "../", the 'cdpath' option is not used then.
1290 The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as
1291 |'path'|. Also see |file-searching|.
1292 The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look
1293 in the current directory first.
1294 If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include
1295 a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to
1296 override it: >
1297 :let &cdpath = ',' . substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\\\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
1298 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1299 security reasons.
1300 (parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
1302 *'cedit'*
1303 'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
1304 global
1305 {not in Vi}
1306 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1307 feature}
1308 The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window.
1309 The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off.
1310 Only non-printable keys are allowed.
1311 The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to
1312 type. The preferred way is to use the <> notation. Examples: >
1313 :set cedit=<C-Y>
1314 :set cedit=<Esc>
1315 < |Nvi| also has this option, but it only uses the first character.
1316 See |cmdwin|.
1318 *'charconvert'* *'ccv'* *E202* *E214* *E513*
1319 'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
1320 global
1321 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1322 feature and the |+eval| feature}
1323 {not in Vi}
1324 An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is
1325 evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a
1326 different encoding from what is desired.
1327 'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is
1328 supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is
1329 preferred, because it is much faster.
1330 'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin |--|, because there is no
1331 file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first.
1332 The expression must return zero or an empty string for success,
1333 non-zero for failure.
1334 The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'.
1335 Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are
1336 used.
1337 Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8"
1338 is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this.
1339 'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c'
1340 flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion.
1341 Example: >
1342 set charconvert=CharConvert()
1343 fun CharConvert()
1344 system("recode "
1345 \ . v:charconvert_from . ".." . v:charconvert_to
1346 \ . " <" . v:fname_in . " >" v:fname_out)
1347 return v:shell_error
1348 endfun
1349 < The related Vim variables are:
1350 v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding
1351 v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding
1352 v:fname_in name of the input file
1353 v:fname_out name of the output file
1354 Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same.
1355 Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different
1356 from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4.
1357 Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want
1358 to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care
1359 of this.
1360 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1361 security reasons.
1363 *'cindent'* *'cin'* *'nocindent'* *'nocin'*
1364 'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
1365 local to buffer
1366 {not in Vi}
1367 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1368 feature}
1369 Enables automatic C program indenting. See 'cinkeys' to set the keys
1370 that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your
1371 preferred indent style.
1372 If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'.
1373 If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty,
1374 the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an
1375 external program.
1376 See |C-indenting|.
1377 When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent'
1378 option or 'indentexpr'.
1379 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
1380 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1382 *'cinkeys'* *'cink'*
1383 'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
1384 local to buffer
1385 {not in Vi}
1386 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1387 feature}
1388 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
1389 the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is
1390 empty.
1391 For the format of this option see |cinkeys-format|.
1392 See |C-indenting|.
1394 *'cinoptions'* *'cino'*
1395 'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
1396 local to buffer
1397 {not in Vi}
1398 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1399 feature}
1400 The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C
1401 program. See |cinoptions-values| for the values of this option, and
1402 |C-indenting| for info on C indenting in general.
1405 *'cinwords'* *'cinw'*
1406 'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
1407 local to buffer
1408 {not in Vi}
1409 {not available when compiled without both the
1410 |+cindent| and the |+smartindent| features}
1411 These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when
1412 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at
1413 an appropriate place (inside {}).
1414 Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't
1415 matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase:
1416 "if,If,IF".
1418 *'clipboard'* *'cb'*
1419 'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons\|linux"
1420 for X-windows, "" otherwise)
1421 global
1422 {not in Vi}
1423 {only in GUI versions or when the |+xterm_clipboard|
1424 feature is included}
1425 This option is a list of comma separated names.
1426 These names are recognized:
1428 unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
1429 for all yank, delete, change and put operations which
1430 would normally go to the unnamed register. When a
1431 register is explicitly specified, it will always be
1432 used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard'
1433 or not. The clipboard register can always be
1434 explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see
1435 |gui-clipboard|.
1437 autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
1438 then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual
1439 area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the
1440 windowing system's global selection or put the
1441 selected text on the clipboard used by the selection
1442 register "*. See |guioptions_a| and |quotestar| for
1443 details. When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in
1444 'guioptions' is used, when the GUI is not active, this
1445 "autoselect" flag is used.
1446 Also applies to the modeless selection.
1448 autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
1449 only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
1451 exclude:{pattern}
1452 Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of
1453 the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no
1454 connection will be made to the X server. This is
1455 useful in this situation:
1456 - Running Vim in a console.
1457 - $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
1458 display.
1459 - You do not want to connect to the X server in the
1460 console, but do want this in a terminal emulator.
1461 To never connect to the X server use: >
1462 exclude:.*
1463 < This has the same effect as using the |-X| argument.
1464 Note that when there is no connection to the X server
1465 the window title won't be restored and the clipboard
1466 cannot be accessed.
1467 The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is
1468 interpreted as if 'magic' was on.
1469 The rest of the option value will be used for
1470 {pattern}, this must be the last entry.
1472 *'cmdheight'* *'ch'*
1473 'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
1474 global
1475 {not in Vi}
1476 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. Helps avoiding
1477 |hit-enter| prompts.
1478 The value of this option is stored with the tab page, so that each tab
1479 page can have a different value.
1481 *'cmdwinheight'* *'cwh'*
1482 'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
1483 global
1484 {not in Vi}
1485 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1486 feature}
1487 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. |cmdwin|
1489 *'columns'* *'co'* *E594*
1490 'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
1491 global
1492 {not in Vi}
1493 Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal
1494 initialization and does not have to be set by hand. Also see
1495 |posix-screen-size|.
1496 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
1497 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
1498 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
1499 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
1500 number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up. For
1501 the GUI it is always possible and Vim limits the number of columns to
1502 what fits on the screen. You can use this command to get the widest
1503 window possible: >
1504 :set columns=9999
1505 < Minimum value is 12, maximum value is 10000.
1507 *'comments'* *'com'* *E524* *E525*
1508 'comments' 'com' string (default
1509 "s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
1510 local to buffer
1511 {not in Vi}
1512 {not available when compiled without the |+comments|
1513 feature}
1514 A comma separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See
1515 |format-comments|. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes to
1516 insert a space.
1518 *'commentstring'* *'cms'* *E537*
1519 'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/*%s*/")
1520 local to buffer
1521 {not in Vi}
1522 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
1523 feature}
1524 A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the
1525 comment text. Currently only used to add markers for folding, see
1526 |fold-marker|.
1528 *'compatible'* *'cp'* *'nocompatible'* *'nocp'*
1529 'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc|
1530 file is found)
1531 global
1532 {not in Vi}
1533 This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or
1534 make Vim behave in a more useful way.
1535 This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset,
1536 other options are also changed as a side effect. CAREFUL: Setting or
1537 resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected effects: Mappings
1538 are interpreted in another way, undo behaves differently, etc. If you
1539 set this option in your vimrc file, you should probably put it at the
1540 very start.
1541 By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the
1542 options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim
1543 just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible'
1544 option.
1545 When a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file is found while Vim is starting up,
1546 this option is switched off, and all options that have not been
1547 modified will be set to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means
1548 that when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file exists, Vim will use the Vim
1549 defaults, otherwise it will use the Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't
1550 happen for the system-wide vimrc or gvimrc file, nor for a file given
1551 with the |-u| argument). Also see |compatible-default| and
1552 |posix-compliance|.
1553 You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with
1554 "-N". See |-C| and |-N|.
1555 Switching this option off makes the Vim defaults be used for options
1556 that have a different Vi and Vim default value. See the options
1557 marked with a '+' below. Other options are not modified.
1558 At the moment this option is set, several other options will be set
1559 or reset to make Vim as Vi-compatible as possible. See the table
1560 below. This can be used if you want to revert to Vi compatible
1561 editing.
1562 See also 'cpoptions'.
1564 option + set value effect ~
1566 'allowrevins' off no CTRL-_ command
1567 'backupcopy' Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
1568 others: "auto" copy or rename backup file
1569 'backspace' "" normal backspace
1570 'backup' off no backup file
1571 'cindent' off no C code indentation
1572 'cedit' + "" no key to open the |cmdwin|
1573 'cpoptions' + (all flags) Vi-compatible flags
1574 'cscopetag' off don't use cscope for ":tag"
1575 'cscopetagorder' 0 see |cscopetagorder|
1576 'cscopeverbose' off see |cscopeverbose|
1577 'digraph' off no digraphs
1578 'esckeys' + off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode
1579 'expandtab' off tabs not expanded to spaces
1580 'fileformats' + "" no automatic file format detection,
1581 "dos,unix" except for DOS, Windows and OS/2
1582 'formatoptions' + "vt" Vi compatible formatting
1583 'gdefault' off no default 'g' flag for ":s"
1584 'history' + 0 no commandline history
1585 'hkmap' off no Hebrew keyboard mapping
1586 'hkmapp' off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping
1587 'hlsearch' off no highlighting of search matches
1588 'incsearch' off no incremental searching
1589 'indentexpr' "" no indenting by expression
1590 'insertmode' off do not start in Insert mode
1591 'iskeyword' + "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
1592 characters and '_'
1593 'joinspaces' on insert 2 spaces after period
1594 'modeline' + off no modelines
1595 'more' + off no pauses in listings
1596 'revins' off no reverse insert
1597 'ruler' off no ruler
1598 'scrolljump' 1 no jump scroll
1599 'scrolloff' 0 no scroll offset
1600 'shiftround' off indent not rounded to shiftwidth
1601 'shortmess' + "" no shortening of messages
1602 'showcmd' + off command characters not shown
1603 'showmode' + off current mode not shown
1604 'smartcase' off no automatic ignore case switch
1605 'smartindent' off no smart indentation
1606 'smarttab' off no smart tab size
1607 'softtabstop' 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions
1608 'startofline' on goto startofline with some commands
1609 'tagrelative' + off tag file names are not relative
1610 'textauto' + off no automatic textmode detection
1611 'textwidth' 0 no automatic line wrap
1612 'tildeop' off tilde is not an operator
1613 'ttimeout' off no terminal timeout
1614 'whichwrap' + "" left-right movements don't wrap
1615 'wildchar' + CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
1616 use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
1617 'writebackup' on or off depends on +writebackup feature
1619 *'complete'* *'cpt'* *E535*
1620 'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
1621 local to buffer
1622 {not in Vi}
1623 This option specifies how keyword completion |ins-completion| works
1624 when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line
1625 completion |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|. It indicates the type of completion
1626 and the places to scan. It is a comma separated list of flags:
1627 . scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored)
1628 w scan buffers from other windows
1629 b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1630 u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1631 U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list
1632 k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option
1633 kspell use the currently active spell checking |spell|
1634 k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
1635 patterns are valid too. For example: >
1636 :set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
1637 < s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option
1638 s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
1639 are valid too.
1640 i scan current and included files
1641 d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
1642 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
1643 ] tag completion
1644 t same as "]"
1646 Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds |:autocmd| are
1647 not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files
1648 (gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for
1649 whole-line completion.
1651 The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
1652 1. the current buffer
1653 2. buffers in other windows
1654 3. other loaded buffers
1655 4. unloaded buffers
1656 5. tags
1657 6. included files
1659 As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'-
1660 based expansion (e.g., dictionary |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|, included patterns
1661 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|, tags |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| and normal expansions).
1663 *'completefunc'* *'cfu'*
1664 'completefunc' 'cfu' string (default: empty)
1665 local to buffer
1666 {not in Vi}
1667 {not available when compiled without the +eval
1668 or +insert_expand feature}
1669 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode completion
1670 with CTRL-X CTRL-U. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|
1671 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
1672 invoked and what it should return.
1675 *'completeopt'* *'cot'*
1676 'completeopt' 'cot' string (default: "menu,preview")
1677 global
1678 {not available when compiled without the
1679 |+insert_expand| feature}
1680 {not in Vi}
1681 A comma separated list of options for Insert mode completion
1682 |ins-completion|. The supported values are:
1684 menu Use a popup menu to show the possible completions. The
1685 menu is only shown when there is more than one match and
1686 sufficient colors are available. |ins-completion-menu|
1688 menuone Use the popup menu also when there is only one match.
1689 Useful when there is additional information about the
1690 match, e.g., what file it comes from.
1692 longest Only insert the longest common text of the matches. If
1693 the menu is displayed you can use CTRL-L to add more
1694 characters. Whether case is ignored depends on the kind
1695 of completion. For buffer text the 'ignorecase' option is
1696 used.
1698 preview Show extra information about the currently selected
1699 completion in the preview window. Only works in
1700 combination with "menu" or "menuone".
1703 *'confirm'* *'cf'* *'noconfirm'* *'nocf'*
1704 'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
1705 global
1706 {not in Vi}
1707 When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally
1708 fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e",
1709 instead raise a |dialog| asking if you wish to save the current
1710 file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally |abandon| a buffer.
1711 If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one
1712 command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the |:confirm|
1713 command.
1714 Also see the |confirm()| function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
1716 *'conskey'* *'consk'* *'noconskey'* *'noconsk'*
1717 'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
1718 global
1719 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1720 When on direct console I/O is used to obtain a keyboard character.
1721 This should work in most cases. Also see |'bioskey'|. Together,
1722 three methods of console input are available:
1723 'conskey' 'bioskey' action ~
1724 on on or off direct console input
1725 off on BIOS
1726 off off STDIN
1728 *'copyindent'* *'ci'* *'nocopyindent'* *'noci'*
1729 'copyindent' 'ci' boolean (default off)
1730 local to buffer
1731 {not in Vi}
1732 Copy the structure of the existing lines indent when autoindenting a
1733 new line. Normally the new indent is reconstructed by a series of
1734 tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is enabled,
1735 in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option makes the
1736 new line copy whatever characters were used for indenting on the
1737 existing line. 'expandtab' has no effect on these characters, a Tab
1738 remains a Tab. If the new indent is greater than on the existing
1739 line, the remaining space is filled in the normal manner.
1740 NOTE: 'copyindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1741 Also see 'preserveindent'.
1743 *'cpoptions'* *'cpo'*
1744 'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFs",
1745 Vi default: all flags)
1746 global
1747 {not in Vi}
1748 A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present
1749 this indicates vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where
1750 not being vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred.
1751 'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options".
1752 Commas can be added for readability.
1753 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
1754 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
1755 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
1756 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
1757 NOTE: This option is set to the POSIX default value at startup when
1758 the Vi default value would be used and the $VIM_POSIX environment
1759 variable exists |posix|. This means tries to behave like the POSIX
1760 specification.
1762 contains behavior ~
1763 *cpo-a*
1764 a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1765 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1766 current window.
1767 *cpo-A*
1768 A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1769 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1770 current window.
1771 *cpo-b*
1772 b "\|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
1773 the map command. The '\' is included in the mapping,
1774 the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next
1775 command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to
1776 include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all
1777 mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands.
1778 See also |map_bar|.
1779 *cpo-B*
1780 B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
1781 abbreviations and the "to" part of the menu commands.
1782 Remove this flag to be able to use a backslash like a
1783 CTRL-V. For example, the command ":map X \<Esc>"
1784 results in X being mapped to:
1785 'B' included: "\^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>)
1786 'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters)
1787 ('<' excluded in both cases)
1788 *cpo-c*
1789 c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
1790 cursor position, but not further than the start of the
1791 next line. When not present searching continues
1792 one character from the cursor position. With 'c'
1793 "abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating
1794 "/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
1795 *cpo-C*
1796 C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
1797 backslash. See |line-continuation|.
1798 *cpo-d*
1799 d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
1800 the tags file relative to the current file, but the
1801 tags file in the current directory.
1802 *cpo-D*
1803 D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
1804 commands with a character argument, like |r|, |f| and
1805 |t|.
1806 *cpo-e*
1807 e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
1808 <CR> to the last line, also when the register is not
1809 linewise. If this flag is not present, the register
1810 is not linewise and the last line does not end in a
1811 <CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line
1812 and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
1813 *cpo-E*
1814 E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
1815 "gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when
1816 at least one character is to be operate on. Example:
1817 This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
1818 *cpo-f*
1819 f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1820 argument will set the file name for the current buffer,
1821 if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
1822 *cpo-F*
1823 F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1824 argument will set the file name for the current
1825 buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name
1826 yet. Also see |cpo-P|.
1827 *cpo-g*
1828 g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
1829 *cpo-H*
1830 H When using "I" on a line with only blanks, insert
1831 before the last blank. Without this flag insert after
1832 the last blank.
1833 *cpo-i*
1834 i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
1835 leave it modified.
1836 *cpo-I*
1837 I When moving the cursor up or down just after inserting
1838 indent for 'autoindent', do not delete the indent.
1839 *cpo-j*
1840 j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
1841 not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
1842 *cpo-J*
1843 J A |sentence| has to be followed by two spaces after
1844 the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as
1845 white space.
1846 *cpo-k*
1847 k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
1848 mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu
1849 commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[
1850 is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X
1851 being mapped to:
1852 'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters)
1853 'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
1854 Also see the '<' flag below.
1855 *cpo-K*
1856 K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
1857 halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when
1858 only part of the second <F1> has been read. It
1859 enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
1860 *cpo-l*
1861 l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
1862 literally, only "\]", "\^", "\-" and "\\" are special.
1863 See |/[]|
1864 'l' included: "/[ \t]" finds <Space>, '\' and 't'
1865 'l' excluded: "/[ \t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
1866 Also see |cpo-\|.
1867 *cpo-L*
1868 L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
1869 'textwidth', 'softtabstop' and Virtual Replace mode
1870 (see |gR|) count a <Tab> as two characters, instead of
1871 the normal behavior of a <Tab>.
1872 *cpo-m*
1873 m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
1874 second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half
1875 a second or until a character is typed. |'showmatch'|
1876 *cpo-M*
1877 M When excluded, "%" matching will take backslashes into
1878 account. Thus in "( \( )" and "\( ( \)" the outer
1879 parenthesis match. When included "%" ignores
1880 backslashes, which is Vi compatible.
1881 *cpo-n*
1882 n When included, the column used for 'number' will also
1883 be used for text of wrapped lines.
1884 *cpo-o*
1885 o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
1886 next search.
1887 *cpo-O*
1888 O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
1889 when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a
1890 protection against a file unexpectedly created by
1891 someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
1892 *cpo-p*
1893 p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
1894 slightly better algorithm is used.
1895 *cpo-P*
1896 P When included, a ":write" command that appends to a
1897 file will set the file name for the current buffer, if
1898 the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet and
1899 the 'F' flag is also included |cpo-F|.
1900 *cpo-q*
1901 q When joining multiple lines leave the cursor at the
1902 position where it would be when joining two lines.
1903 *cpo-r*
1904 r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
1905 command, instead of the actually used search string.
1906 *cpo-R*
1907 R Remove marks from filtered lines. Without this flag
1908 marks are kept like |:keepmarks| was used.
1909 *cpo-s*
1910 s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
1911 first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0.
1912 And it is the default. If not present the options are
1913 set when the buffer is created.
1914 *cpo-S*
1915 S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
1916 (except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and
1917 'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting.
1918 The options are set to the values in the current
1919 buffer. When you change an option and go to another
1920 buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the
1921 buffer options global to all buffers.
1923 's' 'S' copy buffer options
1924 no no when buffer created
1925 yes no when buffer first entered (default)
1926 X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
1927 *cpo-t*
1928 t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
1929 "n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in
1930 the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the
1931 last used search pattern.
1932 *cpo-u*
1933 u Undo is Vi compatible. See |undo-two-ways|.
1934 *cpo-v*
1935 v Backspaced characters remain visible on the screen in
1936 Insert mode. Without this flag the characters are
1937 erased from the screen right away. With this flag the
1938 screen newly typed text overwrites backspaced
1939 characters.
1940 *cpo-w*
1941 w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
1942 character and not all blanks until the start of the
1943 next word.
1944 *cpo-W*
1945 W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
1946 overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
1947 *cpo-x*
1948 x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
1949 The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line,
1950 because <Esc> normally aborts a command. |c_<Esc>|
1951 *cpo-X*
1952 X When using a count with "R" the replaced text is
1953 deleted only once. Also when repeating "R" with "."
1954 and a count.
1955 *cpo-y*
1956 y A yank command can be redone with ".".
1957 *cpo-Z*
1958 Z When using "w!" while the 'readonly' option is set,
1959 don't reset 'readonly'.
1960 *cpo-!*
1961 ! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
1962 external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last
1963 used -filter- command is used.
1964 *cpo-$*
1965 $ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
1966 line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text.
1967 The changed text will be overwritten when you type the
1968 new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any
1969 command that moves the cursor from the insertion
1970 point.
1971 *cpo-%*
1972 % Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
1973 Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc.
1974 Does not recognize "/*" and "*/".
1975 Parens inside single and double quotes are also
1976 counted, causing a string that contains a paren to
1977 disturb the matching. For example, in a line like
1978 "if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not
1979 match the last one. When this flag is not included,
1980 parens inside single and double quotes are treated
1981 specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes,
1982 everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a
1983 paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if
1984 there is one). This works very well for C programs.
1985 This flag is also used for other features, such as
1986 C-indenting.
1987 *cpo--*
1988 - When included, a vertical movement command fails when
1989 it would go above the first line or below the last
1990 line. Without it the cursor moves to the first or
1991 last line, unless it already was in that line.
1992 Applies to the commands "-", "k", CTRL-P, "+", "j",
1993 CTRL-N, CTRL-J and ":1234".
1994 *cpo-+*
1995 + When included, a ":write file" command will reset the
1996 'modified' flag of the buffer, even though the buffer
1997 itself may still be different from its file.
1998 *cpo-star*
1999 * Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
2000 ":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
2001 *cpo-<*
2002 < Disable the recognition of special key codes in |<>|
2003 form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of
2004 menu commands. For example, the command
2005 ":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
2006 '<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters)
2007 '<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
2008 Also see the 'k' flag above.
2009 *cpo->*
2010 > When appending to a register, put a line break before
2011 the appended text.
2013 POSIX flags. These are not included in the Vi default value, except
2014 when $VIM_POSIX was set on startup. |posix|
2016 contains behavior ~
2017 *cpo-#*
2018 # A count before "D", "o" and "O" has no effect.
2019 *cpo-&*
2020 & When ":preserve" was used keep the swap file when
2021 exiting normally while this buffer is still loaded.
2022 This flag is tested when exiting.
2023 *cpo-\*
2024 \ Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
2025 literally, only "\]" is special See |/[]|
2026 '\' included: "/[ \-]" finds <Space>, '\' and '-'
2027 '\' excluded: "/[ \-]" finds <Space> and '-'
2028 Also see |cpo-l|.
2029 *cpo-/*
2030 / When "%" is used as the replacement string in a |:s|
2031 command, use the previous replacement string. |:s%|
2032 *cpo-{*
2033 { The |{| and |}| commands also stop at a "{" character
2034 at the start of a line.
2035 *cpo-.*
2036 . The ":chdir" and ":cd" commands fail if the current
2037 buffer is modified, unless ! is used. Vim doesn't
2038 need this, since it remembers the full path of an
2039 opened file.
2040 *cpo-bar*
2041 | The value of the $LINES and $COLUMNS environment
2042 variables overrule the terminal size values obtained
2043 with system specific functions.
2046 *'cscopepathcomp'* *'cspc'*
2047 'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
2048 global
2049 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2050 feature}
2051 {not in Vi}
2052 Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags.
2053 See |cscopepathcomp|.
2055 *'cscopeprg'* *'csprg'*
2056 'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
2057 global
2058 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2059 feature}
2060 {not in Vi}
2061 Specifies the command to execute cscope. See |cscopeprg|.
2062 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2063 security reasons.
2065 *'cscopequickfix'* *'csqf'*
2066 'cscopequickfix' 'csqf' string (default "")
2067 global
2068 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2069 or |+quickfix| features}
2070 {not in Vi}
2071 Specifies whether to use quickfix window to show cscope results.
2072 See |cscopequickfix|.
2074 *'cscopetag'* *'cst'* *'nocscopetag'* *'nocst'*
2075 'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
2076 global
2077 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2078 feature}
2079 {not in Vi}
2080 Use cscope for tag commands. See |cscope-options|.
2081 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2083 *'cscopetagorder'* *'csto'*
2084 'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
2085 global
2086 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2087 feature}
2088 {not in Vi}
2089 Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See
2090 |cscopetagorder|.
2091 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
2093 *'cscopeverbose'* *'csverb'*
2094 *'nocscopeverbose'* *'nocsverb'*
2095 'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
2096 global
2097 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2098 feature}
2099 {not in Vi}
2100 Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|.
2101 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2104 *'cursorcolumn'* *'cuc'* *'nocursorcolumn'* *'nocuc'*
2105 'cursorcolumn' 'cuc' boolean (default off)
2106 local to window
2107 {not in Vi}
2108 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2109 feature}
2110 Highlight the screen column of the cursor with CursorColumn
2111 |hl-CursorColumn|. Useful to align text. Will make screen redrawing
2112 slower.
2113 If you only want the highlighting in the current window you can use
2114 these autocommands: >
2115 au WinLeave * set nocursorline nocursorcolumn
2116 au WinEnter * set cursorline cursorcolumn
2117 <
2119 *'cursorline'* *'cul'* *'nocursorline'* *'nocul'*
2120 'cursorline' 'cul' boolean (default off)
2121 local to window
2122 {not in Vi}
2123 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2124 feature}
2125 Highlight the screen line of the cursor with CursorLine
2126 |hl-CursorLine|. Useful to easily spot the cursor. Will make screen
2127 redrawing slower.
2128 When Visual mode is active the highlighting isn't used to make it
2129 easier to see the selected text.
2132 *'debug'*
2133 'debug' string (default "")
2134 global
2135 {not in Vi}
2136 These values can be used:
2137 msg Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2138 anyway.
2139 throw Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2140 anyway and also throw an exception and set |v:errmsg|.
2141 beep A message will be given when otherwise only a beep would be
2142 produced.
2143 The values can be combined, separated by a comma.
2144 "msg" and "throw" are useful for debugging 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr' or
2145 'indentexpr'.
2147 *'define'* *'def'*
2148 'define' 'def' string (default "^\s*#\s*define")
2149 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2150 {not in Vi}
2151 Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search
2152 pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the
2153 commands like "[i" and "[d" |include-search|. The 'isident' option is
2154 used to recognize the defined name after the match:
2155 {match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
2156 See |option-backslash| about inserting backslashes to include a space
2157 or backslash.
2158 The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be
2159 useful, to include const type declarations: >
2160 ^\(#\s*define\|[a-z]*\s*const\s*[a-z]*\)
2161 < When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
2163 *'delcombine'* *'deco'* *'nodelcombine'* *'nodeco'*
2164 'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
2165 global
2166 {not in Vi}
2167 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2168 feature}
2169 If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode
2170 "x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the
2171 default) the character along with its combining characters are
2172 deleted.
2173 Note: When 'delcombine' is set "xx" may work different from "2x"!
2175 This is useful for Arabic, Hebrew and many other languages where one
2176 may have combining characters overtop of base characters, and want
2177 to remove only the combining ones.
2179 *'dictionary'* *'dict'*
2180 'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
2181 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2182 {not in Vi}
2183 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
2184 for keyword completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|. Each file should
2185 contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several
2186 words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is
2187 preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes.
2188 When this option is empty, or an entry "spell" is present, spell
2189 checking is enabled the currently active spelling is used. |spell|
2190 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
2191 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
2192 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
2193 This has nothing to do with the |Dictionary| variable type.
2194 Where to find a list of words?
2195 - On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words".
2196 - In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory.
2197 - In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection.
2198 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2199 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2200 uses another default.
2201 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
2203 *'diff'* *'nodiff'*
2204 'diff' boolean (default off)
2205 local to window
2206 {not in Vi}
2207 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2208 feature}
2209 Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences
2210 between files. See |vimdiff|.
2212 *'dex'* *'diffexpr'*
2213 'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
2214 global
2215 {not in Vi}
2216 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2217 feature}
2218 Expression which is evaluated to obtain an ed-style diff file from two
2219 versions of a file. See |diff-diffexpr|.
2220 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2221 security reasons.
2223 *'dip'* *'diffopt'*
2224 'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "filler")
2225 global
2226 {not in Vi}
2227 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2228 feature}
2229 Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items.
2230 All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
2232 filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
2233 synchronized with a window that has inserted
2234 lines at the same position. Mostly useful
2235 when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind'
2236 is set.
2238 context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
2239 and a fold that contains unchanged lines.
2240 When omitted a context of six lines is used.
2241 See |fold-diff|.
2243 icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
2244 are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag
2245 to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
2247 iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
2248 the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if
2249 'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
2250 of the "diff" command for what this does
2251 exactly. It should ignore adding trailing
2252 white space, but not leading white space.
2254 horizontal Start diff mode with horizontal splits (unless
2255 explicitly specified otherwise).
2257 vertical Start diff mode with vertical splits (unless
2258 explicitly specified otherwise).
2260 foldcolumn:{n} Set the 'foldcolumn' option to {n} when
2261 starting diff mode. Without this 2 is used.
2263 Examples: >
2265 :set diffopt=filler,context:4
2266 :set diffopt=
2267 :set diffopt=filler,foldcolumn:3
2268 <
2269 *'digraph'* *'dg'* *'nodigraph'* *'nodg'*
2270 'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
2271 global
2272 {not in Vi}
2273 {not available when compiled without the |+digraphs|
2274 feature}
2275 Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
2276 {char2}. See |digraphs|.
2277 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2279 *'directory'* *'dir'*
2280 'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
2281 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:\tmp,c:\temp"
2282 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
2283 global
2284 List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas.
2285 - The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
2286 possible.
2287 - Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is
2288 impossible!).
2289 - A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as
2290 the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so
2291 it doesn't show in a directory listing. On MS-Windows the "hidden"
2292 attribute is set and a dot prepended if possible.
2293 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
2294 put the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading
2295 "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
2296 - For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators "//"
2297 or "\\", the swap file name will be built from the complete path to
2298 the file with all path separators substituted to percent '%' signs.
2299 This will ensure file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
2300 On Win32, when a separating comma is following, you must use "//",
2301 since "\\" will include the comma in the file name.
2302 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
2303 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
2304 name, precede it with a backslash.
2305 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
2306 - A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
2307 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2308 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
2309 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
2310 :set dir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
2311 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
2312 of the option is removed.
2313 Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing
2314 the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is
2315 discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file.
2316 "/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better
2317 choice than "/tmp". But it can contain a lot of files, your swap
2318 files get lost in the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your
2319 home directory is tried first.
2320 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2321 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2322 uses another default.
2323 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2324 security reasons.
2325 {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"}
2327 *'display'* *'dy'*
2328 'display' 'dy' string (default "")
2329 global
2330 {not in Vi}
2331 Change the way text is displayed. This is comma separated list of
2332 flags:
2333 lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
2334 in a window will be displayed. When not included, a
2335 last line that doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
2336 uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
2337 instead of using ^C and ~C.
2339 *'eadirection'* *'ead'*
2340 'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
2341 global
2342 {not in Vi}
2343 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
2344 feature}
2345 Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
2346 ver vertically, width of windows is not affected
2347 hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected
2348 both width and height of windows is affected
2350 *'ed'* *'edcompatible'* *'noed'* *'noedcompatible'*
2351 'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
2352 global
2353 Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be
2354 toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See
2355 also 'gdefault' option.
2356 Switching this option on is discouraged!
2358 *'encoding'* *'enc'* *E543*
2359 'encoding' 'enc' string (default: "latin1" or value from $LANG)
2360 global
2361 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2362 feature}
2363 {not in Vi}
2364 Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in
2365 the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the
2366 viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work
2367 with. See |encoding-names| for the possible values.
2369 NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the
2370 existing text in Vim. It may cause non-ASCII text to become invalid.
2371 It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim
2372 starts up. See |multibyte|. To reload the menus see |:menutrans|.
2374 NOTE: For MacVim and GTK+ 2 it is highly recommended to set 'encoding'
2375 to "utf-8". Although care has been taken to allow different values of
2376 'encoding', "utf-8" is the natural choice for the environment and
2377 avoids unnecessary conversion overhead. "utf-8" has not been made
2378 the default to prevent different behavior of the GUI and terminal
2379 versions, and to avoid changing the encoding of newly created files
2380 without your knowledge (in case 'fileencodings' is empty).
2382 The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'.
2383 This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with
2384 iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
2386 If you need to know whether 'encoding' is a multi-byte encoding, you
2387 can use: >
2388 if has("multi_byte_encoding")
2389 <
2390 Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will
2391 be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If
2392 'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be
2393 set to convert typed and displayed text. See |encoding-table|.
2395 When you set this option, it fires the |EncodingChanged| autocommand
2396 event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
2398 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2399 you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated
2400 to '-' signs.
2401 When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name.
2402 For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes
2403 "iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
2405 Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected.
2406 This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the
2407 actual character set is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and
2408 'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using
2409 utf-8.
2411 When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8.
2412 You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the
2413 |viminfo-file|. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus
2414 setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has
2415 effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
2417 When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was
2418 not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
2420 *'endofline'* *'eol'* *'noendofline'* *'noeol'*
2421 'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
2422 local to buffer
2423 {not in Vi}
2424 When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
2425 is on, no <EOL> will be written for the last line in the file. This
2426 option is automatically set when starting to edit a new file, unless
2427 the file does not have an <EOL> for the last line in the file, in
2428 which case it is reset. Normally you don't have to set or reset this
2429 option. When 'binary' is off the value is not used when writing the
2430 file. When 'binary' is on it is used to remember the presence of a
2431 <EOL> for the last line in the file, so that when you write the file
2432 the situation from the original file can be kept. But you can change
2433 it if you want to.
2435 *'equalalways'* *'ea'* *'noequalalways'* *'noea'*
2436 'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
2437 global
2438 {not in Vi}
2439 When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after
2440 splitting or closing a window. This also happens the moment the
2441 option is switched on. When off, splitting a window will reduce the
2442 size of the current window and leave the other windows the same. When
2443 closing a window the extra lines are given to the window next to it
2444 (depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright').
2445 When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size
2446 is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The
2447 'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected.
2448 Changing the height and width of a window can be avoided by setting
2449 'winfixheight' and 'winfixwidth', respectively.
2451 *'equalprg'* *'ep'*
2452 'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
2453 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2454 {not in Vi}
2455 External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty
2456 the internal formatting functions are used; either 'lisp', 'cindent'
2457 or 'indentexpr'.
2458 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
2459 about including spaces and backslashes.
2460 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2461 security reasons.
2463 *'errorbells'* *'eb'* *'noerrorbells'* *'noeb'*
2464 'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
2465 global
2466 Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only
2467 makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always
2468 for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal
2469 mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep,
2470 screen flash or do nothing.
2472 *'errorfile'* *'ef'*
2473 'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
2474 others: "errors.err")
2475 global
2476 {not in Vi}
2477 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2478 feature}
2479 Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see |:cf|).
2480 When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the
2481 following argument. See |-q|.
2482 NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that.
2483 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2484 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
2485 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2486 security reasons.
2488 *'errorformat'* *'efm'*
2489 'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
2490 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2491 {not in Vi}
2492 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2493 feature}
2494 Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file
2495 (see |errorformat|).
2497 *'esckeys'* *'ek'* *'noesckeys'* *'noek'*
2498 'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
2499 global
2500 {not in Vi}
2501 Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert
2502 mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be
2503 used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of
2504 this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of
2505 after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to
2506 try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that
2507 when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys
2508 won't work by default.
2509 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2510 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2512 *'eventignore'* *'ei'*
2513 'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
2514 global
2515 {not in Vi}
2516 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2517 feature}
2518 A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored.
2519 When set to "all" or when "all" is one of the items, all autocommand
2520 events are ignored, autocommands will not be executed.
2521 Otherwise this is a comma separated list of event names. Example: >
2522 :set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
2523 <
2524 *'expandtab'* *'et'* *'noexpandtab'* *'noet'*
2525 'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
2526 local to buffer
2527 {not in Vi}
2528 In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
2529 <Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
2530 when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
2531 on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|.
2532 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2534 *'exrc'* *'ex'* *'noexrc'* *'noex'*
2535 'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
2536 global
2537 {not in Vi}
2538 Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current
2539 directory. If you switch this option on you should also consider
2540 setting the 'secure' option (see |initialization|). Using a local
2541 .exrc, .vimrc or .gvimrc is a potential security leak, use with care!
2542 also see |.vimrc| and |gui-init|.
2543 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2544 security reasons.
2546 *'fileencoding'* *'fenc'* *E213*
2547 'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
2548 local to buffer
2549 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2550 feature}
2551 {not in Vi}
2552 Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer.
2553 When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be
2554 done when reading and writing the file.
2555 When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be
2556 used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
2557 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2558 'encoding' is "utf-8" conversion is most likely done in a way
2559 that the reverse conversion results in the same text. When
2560 'encoding' is not "utf-8" some characters may be lost!
2561 See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
2562 specified that can be handled by the converter, see
2563 |mbyte-conversion|.
2564 When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'.
2565 To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting
2566 'fileencoding', use the |++enc| argument. One exception: when
2567 'fileencodings' is empty the value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2568 For a new file the global value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2569 Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored.
2570 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2571 you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are
2572 replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for
2573 'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example
2574 "ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2".
2575 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2576 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2577 If you do this in a modeline, you might want to set 'nomodified' to
2578 avoid this.
2579 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2581 *'fe'*
2582 NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the
2583 whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The
2584 old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
2586 *'fileencodings'* *'fencs'*
2587 'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom",
2588 "ucs-bom,utf-8,default,latin1" when
2589 'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
2590 global
2591 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2592 feature}
2593 {not in Vi}
2594 This is a list of character encodings considered when starting to edit
2595 an existing file. When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first
2596 mentioned character encoding. If an error is detected, the next one
2597 in the list is tried. When an encoding is found that works,
2598 'fileencoding' is set to it. If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to
2599 an empty string, which means the value of 'encoding' is used.
2600 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2601 'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants)
2602 conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse
2603 conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not
2604 "utf-8" some non-ASCII characters may be lost! You can use
2605 the |++bad| argument to specify what is done with characters
2606 that can't be converted.
2607 For an empty file or a file with only ASCII characters most encodings
2608 will work and the first entry of 'fileencodings' will be used (except
2609 "ucs-bom", which requires the BOM to be present). If you prefer
2610 another encoding use an BufReadPost autocommand event to test if your
2611 preferred encoding is to be used. Example: >
2612 au BufReadPost * if search('\S', 'w') == 0 |
2613 \ set fenc=iso-2022-jp | endif
2614 < This sets 'fileencoding' to "iso-2022-jp" if the file does not contain
2615 non-blank characters.
2616 When the |++enc| argument is used then the value of 'fileencodings' is
2617 not used.
2618 Note that 'fileencodings' is not used for a new file, the global value
2619 of 'fileencoding' is used instead. You can set it with: >
2620 :setglobal fenc=iso-8859-2
2621 < This means that a non-existing file may get a different encoding than
2622 an empty file.
2623 The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM
2624 (Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded
2625 by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly.
2626 An entry for an 8-bit encoding (e.g., "latin1") should be the last,
2627 because Vim cannot detect an error, thus the encoding is always
2628 accepted.
2629 The special value "default" can be used for the encoding from the
2630 environment. This is the default value for 'encoding'. It is useful
2631 when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and your environment uses a
2632 non-latin1 encoding, such as Russian.
2633 When 'encoding' is "utf-8" and a file contains an illegal byte
2634 sequence it won't be recognized as UTF-8. You can use the |8g8|
2635 command to find the illegal byte sequence.
2636 WRONG VALUES: WHAT'S WRONG:
2637 latin1,utf-8 "latin1" will always be used
2638 utf-8,ucs-bom,latin1 BOM won't be recognized in an utf-8
2639 file
2640 cp1250,latin1 "cp1250" will always be used
2641 If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified.
2642 See 'fileencoding' for the possible values.
2643 Setting this option does not have an effect until the next time a file
2644 is read.
2646 *'fileformat'* *'ff'*
2647 'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2 default: "dos",
2648 Unix default: "unix",
2649 Macintosh default: "mac")
2650 local to buffer
2651 {not in Vi}
2652 This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for
2653 reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
2654 dos <CR> <NL>
2655 unix <NL>
2656 mac <CR>
2657 When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored.
2658 See |file-formats| and |file-read|.
2659 For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'.
2660 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O
2661 works like it was set to "unix'.
2662 This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and
2663 'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off.
2664 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2665 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2666 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2667 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos",
2668 'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
2670 *'fileformats'* *'ffs'*
2671 'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
2672 Vim+Vi MS-DOS, MS-Windows OS/2: "dos,unix",
2673 Vim Unix: "unix,dos",
2674 Vim Mac: "mac,unix,dos",
2675 Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos",
2676 Vi others: "")
2677 global
2678 {not in Vi}
2679 This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried when
2680 starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into an existing
2681 buffer:
2682 - When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
2683 always. It is not set automatically.
2684 - When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer
2685 is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The
2686 'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing
2687 buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
2688 - When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic
2689 <EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to
2690 edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>:
2691 1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
2692 'fileformat' is set to "dos".
2693 2. If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat'
2694 is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a
2695 preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
2696 3. If 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2697 This means that "mac" is only chosen when "unix" is not present,
2698 or when no <NL> is found in the file, and when "dos" is not
2699 present, or no <CR><NL> is present in the file.
2700 Also if "unix" was first chosen, but the first <CR> is before
2701 the first <NL> and there appears to be more <CR>'s than <NL>'s in
2702 the file, then 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2703 4. If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from
2704 'fileformats' is used.
2705 When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but
2706 this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that
2707 file only, the option is not changed.
2708 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
2710 For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that
2711 are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be
2712 done:
2713 - When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
2714 format will be used.
2715 - When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection
2716 is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a
2717 <CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is
2718 used.
2719 Also see |file-formats|.
2720 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty
2721 string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset,
2722 otherwise 'textauto' is set.
2723 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2724 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2726 *'filetype'* *'ft'*
2727 'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
2728 local to buffer
2729 {not in Vi}
2730 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2731 feature}
2732 When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered.
2733 All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be
2734 executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file
2735 name.
2736 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type.
2737 This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable
2738 this use the ":filetype on" command. |:filetype|
2739 Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline,
2740 for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized.
2741 Example, for in an IDL file:
2742 /* vim: set filetype=idl : */ ~
2743 |FileType| |filetypes|
2744 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
2745 names. Example:
2746 /* vim: set filetype=c.doxygen : */ ~
2747 This will use the "c" filetype first, then the "doxygen" filetype.
2748 This works both for filetype plugins and for syntax files. More than
2749 one dot may appear.
2750 Do not confuse this option with 'osfiletype', which is for the file
2751 type that is actually stored with the file.
2752 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
2753 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
2754 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
2756 *'fillchars'* *'fcs'*
2757 'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:|,fold:-")
2758 global
2759 {not in Vi}
2760 {not available when compiled without the |+windows|
2761 and |+folding| features}
2762 Characters to fill the statuslines and vertical separators.
2763 It is a comma separated list of items:
2765 item default Used for ~
2766 stl:c ' ' or '^' statusline of the current window
2767 stlnc:c ' ' or '-' statusline of the non-current windows
2768 vert:c '|' vertical separators |:vsplit|
2769 fold:c '-' filling 'foldtext'
2770 diff:c '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
2772 Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default. For "stl" and
2773 "stlnc" the space will be used when there is highlighting, '^' or '-'
2774 otherwise.
2776 Example: >
2777 :set fillchars=stl:^,stlnc:-,vert:\|,fold:-,diff:-
2778 < This is similar to the default, except that these characters will also
2779 be used when there is highlighting.
2781 for "stl" and "stlnc" only single-byte values are supported.
2783 The highlighting used for these items:
2784 item highlight group ~
2785 stl:c StatusLine |hl-StatusLine|
2786 stlnc:c StatusLineNC |hl-StatusLineNC|
2787 vert:c VertSplit |hl-VertSplit|
2788 fold:c Folded |hl-Folded|
2789 diff:c DiffDelete |hl-DiffDelete|
2791 *'fkmap'* *'fk'* *'nofkmap'* *'nofk'*
2792 'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off) *E198*
2793 global
2794 {not in Vi}
2795 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
2796 feature}
2797 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Farsi character set.
2798 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
2799 toggle this option |i_CTRL-_|. See |farsi.txt|.
2801 *'foldclose'* *'fcl'*
2802 'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
2803 global
2804 {not in Vi}
2805 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2806 feature}
2807 When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and
2808 its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you want folds to
2809 automatically close when moving out of them.
2811 *'foldcolumn'* *'fdc'*
2812 'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
2813 local to window
2814 {not in Vi}
2815 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2816 feature}
2817 When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side
2818 of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum
2819 value is 12.
2820 See |folding|.
2822 *'foldenable'* *'fen'* *'nofoldenable'* *'nofen'*
2823 'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default on)
2824 local to window
2825 {not in Vi}
2826 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2827 feature}
2828 When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly
2829 switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with
2830 folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled
2831 with the |zi| command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when
2832 'foldenable' is off.
2833 This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold.
2834 See |folding|.
2836 *'foldexpr'* *'fde'*
2837 'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
2838 local to window
2839 {not in Vi}
2840 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2841 or |+eval| feature}
2842 The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated
2843 for each line to obtain its fold level. See |fold-expr|.
2845 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2846 |sandbox-option|.
2848 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2849 evaluating 'foldexpr' |textlock|.
2851 *'foldignore'* *'fdi'*
2852 'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
2853 local to window
2854 {not in Vi}
2855 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2856 feature}
2857 Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with
2858 characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding
2859 lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character.
2860 The default "#" works well for C programs. See |fold-indent|.
2862 *'foldlevel'* *'fdl'*
2863 'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
2864 local to window
2865 {not in Vi}
2866 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2867 feature}
2868 Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed.
2869 Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will
2870 close fewer folds.
2871 This option is set by commands like |zm|, |zM| and |zR|.
2872 See |fold-foldlevel|.
2874 *'foldlevelstart'* *'fdls'*
2875 'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
2876 global
2877 {not in Vi}
2878 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2879 feature}
2880 Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window.
2881 Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero),
2882 some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99).
2883 This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline
2884 overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for |diff-mode| also
2885 ignores this option and closes all folds.
2886 It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to
2887 overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files.
2888 When the value is negative, it is not used.
2890 *'foldmarker'* *'fmr'* *E536*
2891 'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
2892 local to window
2893 {not in Vi}
2894 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2895 feature}
2896 The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There
2897 must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The
2898 marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow).
2899 See |fold-marker|.
2901 *'foldmethod'* *'fdm'*
2902 'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
2903 local to window
2904 {not in Vi}
2905 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2906 feature}
2907 The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values:
2908 |fold-manual| manual Folds are created manually.
2909 |fold-indent| indent Lines with equal indent form a fold.
2910 |fold-expr| expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line.
2911 |fold-marker| marker Markers are used to specify folds.
2912 |fold-syntax| syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds.
2913 |fold-diff| diff Fold text that is not changed.
2915 *'foldminlines'* *'fml'*
2916 'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
2917 local to window
2918 {not in Vi}
2919 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2920 feature}
2921 Sets the minimum number of screen lines for a fold to be displayed
2922 closed. Also for manually closed folds.
2923 Note that this only has an effect of what is displayed. After using
2924 "zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller
2925 than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
2927 *'foldnestmax'* *'fdn'*
2928 'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
2929 local to window
2930 {not in Vi}
2931 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2932 feature}
2933 Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax"
2934 methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more
2935 than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
2937 *'foldopen'* *'fdo'*
2938 'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
2939 search,tag,undo")
2940 global
2941 {not in Vi}
2942 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2943 feature}
2944 Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the
2945 command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma separated
2946 list of items.
2947 item commands ~
2948 all any
2949 block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc.
2950 hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc.
2951 insert any command in Insert mode
2952 jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc.
2953 mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc.
2954 percent "%"
2955 quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc.
2956 search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
2957 (not for a search pattern in a ":" command)
2958 Also for |[s| and |]s|.
2959 tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc.
2960 undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
2961 When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used. Add
2962 the |zv| command to the mapping to get the same effect.
2963 When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%")
2964 this option is not used. This means the operator will include the
2965 whole closed fold.
2966 Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it
2967 very difficult to move onto a closed fold.
2968 In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open
2969 when text is inserted.
2970 To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the |zx| command or
2971 set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
2973 *'foldtext'* *'fdt'*
2974 'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
2975 local to window
2976 {not in Vi}
2977 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2978 feature}
2979 An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed
2980 fold. See |fold-foldtext|.
2982 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2983 |sandbox-option|.
2985 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2986 evaluating 'foldtext' |textlock|.
2988 *'formatoptions'* *'fo'*
2989 'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
2990 local to buffer
2991 {not in Vi}
2992 This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic
2993 formatting is to be done. See |fo-table|. When the 'paste' option is
2994 on, no formatting is done (like 'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can
2995 be inserted for readability.
2996 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
2997 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
2998 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2999 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3001 *'formatlistpat'* *'flp'*
3002 'formatlistpat' 'flp' string (default: "^\s*\d\+[\]:.)}\t ]\s*")
3003 local to buffer
3004 {not in Vi}
3005 A pattern that is used to recognize a list header. This is used for
3006 the "n" flag in 'formatoptions'.
3007 The pattern must match exactly the text that will be the indent for
3008 the line below it. You can use |/\ze| to mark the end of the match
3009 while still checking more characters. There must be a character
3010 following the pattern, when it matches the whole line it is handled
3011 like there is no match.
3012 The default recognizes a number, followed by an optional punctuation
3013 character and white space.
3015 *'formatprg'* *'fp'*
3016 'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
3017 global
3018 {not in Vi}
3019 The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines
3020 selected with the |gq| operator. The program must take the input on
3021 stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is
3022 such a program.
3023 If the 'formatexpr' option is not empty it will be used instead.
3024 Otherwise, if 'formatprg' option is an empty string, the internal
3025 format function will be used |C-indenting|.
3026 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
3027 about including spaces and backslashes.
3028 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3029 |sandbox-option|.
3031 *'formatexpr'* *'fex'*
3032 'formatexpr' 'fex' string (default "")
3033 local to buffer
3034 {not in Vi}
3035 {not available when compiled without the |+eval|
3036 feature}
3037 Expression which is evaluated to format a range of lines for the |gq|
3038 operator. When this option is empty 'formatprg' is used.
3040 The |v:lnum| variable holds the first line to be formatted.
3041 The |v:count| variable holds the number of lines to be formatted.
3042 The |v:char| variable holds the character that is going to be
3043 inserted. This can be empty. Don't insert it yet!
3045 Example: >
3046 :set formatexpr=mylang#Format()
3047 < This will invoke the mylang#Format() function in the
3048 autoload/mylang.vim file in 'runtimepath'. |autoload|
3050 The expression is also evaluated when 'textwidth' is set and adding
3051 text beyond that limit. This happens under the same conditions as
3052 when internal formatting is used. Make sure the cursor is kept in the
3053 same spot relative to the text then! The |mode()| function will
3054 return "i" or "R" in this situation. When the function returns
3055 non-zero Vim will fall back to using the internal format mechanism.
3057 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3058 |sandbox-option|.
3060 *'fsync'* *'fs'* *'nofsync'* *'nofs'*
3061 'fsync' 'fs' boolean (default on)
3062 global
3063 {not in Vi}
3064 When on, the library function fsync() will be called after writing a
3065 file. This will flush a file to disk, ensuring that it is safely
3066 written even on filesystems which do metadata-only journaling. This
3067 will force the harddrive to spin up on Linux systems running in laptop
3068 mode, so it may be undesirable in some situations. Be warned that
3069 turning this off increases the chances of data loss after a crash. On
3070 systems without an fsync() implementation, this variable is always
3071 off.
3072 Also see 'swapsync' for controlling fsync() on swap files.
3074 *'fullscreen'* *'fu'* *'nofullscreen'* *'nofu'*
3075 'fullscreen' 'fu' boolean (default off)
3076 global
3077 {not in Vi}
3078 {only in MacVim GUI}
3079 When this option is set, the whole screen is covered by Vim. Screen
3080 decorations drawn by the operating system (such as the dock or the
3081 menu bar) are hidden. Most of Vim's window chrome is hidden as well
3082 (e.g. toolbar, title bar). The tab bar and scroll bars remain visible.
3083 Updates to the window position are ignored in fullscreen mode.
3085 See 'fuoptions' for how Vim resizes and colors the background when
3086 entering and leaving fullscreen mode.
3088 Note: Setting 'fullscreen' usually changes the size of the Vim
3089 control. However, for technical reasons, 'lines' and 'columns' will
3090 currently only be updated when Vim runs its event loop. As a
3091 consequence, if you set 'fullscreen' and 'lines' or 'columns' in a
3092 Vim script file, you should always set 'fullscreen' after setting
3093 'lines' and 'columns', else 'lines' and 'columns' will be overwritten
3094 with the values 'fullscreen' sets after the script has been executed
3095 and the event loop is ran again.
3097 XXX: Add fuenter/fuleave autocommands? You might want to display
3098 a NERDTree or a Tlist only in fullscreen for example. Then again, this
3099 could probably be in a sizechanged autocommand that triggers if the
3100 size is above a certain threshold.
3101 XXX: Think about how 'fullscreen' and 'transparency' should interact.
3103 *'fuoptions'* *'fuopt'*
3104 'fuoptions' 'fuopt' string (default "maxvert")
3105 global
3106 {not in Vi}
3107 {only in MacVim GUI}
3108 In fullscreen mode, most of the screen is black, only a part of the
3109 screen is covered by the actual Vim control. The control is centered.
3110 This option controls the size of the Vim control as well as the color
3111 of the unused screen area.
3112 value effect ~
3113 maxvert When entering fullscreen, 'lines' is set to the maximum number
3114 of lines fitting on the screen in fullscreen mode. When
3115 leaving fullscreen, if 'lines' is still equal to the maximized
3116 number of lines, it is restored to the value it had before
3117 entering fullscreen.
3118 maxhorz When entering fullscreen, 'columns' is set to the maximum number
3119 of columns fitting on the screen in fullscreen mode. When
3120 leaving fullscreen, if 'columns' is still equal to the maximized
3121 number of columns, it is restored to the value it had before
3122 entering fullscreen.
3123 background:color
3124 When entering fullscreen, 'color' defines the color of the part
3125 of the screen that is not occupied by the Vim control. If
3126 'color' is an 8-digit hexadecimal number preceded by '#',
3127 it is interpreted as an explicit color value '#aarrggbb', with
3128 one byte each for the alpha, red, green, and blue values.
3129 Otherwise, 'color' is interpreted as a highlight group name,
3130 and the fullscreen background is filled with that highlight
3131 group's background color, as defined by the current color
3132 scheme.
3134 Examples:
3135 Don't change size of Vim when entering fullscreen: >
3136 :set fuoptions=
3137 < Maximize Vim when entering fullscreen: >
3138 :set fuoptions=maxvert,maxhorz
3139 < Maximize Vim only vertically when entering fullscreen, and color the
3140 background dark blue: >
3141 :set fuoptions=maxvert,background:#FF003042
3142 < Don't change the size of Vim when entering fullscreen, and color the
3143 background like the current text background: >
3144 :set fuoptions=background:Normal
3145 <
3146 XXX: what if the font size is changed? you probably never want to
3147 restore the old 'lines' or 'columns' in that case.
3148 XXX: Each time the Vim window resizes (for example due to font size
3149 changes, re-maximize Vim to fullscreen?)
3150 XXX: The approach doesn't restore vertical Vim size if fu is entered
3151 without tabs and leaves with tabs (or the other way round).
3155 *'gdefault'* *'gd'* *'nogdefault'* *'nogd'*
3156 'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
3157 global
3158 {not in Vi}
3159 When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that
3160 all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag
3161 is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
3162 of all or one match. See |complex-change|.
3164 command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off ~
3165 :s/// subst. all subst. one
3166 :s///g subst. one subst. all
3167 :s///gg subst. all subst. one
3169 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3171 *'grepformat'* *'gfm'*
3172 'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
3173 global
3174 {not in Vi}
3175 Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output.
3176 This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the
3177 'errorformat' option: see |errorformat|.
3179 *'grepprg'* *'gp'*
3180 'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
3181 Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null",
3182 Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
3183 VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
3184 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3185 {not in Vi}
3186 Program to use for the |:grep| command. This option may contain '%'
3187 and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-
3188 line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments
3189 will be included. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See
3190 |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3191 When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep"
3192 also work well with a single file: >
3193 :set grepprg=grep\ -nH
3194 < Special value: When 'grepprg' is set to "internal" the |:grep| command
3195 works like |:vimgrep|, |:lgrep| like |:lvimgrep|, |:grepadd| like
3196 |:vimgrepadd| and |:lgrepadd| like |:lvimgrepadd|.
3197 See also the section |:make_makeprg|, since most of the comments there
3198 apply equally to 'grepprg'.
3199 For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found,
3200 otherwise it's "grep -n".
3201 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3202 security reasons.
3204 *'guicursor'* *'gcr'* *E545* *E546* *E548* *E549*
3205 'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
3206 ve:ver35-Cursor,
3207 o:hor50-Cursor,
3208 i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,
3209 r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,
3210 sm:block-Cursor
3211 -blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175",
3212 for MS-DOS and Win32 console:
3213 "n-v-c:block,o:hor50,i-ci:hor15,
3214 r-cr:hor30,sm:block")
3215 global
3216 {not in Vi}
3217 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and
3218 for MS-DOS and Win32 console}
3219 This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different
3220 modes. It fully works in the GUI. In an MSDOS or Win32 console, only
3221 the height of the cursor can be changed. This can be done by
3222 specifying a block cursor, or a percentage for a vertical or
3223 horizontal cursor.
3224 For a console the 't_SI' and 't_EI' escape sequences are used.
3226 The option is a comma separated list of parts. Each part consist of a
3227 mode-list and an argument-list:
3228 mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
3229 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
3230 n Normal mode
3231 v Visual mode
3232 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
3233 if not specified)
3234 o Operator-pending mode
3235 i Insert mode
3236 r Replace mode
3237 c Command-line Normal (append) mode
3238 ci Command-line Insert mode
3239 cr Command-line Replace mode
3240 sm showmatch in Insert mode
3241 a all modes
3242 The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
3243 hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height
3244 ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width
3245 block block cursor, fills the whole character
3246 [only one of the above three should be present]
3247 blinkwait{N} *cursor-blinking*
3248 blinkon{N}
3249 blinkoff{N}
3250 blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before
3251 the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that
3252 the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the
3253 cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one
3254 of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The
3255 default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250".
3256 These numbers are used for a missing entry. This
3257 means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch
3258 blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only
3259 blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while
3260 executing a command.
3261 To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see
3262 |xterm-blink|.
3263 {group-name}
3264 a highlight group name, that sets the color and font
3265 for the cursor
3266 {group-name}/{group-name}
3267 Two highlight group names, the first is used when
3268 no language mappings are used, the other when they
3269 are. |language-mapping|
3271 Examples of parts:
3272 n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
3273 block cursor with colors from the "nCursor"
3274 highlight group
3275 i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
3276 In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a
3277 30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the
3278 "iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit
3279 faster.
3281 The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for
3282 all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used
3283 to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off
3284 blinking: "a:blinkon0"
3286 Examples of cursor highlighting: >
3287 :highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE
3288 :highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
3289 <
3290 *'guifont'* *'gfn'*
3291 *E235* *E596* *E610* *E611*
3292 'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
3293 global
3294 {not in Vi}
3295 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3296 This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim.
3297 In its simplest form the value is just one font name. When
3298 the font cannot be found you will get an error message. To try other
3299 font names a list can be specified, font names separated with commas.
3300 The first valid font is used.
3302 On systems where 'guifontset' is supported (X11) and 'guifontset' is
3303 not empty, then 'guifont' is not used.
3305 Spaces after a comma are ignored. To include a comma in a font name
3306 precede it with a backslash. Setting an option requires an extra
3307 backslash before a space and a backslash. See also
3308 |option-backslash|. For example: >
3309 :set guifont=Screen15,\ 7x13,font\\,with\\,commas
3310 < will make Vim try to use the font "Screen15" first, and if it fails it
3311 will try to use "7x13" and then "font,with,commas" instead.
3313 If none of the fonts can be loaded, Vim will keep the current setting.
3314 If an empty font list is given, Vim will try using other resource
3315 settings (for X, it will use the Vim.font resource), and finally it
3316 will try some builtin default which should always be there ("7x13" in
3317 the case of X). The font names given should be "normal" fonts. Vim
3318 will try to find the related bold and italic fonts.
3320 For Win32, GTK, Mac OS and Photon: >
3321 :set guifont=*
3322 < will bring up a font requester, where you can pick the font you want.
3323 In MacVim ":set guifont=*" calls: >
3324 :macaction orderFrontFontPanel:
3325 < which is the same as choosing "Show Fonts..." from the main menu.
3327 The font name depends on the GUI used. See |setting-guifont| for a
3328 way to set 'guifont' for various systems.
3330 For the GTK+ 2 GUI the font name looks like this: >
3331 :set guifont=Andale\ Mono\ 11
3332 < That's all. XLFDs are not used. For Chinese this is reported to work
3333 well: >
3334 if has("gui_gtk2")
3335 set guifont=Bitstream\ Vera\ Sans\ Mono\ 12,Fixed\ 12
3336 set guifontwide=Microsoft\ Yahei\ 12,WenQuanYi\ Zen\ Hei\ 12
3337 endif
3338 <
3339 For Mac OSX you can use something like this: >
3340 :set guifont=Monaco:h10
3341 < Also see 'macatsui', it can help fix display problems {not in MacVim}.
3342 In MacVim, fonts with spaces are set like this: >
3343 :set guifont=DejaVu\ Sans\ Mono:h13
3344 <
3345 *E236*
3346 Note that the fonts must be mono-spaced (all characters have the same
3347 width). An exception is MacVim and GTK 2: all fonts are accepted, but
3348 mono-spaced fonts look best.
3350 To preview a font on X11, you might be able to use the "xfontsel"
3351 program. The "xlsfonts" program gives a list of all available fonts.
3353 For the Win32 GUI *E244* *E245*
3354 - takes these options in the font name:
3355 hXX - height is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3356 wXX - width is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3357 b - bold
3358 i - italic
3359 u - underline
3360 s - strikeout
3361 cXX - character set XX. Valid charsets are: ANSI, ARABIC,
3362 BALTIC, CHINESEBIG5, DEFAULT, EASTEUROPE, GB2312, GREEK,
3363 HANGEUL, HEBREW, JOHAB, MAC, OEM, RUSSIAN, SHIFTJIS,
3364 SYMBOL, THAI, TURKISH, VIETNAMESE ANSI and BALTIC.
3365 Normally you would use "cDEFAULT".
3367 Use a ':' to separate the options.
3368 - A '_' can be used in the place of a space, so you don't need to use
3369 backslashes to escape the spaces.
3370 - Examples: >
3371 :set guifont=courier_new:h12:w5:b:cRUSSIAN
3372 :set guifont=Andale_Mono:h7.5:w4.5
3373 < See also |font-sizes|.
3375 *'guifontset'* *'gfs'*
3376 *E250* *E252* *E234* *E597* *E598*
3377 'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
3378 global
3379 {not in Vi}
3380 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3381 with the |+xfontset| feature}
3382 {not available in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
3383 When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first
3384 one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See
3385 |xfontset|.
3386 Setting this option also means that all font names will be handled as
3387 a fontset name. Also the ones used for the "font" argument of the
3388 |:highlight| command.
3389 The fonts must match with the current locale. If fonts for the
3390 character sets that the current locale uses are not included, setting
3391 'guifontset' will fail.
3392 Note the difference between 'guifont' and 'guifontset': In 'guifont'
3393 the comma-separated names are alternative names, one of which will be
3394 used. In 'guifontset' the whole string is one fontset name,
3395 including the commas. It is not possible to specify alternative
3396 fontset names.
3397 This example works on many X11 systems: >
3398 :set guifontset=-*-*-medium-r-normal--16-*-*-*-c-*-*-*
3399 <
3400 *'guifontwide'* *'gfw'* *E231* *E533* *E534*
3401 'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
3402 global
3403 {not in Vi}
3404 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3405 When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used
3406 for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is
3407 used.
3408 Note: The size of these fonts must be exactly twice as wide as the one
3409 specified with 'guifont' and the same height.
3411 All GUI versions but MacVim and GTK+ 2:
3413 'guifontwide' is only used when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and
3414 'guifontset' is empty or invalid.
3415 When 'guifont' is set and a valid font is found in it and
3416 'guifontwide' is empty Vim will attempt to find a matching
3417 double-width font and set 'guifontwide' to it.
3419 MacVim only: *guifontwide_macvim*
3421 MacVim performs automatic font substitution. If 'guifontwide' is set,
3422 that font will be used for all wide fonts. However, if a glyph is
3423 not available in the wide font, then font substitution is still used.
3425 GTK+ 2 GUI only: *guifontwide_gtk2*
3427 If set and valid, 'guifontwide' is always used for double width
3428 characters, even if 'encoding' is not set to "utf-8".
3429 Vim does not attempt to find an appropriate value for 'guifontwide'
3430 automatically. If 'guifontwide' is empty Pango/Xft will choose the
3431 font for characters not available in 'guifont'. Thus you do not need
3432 to set 'guifontwide' at all unless you want to override the choice
3433 made by Pango/Xft.
3435 *'guiheadroom'* *'ghr'*
3436 'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
3437 global
3438 {not in Vi} {only for GTK and X11 GUI}
3439 The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting
3440 the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started,
3441 e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will
3442 be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel
3443 lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the
3444 screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the
3445 screen.
3447 *'guioptions'* *'go'*
3448 'guioptions' 'go' string (default "gmrLtT" (MS-Windows),
3449 "agimrLtT" (GTK, Motif and Athena))
3450 global
3451 {not in Vi}
3452 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3453 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim. It is a
3454 sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the
3455 GUI should be used.
3456 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3457 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3459 Valid letters are as follows:
3460 *guioptions_a* *'go-a'*
3461 'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
3462 or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of
3463 the windowing system's global selection. This means that the
3464 Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other
3465 applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode
3466 ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an
3467 application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text
3468 is automatically yanked into the "* selection register.
3469 Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other
3470 applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
3471 If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
3472 windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to
3473 by a yank or delete operation for the "* register.
3474 The same applies to the modeless selection.
3475 *'go-A'*
3476 'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
3477 applies to the modeless selection.
3479 'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless ~
3480 "" - -
3481 "a" yes yes
3482 "A" - yes
3483 "aA" yes yes
3485 *'go-c'*
3486 'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
3487 choices.
3488 *'go-e'*
3489 'e' Add tab pages when indicated with 'showtabline'.
3490 'guitablabel' can be used to change the text in the labels.
3491 When 'e' is missing a non-GUI tab pages line may be used.
3492 The GUI tabs are only supported on some systems, currently
3493 GTK, Motif, Mac OS/X and MS-Windows.
3494 *'go-f'*
3495 'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
3496 where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the
3497 editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you
3498 can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the
3499 foreground. |gui-fork|
3500 Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have
3501 happened already when the |gvimrc| file is read.
3502 MacVim does not support this flag due to limitations with
3503 forking on Mac OS X.
3504 *'go-i'*
3505 'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
3506 corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of
3507 limitations of X11. For a color icon, see |X11-icon|.
3508 *'go-m'*
3509 'm' Menu bar is present.
3510 *'go-M'*
3511 'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
3512 that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before
3513 switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the |gvimrc|
3514 file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the
3515 ":syntax on" and ":filetype on" commands load the menu too).
3516 *'go-g'*
3517 'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
3518 'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all.
3519 Exception: Athena will always use grey menu items.
3520 *'go-t'*
3521 't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
3522 GTK+, MacVim, and Motif 1.2 GUI.
3523 *'go-T'*
3524 'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif, Photon
3525 and Athena GUIs.
3526 *'go-r'*
3527 'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present.
3528 *'go-R'*
3529 'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3530 split window.
3531 *'go-l'*
3532 'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present.
3533 *'go-L'*
3534 'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3535 split window.
3536 *'go-b'*
3537 'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present. Its size depends on
3538 the longest visible line, or on the cursor line if the 'h'
3539 flag is included. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3540 *'go-h'*
3541 'h' Limit horizontal scrollbar size to the length of the cursor
3542 line. Reduces computations. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3544 And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if
3545 you really want to :-). See |gui-scrollbars| for more information.
3547 *'go-v'*
3548 'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
3549 a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a
3550 vertical layout is used anyway.
3551 *'go-p'*
3552 'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
3553 window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at
3554 the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done
3555 before starting the GUI. Set it in your |gvimrc|. Adding or
3556 removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
3557 *'go-F'*
3558 'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See |gui-footer|.
3561 *'guipty'* *'noguipty'*
3562 'guipty' boolean (default on)
3563 global
3564 {not in Vi}
3565 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3566 Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for
3567 I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.
3569 *'guitablabel'* *'gtl'*
3570 'guitablabel' 'gtl' string (default empty)
3571 global
3572 {not in Vi}
3573 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3574 with the +windows feature}
3575 When nonempty describes the text to use in a label of the GUI tab
3576 pages line. When empty and when the result is empty Vim will use a
3577 default label. See |setting-guitablabel| for more info.
3579 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
3580 'guitabtooltip' is used for the tooltip, see below.
3582 Only used when the GUI tab pages line is displayed. 'e' must be
3583 present in 'guioptions'. For the non-GUI tab pages line 'tabline' is
3584 used.
3586 *'guitabtooltip'* *'gtt'*
3587 'guitabtooltip' 'gtt' string (default empty)
3588 global
3589 {not in Vi}
3590 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3591 with the +windows feature}
3592 When nonempty describes the text to use in a tooltip for the GUI tab
3593 pages line. When empty Vim will use a default tooltip.
3594 This option is otherwise just like 'guitablabel' above.
3595 You can include a line break. Simplest method is to use |:let|: >
3596 :let &guitabtooltip = "line one\nline two"
3597 <
3599 *'helpfile'* *'hf'*
3600 'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MSDOS) "$VIMRUNTIME\doc\help.txt"
3601 (others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
3602 global
3603 {not in Vi}
3604 Name of the main help file. All distributed help files should be
3605 placed together in one directory. Additionally, all "doc" directories
3606 in 'runtimepath' will be used.
3607 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example:
3608 "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM is also
3609 tried. Also see |$VIMRUNTIME| and |option-backslash| about including
3610 spaces and backslashes.
3611 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3612 security reasons.
3614 *'helpheight'* *'hh'*
3615 'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
3616 global
3617 {not in Vi}
3618 {not available when compiled without the +windows
3619 feature}
3620 Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the
3621 ":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the
3622 current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other
3623 windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is
3624 set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
3626 *'helplang'* *'hlg'*
3627 'helplang' 'hlg' string (default: messages language or empty)
3628 global
3629 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_lang|
3630 feature}
3631 {not in Vi}
3632 Comma separated list of languages. Vim will use the first language
3633 for which the desired help can be found. The English help will always
3634 be used as a last resort. You can add "en" to prefer English over
3635 another language, but that will only find tags that exist in that
3636 language and not in the English help.
3637 Example: >
3638 :set helplang=de,it
3639 < This will first search German, then Italian and finally English help
3640 files.
3641 When using |CTRL-]| and ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will
3642 try to find the tag in the current language before using this option.
3643 See |help-translated|.
3645 *'hidden'* *'hid'* *'nohidden'* *'nohid'*
3646 'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
3647 global
3648 {not in Vi}
3649 When off a buffer is unloaded when it is |abandon|ed. When on a
3650 buffer becomes hidden when it is |abandon|ed. If the buffer is still
3651 displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course.
3652 The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer
3653 hidden although the 'hidden' option is off: When the buffer is
3654 modified, 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible, and the '!'
3655 flag was used. See also |windows.txt|.
3656 To only make one buffer hidden use the 'bufhidden' option.
3657 This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" |:hide|.
3658 WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers.
3659 Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
3661 *'highlight'* *'hl'*
3662 'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
3663 "8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory,
3664 e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg,
3665 M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question,
3666 s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit,
3667 t:Title,v:Visual,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu,
3668 f:Folded,F:FoldColumn,A:DiffAdd,
3669 C:DiffChange,D:DiffDelete,T:DiffText,
3670 >:SignColumn,B:SpellBad,P:SpellCap,
3671 R:SpellRare,L:SpellLocal,
3672 +:Pmenu,=:PmenuSel,
3673 x:PmenuSbar,X:PmenuThumb")
3674 global
3675 {not in Vi}
3676 This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various
3677 occasions. It is a comma separated list of character pairs. The
3678 first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to
3679 use for that occasion. The occasions are:
3680 |hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map"
3681 |hl-NonText| @ '~' and '@' at the end of the window and
3682 characters from 'showbreak'
3683 |hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
3684 things in listings
3685 |hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages
3686 h (obsolete, ignored)
3687 |hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting
3688 |hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch')
3689 |hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt|
3690 |hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
3691 |hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands
3692 |hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
3693 |hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line|
3694 |hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows
3695 |hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
3696 |hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows
3697 |hl-Visual| v Visual mode
3698 |hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
3699 Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and
3700 |xterm-clipboard|.
3701 |hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages
3702 |hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu'
3703 |hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds
3704 |hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn'
3705 |hl-DiffAdd| A added line in diff mode
3706 |hl-DiffChange| C changed line in diff mode
3707 |hl-DiffDelete| D deleted line in diff mode
3708 |hl-DiffText| T inserted text in diff mode
3709 |hl-SignColumn| > column used for |signs|
3710 |hl-SpellBad| B misspelled word |spell|
3711 |hl-SpellCap| P word that should start with capital|spell|
3712 |hl-SpellRare| R rare word |spell|
3713 |hl-SpellLocal| L word from other region |spell|
3714 |hl-Pmenu| + popup menu normal line
3715 |hl-PmenuSel| = popup menu normal line
3716 |hl-PmenuSbar| x popup menu scrollbar
3717 |hl-PmenuThumb| X popup menu scrollbar thumb
3719 The display modes are:
3720 r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me")
3721 i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR")
3722 b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me")
3723 s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se")
3724 u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue")
3725 c undercurl (termcap entry "Cs" and "Ce")
3726 n no highlighting
3727 - no highlighting
3728 : use a highlight group
3729 The default is used for occasions that are not included.
3730 If you want to change what the display modes do, see |dos-colors|
3731 for an example.
3732 When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of
3733 a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type
3734 of highlighting, including using color. See |:highlight| on how to
3735 define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion.
3736 See |highlight-default| for the default highlight groups.
3738 *'hlsearch'* *'hls'* *'nohlsearch'* *'nohls'*
3739 'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
3740 global
3741 {not in Vi}
3742 {not available when compiled without the
3743 |+extra_search| feature}
3744 When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
3745 The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the
3746 'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by
3747 default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
3748 are not applied.
3749 See also: 'incsearch' and |:match|.
3750 When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
3751 off with |:nohlsearch|. As soon as you use a search command, the
3752 highlighting comes back.
3753 'redrawtime' specifies the maximum time spent on finding matches.
3754 When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
3755 highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the
3756 search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first
3757 line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not
3758 drawn may not continue in a newly drawn line.
3759 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3761 *'history'* *'hi'*
3762 'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 20, Vi default: 0)
3763 global
3764 {not in Vi}
3765 A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
3766 are remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in
3767 each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|).
3768 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3769 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3771 *'hkmap'* *'hk'* *'nohkmap'* *'nohk'*
3772 'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
3773 global
3774 {not in Vi}
3775 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3776 feature}
3777 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set.
3778 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
3779 toggle this option. See |rileft.txt|.
3780 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3782 *'hkmapp'* *'hkp'* *'nohkmapp'* *'nohkp'*
3783 'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
3784 global
3785 {not in Vi}
3786 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3787 feature}
3788 When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on.
3789 This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard.
3790 See |rileft.txt|.
3791 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3793 *'icon'* *'noicon'*
3794 'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
3795 global
3796 {not in Vi}
3797 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3798 feature}
3799 When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of
3800 'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file
3801 currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used.
3802 Overridden by the 'iconstring' option.
3803 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently
3804 only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are
3805 Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the
3806 builtin termcap).
3807 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3808 restored if possible |X11|. See |X11-icon| for changing the icon on
3809 X11.
3811 *'iconstring'*
3812 'iconstring' string (default "")
3813 global
3814 {not in Vi}
3815 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3816 feature}
3817 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of
3818 the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on.
3819 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text
3820 (currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option).
3821 Does not work for MS Windows.
3822 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3823 restored if possible |X11|.
3824 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
3825 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See
3826 'titlestring' for example settings.
3827 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
3829 *'ignorecase'* *'ic'* *'noignorecase'* *'noic'*
3830 'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
3831 global
3832 Ignore case in search patterns. Also used when searching in the tags
3833 file.
3834 Also see 'smartcase'.
3835 Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
3836 |/ignorecase|.
3838 *'imactivatekey'* *'imak'*
3839 'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
3840 global
3841 {not in Vi}
3842 {only available when compiled with |+xim| and
3843 |+GUI_GTK|}
3844 Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for
3845 activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control
3846 IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'.
3847 You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option
3848 tells Vim what the key is.
3849 Format:
3850 [MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
3852 These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
3853 S Shift key
3854 L Lock key
3855 C Control key
3856 1 Mod1 key
3857 2 Mod2 key
3858 3 Mod3 key
3859 4 Mod4 key
3860 5 Mod5 key
3861 Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are
3862 both shift+ctrl+space.
3863 See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
3865 Example: >
3866 :set imactivatekey=S-space
3867 < "S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 +
3868 canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
3870 *'imcmdline'* *'imc'* *'noimcmdline'* *'noimc'*
3871 'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
3872 global
3873 {not in Vi}
3874 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3875 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3876 When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command
3877 line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that).
3878 Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering
3879 English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented
3880 characters with dead keys.
3882 *'imdisable'* *'imd'* *'nodisable'* *'noimd'*
3883 'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for SGI and MacVim)
3884 global
3885 {not in Vi}
3886 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3887 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3888 When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable
3889 the IM when it doesn't work properly.
3890 Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX and MacVim. This
3891 may change in later releases.
3893 *'iminsert'* *'imi'*
3894 'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3895 local to buffer
3896 {not in Vi}
3897 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in
3898 Insert mode. Valid values:
3899 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3900 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3901 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3902 2 is available only when compiled with the |+multi_byte_ime|, |+xim|
3903 or |global-ime|.
3904 To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc>
3905 this can be used: >
3906 :inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
3907 < This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert
3908 mode.
3909 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
3910 |i_CTRL-^|.
3911 The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name.
3912 It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f".
3913 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3914 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3916 *'imsearch'* *'ims'*
3917 'imsearch' 'ims' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3918 local to buffer
3919 {not in Vi}
3920 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when
3921 entering a search pattern. Valid values:
3922 -1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like
3923 'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern
3924 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3925 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3926 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3927 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Command-line mode
3928 |c_CTRL-^|.
3929 The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap'
3930 option to a valid keymap name.
3931 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3932 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3934 *'include'* *'inc'*
3935 'include' 'inc' string (default "^\s*#\s*include")
3936 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3937 {not in Vi}
3938 {not available when compiled without the
3939 |+find_in_path| feature}
3940 Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search
3941 pattern, just like for the "/" command (See |pattern|). The default
3942 value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i",
3943 "]I", "[d", etc.
3944 Normally the 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file name that
3945 comes after the matched pattern. But if "\zs" appears in the pattern
3946 then the text matched from "\zs" to the end, or until "\ze" if it
3947 appears, is used as the file name. Use this to include characters
3948 that are not in 'isfname', such as a space. You can then use
3949 'includeexpr' to process the matched text.
3950 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3952 *'includeexpr'* *'inex'*
3953 'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
3954 local to buffer
3955 {not in Vi}
3956 {not available when compiled without the
3957 |+find_in_path| or |+eval| feature}
3958 Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include'
3959 option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java: >
3960 :set includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\\.','/','g')
3961 < The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected.
3963 Also used for the |gf| command if an unmodified file name can't be
3964 found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement.
3965 Also used for |<cfile>|.
3967 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3968 |sandbox-option|.
3970 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3971 evaluating 'includeexpr' |textlock|.
3973 *'incsearch'* *'is'* *'noincsearch'* *'nois'*
3974 'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off)
3975 global
3976 {not in Vi}
3977 {not available when compiled without the
3978 |+extra_search| feature}
3979 While typing a search command, show where the pattern, as it was typed
3980 so far, matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the pattern
3981 is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will be updated
3982 often, this is only useful on fast terminals.
3983 Note that the match will be shown, but the cursor will return to its
3984 original position when no match is found and when pressing <Esc>. You
3985 still need to finish the search command with <Enter> to move the
3986 cursor to the match.
3987 When compiled with the |+reltime| feature Vim only searches for about
3988 half a second. With a complicated pattern and/or a lot of text the
3989 match may not be found. This is to avoid that Vim hangs while you
3990 are typing the pattern.
3991 The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in 'highlight'.
3992 See also: 'hlsearch'.
3993 CTRL-L can be used to add one character from after the current match
3994 to the command line.
3995 CTRL-R CTRL-W can be used to add the word at the end of the current
3996 match, excluding the characters that were already typed.
3997 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3999 *'indentexpr'* *'inde'*
4000 'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
4001 local to buffer
4002 {not in Vi}
4003 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
4004 or |+eval| features}
4005 Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line.
4006 It is used when a new line is created, for the |=| operator and
4007 in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option.
4008 When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and
4009 'smartindent' indenting.
4010 When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting.
4011 The expression is evaluated with |v:lnum| set to the line number for
4012 which the indent is to be computed. The cursor is also in this line
4013 when the expression is evaluated (but it may be moved around).
4014 The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It
4015 can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is
4016 used for the indent).
4017 Functions useful for computing the indent are |indent()|, |cindent()|
4018 and |lispindent()|.
4019 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must
4020 not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the
4021 cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved.
4022 Normally this option would be set to call a function: >
4023 :set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
4024 < Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains
4025 "msg".
4026 See |indent-expression|.
4027 NOTE: This option is made empty when 'compatible' is set.
4029 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
4030 |sandbox-option|.
4032 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
4033 evaluating 'indentexpr' |textlock|.
4036 *'indentkeys'* *'indk'*
4037 'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
4038 local to buffer
4039 {not in Vi}
4040 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
4041 feature}
4042 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
4043 the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty.
4044 The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see |indentkeys-format|.
4045 See |C-indenting| and |indent-expression|.
4047 *'infercase'* *'inf'* *'noinfercase'* *'noinf'*
4048 'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
4049 local to buffer
4050 {not in Vi}
4051 When doing keyword completion in insert mode |ins-completion|, and
4052 'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted depending
4053 on the typed text. If the typed text contains a lowercase letter
4054 where the match has an upper case letter, the completed part is made
4055 lowercase. If the typed text has no lowercase letters and the match
4056 has a lowercase letter where the typed text has an uppercase letter,
4057 and there is a letter before it, the completed part is made uppercase.
4058 With 'noinfercase' the match is used as-is.
4060 *'insertmode'* *'im'* *'noinsertmode'* *'noim'*
4061 'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
4062 global
4063 {not in Vi}
4064 Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful
4065 if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|.
4066 These Insert mode commands will be useful:
4067 - Use the cursor keys to move around.
4068 - Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|). When
4069 this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off.
4070 Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
4071 - Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use
4072 <Esc> to get back to Insert mode. Note that CTRL-L moves the cursor
4073 left, like <Esc> does when 'insertmode' isn't set. |i_CTRL-L|
4075 These items change when 'insertmode' is set:
4076 - when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode.
4077 - <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps.
4078 - <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode.
4079 - CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
4080 - CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see |CTRL-Z|. *i_CTRL-Z*
4081 However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like
4082 'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same
4083 mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set.
4084 When executing commands with |:normal| 'insertmode' is not used.
4086 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
4088 *'isfname'* *'isf'*
4089 'isfname' 'isf' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4090 "@,48-57,/,\,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
4091 for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:"
4092 for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~"
4093 for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,="
4094 otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
4095 global
4096 {not in Vi}
4097 The characters specified by this option are included in file names and
4098 path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in
4099 the tags file. It is also used for "\f" in a |pattern|.
4100 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4101 characters up to 255 are specified with this option.
4102 For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
4103 Think twice before adding white space to this option. Although a
4104 space may appear inside a file name, the effect will be that Vim
4105 doesn't know where a file name starts or ends when doing completion.
4106 It most likely works better without a space in 'isfname'.
4108 Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to
4109 do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit
4110 tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special
4111 characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file
4112 name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The
4113 '&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for
4114 cmd.exe.
4116 The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas.
4117 Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two
4118 character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a
4119 decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does
4120 not work for digits). Example:
4121 "_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
4122 128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
4123 If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range
4124 will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left
4125 to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is
4126 included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the
4127 option or the end of a range. Example:
4128 "^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
4129 If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE
4130 are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z,
4131 plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
4132 "@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
4133 case ASCII letters.
4134 "a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
4135 A comma can be included by using it where a character number is
4136 expected. Example:
4137 "48-57,,,_" Digits, comma and underscore.
4138 A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
4139 " -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
4140 comma, plus <Tab>.
4141 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4143 *'isident'* *'isi'*
4144 'isident' 'isi' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4145 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4146 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
4147 global
4148 {not in Vi}
4149 The characters given by this option are included in identifiers.
4150 Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a
4151 match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "\i" in a
4152 |pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this
4153 option.
4154 Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding
4155 environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to
4156 expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
4158 *'iskeyword'* *'isk'*
4159 'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for MS-DOS and Win32:
4160 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4161 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
4162 Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
4163 local to buffer
4164 {not in Vi}
4165 Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands:
4166 "w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "\k" in a |pattern|. See
4167 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For C
4168 programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>".
4169 For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except
4170 '*', '"' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that
4171 command).
4172 When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included.
4173 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4174 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4176 *'isprint'* *'isp'*
4177 'isprint' 'isp' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2 and Macintosh:
4178 "@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
4179 global
4180 {not in Vi}
4181 The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the
4182 screen. It is also used for "\p" in a |pattern|. The characters from
4183 space (ASCII 32) to '~' (ASCII 126) are always displayed directly,
4184 even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See
4185 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
4187 Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
4188 0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
4189 32 - 126 always single characters
4190 127 "^?"
4191 128 - 159 "~@" - "~_"
4192 160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
4193 255 "~?"
4194 When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are
4195 displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte.
4196 When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are
4197 displayed as <xx>.
4198 The NonText highlighting will be used for unprintable characters.
4199 |hl-NonText|
4201 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4202 characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character
4203 is printable but it is not available in the current font, a
4204 replacement character will be shown.
4205 Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>.
4206 There is no option to specify these characters.
4208 *'joinspaces'* *'js'* *'nojoinspaces'* *'nojs'*
4209 'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
4210 global
4211 {not in Vi}
4212 Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command.
4213 When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'.
4214 Otherwise only one space is inserted.
4215 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
4217 *'key'*
4218 'key' string (default "")
4219 local to buffer
4220 {not in Vi}
4221 The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer.
4222 See |encryption|.
4223 Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed
4224 key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty: >
4225 :set key=
4226 < It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or
4227 "echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't
4228 know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it,
4229 be careful not to make a typing error!
4231 *'keymap'* *'kmp'* *E544*
4232 'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
4233 local to buffer
4234 {not in Vi}
4235 {only available when compiled with the |+keymap|
4236 feature}
4237 Name of a keyboard mapping. See |mbyte-keymap|.
4238 Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of
4239 setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective.
4240 'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
4241 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4243 *'keymodel'* *'km'*
4244 'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
4245 global
4246 {not in Vi}
4247 List of comma separated words, which enable special things that keys
4248 can do. These values can be used:
4249 startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
4250 Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being
4251 present in 'selectmode').
4252 stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
4253 Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>,
4254 <PageUp> and <PageDown>.
4255 The 'keymodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4257 *'keywordprg'* *'kp'*
4258 'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: ":help",
4259 OS/2: "view /", VMS: "help")
4260 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4261 {not in Vi}
4262 Program to use for the |K| command. Environment variables are
4263 expanded |:set_env|. ":help" may be used to access the Vim internal
4264 help. (Note that previously setting the global option to the empty
4265 value did this, which is now deprecated.)
4266 When "man" is used, Vim will automatically translate a count for the
4267 "K" command to a section number. Also for "man -s", in which case the
4268 "-s" is removed when there is no count.
4269 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4270 Example: >
4271 :set keywordprg=man\ -s
4272 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4273 security reasons.
4275 *'langmap'* *'lmap'* *E357* *E358*
4276 'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
4277 global
4278 {not in Vi}
4279 {only available when compiled with the |+langmap|
4280 feature}
4281 This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language
4282 mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are
4283 inserted directly. When in command mode the 'langmap' option takes
4284 care of translating these special characters to the original meaning
4285 of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to
4286 be able to execute Normal mode commands.
4287 This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are
4288 mapped in Insert mode.
4289 This only works for 8-bit characters. The value of 'langmap' may be
4290 specified with multi-byte characters (e.g., UTF-8), but only the lower
4291 8 bits of each character will be used.
4293 Example (for Greek, in UTF-8): *greek* >
4294 :set langmap=ΑA,ΒB,ΨC,ΔD,ΕE,ΦF,ΓG,ΗH,ΙI,ΞJ,ΚK,ΛL,ΜM,ΝN,ΟO,ΠP,QQ,ΡR,ΣS,ΤT,ΘU,ΩV,WW,ΧX,ΥY,ΖZ,αa,βb,ψc,δd,εe,φf,γg,ηh,ιi,ξj,κk,λl,μm,νn,οo,πp,qq,ρr,σs,τt,θu,ωv,ςw,χx,υy,ζz
4295 < Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands): >
4296 :set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
4297 <
4298 The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each
4299 part can be in one of two forms:
4300 1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
4301 followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
4302 2. A list of "from" characters, a semi-colon and a list of "to"
4303 characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
4304 Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE"
4305 Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are
4306 ";", ',' and backslash itself.
4308 This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch
4309 back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will
4310 be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the
4311 langmap mappings) in the following cases:
4312 o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings)
4313 o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R
4314 o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
4315 Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by
4316 this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time
4317 allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings.
4318 Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
4320 *'langmenu'* *'lm'*
4321 'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
4322 global
4323 {not in Vi}
4324 {only available when compiled with the |+menu| and
4325 |+multi_lang| features}
4326 Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded
4327 from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath': >
4328 "lang/menu_" . &langmenu . ".vim"
4329 < (without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no
4330 matter what $LANG is set to: >
4331 :set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
4332 < When 'langmenu' is empty, |v:lang| is used.
4333 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4334 If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use
4335 the English menus: >
4336 :set langmenu=none
4337 < This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype
4338 detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting
4339 this option has no effect. But you could do this: >
4340 :source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim
4341 :set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1
4342 :source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
4343 < Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
4345 *'laststatus'* *'ls'*
4346 'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
4347 global
4348 {not in Vi}
4349 The value of this option influences when the last window will have a
4350 status line:
4351 0: never
4352 1: only if there are at least two windows
4353 2: always
4354 The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several
4355 windows, but it takes another screen line. |status-line|
4357 *'lazyredraw'* *'lz'* *'nolazyredraw'* *'nolz'*
4358 'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
4359 global
4360 {not in Vi}
4361 When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while
4362 executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been
4363 typed. Also, updating the window title is postponed. To force an
4364 update use |:redraw|.
4366 *'linebreak'* *'lbr'* *'nolinebreak'* *'nolbr'*
4367 'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
4368 local to window
4369 {not in Vi}
4370 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
4371 feature}
4372 If on Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather
4373 than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike
4374 'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file,
4375 it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents. The
4376 value of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines.
4377 This option is not used when the 'wrap' option is off or 'list' is on.
4378 Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed
4379 with the right amount of white space.
4381 *'lines'* *E593*
4382 'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
4383 global
4384 Number of lines of the Vim window.
4385 Normally you don't need to set this. It is done automatically by the
4386 terminal initialization code. Also see |posix-screen-size|.
4387 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
4388 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
4389 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
4390 Vim limits the number of lines to what fits on the screen. You can
4391 use this command to get the tallest window possible: >
4392 :set lines=999
4393 < Minimum value is 2, maximum value is 1000.
4394 If you get less lines than expected, check the 'guiheadroom' option.
4395 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
4396 number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
4398 *'linespace'* *'lsp'*
4399 'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
4400 global
4401 {not in Vi}
4402 {only in the GUI}
4403 Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font
4404 uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other.
4405 When non-zero there is room for underlining.
4406 With some fonts there can be too much room between lines (to have
4407 space for ascents and descents). Then it makes sense to set
4408 'linespace' to a negative value. This may cause display problems
4409 though!
4411 *'lisp'* *'nolisp'*
4412 'lisp' boolean (default off)
4413 local to buffer
4414 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4415 feature}
4416 Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for
4417 the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with
4418 "cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p'
4419 flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or
4420 better. Also see 'lispwords'.
4421 The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the
4422 "=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than
4423 calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty.
4424 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
4425 {Vi: Does it a little bit differently}
4427 *'lispwords'* *'lw'*
4428 'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
4429 global
4430 {not in Vi}
4431 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4432 feature}
4433 Comma separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting.
4434 |'lisp'|
4436 *'list'* *'nolist'*
4437 'list' boolean (default off)
4438 local to window
4439 List mode: Show tabs as CTRL-I is displayed, display $ after end of
4440 line. Useful to see the difference between tabs and spaces and for
4441 trailing blanks. Further changed by the 'listchars' option.
4443 The cursor is displayed at the start of the space a Tab character
4444 occupies, not at the end as usual in Normal mode. To get this cursor
4445 position while displaying Tabs with spaces, use: >
4446 :set list lcs=tab\ \
4447 <
4448 Note that list mode will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth'
4449 or 'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for
4450 changing the way tabs are displayed.
4452 *'listchars'* *'lcs'*
4453 'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
4454 global
4455 {not in Vi}
4456 Strings to use in 'list' mode. It is a comma separated list of string
4457 settings.
4458 eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
4459 omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the
4460 line.
4461 tab:xy Two characters to be used to show a tab. The first
4462 char is used once. The second char is repeated to
4463 fill the space that the tab normally occupies.
4464 "tab:>-" will show a tab that takes four spaces as
4465 ">---". When omitted, a tab is show as ^I.
4466 trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
4467 trailing spaces are blank.
4468 extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
4469 off and the line continues beyond the right of the
4470 screen.
4471 precedes:c Character to show in the first column, when 'wrap'
4472 is off and there is text preceding the character
4473 visible in the first column.
4474 nbsp:c Character to show for a non-breakable space (character
4475 0xA0, 160). Left blank when omitted.
4477 The characters ':' and ',' should not be used. UTF-8 characters can
4478 be used when 'encoding' is "utf-8", otherwise only printable
4479 characters are allowed. All characters must be single width.
4481 Examples: >
4482 :set lcs=tab:>-,trail:-
4483 :set lcs=tab:>-,eol:<,nbsp:%
4484 :set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
4485 < The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and
4486 "precedes". "SpecialKey" for "nbsp", "tab" and "trail".
4487 |hl-NonText| |hl-SpecialKey|
4489 *'lpl'* *'nolpl'* *'loadplugins'* *'noloadplugins'*
4490 'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
4491 global
4492 {not in Vi}
4493 When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up |load-plugins|.
4494 This option can be reset in your |vimrc| file to disable the loading
4495 of plugins.
4496 Note that using the "-u NONE" and "--noplugin" command line arguments
4497 reset this option. |-u| |--noplugin|
4499 *'macatsui'* *'nomacatsui'*
4500 'macatsui' boolean (default on)
4501 global
4502 {only available in Mac Carbon GUI version}
4503 This is a workaround for when drawing doesn't work properly. When set
4504 and compiled with multi-byte support ATSUI text drawing is used. When
4505 not set ATSUI text drawing is not used. Switch this option off when
4506 you experience drawing problems. In a future version the problems may
4507 be solved and this option becomes obsolete. Therefore use this method
4508 to unset it: >
4509 if exists('&macatsui')
4510 set nomacatsui
4511 endif
4512 < Another option to check if you have drawing problems is
4513 'termencoding'.
4514 Note: MacVim does not use this option.
4516 *'macmeta'* *'mmta'* *'nomacmeta'* *'nommta'*
4517 'macmeta' boolean (default off)
4518 local to buffer
4519 {only available in MacVim GUI}
4520 Use option (alt) as meta key. When on, option-key presses are not
4521 interpreted, thus enabling bindings to <M-..>. When off, option-key
4522 presses are interpreted by the selected input method and inserted as
4523 text.
4524 Note: Some keys (e.g. <M-F1>, <M-Tab>, <M-Return>, <M-Left>) can be
4525 bound with the Meta flag even when this option is disabled, but this
4526 is not the case for the majority of keys (e.g. <M-a>, <M-`>).
4528 *'magic'* *'nomagic'*
4529 'magic' boolean (default on)
4530 global
4531 Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns.
4532 See |pattern|.
4533 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with using patterns, always keep
4534 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
4535 old Vi scripts. In any other situation write patterns that work when
4536 'magic' is on. Include "\M" when you want to |/\M|.
4538 *'makeef'* *'mef'*
4539 'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
4540 global
4541 {not in Vi}
4542 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
4543 feature}
4544 Name of the errorfile for the |:make| command (see |:make_makeprg|)
4545 and the |:grep| command.
4546 When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used.
4547 When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name
4548 unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an
4549 existing file.
4550 NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that.
4551 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
4552 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4553 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4554 security reasons.
4556 *'makeprg'* *'mp'*
4557 'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
4558 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4559 {not in Vi}
4560 Program to use for the ":make" command. See |:make_makeprg|.
4561 This option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded to
4562 the current and alternate file name. |:_%| |:_#|
4563 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
4564 about including spaces and backslashes.
4565 Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set" and once for
4566 the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter called
4567 "myfilter" do it like this: >
4568 :set makeprg=gmake\ \\\|\ myfilter
4569 < The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify
4570 where the arguments will be included, for example: >
4571 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
4572 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4573 security reasons.
4575 *'matchpairs'* *'mps'*
4576 'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
4577 local to buffer
4578 {not in Vi}
4579 Characters that form pairs. The |%| command jumps from one to the
4580 other. Currently only single byte character pairs are allowed, and
4581 they must be different. The characters must be separated by a colon.
4582 The pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and
4583 '>' (HTML): >
4584 :set mps+=<:>
4586 < A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an
4587 assignment, useful for languages like C and Java: >
4588 :au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
4590 < For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in
4591 the $VIMRUNTIME/macros directory. |add-local-help|
4593 *'matchtime'* *'mat'*
4594 'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
4595 global
4596 {not in Vi}{in Nvi}
4597 Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is
4598 set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that
4599 set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
4601 *'maxcombine'* *'mco'*
4602 'maxcombine' 'mco' number (default 2)
4603 global
4604 {not in Vi}
4605 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
4606 feature}
4607 The maximum number of combining characters supported for displaying.
4608 Only used when 'encoding' is "utf-8".
4609 The default is OK for most languages. Hebrew may require 4.
4610 Maximum value is 6.
4611 Even when this option is set to 2 you can still edit text with more
4612 combining characters, you just can't see them. Use |g8| or |ga|.
4613 See |mbyte-combining|.
4615 *'maxfuncdepth'* *'mfd'*
4616 'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
4617 global
4618 {not in Vi}
4619 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4620 feature}
4621 Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally
4622 catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with
4623 more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use
4624 more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted.
4625 See also |:function|.
4627 *'maxmapdepth'* *'mmd'* *E223*
4628 'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
4629 global
4630 {not in Vi}
4631 Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a
4632 character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like
4633 ":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg",
4634 because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also
4635 |key-mapping|.
4637 *'maxmem'* *'mm'*
4638 'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
4639 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4640 available)
4641 global
4642 {not in Vi}
4643 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this
4644 limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause
4645 other memory to be freed. Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work
4646 without a limit. Also see 'maxmemtot'.
4648 *'maxmempattern'* *'mmp'*
4649 'maxmempattern' 'mmp' number (default 1000)
4650 global
4651 {not in Vi}
4652 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for pattern matching.
4653 Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work without a limit.
4654 *E363*
4655 When Vim runs into the limit it gives an error message and mostly
4656 behaves like CTRL-C was typed.
4657 Running into the limit often means that the pattern is very
4658 inefficient or too complex. This may already happen with the pattern
4659 "\(.\)*" on a very long line. ".*" works much better.
4660 Vim may run out of memory before hitting the 'maxmempattern' limit.
4662 *'maxmemtot'* *'mmt'*
4663 'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
4664 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4665 available)
4666 global
4667 {not in Vi}
4668 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for all buffers together.
4669 Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work without a limit. Also see
4670 'maxmem'.
4672 *'menuitems'* *'mis'*
4673 'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
4674 global
4675 {not in Vi}
4676 {not available when compiled without the |+menu|
4677 feature}
4678 Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are
4679 generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this
4680 option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
4682 *'mkspellmem'* *'msm'*
4683 'mkspellmem' 'msm' string (default "460000,2000,500")
4684 global
4685 {not in Vi}
4686 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
4687 feature}
4688 Parameters for |:mkspell|. This tunes when to start compressing the
4689 word tree. Compression can be slow when there are many words, but
4690 it's needed to avoid running out of memory. The amount of memory used
4691 per word depends very much on how similar the words are, that's why
4692 this tuning is complicated.
4694 There are three numbers, separated by commas:
4695 {start},{inc},{added}
4697 For most languages the uncompressed word tree fits in memory. {start}
4698 gives the amount of memory in Kbyte that can be used before any
4699 compression is done. It should be a bit smaller than the amount of
4700 memory that is available to Vim.
4702 When going over the {start} limit the {inc} number specifies the
4703 amount of memory in Kbyte that can be allocated before another
4704 compression is done. A low number means compression is done after
4705 less words are added, which is slow. A high number means more memory
4706 will be allocated.
4708 After doing compression, {added} times 1024 words can be added before
4709 the {inc} limit is ignored and compression is done when any extra
4710 amount of memory is needed. A low number means there is a smaller
4711 chance of hitting the {inc} limit, less memory is used but it's
4712 slower.
4714 The languages for which these numbers are important are Italian and
4715 Hungarian. The default works for when you have about 512 Mbyte. If
4716 you have 1 Gbyte you could use: >
4717 :set mkspellmem=900000,3000,800
4718 < If you have less than 512 Mbyte |:mkspell| may fail for some
4719 languages, no matter what you set 'mkspellmem' to.
4721 *'modeline'* *'ml'* *'nomodeline'* *'noml'*
4722 'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on (off for root),
4723 Vi default: off)
4724 local to buffer
4725 *'modelines'* *'mls'*
4726 'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
4727 global
4728 {not in Vi}
4729 If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
4730 checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
4731 no lines are checked. See |modeline|.
4732 NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4733 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4735 *'modifiable'* *'ma'* *'nomodifiable'* *'noma'*
4736 'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
4737 local to buffer
4738 {not in Vi} *E21*
4739 When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and
4740 'fileencoding' options also can't be changed.
4741 Can be reset with the |-M| command line argument.
4743 *'modified'* *'mod'* *'nomodified'* *'nomod'*
4744 'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
4745 local to buffer
4746 {not in Vi}
4747 When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set
4748 when:
4749 1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
4750 |undo| command to go back to the original text will reset the
4751 option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the
4752 buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from
4753 when it was written.
4754 2. 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original
4755 value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or
4756 written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original
4757 values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be
4758 reset.
4759 When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but
4760 will be ignored.
4762 *'more'* *'nomore'*
4763 'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
4764 global
4765 {not in Vi}
4766 When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get
4767 the |more-prompt|. When this option is off there are no pauses, the
4768 listing continues until finished.
4769 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4770 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4772 *'mouse'* *E538*
4773 'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI, MS-DOS and Win32)
4774 global
4775 {not in Vi}
4776 Enable the use of the mouse. Only works for certain terminals
4777 (xterm, MS-DOS, Win32 |win32-mouse|, QNX pterm, *BSD console with
4778 sysmouse and Linux console with gpm). For using the mouse in the
4779 GUI, see |gui-mouse|.
4780 The mouse can be enabled for different modes:
4781 n Normal mode
4782 v Visual mode
4783 i Insert mode
4784 c Command-line mode
4785 h all previous modes when editing a help file
4786 a all previous modes
4787 r for |hit-enter| and |more-prompt| prompt
4788 Normally you would enable the mouse in all four modes with: >
4789 :set mouse=a
4790 < When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for
4791 modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
4793 See |mouse-using|. Also see |'clipboard'|.
4795 Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the
4796 "* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of
4797 the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed.
4798 Also see the 'clipboard' option.
4800 *'mousefocus'* *'mousef'* *'nomousefocus'* *'nomousef'*
4801 'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
4802 global
4803 {not in Vi}
4804 {only works in the GUI}
4805 The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated.
4806 When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the
4807 mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the
4808 default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as
4809 a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
4811 *'mousehide'* *'mh'* *'nomousehide'* *'nomh'*
4812 'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
4813 global
4814 {not in Vi}
4815 {only works in the GUI}
4816 When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed.
4817 The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
4819 *'mousemodel'* *'mousem'*
4820 'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for MS-DOS and Win32)
4821 global
4822 {not in Vi}
4823 Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what
4824 the right mouse button is used for:
4825 extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
4826 like in an xterm.
4827 popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
4828 mouse button extends a selection. This works like
4829 with Microsoft Windows.
4830 popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
4831 position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the
4832 selected operation will act upon the clicked object.
4833 If clicking inside a selection, that selection will
4834 be acted upon, i.e. no cursor move. This implies of
4835 course, that right clicking outside a selection will
4836 end Visual mode.
4837 Overview of what button does what for each model:
4838 mouse extend popup(_setpos) ~
4839 left click place cursor place cursor
4840 left drag start selection start selection
4841 shift-left search word extend selection
4842 right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor)
4843 right drag extend selection -
4844 middle click paste paste
4846 In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu.
4847 You need to define this first, see |popup-menu|.
4849 Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings.
4850 See |gui-mouse-mapping|. But mappings are NOT used for modeless
4851 selection (because that's handled in the GUI code directly).
4853 The 'mousemodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4855 *'mouseshape'* *'mouses'* *E547*
4856 'mouseshape' 'mouses' string (default "i:beam,r:beam,s:updown,sd:cross,
4857 m:no,ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow")
4858 global
4859 {not in Vi}
4860 {only available when compiled with the |+mouseshape|
4861 feature}
4862 This option tells Vim what the mouse pointer should look like in
4863 different modes. The option is a comma separated list of parts, much
4864 like used for 'guicursor'. Each part consist of a mode/location-list
4865 and an argument-list:
4866 mode-list:shape,mode-list:shape,..
4867 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes/locations:
4868 In a normal window: ~
4869 n Normal mode
4870 v Visual mode
4871 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
4872 if not specified)
4873 o Operator-pending mode
4874 i Insert mode
4875 r Replace mode
4877 Others: ~
4878 c appending to the command-line
4879 ci inserting in the command-line
4880 cr replacing in the command-line
4881 m at the 'Hit ENTER' or 'More' prompts
4882 ml idem, but cursor in the last line
4883 e any mode, pointer below last window
4884 s any mode, pointer on a status line
4885 sd any mode, while dragging a status line
4886 vs any mode, pointer on a vertical separator line
4887 vd any mode, while dragging a vertical separator line
4888 a everywhere
4890 The shape is one of the following:
4891 avail name looks like ~
4892 w x arrow Normal mouse pointer
4893 w x blank no pointer at all (use with care!)
4894 w x beam I-beam
4895 w x updown up-down sizing arrows
4896 w x leftright left-right sizing arrows
4897 w x busy The system's usual busy pointer
4898 w x no The system's usual 'no input' pointer
4899 x udsizing indicates up-down resizing
4900 x lrsizing indicates left-right resizing
4901 x crosshair like a big thin +
4902 x hand1 black hand
4903 x hand2 white hand
4904 x pencil what you write with
4905 x question big ?
4906 x rightup-arrow arrow pointing right-up
4907 w x up-arrow arrow pointing up
4908 x <number> any X11 pointer number (see X11/cursorfont.h)
4910 The "avail" column contains a 'w' if the shape is available for Win32,
4911 x for X11.
4912 Any modes not specified or shapes not available use the normal mouse
4913 pointer.
4915 Example: >
4916 :set mouseshape=s:udsizing,m:no
4917 < will make the mouse turn to a sizing arrow over the status lines and
4918 indicate no input when the hit-enter prompt is displayed (since
4919 clicking the mouse has no effect in this state.)
4921 *'mousetime'* *'mouset'*
4922 'mousetime' 'mouset' number (default 500)
4923 global
4924 {not in Vi}
4925 Only for GUI, MS-DOS, Win32 and Unix with xterm. Defines the maximum
4926 time in msec between two mouse clicks for the second click to be
4927 recognized as a multi click.
4929 *'mzquantum'* *'mzq'*
4930 'mzquantum' 'mzq' number (default 100)
4931 global
4932 {not in Vi}
4933 {not available when compiled without the |+mzscheme|
4934 feature}
4935 The number of milliseconds between polls for MzScheme threads.
4936 Negative or zero value means no thread scheduling.
4938 *'nrformats'* *'nf'*
4939 'nrformats' 'nf' string (default "octal,hex")
4940 local to buffer
4941 {not in Vi}
4942 This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the
4943 CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number
4944 respectively; see |CTRL-A| for more info on these commands.
4945 alpha If included, single alphabetical characters will be
4946 incremented or decremented. This is useful for a list with a
4947 letter index a), b), etc.
4948 octal If included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
4949 to be octal. Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
4950 hex If included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
4951 considered to be hexadecimal. Example: Using CTRL-X on
4952 "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
4953 Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always
4954 considered decimal. This also happens for numbers that are not
4955 recognized as octal or hex.
4957 *'number'* *'nu'* *'nonumber'* *'nonu'*
4958 'number' 'nu' boolean (default off)
4959 local to window
4960 Print the line number in front of each line. When the 'n' option is
4961 excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped line will not use the column of
4962 line numbers (this is the default when 'compatible' isn't set).
4963 The 'numberwidth' option can be used to set the room used for the line
4964 number.
4965 When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-'
4966 characters are put before the number.
4967 See |hl-LineNr| for the highlighting used for the number.
4969 *'numberwidth'* *'nuw'*
4970 'numberwidth' 'nuw' number (Vim default: 4 Vi default: 8)
4971 local to window
4972 {not in Vi}
4973 {only available when compiled with the |+linebreak|
4974 feature}
4975 Minimal number of columns to use for the line number. Only relevant
4976 when the 'number' option is set or printing lines with a line number.
4977 Since one space is always between the number and the text, there is
4978 one less character for the number itself.
4979 The value is the minimum width. A bigger width is used when needed to
4980 fit the highest line number in the buffer. Thus with the Vim default
4981 of 4 there is room for a line number up to 999. When the buffer has
4982 1000 lines five columns will be used.
4983 The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 10.
4984 NOTE: 'numberwidth' is reset to 8 when 'compatible' is set.
4986 *'omnifunc'* *'ofu'*
4987 'omnifunc' 'ofu' string (default: empty)
4988 local to buffer
4989 {not in Vi}
4990 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4991 or +insert_expand feature}
4992 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode omni
4993 completion with CTRL-X CTRL-O. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O|
4994 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
4995 invoked and what it should return.
4996 This option is usually set by a filetype plugin:
4997 |:filetype-plugin-on|
5000 *'opendevice'* *'odev'* *'noopendevice'* *'noodev'*
5001 'opendevice' 'odev' boolean (default off)
5002 global
5003 {not in Vi}
5004 {only for MS-DOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
5005 Enable reading and writing from devices. This may get Vim stuck on a
5006 device that can be opened but doesn't actually do the I/O. Therefore
5007 it is off by default.
5008 Note that on MS-Windows editing "aux.h", "lpt1.txt" and the like also
5009 result in editing a device.
5012 *'operatorfunc'* *'opfunc'*
5013 'operatorfunc' 'opfunc' string (default: empty)
5014 global
5015 {not in Vi}
5016 This option specifies a function to be called by the |g@| operator.
5017 See |:map-operator| for more info and an example.
5019 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5020 security reasons.
5023 *'osfiletype'* *'oft'* *E366*
5024 'osfiletype' 'oft' string (RISC-OS default: "Text",
5025 others default: "")
5026 local to buffer
5027 {not in Vi}
5028 {only available when compiled with the |+osfiletype|
5029 feature}
5030 Some operating systems store extra information about files besides
5031 name, datestamp and permissions. This option contains the extra
5032 information, the nature of which will vary between systems.
5033 The value of this option is usually set when the file is loaded, and
5034 is used to set the operating system file type when file is written.
5035 It can affect the pattern matching of the automatic commands.
5036 |autocmd-osfiletypes|
5038 *'paragraphs'* *'para'*
5039 'paragraphs' 'para' string (default "IPLPPPQPP TPHPLIPpLpItpplpipbp")
5040 global
5041 Specifies the nroff macros that separate paragraphs. These are pairs
5042 of two letters (see |object-motions|).
5044 *'paste'* *'nopaste'*
5045 'paste' boolean (default off)
5046 global
5047 {not in Vi}
5048 Put Vim in Paste mode. This is useful if you want to cut or copy
5049 some text from one window and paste it in Vim. This will avoid
5050 unexpected effects.
5051 Setting this option is useful when using Vim in a terminal, where Vim
5052 cannot distinguish between typed text and pasted text. In the GUI, Vim
5053 knows about pasting and will mostly do the right thing without 'paste'
5054 being set. The same is true for a terminal where Vim handles the
5055 mouse clicks itself.
5056 This option is reset when starting the GUI. Thus if you set it in
5057 your .vimrc it will work in a terminal, but not in the GUI. Setting
5058 'paste' in the GUI has side effects: e.g., the Paste toolbar button
5059 will no longer work in Insert mode, because it uses a mapping.
5060 When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
5061 - mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
5062 - abbreviations are disabled
5063 - 'textwidth' is set to 0
5064 - 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
5065 - 'autoindent' is reset
5066 - 'smartindent' is reset
5067 - 'softtabstop' is set to 0
5068 - 'revins' is reset
5069 - 'ruler' is reset
5070 - 'showmatch' is reset
5071 - 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
5072 These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
5073 - 'lisp'
5074 - 'indentexpr'
5075 - 'cindent'
5076 NOTE: When you start editing another file while the 'paste' option is
5077 on, settings from the modelines or autocommands may change the
5078 settings again, causing trouble when pasting text. You might want to
5079 set the 'paste' option again.
5080 When the 'paste' option is reset the mentioned options are restored to
5081 the value before the moment 'paste' was switched from off to on.
5082 Resetting 'paste' before ever setting it does not have any effect.
5083 Since mapping doesn't work while 'paste' is active, you need to use
5084 the 'pastetoggle' option to toggle the 'paste' option with some key.
5086 *'pastetoggle'* *'pt'*
5087 'pastetoggle' 'pt' string (default "")
5088 global
5089 {not in Vi}
5090 When non-empty, specifies the key sequence that toggles the 'paste'
5091 option. This is like specifying a mapping: >
5092 :map {keys} :set invpaste<CR>
5093 < Where {keys} is the value of 'pastetoggle'.
5094 The difference is that it will work even when 'paste' is set.
5095 'pastetoggle' works in Insert mode and Normal mode, but not in
5096 Command-line mode.
5097 Mappings are checked first, thus overrule 'pastetoggle'. However,
5098 when 'paste' is on mappings are ignored in Insert mode, thus you can do
5099 this: >
5100 :map <F10> :set paste<CR>
5101 :map <F11> :set nopaste<CR>
5102 :imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR>
5103 :imap <F11> <nop>
5104 :set pastetoggle=<F11>
5105 < This will make <F10> start paste mode and <F11> stop paste mode.
5106 Note that typing <F10> in paste mode inserts "<F10>", since in paste
5107 mode everything is inserted literally, except the 'pastetoggle' key
5108 sequence.
5109 When the value has several bytes 'ttimeoutlen' applies.
5111 *'pex'* *'patchexpr'*
5112 'patchexpr' 'pex' string (default "")
5113 global
5114 {not in Vi}
5115 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
5116 feature}
5117 Expression which is evaluated to apply a patch to a file and generate
5118 the resulting new version of the file. See |diff-patchexpr|.
5120 *'patchmode'* *'pm'* *E206*
5121 'patchmode' 'pm' string (default "")
5122 global
5123 {not in Vi}
5124 When non-empty the oldest version of a file is kept. This can be used
5125 to keep the original version of a file if you are changing files in a
5126 source distribution. Only the first time that a file is written a
5127 copy of the original file will be kept. The name of the copy is the
5128 name of the original file with the string in the 'patchmode' option
5129 appended. This option should start with a dot. Use a string like
5130 ".org". 'backupdir' must not be empty for this to work (Detail: The
5131 backup file is renamed to the patchmode file after the new file has
5132 been successfully written, that's why it must be possible to write a
5133 backup file). If there was no file to be backed up, an empty file is
5134 created.
5135 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a patchmode file is not made.
5136 Using 'patchmode' for compressed files appends the extension at the
5137 end (e.g., "file.gz.orig"), thus the resulting name isn't always
5138 recognized as a compressed file.
5139 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
5141 *'path'* *'pa'* *E343* *E345* *E347*
5142 'path' 'pa' string (default on Unix: ".,/usr/include,,"
5143 on OS/2: ".,/emx/include,,"
5144 other systems: ".,,")
5145 global or local to buffer |global-local|
5146 {not in Vi}
5147 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
5148 |gf|, [f, ]f, ^Wf, |:find|, |:sfind|, |:tabfind| and other commands,
5149 provided that the file being searched for has a relative path (not
5150 starting with "/", "./" or "../"). The directories in the 'path'
5151 option may be relative or absolute.
5152 - Use commas to separate directory names: >
5153 :set path=.,/usr/local/include,/usr/include
5154 < - Spaces can also be used to separate directory names (for backwards
5155 compatibility with version 3.0). To have a space in a directory
5156 name, precede it with an extra backslash, and escape the space: >
5157 :set path=.,/dir/with\\\ space
5158 < - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with an extra
5159 backslash: >
5160 :set path=.,/dir/with\\,comma
5161 < - To search relative to the directory of the current file, use: >
5162 :set path=.
5163 < - To search in the current directory use an empty string between two
5164 commas: >
5165 :set path=,,
5166 < - A directory name may end in a ':' or '/'.
5167 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5168 - When using |netrw.vim| URLs can be used. For example, adding
5169 "http://www.vim.org" will make ":find index.html" work.
5170 - Search upwards and downwards in a directory tree using "*", "**" and
5171 ";". See |file-searching| for info and syntax.
5172 {not available when compiled without the |+path_extra| feature}
5173 - Careful with '\' characters, type two to get one in the option: >
5174 :set path=.,c:\\include
5175 < Or just use '/' instead: >
5176 :set path=.,c:/include
5177 < Don't forget "." or files won't even be found in the same directory as
5178 the file!
5179 The maximum length is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly
5180 it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
5181 You can check if all the include files are found, using the value of
5182 'path', see |:checkpath|.
5183 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
5184 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
5185 uses another default. To remove the current directory use: >
5186 :set path-=
5187 < To add the current directory use: >
5188 :set path+=
5189 < To use an environment variable, you probably need to replace the
5190 separator. Here is an example to append $INCL, in which directory
5191 names are separated with a semi-colon: >
5192 :let &path = &path . "," . substitute($INCL, ';', ',', 'g')
5193 < Replace the ';' with a ':' or whatever separator is used. Note that
5194 this doesn't work when $INCL contains a comma or white space.
5196 *'preserveindent'* *'pi'* *'nopreserveindent'* *'nopi'*
5197 'preserveindent' 'pi' boolean (default off)
5198 local to buffer
5199 {not in Vi}
5200 When changing the indent of the current line, preserve as much of the
5201 indent structure as possible. Normally the indent is replaced by a
5202 series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is
5203 enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option
5204 means the indent will preserve as many existing characters as possible
5205 for indenting, and only add additional tabs or spaces as required.
5206 'expandtab' does not apply to the preserved white space, a Tab remains
5207 a Tab.
5208 NOTE: When using ">>" multiple times the resulting indent is a mix of
5209 tabs and spaces. You might not like this.
5210 NOTE: 'preserveindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5211 Also see 'copyindent'.
5212 Use |:retab| to clean up white space.
5214 *'previewheight'* *'pvh'*
5215 'previewheight' 'pvh' number (default 12)
5216 global
5217 {not in Vi}
5218 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5219 |+quickfix| feature}
5220 Default height for a preview window. Used for |:ptag| and associated
5221 commands. Used for |CTRL-W_}| when no count is given.
5223 *'previewwindow'* *'nopreviewwindow'*
5224 *'pvw'* *'nopvw'* *E590*
5225 'previewwindow' 'pvw' boolean (default off)
5226 local to window
5227 {not in Vi}
5228 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5229 |+quickfix| feature}
5230 Identifies the preview window. Only one window can have this option
5231 set. It's normally not set directly, but by using one of the commands
5232 |:ptag|, |:pedit|, etc.
5234 *'printdevice'* *'pdev'*
5235 'printdevice' 'pdev' string (default empty)
5236 global
5237 {not in Vi}
5238 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5239 feature}
5240 The name of the printer to be used for |:hardcopy|.
5241 See |pdev-option|.
5242 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5243 security reasons.
5245 *'printencoding'* *'penc'*
5246 'printencoding' 'penc' String (default empty, except for some systems)
5247 global
5248 {not in Vi}
5249 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5250 and |+postscript| features}
5251 Sets the character encoding used when printing.
5252 See |penc-option|.
5254 *'printexpr'* *'pexpr'*
5255 'printexpr' 'pexpr' String (default: see below)
5256 global
5257 {not in Vi}
5258 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5259 and |+postscript| features}
5260 Expression used to print the PostScript produced with |:hardcopy|.
5261 See |pexpr-option|.
5263 *'printfont'* *'pfn'*
5264 'printfont' 'pfn' string (default "courier")
5265 global
5266 {not in Vi}
5267 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5268 feature}
5269 The name of the font that will be used for |:hardcopy|.
5270 See |pfn-option|.
5272 *'printheader'* *'pheader'*
5273 'printheader' 'pheader' string (default "%<%f%h%m%=Page %N")
5274 global
5275 {not in Vi}
5276 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5277 feature}
5278 The format of the header produced in |:hardcopy| output.
5279 See |pheader-option|.
5281 *'printmbcharset'* *'pmbcs'*
5282 'printmbcharset' 'pmbcs' string (default "")
5283 global
5284 {not in Vi}
5285 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5286 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5287 The CJK character set to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5288 See |pmbcs-option|.
5290 *'printmbfont'* *'pmbfn'*
5291 'printmbfont' 'pmbfn' string (default "")
5292 global
5293 {not in Vi}
5294 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5295 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5296 List of font names to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5297 See |pmbfn-option|.
5299 *'printoptions'* *'popt'*
5300 'printoptions' 'popt' string (default "")
5301 global
5302 {not in Vi}
5303 {only available when compiled with |+printer| feature}
5304 List of items that control the format of the output of |:hardcopy|.
5305 See |popt-option|.
5307 *'prompt'* *'noprompt'*
5308 'prompt' boolean (default on)
5309 global
5310 When on a ":" prompt is used in Ex mode.
5312 *'pumheight'* *'ph'*
5313 'pumheight' 'ph' number (default 0)
5314 global
5315 {not available when compiled without the
5316 |+insert_expand| feature}
5317 {not in Vi}
5318 Determines the maximum number of items to show in the popup menu for
5319 Insert mode completion. When zero as much space as available is used.
5320 |ins-completion-menu|.
5323 *'quoteescape'* *'qe'*
5324 'quoteescape' 'qe' string (default "\")
5325 local to buffer
5326 {not in Vi}
5327 The characters that are used to escape quotes in a string. Used for
5328 objects like a', a" and a` |a'|.
5329 When one of the characters in this option is found inside a string,
5330 the following character will be skipped. The default value makes the
5331 text "foo\"bar\\" considered to be one string.
5333 *'readonly'* *'ro'* *'noreadonly'* *'noro'*
5334 'readonly' 'ro' boolean (default off)
5335 local to buffer
5336 If on, writes fail unless you use a '!'. Protects you from
5337 accidentally overwriting a file. Default on when Vim is started
5338 in read-only mode ("vim -R") or when the executable is called "view".
5339 When using ":w!" the 'readonly' option is reset for the current
5340 buffer, unless the 'Z' flag is in 'cpoptions'.
5341 {not in Vi:} When using the ":view" command the 'readonly' option is
5342 set for the newly edited buffer.
5344 *'redrawtime'* *'rdt'*
5345 'redrawtime' 'rdt' number (default 2000)
5346 global
5347 {not in Vi}
5348 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime|
5349 feature}
5350 The time in milliseconds for redrawing the display. This applies to
5351 searching for patterns for 'hlsearch' and |:match| highlighting.
5352 When redrawing takes more than this many milliseconds no further
5353 matches will be highlighted. This is used to avoid that Vim hangs
5354 when using a very complicated pattern.
5356 *'remap'* *'noremap'*
5357 'remap' boolean (default on)
5358 global
5359 Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for
5360 a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command.
5361 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with Vim scripts, always keep
5362 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
5363 old Vi scripts.
5365 *'report'*
5366 'report' number (default 2)
5367 global
5368 Threshold for reporting number of lines changed. When the number of
5369 changed lines is more than 'report' a message will be given for most
5370 ":" commands. If you want it always, set 'report' to 0.
5371 For the ":substitute" command the number of substitutions is used
5372 instead of the number of lines.
5374 *'restorescreen'* *'rs'* *'norestorescreen'* *'nors'*
5375 'restorescreen' 'rs' boolean (default on)
5376 global
5377 {not in Vi} {only in Windows 95/NT console version}
5378 When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also
5379 happens when executing external commands.
5381 For non-Windows Vim: You can set or reset the 't_ti' and 't_te'
5382 options in your .vimrc. To disable restoring:
5383 set t_ti= t_te=
5384 To enable restoring (for an xterm):
5385 set t_ti=^[7^[[r^[[?47h t_te=^[[?47l^[8
5386 (Where ^[ is an <Esc>, type CTRL-V <Esc> to insert it)
5388 *'revins'* *'ri'* *'norevins'* *'nori'*
5389 'revins' 'ri' boolean (default off)
5390 global
5391 {not in Vi}
5392 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5393 feature}
5394 Inserting characters in Insert mode will work backwards. See "typing
5395 backwards" |ins-reverse|. This option can be toggled with the CTRL-_
5396 command in Insert mode, when 'allowrevins' is set.
5397 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' or 'paste' is set.
5399 *'rightleft'* *'rl'* *'norightleft'* *'norl'*
5400 'rightleft' 'rl' boolean (default off)
5401 local to window
5402 {not in Vi}
5403 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5404 feature}
5405 When on, display orientation becomes right-to-left, i.e., characters
5406 that are stored in the file appear from the right to the left.
5407 Using this option, it is possible to edit files for languages that
5408 are written from the right to the left such as Hebrew and Arabic.
5409 This option is per window, so it is possible to edit mixed files
5410 simultaneously, or to view the same file in both ways (this is
5411 useful whenever you have a mixed text file with both right-to-left
5412 and left-to-right strings so that both sets are displayed properly
5413 in different windows). Also see |rileft.txt|.
5415 *'rightleftcmd'* *'rlc'* *'norightleftcmd'* *'norlc'*
5416 'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' string (default "search")
5417 local to window
5418 {not in Vi}
5419 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5420 feature}
5421 Each word in this option enables the command line editing to work in
5422 right-to-left mode for a group of commands:
5424 search "/" and "?" commands
5426 This is useful for languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi.
5427 The 'rightleft' option must be set for 'rightleftcmd' to take effect.
5429 *'ruler'* *'ru'* *'noruler'* *'noru'*
5430 'ruler' 'ru' boolean (default off)
5431 global
5432 {not in Vi}
5433 {not available when compiled without the
5434 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5435 Show the line and column number of the cursor position, separated by a
5436 comma. When there is room, the relative position of the displayed
5437 text in the file is shown on the far right:
5438 Top first line is visible
5439 Bot last line is visible
5440 All first and last line are visible
5441 45% relative position in the file
5442 If 'rulerformat' is set, it will determine the contents of the ruler.
5443 Each window has its own ruler. If a window has a status line, the
5444 ruler is shown there. Otherwise it is shown in the last line of the
5445 screen. If the statusline is given by 'statusline' (i.e. not empty),
5446 this option takes precedence over 'ruler' and 'rulerformat'
5447 If the number of characters displayed is different from the number of
5448 bytes in the text (e.g., for a TAB or a multi-byte character), both
5449 the text column (byte number) and the screen column are shown,
5450 separated with a dash.
5451 For an empty line "0-1" is shown.
5452 For an empty buffer the line number will also be zero: "0,0-1".
5453 This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
5454 If you don't want to see the ruler all the time but want to know where
5455 you are, use "g CTRL-G" |g_CTRL-G|.
5456 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5458 *'rulerformat'* *'ruf'*
5459 'rulerformat' 'ruf' string (default empty)
5460 global
5461 {not in Vi}
5462 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
5463 feature}
5464 When this option is not empty, it determines the content of the ruler
5465 string, as displayed for the 'ruler' option.
5466 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
5467 The default ruler width is 17 characters. To make the ruler 15
5468 characters wide, put "%15(" at the start and "%)" at the end.
5469 Example: >
5470 :set rulerformat=%15(%c%V\ %p%%%)
5471 <
5472 *'runtimepath'* *'rtp'* *vimfiles*
5473 'runtimepath' 'rtp' string (default:
5474 Unix, Mac OS X: "$HOME/.vim,
5475 $VIM/vimfiles,
5476 $VIMRUNTIME,
5477 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5478 $HOME/.vim/after"
5479 Amiga: "home:vimfiles,
5480 $VIM/vimfiles,
5481 $VIMRUNTIME,
5482 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5483 home:vimfiles/after"
5484 PC, OS/2: "$HOME/vimfiles,
5485 $VIM/vimfiles,
5486 $VIMRUNTIME,
5487 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5488 $HOME/vimfiles/after"
5489 Macintosh (pre-OS X): "$VIM:vimfiles,
5490 $VIMRUNTIME,
5491 $VIM:vimfiles:after"
5492 RISC-OS: "Choices:vimfiles,
5493 $VIMRUNTIME,
5494 Choices:vimfiles/after"
5495 VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles,
5496 $VIM/vimfiles,
5497 $VIMRUNTIME,
5498 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5499 sys$login:vimfiles/after")
5500 global
5501 {not in Vi}
5502 This is a list of directories which will be searched for runtime
5503 files:
5504 filetype.vim filetypes by file name |new-filetype|
5505 scripts.vim filetypes by file contents |new-filetype-scripts|
5506 autoload/ automatically loaded scripts |autoload-functions|
5507 colors/ color scheme files |:colorscheme|
5508 compiler/ compiler files |:compiler|
5509 doc/ documentation |write-local-help|
5510 ftplugin/ filetype plugins |write-filetype-plugin|
5511 indent/ indent scripts |indent-expression|
5512 keymap/ key mapping files |mbyte-keymap|
5513 lang/ menu translations |:menutrans|
5514 menu.vim GUI menus |menu.vim|
5515 plugin/ plugin scripts |write-plugin|
5516 print/ files for printing |postscript-print-encoding|
5517 spell/ spell checking files |spell|
5518 syntax/ syntax files |mysyntaxfile|
5519 tutor/ files for vimtutor |tutor|
5521 And any other file searched for with the |:runtime| command.
5523 The defaults for most systems are setup to search five locations:
5524 1. In your home directory, for your personal preferences.
5525 2. In a system-wide Vim directory, for preferences from the system
5526 administrator.
5527 3. In $VIMRUNTIME, for files distributed with Vim.
5528 *after-directory*
5529 4. In the "after" directory in the system-wide Vim directory. This is
5530 for the system administrator to overrule or add to the distributed
5531 defaults (rarely needed)
5532 5. In the "after" directory in your home directory. This is for
5533 personal preferences to overrule or add to the distributed defaults
5534 or system-wide settings (rarely needed).
5536 Note that, unlike 'path', no wildcards like "**" are allowed. Normal
5537 wildcards are allowed, but can significantly slow down searching for
5538 runtime files. For speed, use as few items as possible and avoid
5539 wildcards.
5540 See |:runtime|.
5541 Example: >
5542 :set runtimepath=~/vimruntime,/mygroup/vim,$VIMRUNTIME
5543 < This will use the directory "~/vimruntime" first (containing your
5544 personal Vim runtime files), then "/mygroup/vim" (shared between a
5545 group of people) and finally "$VIMRUNTIME" (the distributed runtime
5546 files).
5547 You probably should always include $VIMRUNTIME somewhere, to use the
5548 distributed runtime files. You can put a directory before $VIMRUNTIME
5549 to find files which replace a distributed runtime files. You can put
5550 a directory after $VIMRUNTIME to find files which add to distributed
5551 runtime files.
5552 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5553 security reasons.
5555 *'scroll'* *'scr'*
5556 'scroll' 'scr' number (default: half the window height)
5557 local to window
5558 Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands. Will be
5559 set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size
5560 changes. If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will
5561 be used as the new value for 'scroll'. Reset to half the window
5562 height with ":set scroll=0". {Vi is a bit different: 'scroll' gives
5563 the number of screen lines instead of file lines, makes a difference
5564 when lines wrap}
5566 *'scrollbind'* *'scb'* *'noscrollbind'* *'noscb'*
5567 'scrollbind' 'scb' boolean (default off)
5568 local to window
5569 {not in Vi}
5570 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5571 feature}
5572 See also |scroll-binding|. When this option is set, the current
5573 window scrolls as other scrollbind windows (windows that also have
5574 this option set) scroll. This option is useful for viewing the
5575 differences between two versions of a file, see 'diff'.
5576 See |'scrollopt'| for options that determine how this option should be
5577 interpreted.
5578 This option is mostly reset when splitting a window to edit another
5579 file. This means that ":split | edit file" results in two windows
5580 with scroll-binding, but ":split file" does not.
5582 *'scrolljump'* *'sj'*
5583 'scrolljump' 'sj' number (default 1)
5584 global
5585 {not in Vi}
5586 Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the
5587 screen (e.g., with "j"). Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E,
5588 CTRL-D). Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly.
5589 When set to a negative number from -1 to -100 this is used as the
5590 percentage of the window height. Thus -50 scrolls half the window
5591 height.
5592 NOTE: This option is set to 1 when 'compatible' is set.
5594 *'scrolloff'* *'so'*
5595 'scrolloff' 'so' number (default 0)
5596 global
5597 {not in Vi}
5598 Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
5599 This will make some context visible around where you are working. If
5600 you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be
5601 in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or
5602 when long lines wrap).
5603 For scrolling horizontally see 'sidescrolloff'.
5604 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
5606 *'scrollopt'* *'sbo'*
5607 'scrollopt' 'sbo' string (default "ver,jump")
5608 global
5609 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5610 feature}
5611 {not in Vi}
5612 This is a comma-separated list of words that specifies how
5613 'scrollbind' windows should behave. 'sbo' stands for ScrollBind
5614 Options.
5615 The following words are available:
5616 ver Bind vertical scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5617 hor Bind horizontal scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5618 jump Applies to the offset between two windows for vertical
5619 scrolling. This offset is the difference in the first
5620 displayed line of the bound windows. When moving
5621 around in a window, another 'scrollbind' window may
5622 reach a position before the start or after the end of
5623 the buffer. The offset is not changed though, when
5624 moving back the 'scrollbind' window will try to scroll
5625 to the desired position when possible.
5626 When now making that window the current one, two
5627 things can be done with the relative offset:
5628 1. When "jump" is not included, the relative offset is
5629 adjusted for the scroll position in the new current
5630 window. When going back to the other window, the
5631 new relative offset will be used.
5632 2. When "jump" is included, the other windows are
5633 scrolled to keep the same relative offset. When
5634 going back to the other window, it still uses the
5635 same relative offset.
5636 Also see |scroll-binding|.
5637 When 'diff' mode is active there always is vertical scroll binding,
5638 even when "ver" isn't there.
5640 *'sections'* *'sect'*
5641 'sections' 'sect' string (default "SHNHH HUnhsh")
5642 global
5643 Specifies the nroff macros that separate sections. These are pairs of
5644 two letters (See |object-motions|). The default makes a section start
5645 at the nroff macros ".SH", ".NH", ".H", ".HU", ".nh" and ".sh".
5647 *'secure'* *'nosecure'* *E523*
5648 'secure' boolean (default off)
5649 global
5650 {not in Vi}
5651 When on, ":autocmd", shell and write commands are not allowed in
5652 ".vimrc" and ".exrc" in the current directory and map commands are
5653 displayed. Switch it off only if you know that you will not run into
5654 problems, or when the 'exrc' option is off. On Unix this option is
5655 only used if the ".vimrc" or ".exrc" is not owned by you. This can be
5656 dangerous if the systems allows users to do a "chown". You better set
5657 'secure' at the end of your ~/.vimrc then.
5658 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5659 security reasons.
5661 *'selection'* *'sel'*
5662 'selection' 'sel' string (default "inclusive")
5663 global
5664 {not in Vi}
5665 This option defines the behavior of the selection. It is only used
5666 in Visual and Select mode.
5667 Possible values:
5668 value past line inclusive ~
5669 old no yes
5670 inclusive yes yes
5671 exclusive yes no
5672 "past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one
5673 character past the line.
5674 "inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included
5675 in an operation. For example, when "x" is used to delete the
5676 selection.
5677 Note that when "exclusive" is used and selecting from the end
5678 backwards, you cannot include the last character of a line, when
5679 starting in Normal mode and 'virtualedit' empty.
5681 The 'selection' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5683 *'selectmode'* *'slm'*
5684 'selectmode' 'slm' string (default "")
5685 global
5686 {not in Vi}
5687 This is a comma separated list of words, which specifies when to start
5688 Select mode instead of Visual mode, when a selection is started.
5689 Possible values:
5690 mouse when using the mouse
5691 key when using shifted special keys
5692 cmd when using "v", "V" or CTRL-V
5693 See |Select-mode|.
5694 The 'selectmode' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5696 *'sessionoptions'* *'ssop'*
5697 'sessionoptions' 'ssop' string (default: "blank,buffers,curdir,folds,
5698 help,options,tabpages,winsize")
5699 global
5700 {not in Vi}
5701 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
5702 feature}
5703 Changes the effect of the |:mksession| command. It is a comma
5704 separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring
5705 something:
5706 word save and restore ~
5707 blank empty windows
5708 buffers hidden and unloaded buffers, not just those in windows
5709 curdir the current directory
5710 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
5711 fold options
5712 globals global variables that start with an uppercase letter
5713 and contain at least one lowercase letter. Only
5714 String and Number types are stored.
5715 help the help window
5716 localoptions options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
5717 global values for local options)
5718 options all options and mappings (also global values for local
5719 options)
5720 resize size of the Vim window: 'lines' and 'columns'
5721 sesdir the directory in which the session file is located
5722 will become the current directory (useful with
5723 projects accessed over a network from different
5724 systems)
5725 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
5726 slashes
5727 tabpages all tab pages; without this only the current tab page
5728 is restored, so that you can make a session for each
5729 tab page separately
5730 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
5731 on Windows or DOS
5732 winpos position of the whole Vim window
5733 winsize window sizes
5735 Don't include both "curdir" and "sesdir".
5736 When neither "curdir" nor "sesdir" is included, file names are stored
5737 with absolute paths.
5738 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing session files
5739 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
5740 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
5742 *'shell'* *'sh'* *E91*
5743 'shell' 'sh' string (default $SHELL or "sh",
5744 MS-DOS and Win32: "command.com" or
5745 "cmd.exe", OS/2: "cmd")
5746 global
5747 Name of the shell to use for ! and :! commands. When changing the
5748 value also check these options: 'shelltype', 'shellpipe', 'shellslash'
5749 'shellredir', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote' and 'shellcmdflag'.
5750 It is allowed to give an argument to the command, e.g. "csh -f".
5751 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
5752 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5753 If the name of the shell contains a space, you might need to enclose
5754 it in quotes. Example: >
5755 :set shell=\"c:\program\ files\unix\sh.exe\"\ -f
5756 < Note the backslash before each quote (to avoid starting a comment) and
5757 each space (to avoid ending the option value). Also note that the
5758 "-f" is not inside the quotes, because it is not part of the command
5759 name. And Vim automagically recognizes the backslashes that are path
5760 separators.
5761 For Dos 32 bits (DJGPP), you can set the $DJSYSFLAGS environment
5762 variable to change the way external commands are executed. See the
5763 libc.inf file of DJGPP.
5764 Under MS-Windows, when the executable ends in ".com" it must be
5765 included. Thus setting the shell to "command.com" or "4dos.com"
5766 works, but "command" and "4dos" do not work for all commands (e.g.,
5767 filtering).
5768 For unknown reasons, when using "4dos.com" the current directory is
5769 changed to "C:\". To avoid this set 'shell' like this: >
5770 :set shell=command.com\ /c\ 4dos
5771 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5772 security reasons.
5774 *'shellcmdflag'* *'shcf'*
5775 'shellcmdflag' 'shcf' string (default: "-c", MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5776 does not contain "sh" somewhere: "/c")
5777 global
5778 {not in Vi}
5779 Flag passed to the shell to execute "!" and ":!" commands; e.g.,
5780 "bash.exe -c ls" or "command.com /c dir". For the MS-DOS-like
5781 systems, the default is set according to the value of 'shell', to
5782 reduce the need to set this option by the user. It's not used for
5783 OS/2 (EMX figures this out itself). See |option-backslash| about
5784 including spaces and backslashes. See |dos-shell|.
5785 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5786 security reasons.
5788 *'shellpipe'* *'sp'*
5789 'shellpipe' 'sp' string (default ">", "| tee", "|& tee" or "2>&1| tee")
5790 global
5791 {not in Vi}
5792 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
5793 feature}
5794 String to be used to put the output of the ":make" command in the
5795 error file. See also |:make_makeprg|. See |option-backslash| about
5796 including spaces and backslashes.
5797 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5798 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5799 of this option).
5800 For the Amiga and MS-DOS the default is ">". The output is directly
5801 saved in a file and not echoed to the screen.
5802 For Unix the default it "| tee". The stdout of the compiler is saved
5803 in a file and echoed to the screen. If the 'shell' option is "csh" or
5804 "tcsh" after initializations, the default becomes "|& tee". If the
5805 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "zsh" or "bash" the default becomes
5806 "2>&1| tee". This means that stderr is also included.
5807 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5808 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5809 there, the 'shellpipe' option changes automatically, unless it was
5810 explicitly set before.
5811 When 'shellpipe' is set to an empty string, no redirection of the
5812 ":make" output will be done. This is useful if you use a 'makeprg'
5813 that writes to 'makeef' by itself. If you want no piping, but do
5814 want to include the 'makeef', set 'shellpipe' to a single space.
5815 Don't forget to precede the space with a backslash: ":set sp=\ ".
5816 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5817 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5818 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5819 security reasons.
5821 *'shellquote'* *'shq'*
5822 'shellquote' 'shq' string (default: ""; MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5823 contains "sh" somewhere: "\"")
5824 global
5825 {not in Vi}
5826 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5827 the "!" and ":!" commands. The redirection is kept outside of the
5828 quoting. See 'shellxquote' to include the redirection. It's
5829 probably not useful to set both options.
5830 This is an empty string by default. Only known to be useful for
5831 third-party shells on MS-DOS-like systems, such as the MKS Korn Shell
5832 or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted according
5833 the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the
5834 user. See |dos-shell|.
5835 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5836 security reasons.
5838 *'shellredir'* *'srr'*
5839 'shellredir' 'srr' string (default ">", ">&" or ">%s 2>&1")
5840 global
5841 {not in Vi}
5842 String to be used to put the output of a filter command in a temporary
5843 file. See also |:!|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces
5844 and backslashes.
5845 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5846 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5847 of this option).
5848 The default is ">". For Unix, if the 'shell' option is "csh", "tcsh"
5849 or "zsh" during initializations, the default becomes ">&". If the
5850 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh" or "bash" the default becomes
5851 ">%s 2>&1". This means that stderr is also included.
5852 For Win32, the Unix checks are done and additionally "cmd" is checked
5853 for, which makes the default ">%s 2>&1". Also, the same names with
5854 ".exe" appended are checked for.
5855 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5856 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5857 there, the 'shellredir' option changes automatically unless it was
5858 explicitly set before.
5859 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5860 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5861 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5862 security reasons.
5864 *'shellslash'* *'ssl'* *'noshellslash'* *'nossl'*
5865 'shellslash' 'ssl' boolean (default off)
5866 global
5867 {not in Vi} {only for MSDOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
5868 When set, a forward slash is used when expanding file names. This is
5869 useful when a Unix-like shell is used instead of command.com or
5870 cmd.exe. Backward slashes can still be typed, but they are changed to
5871 forward slashes by Vim.
5872 Note that setting or resetting this option has no effect for some
5873 existing file names, thus this option needs to be set before opening
5874 any file for best results. This might change in the future.
5875 'shellslash' only works when a backslash can be used as a path
5876 separator. To test if this is so use: >
5877 if exists('+shellslash')
5878 <
5879 *'shelltemp'* *'stmp'* *'noshelltemp'* *'nostmp'*
5880 'shelltemp' 'stmp' boolean (Vi default off, Vim default on)
5881 global
5882 {not in Vi}
5883 When on, use temp files for shell commands. When off use a pipe.
5884 When using a pipe is not possible temp files are used anyway.
5885 Currently a pipe is only supported on Unix. You can check it with: >
5886 :if has("filterpipe")
5887 < The advantage of using a pipe is that nobody can read the temp file
5888 and the 'shell' command does not need to support redirection.
5889 The advantage of using a temp file is that the file type and encoding
5890 can be detected.
5891 The |FilterReadPre|, |FilterReadPost| and |FilterWritePre|,
5892 |FilterWritePost| autocommands event are not triggered when
5893 'shelltemp' is off.
5895 *'shelltype'* *'st'*
5896 'shelltype' 'st' number (default 0)
5897 global
5898 {not in Vi} {only for the Amiga}
5899 On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work
5900 which use a shell.
5901 0 and 1: always use the shell
5902 2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines
5903 4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command
5904 When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.
5906 0 and 2: use "shell 'shellcmdflag' cmd" to start external commands
5907 1 and 3: use "shell cmd" to start external commands
5909 *'shellxquote'* *'sxq'*
5910 'shellxquote' 'sxq' string (default: "";
5911 for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh"
5912 somewhere: "\""
5913 for Unix, when using system(): "\"")
5914 global
5915 {not in Vi}
5916 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5917 the "!" and ":!" commands. Includes the redirection. See
5918 'shellquote' to exclude the redirection. It's probably not useful
5919 to set both options.
5920 This is an empty string by default. Known to be useful for
5921 third-party shells when using the Win32 version, such as the MKS Korn
5922 Shell or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted
5923 according the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option
5924 by the user. See |dos-shell|.
5925 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5926 security reasons.
5928 *'shiftround'* *'sr'* *'noshiftround'* *'nosr'*
5929 'shiftround' 'sr' boolean (default off)
5930 global
5931 {not in Vi}
5932 Round indent to multiple of 'shiftwidth'. Applies to > and <
5933 commands. CTRL-T and CTRL-D in Insert mode always round the indent to
5934 a multiple of 'shiftwidth' (this is Vi compatible).
5935 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5937 *'shiftwidth'* *'sw'*
5938 'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
5939 local to buffer
5940 Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for
5941 |'cindent'|, |>>|, |<<|, etc.
5943 *'shortmess'* *'shm'*
5944 'shortmess' 'shm' string (Vim default "filnxtToO", Vi default: "",
5945 POSIX default: "A")
5946 global
5947 {not in Vi}
5948 This option helps to avoid all the |hit-enter| prompts caused by file
5949 messages, for example with CTRL-G, and to avoid some other messages.
5950 It is a list of flags:
5951 flag meaning when present ~
5952 f use "(3 of 5)" instead of "(file 3 of 5)"
5953 i use "[noeol]" instead of "[Incomplete last line]"
5954 l use "999L, 888C" instead of "999 lines, 888 characters"
5955 m use "[+]" instead of "[Modified]"
5956 n use "[New]" instead of "[New File]"
5957 r use "[RO]" instead of "[readonly]"
5958 w use "[w]" instead of "written" for file write message
5959 and "[a]" instead of "appended" for ':w >> file' command
5960 x use "[dos]" instead of "[dos format]", "[unix]" instead of
5961 "[unix format]" and "[mac]" instead of "[mac format]".
5962 a all of the above abbreviations
5964 o overwrite message for writing a file with subsequent message
5965 for reading a file (useful for ":wn" or when 'autowrite' on)
5966 O message for reading a file overwrites any previous message.
5967 Also for quickfix message (e.g., ":cn").
5968 s don't give "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" or "search
5969 hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages
5970 t truncate file message at the start if it is too long to fit
5971 on the command-line, "<" will appear in the left most column.
5972 Ignored in Ex mode.
5973 T truncate other messages in the middle if they are too long to
5974 fit on the command line. "..." will appear in the middle.
5975 Ignored in Ex mode.
5976 W don't give "written" or "[w]" when writing a file
5977 A don't give the "ATTENTION" message when an existing swap file
5978 is found.
5979 I don't give the intro message when starting Vim |:intro|.
5981 This gives you the opportunity to avoid that a change between buffers
5982 requires you to hit <Enter>, but still gives as useful a message as
5983 possible for the space available. To get the whole message that you
5984 would have got with 'shm' empty, use ":file!"
5985 Useful values:
5986 shm= No abbreviation of message.
5987 shm=a Abbreviation, but no loss of information.
5988 shm=at Abbreviation, and truncate message when necessary.
5990 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5991 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5993 *'shortname'* *'sn'* *'noshortname'* *'nosn'*
5994 'shortname' 'sn' boolean (default off)
5995 local to buffer
5996 {not in Vi, not in MS-DOS versions}
5997 Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3
5998 characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this
5999 option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when
6000 adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is not available
6001 for MS-DOS, because then it would always be on. This option is useful
6002 when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos
6003 or crossdos. When running the Win32 GUI version under Win32s, this
6004 option is always on by default.
6006 *'showbreak'* *'sbr'* *E595*
6007 'showbreak' 'sbr' string (default "")
6008 global
6009 {not in Vi}
6010 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
6011 feature}
6012 String to put at the start of lines that have been wrapped. Useful
6013 values are "> " or "+++ ".
6014 Only printable single-cell characters are allowed, excluding <Tab> and
6015 comma (in a future version the comma might be used to separate the
6016 part that is shown at the end and at the start of a line).
6017 The characters are highlighted according to the '@' flag in
6018 'highlight'.
6019 Note that tabs after the showbreak will be displayed differently.
6020 If you want the 'showbreak' to appear in between line numbers, add the
6021 "n" flag to 'cpoptions'.
6023 *'showcmd'* *'sc'* *'noshowcmd'* *'nosc'*
6024 'showcmd' 'sc' boolean (Vim default: on, off for Unix, Vi default:
6025 off)
6026 global
6027 {not in Vi}
6028 {not available when compiled without the
6029 |+cmdline_info| feature}
6030 Show (partial) command in the last line of the screen. Set this
6031 option off if your terminal is slow.
6032 In Visual mode the size of the selected area is shown:
6033 - When selecting characters within a line, the number of characters.
6034 - When selecting more than one line, the number of lines.
6035 - When selecting a block, the size in screen characters:
6036 {lines}x{columns}.
6037 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6038 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6040 *'showfulltag'* *'sft'* *'noshowfulltag'* *'nosft'*
6041 'showfulltag' 'sft' boolean (default off)
6042 global
6043 {not in Vi}
6044 When completing a word in insert mode (see |ins-completion|) from the
6045 tags file, show both the tag name and a tidied-up form of the search
6046 pattern (if there is one) as possible matches. Thus, if you have
6047 matched a C function, you can see a template for what arguments are
6048 required (coding style permitting).
6049 Note that this doesn't work well together with having "longest" in
6050 'completeopt', because the completion from the search pattern may not
6051 match the typed text.
6053 *'showmatch'* *'sm'* *'noshowmatch'* *'nosm'*
6054 'showmatch' 'sm' boolean (default off)
6055 global
6056 When a bracket is inserted, briefly jump to the matching one. The
6057 jump is only done if the match can be seen on the screen. The time to
6058 show the match can be set with 'matchtime'.
6059 A Beep is given if there is no match (no matter if the match can be
6060 seen or not). This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
6061 When the 'm' flag is not included in 'cpoptions', typing a character
6062 will immediately move the cursor back to where it belongs.
6063 See the "sm" field in 'guicursor' for setting the cursor shape and
6064 blinking when showing the match.
6065 The 'matchpairs' option can be used to specify the characters to show
6066 matches for. 'rightleft' and 'revins' are used to look for opposite
6067 matches.
6068 Also see the matchparen plugin for highlighting the match when moving
6069 around |pi_paren.txt|.
6070 Note: Use of the short form is rated PG.
6072 *'showmode'* *'smd'* *'noshowmode'* *'nosmd'*
6073 'showmode' 'smd' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6074 global
6075 If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line.
6076 Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for
6077 this message.
6078 When |XIM| may be used the message will include "XIM". But this
6079 doesn't mean XIM is really active, especially when 'imactivatekey' is
6080 not set.
6081 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6082 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6084 *'showtabline'* *'stal'*
6085 'showtabline' 'stal' number (default 1)
6086 global
6087 {not in Vi}
6088 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6089 feature}
6090 The value of this option specifies when the line with tab page labels
6091 will be displayed:
6092 0: never
6093 1: only if there are at least two tab pages
6094 2: always
6095 This is both for the GUI and non-GUI implementation of the tab pages
6096 line.
6097 See |tab-page| for more information about tab pages.
6099 *'sidescroll'* *'ss'*
6100 'sidescroll' 'ss' number (default 0)
6101 global
6102 {not in Vi}
6103 The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally. Used only when
6104 the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen.
6105 When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen.
6106 When using a slow terminal set it to a large number or 0. When using
6107 a fast terminal use a small number or 1. Not used for "zh" and "zl"
6108 commands.
6110 *'sidescrolloff'* *'siso'*
6111 'sidescrolloff' 'siso' number (default 0)
6112 global
6113 {not in Vi}
6114 The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the
6115 right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a
6116 value greater than 0 while having |'sidescroll'| also at a non-zero
6117 value makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in
6118 horizontally (except at beginning of the line). Setting this option
6119 to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the cursor
6120 horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not come too
6121 close to the beginning of the line.
6122 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6124 Example: Try this together with 'sidescroll' and 'listchars' as
6125 in the following example to never allow the cursor to move
6126 onto the "extends" character:
6128 :set nowrap sidescroll=1 listchars=extends:>,precedes:<
6129 :set sidescrolloff=1
6132 *'smartcase'* *'scs'* *'nosmartcase'* *'noscs'*
6133 'smartcase' 'scs' boolean (default off)
6134 global
6135 {not in Vi}
6136 Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper
6137 case characters. Only used when the search pattern is typed and
6138 'ignorecase' option is on. Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N",
6139 ":g" and ":s". Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc.. After
6140 "*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command,
6141 recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>.
6142 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6144 *'smartindent'* *'si'* *'nosmartindent'* *'nosi'*
6145 'smartindent' 'si' boolean (default off)
6146 local to buffer
6147 {not in Vi}
6148 {not available when compiled without the
6149 |+smartindent| feature}
6150 Do smart autoindenting when starting a new line. Works for C-like
6151 programs, but can also be used for other languages. 'cindent' does
6152 something like this, works better in most cases, but is more strict,
6153 see |C-indenting|. When 'cindent' is on, setting 'si' has no effect.
6154 'indentexpr' is a more advanced alternative.
6155 Normally 'autoindent' should also be on when using 'smartindent'.
6156 An indent is automatically inserted:
6157 - After a line ending in '{'.
6158 - After a line starting with a keyword from 'cinwords'.
6159 - Before a line starting with '}' (only with the "O" command).
6160 When typing '}' as the first character in a new line, that line is
6161 given the same indent as the matching '{'.
6162 When typing '#' as the first character in a new line, the indent for
6163 that line is removed, the '#' is put in the first column. The indent
6164 is restored for the next line. If you don't want this, use this
6165 mapping: ":inoremap # X^H#", where ^H is entered with CTRL-V CTRL-H.
6166 When using the ">>" command, lines starting with '#' are not shifted
6167 right.
6168 NOTE: 'smartindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. When 'paste'
6169 is set smart indenting is disabled.
6171 *'smarttab'* *'sta'* *'nosmarttab'* *'nosta'*
6172 'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
6173 global
6174 {not in Vi}
6175 When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to
6176 'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' or 'softtabstop' is used in other places. A
6177 <BS> will delete a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the
6178 line.
6179 When off, a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop' or
6180 'softtabstop'. 'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or
6181 right |shift-left-right|.
6182 What gets inserted (a <Tab> or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab'
6183 option. Also see |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the
6184 number of spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6185 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6187 *'softtabstop'* *'sts'*
6188 'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
6189 local to buffer
6190 {not in Vi}
6191 Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing
6192 operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like
6193 <Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is
6194 used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value
6195 of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However,
6196 commands like "x" still work on the actual characters.
6197 When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off.
6198 'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set.
6199 See also |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of
6200 spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6201 The 'L' flag in 'cpoptions' changes how tabs are used when 'list' is
6202 set.
6203 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6205 *'spell'* *'nospell'*
6206 'spell' boolean (default off)
6207 local to window
6208 {not in Vi}
6209 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6210 feature}
6211 When on spell checking will be done. See |spell|.
6212 The languages are specified with 'spelllang'.
6214 *'spellcapcheck'* *'spc'*
6215 'spellcapcheck' 'spc' string (default "[.?!]\_[\])'" \t]\+")
6216 local to buffer
6217 {not in Vi}
6218 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6219 feature}
6220 Pattern to locate the end of a sentence. The following word will be
6221 checked to start with a capital letter. If not then it is highlighted
6222 with SpellCap |hl-SpellCap| (unless the word is also badly spelled).
6223 When this check is not wanted make this option empty.
6224 Only used when 'spell' is set.
6225 Be careful with special characters, see |option-backslash| about
6226 including spaces and backslashes.
6227 To set this option automatically depending on the language, see
6228 |set-spc-auto|.
6230 *'spellfile'* *'spf'*
6231 'spellfile' 'spf' string (default empty)
6232 local to buffer
6233 {not in Vi}
6234 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6235 feature}
6236 Name of the word list file where words are added for the |zg| and |zw|
6237 commands. It must end in ".{encoding}.add". You need to include the
6238 path, otherwise the file is placed in the current directory.
6239 *E765*
6240 It may also be a comma separated list of names. A count before the
6241 |zg| and |zw| commands can be used to access each. This allows using
6242 a personal word list file and a project word list file.
6243 When a word is added while this option is empty Vim will set it for
6244 you: Using the first directory in 'runtimepath' that is writable. If
6245 there is no "spell" directory yet it will be created. For the file
6246 name the first language name that appears in 'spelllang' is used,
6247 ignoring the region.
6248 The resulting ".spl" file will be used for spell checking, it does not
6249 have to appear in 'spelllang'.
6250 Normally one file is used for all regions, but you can add the region
6251 name if you want to. However, it will then only be used when
6252 'spellfile' is set to it, for entries in 'spelllang' only files
6253 without region name will be found.
6254 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6255 security reasons.
6257 *'spelllang'* *'spl'*
6258 'spelllang' 'spl' string (default "en")
6259 local to buffer
6260 {not in Vi}
6261 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6262 feature}
6263 A comma separated list of word list names. When the 'spell' option is
6264 on spellchecking will be done for these languages. Example: >
6265 set spelllang=en_us,nl,medical
6266 < This means US English, Dutch and medical words are recognized. Words
6267 that are not recognized will be highlighted.
6268 The word list name must not include a comma or dot. Using a dash is
6269 recommended to separate the two letter language name from a
6270 specification. Thus "en-rare" is used for rare English words.
6271 A region name must come last and have the form "_xx", where "xx" is
6272 the two-letter, lower case region name. You can use more than one
6273 region by listing them: "en_us,en_ca" supports both US and Canadian
6274 English, but not words specific for Australia, New Zealand or Great
6275 Britain.
6276 *E757*
6277 As a special case the name of a .spl file can be given as-is. The
6278 first "_xx" in the name is removed and used as the region name
6279 (_xx is an underscore, two letters and followed by a non-letter).
6280 This is mainly for testing purposes. You must make sure the correct
6281 encoding is used, Vim doesn't check it.
6282 When 'encoding' is set the word lists are reloaded. Thus it's a good
6283 idea to set 'spelllang' after setting 'encoding' to avoid loading the
6284 files twice.
6285 How the related spell files are found is explained here: |spell-load|.
6287 If the |spellfile.vim| plugin is active and you use a language name
6288 for which Vim cannot find the .spl file in 'runtimepath' the plugin
6289 will ask you if you want to download the file.
6291 After this option has been set successfully, Vim will source the files
6292 "spell/LANG.vim" in 'runtimepath'. "LANG" is the value of 'spelllang'
6293 up to the first comma, dot or underscore.
6294 Also see |set-spc-auto|.
6297 *'spellsuggest'* *'sps'*
6298 'spellsuggest' 'sps' string (default "best")
6299 global
6300 {not in Vi}
6301 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6302 feature}
6303 Methods used for spelling suggestions. Both for the |z=| command and
6304 the |spellsuggest()| function. This is a comma-separated list of
6305 items:
6307 best Internal method that works best for English. Finds
6308 changes like "fast" and uses a bit of sound-a-like
6309 scoring to improve the ordering.
6311 double Internal method that uses two methods and mixes the
6312 results. The first method is "fast", the other method
6313 computes how much the suggestion sounds like the bad
6314 word. That only works when the language specifies
6315 sound folding. Can be slow and doesn't always give
6316 better results.
6318 fast Internal method that only checks for simple changes:
6319 character inserts/deletes/swaps. Works well for
6320 simple typing mistakes.
6322 {number} The maximum number of suggestions listed for |z=|.
6323 Not used for |spellsuggest()|. The number of
6324 suggestions is never more than the value of 'lines'
6325 minus two.
6327 file:{filename} Read file {filename}, which must have two columns,
6328 separated by a slash. The first column contains the
6329 bad word, the second column the suggested good word.
6330 Example:
6331 theribal/terrible ~
6332 Use this for common mistakes that do not appear at the
6333 top of the suggestion list with the internal methods.
6334 Lines without a slash are ignored, use this for
6335 comments.
6336 The file is used for all languages.
6338 expr:{expr} Evaluate expression {expr}. Use a function to avoid
6339 trouble with spaces. |v:val| holds the badly spelled
6340 word. The expression must evaluate to a List of
6341 Lists, each with a suggestion and a score.
6342 Example:
6343 [['the', 33], ['that', 44]]
6344 Set 'verbose' and use |z=| to see the scores that the
6345 internal methods use. A lower score is better.
6346 This may invoke |spellsuggest()| if you temporarily
6347 set 'spellsuggest' to exclude the "expr:" part.
6348 Errors are silently ignored, unless you set the
6349 'verbose' option to a non-zero value.
6351 Only one of "best", "double" or "fast" may be used. The others may
6352 appear several times in any order. Example: >
6353 :set sps=file:~/.vim/sugg,best,expr:MySuggest()
6354 <
6355 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6356 security reasons.
6359 *'splitbelow'* *'sb'* *'nosplitbelow'* *'nosb'*
6360 'splitbelow' 'sb' boolean (default off)
6361 global
6362 {not in Vi}
6363 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6364 feature}
6365 When on, splitting a window will put the new window below the current
6366 one. |:split|
6368 *'splitright'* *'spr'* *'nosplitright'* *'nospr'*
6369 'splitright' 'spr' boolean (default off)
6370 global
6371 {not in Vi}
6372 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
6373 feature}
6374 When on, splitting a window will put the new window right of the
6375 current one. |:vsplit|
6377 *'startofline'* *'sol'* *'nostartofline'* *'nosol'*
6378 'startofline' 'sol' boolean (default on)
6379 global
6380 {not in Vi}
6381 When "on" the commands listed below move the cursor to the first
6382 non-blank of the line. When off the cursor is kept in the same column
6383 (if possible). This applies to the commands: CTRL-D, CTRL-U, CTRL-B,
6384 CTRL-F, "G", "H", "M", "L", gg, and to the commands "d", "<<" and ">>"
6385 with a linewise operator, with "%" with a count and to buffer changing
6386 commands (CTRL-^, :bnext, :bNext, etc.). Also for an Ex command that
6387 only has a line number, e.g., ":25" or ":+".
6388 In case of buffer changing commands the cursor is placed at the column
6389 where it was the last time the buffer was edited.
6390 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
6392 *'statusline'* *'stl'* *E540* *E541* *E542*
6393 'statusline' 'stl' string (default empty)
6394 global or local to window |global-local|
6395 {not in Vi}
6396 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
6397 feature}
6398 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the status line.
6399 Also see |status-line|.
6401 The option consists of printf style '%' items interspersed with
6402 normal text. Each status line item is of the form:
6403 %-0{minwid}.{maxwid}{item}
6404 All fields except the {item} is optional. A single percent sign can
6405 be given as "%%". Up to 80 items can be specified.
6407 When the option starts with "%!" then it is used as an expression,
6408 evaluated and the result is used as the option value. Example: >
6409 :set statusline=%!MyStatusLine()
6410 < The result can contain %{} items that will be evaluated too.
6412 When there is error while evaluating the option then it will be made
6413 empty to avoid further errors. Otherwise screen updating would loop.
6415 Note that the only effect of 'ruler' when this option is set (and
6416 'laststatus' is 2) is controlling the output of |CTRL-G|.
6418 field meaning ~
6419 - Left justify the item. The default is right justified
6420 when minwid is larger than the length of the item.
6421 0 Leading zeroes in numeric items. Overridden by '-'.
6422 minwid Minimum width of the item, padding as set by '-' & '0'.
6423 Value must be 50 or less.
6424 maxwid Maximum width of the item. Truncation occurs with a '<'
6425 on the left for text items. Numeric items will be
6426 shifted down to maxwid-2 digits followed by '>'number
6427 where number is the amount of missing digits, much like
6428 an exponential notation.
6429 item A one letter code as described below.
6431 Following is a description of the possible statusline items. The
6432 second character in "item" is the type:
6433 N for number
6434 S for string
6435 F for flags as described below
6436 - not applicable
6438 item meaning ~
6439 f S Path to the file in the buffer, as typed or relative to current
6440 directory.
6441 F S Full path to the file in the buffer.
6442 t S File name (tail) of file in the buffer.
6443 m F Modified flag, text is "[+]"; "[-]" if 'modifiable' is off.
6444 M F Modified flag, text is ",+" or ",-".
6445 r F Readonly flag, text is "[RO]".
6446 R F Readonly flag, text is ",RO".
6447 h F Help buffer flag, text is "[help]".
6448 H F Help buffer flag, text is ",HLP".
6449 w F Preview window flag, text is "[Preview]".
6450 W F Preview window flag, text is ",PRV".
6451 y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., "[vim]". See 'filetype'.
6452 Y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., ",VIM". See 'filetype'.
6453 {not available when compiled without |+autocmd| feature}
6454 k S Value of "b:keymap_name" or 'keymap' when |:lmap| mappings are
6455 being used: "<keymap>"
6456 n N Buffer number.
6457 b N Value of byte under cursor.
6458 B N As above, in hexadecimal.
6459 o N Byte number in file of byte under cursor, first byte is 1.
6460 Mnemonic: Offset from start of file (with one added)
6461 {not available when compiled without |+byte_offset| feature}
6462 O N As above, in hexadecimal.
6463 N N Printer page number. (Only works in the 'printheader' option.)
6464 l N Line number.
6465 L N Number of lines in buffer.
6466 c N Column number.
6467 v N Virtual column number.
6468 V N Virtual column number as -{num}. Not displayed if equal to 'c'.
6469 p N Percentage through file in lines as in |CTRL-G|.
6470 P S Percentage through file of displayed window. This is like the
6471 percentage described for 'ruler'. Always 3 in length.
6472 a S Argument list status as in default title. ({current} of {max})
6473 Empty if the argument file count is zero or one.
6474 { NF Evaluate expression between '%{' and '}' and substitute result.
6475 Note that there is no '%' before the closing '}'.
6476 ( - Start of item group. Can be used for setting the width and
6477 alignment of a section. Must be followed by %) somewhere.
6478 ) - End of item group. No width fields allowed.
6479 T N For 'tabline': start of tab page N label. Use %T after the last
6480 label. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6481 X N For 'tabline': start of close tab N label. Use %X after the
6482 label, e.g.: %3Xclose%X. Use %999X for a "close current tab"
6483 mark. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6484 < - Where to truncate line if too long. Default is at the start.
6485 No width fields allowed.
6486 = - Separation point between left and right aligned items.
6487 No width fields allowed.
6488 # - Set highlight group. The name must follow and then a # again.
6489 Thus use %#HLname# for highlight group HLname. The same
6490 highlighting is used, also for the statusline of non-current
6491 windows.
6492 * - Set highlight group to User{N}, where {N} is taken from the
6493 minwid field, e.g. %1*. Restore normal highlight with %* or %0*.
6494 The difference between User{N} and StatusLine will be applied
6495 to StatusLineNC for the statusline of non-current windows.
6496 The number N must be between 1 and 9. See |hl-User1..9|
6498 When displaying a flag, Vim removes the leading comma, if any, when
6499 that flag comes right after plaintext. This will make a nice display
6500 when flags are used like in the examples below.
6502 When all items in a group becomes an empty string (i.e. flags that are
6503 not set) and a minwid is not set for the group, the whole group will
6504 become empty. This will make a group like the following disappear
6505 completely from the statusline when none of the flags are set. >
6506 :set statusline=...%(\ [%M%R%H]%)...
6507 <
6508 Beware that an expression is evaluated each and every time the status
6509 line is displayed. The current buffer and current window will be set
6510 temporarily to that of the window (and buffer) whose statusline is
6511 currently being drawn. The expression will evaluate in this context.
6512 The variable "actual_curbuf" is set to the 'bufnr()' number of the
6513 real current buffer.
6515 The 'statusline' option may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
6516 |sandbox-option|.
6518 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
6519 evaluating 'statusline' |textlock|.
6521 If the statusline is not updated when you want it (e.g., after setting
6522 a variable that's used in an expression), you can force an update by
6523 setting an option without changing its value. Example: >
6524 :let &ro = &ro
6526 < A result of all digits is regarded a number for display purposes.
6527 Otherwise the result is taken as flag text and applied to the rules
6528 described above.
6530 Watch out for errors in expressions. They may render Vim unusable!
6531 If you are stuck, hold down ':' or 'Q' to get a prompt, then quit and
6532 edit your .vimrc or whatever with "vim -u NONE" to get it right.
6534 Examples:
6535 Emulate standard status line with 'ruler' set >
6536 :set statusline=%<%f\ %h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
6537 < Similar, but add ASCII value of char under the cursor (like "ga") >
6538 :set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%b\ 0x%B\ \ %l,%c%V\ %P
6539 < Display byte count and byte value, modified flag in red. >
6540 :set statusline=%<%f%=\ [%1*%M%*%n%R%H]\ %-19(%3l,%02c%03V%)%O'%02b'
6541 :hi User1 term=inverse,bold cterm=inverse,bold ctermfg=red
6542 < Display a ,GZ flag if a compressed file is loaded >
6543 :set statusline=...%r%{VarExists('b:gzflag','\ [GZ]')}%h...
6544 < In the |:autocmd|'s: >
6545 :let b:gzflag = 1
6546 < And: >
6547 :unlet b:gzflag
6548 < And define this function: >
6549 :function VarExists(var, val)
6550 : if exists(a:var) | return a:val | else | return '' | endif
6551 :endfunction
6552 <
6553 *'suffixes'* *'su'*
6554 'suffixes' 'su' string (default ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj")
6555 global
6556 {not in Vi}
6557 Files with these suffixes get a lower priority when multiple files
6558 match a wildcard. See |suffixes|. Commas can be used to separate the
6559 suffixes. Spaces after the comma are ignored. A dot is also seen as
6560 the start of a suffix. To avoid a dot or comma being recognized as a
6561 separator, precede it with a backslash (see |option-backslash| about
6562 including spaces and backslashes).
6563 See 'wildignore' for completely ignoring files.
6564 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6565 suffixes from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6566 uses another default.
6568 *'suffixesadd'* *'sua'*
6569 'suffixesadd' 'sua' string (default "")
6570 local to buffer
6571 {not in Vi}
6572 {not available when compiled without the
6573 |+file_in_path| feature}
6574 Comma separated list of suffixes, which are used when searching for a
6575 file for the "gf", "[I", etc. commands. Example: >
6576 :set suffixesadd=.java
6577 <
6578 *'swapfile'* *'swf'* *'noswapfile'* *'noswf'*
6579 'swapfile' 'swf' boolean (default on)
6580 local to buffer
6581 {not in Vi}
6582 Use a swapfile for the buffer. This option can be reset when a
6583 swapfile is not wanted for a specific buffer. For example, with
6584 confidential information that even root must not be able to access.
6585 Careful: All text will be in memory:
6586 - Don't use this for big files.
6587 - Recovery will be impossible!
6588 A swapfile will only be present when |'updatecount'| is non-zero and
6589 'swapfile' is set.
6590 When 'swapfile' is reset, the swap file for the current buffer is
6591 immediately deleted. When 'swapfile' is set, and 'updatecount' is
6592 non-zero, a swap file is immediately created.
6593 Also see |swap-file| and |'swapsync'|.
6595 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'buftype' to
6596 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
6598 *'swapsync'* *'sws'*
6599 'swapsync' 'sws' string (default "fsync")
6600 global
6601 {not in Vi}
6602 When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after
6603 writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems.
6604 When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and
6605 not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work.
6606 On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it,
6607 so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some
6608 systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system
6609 setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default
6610 fsync(), which may work better on some systems.
6611 The 'fsync' option is used for the actual file.
6613 *'switchbuf'* *'swb'*
6614 'switchbuf' 'swb' string (default "")
6615 global
6616 {not in Vi}
6617 This option controls the behavior when switching between buffers.
6618 Possible values (comma separated list):
6619 useopen If included, jump to the first open window that
6620 contains the specified buffer (if there is one).
6621 Otherwise: Do not examine other windows.
6622 This setting is checked with |quickfix| commands, when
6623 jumping to errors (":cc", ":cn", "cp", etc.). It is
6624 also used in all buffer related split commands, for
6625 example ":sbuffer", ":sbnext", or ":sbrewind".
6626 usetab Like "useopen", but also consider windows in other tab
6627 pages.
6628 split If included, split the current window before loading
6629 a buffer. Otherwise: do not split, use current window.
6630 Supported in |quickfix| commands that display errors.
6631 newtab Like "split", but open a new tab page. Overrules
6632 "split" when both are present.
6634 *'synmaxcol'* *'smc'*
6635 'synmaxcol' 'smc' number (default 3000)
6636 local to buffer
6637 {not in Vi}
6638 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6639 feature}
6640 Maximum column in which to search for syntax items. In long lines the
6641 text after this column is not highlighted and following lines may not
6642 be highlighted correctly, because the syntax state is cleared.
6643 This helps to avoid very slow redrawing for an XML file that is one
6644 long line.
6645 Set to zero to remove the limit.
6647 *'syntax'* *'syn'*
6648 'syntax' 'syn' string (default empty)
6649 local to buffer
6650 {not in Vi}
6651 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6652 feature}
6653 When this option is set, the syntax with this name is loaded, unless
6654 syntax highlighting has been switched off with ":syntax off".
6655 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current syntax (the
6656 b:current_syntax variable does).
6657 This option is most useful in a modeline, for a file which syntax is
6658 not automatically recognized. Example, in an IDL file:
6659 /* vim: set syntax=idl : */ ~
6660 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
6661 names. Example:
6662 /* vim: set syntax=c.doxygen : */ ~
6663 This will use the "c" syntax first, then the "doxygen" syntax.
6664 Note that the second one must be prepared to be loaded as an addition,
6665 otherwise it will be skipped. More than one dot may appear.
6666 To switch off syntax highlighting for the current file, use: >
6667 :set syntax=OFF
6668 < To switch syntax highlighting on according to the current value of the
6669 'filetype' option: >
6670 :set syntax=ON
6671 < What actually happens when setting the 'syntax' option is that the
6672 Syntax autocommand event is triggered with the value as argument.
6673 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
6674 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
6675 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
6677 *'tabline'* *'tal'*
6678 'tabline' 'tal' string (default empty)
6679 global
6680 {not in Vi}
6681 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6682 feature}
6683 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the tab pages
6684 line at the top of the Vim window. When empty Vim will use a default
6685 tab pages line. See |setting-tabline| for more info.
6687 The tab pages line only appears as specified with the 'showtabline'
6688 option and only when there is no GUI tab line. When 'e' is in
6689 'guioptions' and the GUI supports a tab line 'guitablabel' is used
6690 instead.
6692 The value is evaluated like with 'statusline'. You can use
6693 |tabpagenr()|, |tabpagewinnr()| and |tabpagebuflist()| to figure out
6694 the text to be displayed. Use "%1T" for the first label, "%2T" for
6695 the second one, etc. Use "%X" items for closing labels.
6697 Keep in mind that only one of the tab pages is the current one, others
6698 are invisible and you can't jump to their windows.
6701 *'tabpagemax'* *'tpm'*
6702 'tabpagemax' 'tpm' number (default 10)
6703 global
6704 {not in Vi}
6705 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6706 feature}
6707 Maximum number of tab pages to be opened by the |-p| command line
6708 argument or the ":tab all" command. |tabpage|
6711 *'tabstop'* *'ts'*
6712 'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
6713 local to buffer
6714 Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see
6715 |:retab| command, and 'softtabstop' option.
6717 Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file
6718 appear wrong in many places (e.g., when printing it).
6720 There are four main ways to use tabs in Vim:
6721 1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
6722 (or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim
6723 will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing <Tab> and <BS> will
6724 behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
6725 2. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
6726 'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
6727 formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
6728 3. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a
6729 |modeline| to set these values when editing the file again. Only
6730 works when using Vim to edit the file.
6731 4. Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and
6732 'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only)
6733 for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have
6734 tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this
6735 though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is
6736 changed.
6738 *'tagbsearch'* *'tbs'* *'notagbsearch'* *'notbs'*
6739 'tagbsearch' 'tbs' boolean (default on)
6740 global
6741 {not in Vi}
6742 When searching for a tag (e.g., for the |:ta| command), Vim can either
6743 use a binary search or a linear search in a tags file. Binary
6744 searching makes searching for a tag a LOT faster, but a linear search
6745 will find more tags if the tags file wasn't properly sorted.
6746 Vim normally assumes that your tags files are sorted, or indicate that
6747 they are not sorted. Only when this is not the case does the
6748 'tagbsearch' option need to be switched off.
6750 When 'tagbsearch' is on, binary searching is first used in the tags
6751 files. In certain situations, Vim will do a linear search instead for
6752 certain files, or retry all files with a linear search. When
6753 'tagbsearch' is off, only a linear search is done.
6755 Linear searching is done anyway, for one file, when Vim finds a line
6756 at the start of the file indicating that it's not sorted: >
6757 !_TAG_FILE_SORTED 0 /some comment/
6758 < [The whitespace before and after the '0' must be a single <Tab>]
6760 When a binary search was done and no match was found in any of the
6761 files listed in 'tags', and 'ignorecase' is set or a pattern is used
6762 instead of a normal tag name, a retry is done with a linear search.
6763 Tags in unsorted tags files, and matches with different case will only
6764 be found in the retry.
6766 If a tag file indicates that it is case-fold sorted, the second,
6767 linear search can be avoided for the 'ignorecase' case. Use a value
6768 of '2' in the "!_TAG_FILE_SORTED" line for this. A tag file can be
6769 case-fold sorted with the -f switch to "sort" in most unices, as in
6770 the command: "sort -f -o tags tags". For "Exuberant ctags" version
6771 5.3 or higher the -f or --fold-case-sort switch can be used for this
6772 as well. Note that case must be folded to uppercase for this to work.
6774 When 'tagbsearch' is off, tags searching is slower when a full match
6775 exists, but faster when no full match exists. Tags in unsorted tags
6776 files may only be found with 'tagbsearch' off.
6777 When the tags file is not sorted, or sorted in a wrong way (not on
6778 ASCII byte value), 'tagbsearch' should be off, or the line given above
6779 must be included in the tags file.
6780 This option doesn't affect commands that find all matching tags (e.g.,
6781 command-line completion and ":help").
6782 {Vi: always uses binary search in some versions}
6784 *'taglength'* *'tl'*
6785 'taglength' 'tl' number (default 0)
6786 global
6787 If non-zero, tags are significant up to this number of characters.
6789 *'tagrelative'* *'tr'* *'notagrelative'* *'notr'*
6790 'tagrelative' 'tr' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6791 global
6792 {not in Vi}
6793 If on and using a tags file in another directory, file names in that
6794 tags file are relative to the directory where the tags file is.
6795 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6796 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6798 *'tags'* *'tag'* *E433*
6799 'tags' 'tag' string (default "./tags,tags", when compiled with
6800 |+emacs_tags|: "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS")
6801 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6802 Filenames for the tag command, separated by spaces or commas. To
6803 include a space or comma in a file name, precede it with a backslash
6804 (see |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes).
6805 When a file name starts with "./", the '.' is replaced with the path
6806 of the current file. But only when the 'd' flag is not included in
6807 'cpoptions'. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. Also see
6808 |tags-option|.
6809 "*", "**" and other wildcards can be used to search for tags files in
6810 a directory tree. See |file-searching|. {not available when compiled
6811 without the |+path_extra| feature}
6812 The |tagfiles()| function can be used to get a list of the file names
6813 actually used.
6814 If Vim was compiled with the |+emacs_tags| feature, Emacs-style tag
6815 files are also supported. They are automatically recognized. The
6816 default value becomes "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS", unless case
6817 differences are ignored (MS-Windows). |emacs-tags|
6818 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6819 file names from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6820 uses another default.
6821 {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"}
6823 *'tagstack'* *'tgst'* *'notagstack'* *'notgst'*
6824 'tagstack' 'tgst' boolean (default on)
6825 global
6826 {not in all versions of Vi}
6827 When on, the |tagstack| is used normally. When off, a ":tag" or
6828 ":tselect" command with an argument will not push the tag onto the
6829 tagstack. A following ":tag" without an argument, a ":pop" command or
6830 any other command that uses the tagstack will use the unmodified
6831 tagstack, but does change the pointer to the active entry.
6832 Resetting this option is useful when using a ":tag" command in a
6833 mapping which should not change the tagstack.
6835 *'term'* *E529* *E530* *E531*
6836 'term' string (default is $TERM, if that fails:
6837 in the GUI: "builtin_gui"
6838 on Amiga: "amiga"
6839 on BeOS: "beos-ansi"
6840 on Mac: "mac-ansi"
6841 on MiNT: "vt52"
6842 on MS-DOS: "pcterm"
6843 on OS/2: "os2ansi"
6844 on Unix: "ansi"
6845 on VMS: "ansi"
6846 on Win 32: "win32")
6847 global
6848 Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control
6849 characters. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
6850 For example: >
6851 :set term=$TERM
6852 < See |termcap|.
6854 *'termbidi'* *'tbidi'*
6855 *'notermbidi'* *'notbidi'*
6856 'termbidi' 'tbidi' boolean (default off, on for "mlterm")
6857 global
6858 {not in Vi}
6859 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
6860 feature}
6861 The terminal is in charge of Bi-directionality of text (as specified
6862 by Unicode). The terminal is also expected to do the required shaping
6863 that some languages (such as Arabic) require.
6864 Setting this option implies that 'rightleft' will not be set when
6865 'arabic' is set and the value of 'arabicshape' will be ignored.
6866 Note that setting 'termbidi' has the immediate effect that
6867 'arabicshape' is ignored, but 'rightleft' isn't changed automatically.
6868 This option is reset when the GUI is started.
6869 For further details see |arabic.txt|.
6871 *'termencoding'* *'tenc'*
6872 'termencoding' 'tenc' string (default ""
6873 with GTK+ 2 and MacVim GUIs: "utf-8"
6874 with Macintosh (Carbon) GUI: "macroman")
6875 global
6876 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
6877 feature}
6878 {not in Vi}
6879 Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character
6880 encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For
6881 the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the
6882 display). Except for the Mac when 'macatsui' is off, then
6883 'termencoding' should be "macroman" (for the Carbon GUI).
6884 In the Win32 console version the default value is the console codepage
6885 when it differs from the ANSI codepage.
6886 *E617*
6887 Note: This does not apply to the GTK+ 2 and MacVim GUIs. After the
6888 GUI has been successfully initialized, 'termencoding' is forcibly set
6889 to "utf-8". Any attempts to set a different value will be rejected,
6890 and an error message is shown.
6891 For the Win32 GUI 'termencoding' is not used for typed characters,
6892 because the Win32 system always passes Unicode characters.
6893 When empty, the same encoding is used as for the 'encoding' option.
6894 This is the normal value.
6895 Not all combinations for 'termencoding' and 'encoding' are valid. See
6896 |encoding-table|.
6897 The value for this option must be supported by internal conversions or
6898 iconv(). When this is not possible no conversion will be done and you
6899 will probably experience problems with non-ASCII characters.
6900 Example: You are working with the locale set to euc-jp (Japanese) and
6901 want to edit a UTF-8 file: >
6902 :let &termencoding = &encoding
6903 :set encoding=utf-8
6904 < You need to do this when your system has no locale support for UTF-8.
6906 *'terse'* *'noterse'*
6907 'terse' boolean (default off)
6908 global
6909 When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message
6910 for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being
6911 displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi
6912 shortens a lot of messages}
6914 *'textauto'* *'ta'* *'notextauto'* *'nota'*
6915 'textauto' 'ta' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6916 global
6917 {not in Vi}
6918 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'.
6919 For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is
6920 set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is
6921 reset, 'fileformats' is made empty.
6922 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6923 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6925 *'textmode'* *'tx'* *'notextmode'* *'notx'*
6926 'textmode' 'tx' boolean (MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2: default on,
6927 others: default off)
6928 local to buffer
6929 {not in Vi}
6930 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'.
6931 For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is
6932 set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to
6933 "unix".
6935 *'textwidth'* *'tw'*
6936 'textwidth' 'tw' number (default 0)
6937 local to buffer
6938 {not in Vi}
6939 Maximum width of text that is being inserted. A longer line will be
6940 broken after white space to get this width. A zero value disables
6941 this. 'textwidth' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set. When
6942 'textwidth' is zero, 'wrapmargin' may be used. See also
6943 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|.
6944 When 'formatexpr' is set it will be used to break the line.
6945 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6947 *'thesaurus'* *'tsr'*
6948 'thesaurus' 'tsr' string (default "")
6949 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6950 {not in Vi}
6951 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
6952 for thesaurus completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T|. Each line in
6953 the file should contain words with similar meaning, separated by
6954 non-keyword characters (white space is preferred). Maximum line
6955 length is 510 bytes.
6956 To obtain a file to be used here, check out the wordlist FAQ at
6957 http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk .
6958 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
6959 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
6960 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
6961 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6962 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6963 uses another default.
6964 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
6966 *'tildeop'* *'top'* *'notildeop'* *'notop'*
6967 'tildeop' 'top' boolean (default off)
6968 global
6969 {not in Vi}
6970 When on: The tilde command "~" behaves like an operator.
6971 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6973 *'timeout'* *'to'* *'notimeout'* *'noto'*
6974 'timeout' 'to' boolean (default on)
6975 global
6976 *'ttimeout'* *'nottimeout'*
6977 'ttimeout' boolean (default off)
6978 global
6979 {not in Vi}
6980 These two options together determine the behavior when part of a
6981 mapped key sequence or keyboard code has been received:
6983 'timeout' 'ttimeout' action ~
6984 off off do not time out
6985 on on or off time out on :mappings and key codes
6986 off on time out on key codes
6988 If both options are off, Vim will wait until either the complete
6989 mapping or key sequence has been received, or it is clear that there
6990 is no mapping or key sequence for the received characters. For
6991 example: if you have mapped "vl" and Vim has received 'v', the next
6992 character is needed to see if the 'v' is followed by an 'l'.
6993 When one of the options is on, Vim will wait for about 1 second for
6994 the next character to arrive. After that the already received
6995 characters are interpreted as single characters. The waiting time can
6996 be changed with the 'timeoutlen' option.
6997 On slow terminals or very busy systems timing out may cause
6998 malfunctioning cursor keys. If both options are off, Vim waits
6999 forever after an entered <Esc> if there are key codes that start
7000 with <Esc>. You will have to type <Esc> twice. If you do not have
7001 problems with key codes, but would like to have :mapped key
7002 sequences not timing out in 1 second, set the 'ttimeout' option and
7003 reset the 'timeout' option.
7005 NOTE: 'ttimeout' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
7007 *'timeoutlen'* *'tm'*
7008 'timeoutlen' 'tm' number (default 1000)
7009 global
7010 {not in all versions of Vi}
7011 *'ttimeoutlen'* *'ttm'*
7012 'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm' number (default -1)
7013 global
7014 {not in Vi}
7015 The time in milliseconds that is waited for a key code or mapped key
7016 sequence to complete. Also used for CTRL-\ CTRL-N and CTRL-\ CTRL-G
7017 when part of a command has been typed.
7018 Normally only 'timeoutlen' is used and 'ttimeoutlen' is -1. When a
7019 different timeout value for key codes is desired set 'ttimeoutlen' to
7020 a non-negative number.
7022 ttimeoutlen mapping delay key code delay ~
7023 < 0 'timeoutlen' 'timeoutlen'
7024 >= 0 'timeoutlen' 'ttimeoutlen'
7026 The timeout only happens when the 'timeout' and 'ttimeout' options
7027 tell so. A useful setting would be >
7028 :set timeout timeoutlen=3000 ttimeoutlen=100
7029 < (time out on mapping after three seconds, time out on key codes after
7030 a tenth of a second).
7032 *'title'* *'notitle'*
7033 'title' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
7034 global
7035 {not in Vi}
7036 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7037 feature}
7038 When on, the title of the window will be set to the value of
7039 'titlestring' (if it is not empty), or to:
7040 filename [+=-] (path) - VIM
7041 Where:
7042 filename the name of the file being edited
7043 - indicates the file cannot be modified, 'ma' off
7044 + indicates the file was modified
7045 = indicates the file is read-only
7046 =+ indicates the file is read-only and modified
7047 (path) is the path of the file being edited
7048 - VIM the server name |v:servername| or "VIM"
7049 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles
7050 (currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and
7051 terminals with a non- empty 't_ts' option - these are Unix xterm and
7052 iris-ansi by default, where 't_ts' is taken from the builtin termcap).
7053 *X11*
7054 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
7055 be restored if possible. The output of ":version" will include "+X11"
7056 when HAVE_X11 was defined, otherwise it will be "-X11". This also
7057 works for the icon name |'icon'|.
7058 But: When Vim was started with the |-X| argument, restoring the title
7059 will not work (except in the GUI).
7060 If the title cannot be restored, it is set to the value of 'titleold'.
7061 You might want to restore the title outside of Vim then.
7062 When using an xterm from a remote machine you can use this command:
7063 rsh machine_name xterm -display $DISPLAY &
7064 then the WINDOWID environment variable should be inherited and the
7065 title of the window should change back to what it should be after
7066 exiting Vim.
7068 *'titlelen'*
7069 'titlelen' number (default 85)
7070 global
7071 {not in Vi}
7072 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7073 feature}
7074 Gives the percentage of 'columns' to use for the length of the window
7075 title. When the title is longer, only the end of the path name is
7076 shown. A '<' character before the path name is used to indicate this.
7077 Using a percentage makes this adapt to the width of the window. But
7078 it won't work perfectly, because the actual number of characters
7079 available also depends on the font used and other things in the title
7080 bar. When 'titlelen' is zero the full path is used. Otherwise,
7081 values from 1 to 30000 percent can be used.
7082 'titlelen' is also used for the 'titlestring' option.
7084 *'titleold'*
7085 'titleold' string (default "Thanks for flying Vim")
7086 global
7087 {not in Vi}
7088 {only available when compiled with the |+title|
7089 feature}
7090 This option will be used for the window title when exiting Vim if the
7091 original title cannot be restored. Only happens if 'title' is on or
7092 'titlestring' is not empty.
7093 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7094 security reasons.
7095 *'titlestring'*
7096 'titlestring' string (default "")
7097 global
7098 {not in Vi}
7099 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
7100 feature}
7101 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the title of the
7102 window. This happens only when the 'title' option is on.
7103 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently
7104 Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a
7105 non-empty 't_ts' option).
7106 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
7107 be restored if possible |X11|.
7108 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
7109 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'.
7110 Example: >
7111 :auto BufEnter * let &titlestring = hostname() . "/" . expand("%:p")
7112 :set title titlestring=%<%F%=%l/%L-%P titlelen=70
7113 < The value of 'titlelen' is used to align items in the middle or right
7114 of the available space.
7115 Some people prefer to have the file name first: >
7116 :set titlestring=%t%(\ %M%)%(\ (%{expand(\"%:~:.:h\")})%)%(\ %a%)
7117 < Note the use of "%{ }" and an expression to get the path of the file,
7118 without the file name. The "%( %)" constructs are used to add a
7119 separating space only when needed.
7120 NOTE: Use of special characters in 'titlestring' may cause the display
7121 to be garbled (e.g., when it contains a CR or NL character).
7122 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
7124 *'toolbar'* *'tb'*
7125 'toolbar' 'tb' string (default "icons,tooltips")
7126 global
7127 {only for |+GUI_GTK|, |+GUI_Athena|, |+GUI_Motif|,
7128 |+GUI_Photon| and |gui_macvim|}
7129 The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The
7130 possible values are:
7131 icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons.
7132 text Toolbar buttons shown with text.
7133 horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are
7134 horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI}
7135 tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons.
7136 Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse
7137 cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.
7138 Note: Tooltips are always enabled in MacVim.
7140 If you want the toolbar to be shown with icons as well as text, do the
7141 following: >
7142 :set tb=icons,text
7143 < Motif and Athena cannot display icons and text at the same time. They
7144 will show icons if both are requested.
7146 If none of the strings specified in 'toolbar' are valid or if
7147 'toolbar' is empty, this option is ignored. If you want to disable
7148 the toolbar, you need to set the 'guioptions' option. For example: >
7149 :set guioptions-=T
7150 < Also see |gui-toolbar|.
7152 *'toolbariconsize'* *'tbis'*
7153 'toolbariconsize' 'tbis' string (default "small")
7154 global
7155 {not in Vi}
7156 {only in the GTK+ 2 and MacVim GUIs}
7157 Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are:
7158 tiny Use tiny toolbar icons.
7159 small Use small toolbar icons (default).
7160 medium Use medium-sized toolbar icons.
7161 large Use large toolbar icons.
7162 The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on
7163 the current theme. Common dimensions are large=32x32, medium=24x24,
7164 small=20x20 and tiny=16x16. In MacVim, both tiny and small equal
7165 24x24, whereas medium and large equal 32x32.
7167 If 'toolbariconsize' is empty, the global default size as determined
7168 by user preferences or the current theme is used.
7170 *'transparency'* *'transp'*
7171 'transparency' 'transp' number (default 0)
7172 global
7173 {not in Vi}
7174 {only in MacVim GUI}
7175 Transparency of the window background as a percent, with 0 meaning
7176 opaque and 100 meaning completely transparent. Trying to set a value
7177 outside the range 0-100 results in an error.
7179 *'ttybuiltin'* *'tbi'* *'nottybuiltin'* *'notbi'*
7180 'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' boolean (default on)
7181 global
7182 {not in Vi}
7183 When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones.
7184 When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones.
7185 When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for
7186 the change to take effect, for example: >
7187 :set notbi term=$TERM
7188 < See also |termcap|.
7189 Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin
7190 termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty
7191 xterm entries...).
7193 *'ttyfast'* *'tf'* *'nottyfast'* *'notf'*
7194 'ttyfast' 'tf' boolean (default off, on when 'term' is xterm, hpterm,
7195 sun-cmd, screen, rxvt, dtterm or
7196 iris-ansi; also on when running Vim in
7197 a DOS console)
7198 global
7199 {not in Vi}
7200 Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to
7201 the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line
7202 commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple
7203 windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region.
7204 Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen
7205 line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the
7206 mouse in an xterm and other terminals.
7208 *'ttymouse'* *'ttym'*
7209 'ttymouse' 'ttym' string (default depends on 'term')
7210 global
7211 {not in Vi}
7212 {only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not
7213 available when compiled without |+mouse|}
7214 Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized.
7215 Currently these strings are valid:
7216 *xterm-mouse*
7217 xterm xterm-like mouse handling. The mouse generates
7218 "<Esc>[Mscr", where "scr" is three bytes:
7219 "s" = button state
7220 "c" = column plus 33
7221 "r" = row plus 33
7222 This only works up to 223 columns! See "dec" for a
7223 solution.
7224 xterm2 Works like "xterm", but with the xterm reporting the
7225 mouse position while the mouse is dragged. This works
7226 much faster and more precise. Your xterm must at
7227 least at patchlevel 88 / XFree 3.3.3 for this to
7228 work. See below for how Vim detects this
7229 automatically.
7230 *netterm-mouse*
7231 netterm NetTerm mouse handling. The mouse generates
7232 "<Esc>}r,c<CR>", where "r,c" are two decimal numbers
7233 for the row and column.
7234 *dec-mouse*
7235 dec DEC terminal mouse handling. The mouse generates a
7236 rather complex sequence, starting with "<Esc>[".
7237 This is also available for an Xterm, if it was
7238 configured with "--enable-dec-locator".
7239 *jsbterm-mouse*
7240 jsbterm JSB term mouse handling.
7241 *pterm-mouse*
7242 pterm QNX pterm mouse handling.
7244 The mouse handling must be enabled at compile time |+mouse_xterm|
7245 |+mouse_dec| |+mouse_netterm|.
7246 Only "xterm"(2) is really recognized. NetTerm mouse codes are always
7247 recognized, if enabled at compile time. DEC terminal mouse codes
7248 are recognized if enabled at compile time, and 'ttymouse' is not
7249 "xterm" (because the xterm and dec mouse codes conflict).
7250 This option is automatically set to "xterm", when the 'term' option is
7251 set to a name that starts with "xterm", and 'ttymouse' is not "xterm"
7252 or "xterm2" already. The main use of this option is to set it to
7253 "xterm", when the terminal name doesn't start with "xterm", but it can
7254 handle xterm mouse codes.
7255 The "xterm2" value will be set if the xterm version is reported to be
7256 95 or higher. This only works when compiled with the |+termresponse|
7257 feature and if |t_RV| is set to the escape sequence to request the
7258 xterm version number. Otherwise "xterm2" must be set explicitly.
7259 If you do not want 'ttymouse' to be set to "xterm2" automatically, set
7260 t_RV to an empty string: >
7261 :set t_RV=
7262 <
7263 *'ttyscroll'* *'tsl'*
7264 'ttyscroll' 'tsl' number (default 999)
7265 global
7266 Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines
7267 to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is
7268 very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number,
7269 e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.
7271 *'ttytype'* *'tty'*
7272 'ttytype' 'tty' string (default from $TERM)
7273 global
7274 Alias for 'term', see above.
7276 *'undolevels'* *'ul'*
7277 'undolevels' 'ul' number (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS,
7278 Win32 and OS/2)
7279 global
7280 {not in Vi}
7281 Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Since undo information
7282 is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used
7283 (nevertheless, a single change can use an unlimited amount of memory).
7284 Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes
7285 itself: >
7286 set ul=0
7287 < But you can also get Vi compatibility by including the 'u' flag in
7288 'cpoptions', and still be able to use CTRL-R to repeat undo.
7289 Set to a negative number for no undo at all: >
7290 set ul=-1
7291 < This helps when you run out of memory for a single change.
7292 Also see |undo-two-ways|.
7294 *'updatecount'* *'uc'*
7295 'updatecount' 'uc' number (default: 200)
7296 global
7297 {not in Vi}
7298 After typing this many characters the swap file will be written to
7299 disk. When zero, no swap file will be created at all (see chapter on
7300 recovery |crash-recovery|). 'updatecount' is set to zero by starting
7301 Vim with the "-n" option, see |startup|. When editing in readonly
7302 mode this option will be initialized to 10000.
7303 The swapfile can be disabled per buffer with |'swapfile'|.
7304 When 'updatecount' is set from zero to non-zero, swap files are
7305 created for all buffers that have 'swapfile' set. When 'updatecount'
7306 is set to zero, existing swap files are not deleted.
7307 Also see |'swapsync'|.
7308 This option has no meaning in buffers where |'buftype'| is "nofile"
7309 or "nowrite".
7311 *'updatetime'* *'ut'*
7312 'updatetime' 'ut' number (default 4000)
7313 global
7314 {not in Vi}
7315 If this many milliseconds nothing is typed the swap file will be
7316 written to disk (see |crash-recovery|). Also used for the
7317 |CursorHold| autocommand event.
7319 *'verbose'* *'vbs'*
7320 'verbose' 'vbs' number (default 0)
7321 global
7322 {not in Vi, although some versions have a boolean
7323 verbose option}
7324 When bigger than zero, Vim will give messages about what it is doing.
7325 Currently, these messages are given:
7326 >= 1 When the viminfo file is read or written.
7327 >= 2 When a file is ":source"'ed.
7328 >= 5 Every searched tags file and include file.
7329 >= 8 Files for which a group of autocommands is executed.
7330 >= 9 Every executed autocommand.
7331 >= 12 Every executed function.
7332 >= 13 When an exception is thrown, caught, finished, or discarded.
7333 >= 14 Anything pending in a ":finally" clause.
7334 >= 15 Every executed Ex command (truncated at 200 characters).
7336 This option can also be set with the "-V" argument. See |-V|.
7337 This option is also set by the |:verbose| command.
7339 When the 'verbosefile' option is set then the verbose messages are not
7340 displayed.
7342 *'verbosefile'* *'vfile'*
7343 'verbosefile' 'vfile' string (default empty)
7344 global
7345 {not in Vi}
7346 When not empty all messages are written in a file with this name.
7347 When the file exists messages are appended.
7348 Writing to the file ends when Vim exits or when 'verbosefile' is made
7349 empty.
7350 Setting 'verbosefile' to a new value is like making it empty first.
7351 The difference with |:redir| is that verbose messages are not
7352 displayed when 'verbosefile' is set.
7354 *'viewdir'* *'vdir'*
7355 'viewdir' 'vdir' string (default for Amiga, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Win32:
7356 "$VIM/vimfiles/view",
7357 for Unix: "~/.vim/view",
7358 for Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles:view"
7359 for VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles/view"
7360 for RiscOS: "Choices:vimfiles/view")
7361 global
7362 {not in Vi}
7363 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7364 feature}
7365 Name of the directory where to store files for |:mkview|.
7366 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7367 security reasons.
7369 *'viewoptions'* *'vop'*
7370 'viewoptions' 'vop' string (default: "folds,options,cursor")
7371 global
7372 {not in Vi}
7373 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7374 feature}
7375 Changes the effect of the |:mkview| command. It is a comma separated
7376 list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
7377 word save and restore ~
7378 cursor cursor position in file and in window
7379 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
7380 fold options
7381 options options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
7382 global values for local options)
7383 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
7384 slashes
7385 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
7386 on Windows or DOS
7388 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing view files
7389 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
7390 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
7392 *'viminfo'* *'vi'* *E526* *E527* *E528*
7393 'viminfo' 'vi' string (Vi default: "", Vim default for MS-DOS,
7394 Windows and OS/2: '100,<50,s10,h,rA:,rB:,
7395 for Amiga: '100,<50,s10,h,rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:
7396 for others: '100,<50,s10,h)
7397 global
7398 {not in Vi}
7399 {not available when compiled without the |+viminfo|
7400 feature}
7401 When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written
7402 when exiting Vim (see |viminfo-file|). The string should be a comma
7403 separated list of parameters, each consisting of a single character
7404 identifying the particular parameter, followed by a number or string
7405 which specifies the value of that parameter. If a particular
7406 character is left out, then the default value is used for that
7407 parameter. The following is a list of the identifying characters and
7408 the effect of their value.
7409 CHAR VALUE ~
7410 ! When included, save and restore global variables that start
7411 with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase
7412 letter. Thus "KEEPTHIS and "K_L_M" are stored, but "KeepThis"
7413 and "_K_L_M" are not. Only String and Number types are
7414 stored.
7415 " Maximum number of lines saved for each register. Old name of
7416 the '<' item, with the disadvantage that you need to put a
7417 backslash before the ", otherwise it will be recognized as the
7418 start of a comment!
7419 % When included, save and restore the buffer list. If Vim is
7420 started with a file name argument, the buffer list is not
7421 restored. If Vim is started without a file name argument, the
7422 buffer list is restored from the viminfo file. Buffers
7423 without a file name and buffers for help files are not written
7424 to the viminfo file.
7425 When followed by a number, the number specifies the maximum
7426 number of buffers that are stored. Without a number all
7427 buffers are stored.
7428 ' Maximum number of previously edited files for which the marks
7429 are remembered. This parameter must always be included when
7430 'viminfo' is non-empty.
7431 Including this item also means that the |jumplist| and the
7432 |changelist| are stored in the viminfo file.
7433 / Maximum number of items in the search pattern history to be
7434 saved. If non-zero, then the previous search and substitute
7435 patterns are also saved. When not included, the value of
7436 'history' is used.
7437 : Maximum number of items in the command-line history to be
7438 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7439 < Maximum number of lines saved for each register. If zero then
7440 registers are not saved. When not included, all lines are
7441 saved. '"' is the old name for this item.
7442 Also see the 's' item below: limit specified in Kbyte.
7443 @ Maximum number of items in the input-line history to be
7444 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7445 c When included, convert the text in the viminfo file from the
7446 'encoding' used when writing the file to the current
7447 'encoding'. See |viminfo-encoding|.
7448 f Whether file marks need to be stored. If zero, file marks ('0
7449 to '9, 'A to 'Z) are not stored. When not present or when
7450 non-zero, they are all stored. '0 is used for the current
7451 cursor position (when exiting or when doing ":wviminfo").
7452 h Disable the effect of 'hlsearch' when loading the viminfo
7453 file. When not included, it depends on whether ":nohlsearch"
7454 has been used since the last search command.
7455 n Name of the viminfo file. The name must immediately follow
7456 the 'n'. Must be the last one! If the "-i" argument was
7457 given when starting Vim, that file name overrides the one
7458 given here with 'viminfo'. Environment variables are expanded
7459 when opening the file, not when setting the option.
7460 r Removable media. The argument is a string (up to the next
7461 ','). This parameter can be given several times. Each
7462 specifies the start of a path for which no marks will be
7463 stored. This is to avoid removable media. For MS-DOS you
7464 could use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:". You can
7465 also use it for temp files, e.g., for Unix: "r/tmp". Case is
7466 ignored. Maximum length of each 'r' argument is 50
7467 characters.
7468 s Maximum size of an item in Kbyte. If zero then registers are
7469 not saved. Currently only applies to registers. The default
7470 "s10" will exclude registers with more than 10 Kbyte of text.
7471 Also see the '<' item above: line count limit.
7473 Example: >
7474 :set viminfo='50,<1000,s100,:0,n~/vim/viminfo
7475 <
7476 '50 Marks will be remembered for the last 50 files you
7477 edited.
7478 <1000 Contents of registers (up to 1000 lines each) will be
7479 remembered.
7480 s100 Registers with more than 100 Kbyte text are skipped.
7481 :0 Command-line history will not be saved.
7482 n~/vim/viminfo The name of the file to use is "~/vim/viminfo".
7483 no / Since '/' is not specified, the default will be used,
7484 that is, save all of the search history, and also the
7485 previous search and substitute patterns.
7486 no % The buffer list will not be saved nor read back.
7487 no h 'hlsearch' highlighting will be restored.
7489 When setting 'viminfo' from an empty value you can use |:rviminfo| to
7490 load the contents of the file, this is not done automatically.
7492 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7493 security reasons.
7495 *'virtualedit'* *'ve'*
7496 'virtualedit' 've' string (default "")
7497 global
7498 {not in Vi}
7499 {not available when compiled without the
7500 |+virtualedit| feature}
7501 A comma separated list of these words:
7502 block Allow virtual editing in Visual block mode.
7503 insert Allow virtual editing in Insert mode.
7504 all Allow virtual editing in all modes.
7505 onemore Allow the cursor to move just past the end of the line
7507 Virtual editing means that the cursor can be positioned where there is
7508 no actual character. This can be halfway into a tab or beyond the end
7509 of the line. Useful for selecting a rectangle in Visual mode and
7510 editing a table.
7511 "onemore" is not the same, it will only allow moving the cursor just
7512 after the last character of the line. This makes some commands more
7513 consistent. Previously the cursor was always past the end of the line
7514 if the line was empty. But it is far from Vi compatible. It may also
7515 break some plugins or Vim scripts. For example because |l| can move
7516 the cursor after the last character. Use with care!
7517 Using the |$| command will move to the last character in the line, not
7518 past it. This may actually move the cursor to the left!
7519 It doesn't make sense to combine "all" with "onemore", but you will
7520 not get a warning for it.
7522 *'visualbell'* *'vb'* *'novisualbell'* *'novb'* *beep*
7523 'visualbell' 'vb' boolean (default off)
7524 global
7525 {not in Vi}
7526 Use visual bell instead of beeping. The terminal code to display the
7527 visual bell is given with 't_vb'. When no beep or flash is wanted,
7528 use ":set vb t_vb=".
7529 Note: When the GUI starts, 't_vb' is reset to its default value. You
7530 might want to set it again in your |gvimrc|.
7531 In the GUI, 't_vb' defaults to "<Esc>|f", which inverts the display
7532 for 20 msec. If you want to use a different time, use "<Esc>|40f",
7533 where 40 is the time in msec.
7534 Does not work on the Amiga, you always get a screen flash.
7535 Also see 'errorbells'.
7537 *'warn'* *'nowarn'*
7538 'warn' boolean (default on)
7539 global
7540 Give a warning message when a shell command is used while the buffer
7541 has been changed.
7543 *'weirdinvert'* *'wiv'* *'noweirdinvert'* *'nowiv'*
7544 'weirdinvert' 'wiv' boolean (default off)
7545 global
7546 {not in Vi}
7547 This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' terminal option.
7548 It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x.
7549 Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and
7550 vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.
7552 *'whichwrap'* *'ww'*
7553 'whichwrap' 'ww' string (Vim default: "b,s", Vi default: "")
7554 global
7555 {not in Vi}
7556 Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the
7557 previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in
7558 the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys:
7559 char key mode ~
7560 b <BS> Normal and Visual
7561 s <Space> Normal and Visual
7562 h "h" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7563 l "l" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7564 < <Left> Normal and Visual
7565 > <Right> Normal and Visual
7566 ~ "~" Normal
7567 [ <Left> Insert and Replace
7568 ] <Right> Insert and Replace
7569 For example: >
7570 :set ww=<,>,[,]
7571 < allows wrap only when cursor keys are used.
7572 When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change
7573 operator, the <EOL> also counts for a character. This makes "3h"
7574 different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This
7575 is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and
7576 "dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping
7577 ":map <BS> X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the
7578 cursor.
7579 When 'l' is included and it is used after an operator at the end of a
7580 line then it will not move to the next line. This makes "dl", "cl",
7581 "yl" etc. work normally.
7582 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7583 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7585 *'wildchar'* *'wc'*
7586 'wildchar' 'wc' number (Vim default: <Tab>, Vi default: CTRL-E)
7587 global
7588 {not in Vi}
7589 Character you have to type to start wildcard expansion in the
7590 command-line, as specified with 'wildmode'.
7591 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7592 The character is not recognized when used inside a macro. See
7593 'wildcharm' for that.
7594 Although 'wc' is a number option, you can set it to a special key: >
7595 :set wc=<Esc>
7596 < NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7597 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7599 *'wildcharm'* *'wcm'*
7600 'wildcharm' 'wcm' number (default: none (0))
7601 global
7602 {not in Vi}
7603 'wildcharm' works exactly like 'wildchar', except that it is
7604 recognized when used inside a macro. You can find "spare" command-line
7605 keys suitable for this option by looking at |ex-edit-index|. Normally
7606 you'll never actually type 'wildcharm', just use it in mappings that
7607 automatically invoke completion mode, e.g.: >
7608 :set wcm=<C-Z>
7609 :cnoremap ss so $vim/sessions/*.vim<C-Z>
7610 < Then after typing :ss you can use CTRL-P & CTRL-N.
7612 *'wildignore'* *'wig'*
7613 'wildignore' 'wig' string (default "")
7614 global
7615 {not in Vi}
7616 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7617 feature}
7618 A list of file patterns. A file that matches with one of these
7619 patterns is ignored when completing file or directory names, and
7620 influences the result of |expand()|, |glob()| and |globpath()| unless
7621 a flag is passed to disable this.
7622 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
7623 Also see 'suffixes'.
7624 Example: >
7625 :set wildignore=*.o,*.obj
7626 < The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
7627 a pattern from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
7628 uses another default.
7630 *'wildmenu'* *'wmnu'* *'nowildmenu'* *'nowmnu'*
7631 'wildmenu' 'wmnu' boolean (default off)
7632 global
7633 {not in Vi}
7634 {not available if compiled without the |+wildmenu|
7635 feature}
7636 When 'wildmenu' is on, command-line completion operates in an enhanced
7637 mode. On pressing 'wildchar' (usually <Tab>) to invoke completion,
7638 the possible matches are shown just above the command line, with the
7639 first match highlighted (overwriting the status line, if there is
7640 one). Keys that show the previous/next match, such as <Tab> or
7641 CTRL-P/CTRL-N, cause the highlight to move to the appropriate match.
7642 When 'wildmode' is used, "wildmenu" mode is used where "full" is
7643 specified. "longest" and "list" do not start "wildmenu" mode.
7644 If there are more matches than can fit in the line, a ">" is shown on
7645 the right and/or a "<" is shown on the left. The status line scrolls
7646 as needed.
7647 The "wildmenu" mode is abandoned when a key is hit that is not used
7648 for selecting a completion.
7649 While the "wildmenu" is active the following keys have special
7650 meanings:
7652 <Left> <Right> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N)
7653 <Down> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
7654 subdirectory or submenu.
7655 <CR> - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a
7656 dot: move into a submenu.
7657 <Up> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
7658 parent directory or parent menu.
7660 This makes the menus accessible from the console |console-menus|.
7662 If you prefer the <Left> and <Right> keys to move the cursor instead
7663 of selecting a different match, use this: >
7664 :cnoremap <Left> <Space><BS><Left>
7665 :cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>
7666 <
7667 The "WildMenu" highlighting is used for displaying the current match
7668 |hl-WildMenu|.
7670 *'wildmode'* *'wim'*
7671 'wildmode' 'wim' string (Vim default: "full")
7672 global
7673 {not in Vi}
7674 Completion mode that is used for the character specified with
7675 'wildchar'. It is a comma separated list of up to four parts. Each
7676 part specifies what to do for each consecutive use of 'wildchar'. The
7677 first part specifies the behavior for the first use of 'wildchar',
7678 The second part for the second use, etc.
7679 These are the possible values for each part:
7680 "" Complete only the first match.
7681 "full" Complete the next full match. After the last match,
7682 the original string is used and then the first match
7683 again.
7684 "longest" Complete till longest common string. If this doesn't
7685 result in a longer string, use the next part.
7686 "longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
7687 enabled.
7688 "list" When more than one match, list all matches.
7689 "list:full" When more than one match, list all matches and
7690 complete first match.
7691 "list:longest" When more than one match, list all matches and
7692 complete till longest common string.
7693 When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
7695 Examples: >
7696 :set wildmode=full
7697 < Complete first full match, next match, etc. (the default) >
7698 :set wildmode=longest,full
7699 < Complete longest common string, then each full match >
7700 :set wildmode=list:full
7701 < List all matches and complete each full match >
7702 :set wildmode=list,full
7703 < List all matches without completing, then each full match >
7704 :set wildmode=longest,list
7705 < Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
7706 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7708 *'wildoptions'* *'wop'*
7709 'wildoptions' 'wop' string (default "")
7710 global
7711 {not in Vi}
7712 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7713 feature}
7714 A list of words that change how command line completion is done.
7715 Currently only one word is allowed:
7716 tagfile When using CTRL-D to list matching tags, the kind of
7717 tag and the file of the tag is listed. Only one match
7718 is displayed per line. Often used tag kinds are:
7719 d #define
7720 f function
7721 Also see |cmdline-completion|.
7723 *'winaltkeys'* *'wak'*
7724 'winaltkeys' 'wak' string (default "menu")
7725 global
7726 {not in Vi}
7727 {only used in Win32, Motif, GTK and Photon GUI}
7728 Some GUI versions allow the access to menu entries by using the ALT
7729 key in combination with a character that appears underlined in the
7730 menu. This conflicts with the use of the ALT key for mappings and
7731 entering special characters. This option tells what to do:
7732 no Don't use ALT keys for menus. ALT key combinations can be
7733 mapped, but there is no automatic handling. This can then be
7734 done with the |:simalt| command.
7735 yes ALT key handling is done by the windowing system. ALT key
7736 combinations cannot be mapped.
7737 menu Using ALT in combination with a character that is a menu
7738 shortcut key, will be handled by the windowing system. Other
7739 keys can be mapped.
7740 If the menu is disabled by excluding 'm' from 'guioptions', the ALT
7741 key is never used for the menu.
7742 This option is not used for <F10>; on Win32 and with GTK <F10> will
7743 select the menu, unless it has been mapped.
7745 *'window'* *'wi'*
7746 'window' 'wi' number (default screen height - 1)
7747 global
7748 Window height. Do not confuse this with the height of the Vim window,
7749 use 'lines' for that.
7750 Used for |CTRL-F| and |CTRL-B| when there is only one window and the
7751 value is smaller than 'lines' minus one. The screen will scroll
7752 'window' minus two lines, with a minimum of one.
7753 When 'window' is equal to 'lines' minus one CTRL-F and CTRL-B scroll
7754 in a much smarter way, taking care of wrapping lines.
7755 When resizing the Vim window, the value is smaller than 1 or more than
7756 or equal to 'lines' it will be set to 'lines' minus 1.
7757 {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of displayed lines}
7759 *'winheight'* *'wh'* *E591*
7760 'winheight' 'wh' number (default 1)
7761 global
7762 {not in Vi}
7763 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7764 feature}
7765 Minimal number of lines for the current window. This is not a hard
7766 minimum, Vim will use fewer lines if there is not enough room. If the
7767 focus goes to a window that is smaller, its size is increased, at the
7768 cost of the height of other windows.
7769 Set 'winheight' to a small number for normal editing.
7770 Set it to 999 to make the current window fill most of the screen.
7771 Other windows will be only 'winminheight' high. This has the drawback
7772 that ":all" will create only two windows. To avoid "vim -o 1 2 3 4"
7773 to create only two windows, set the option after startup is done,
7774 using the |VimEnter| event: >
7775 au VimEnter * set winheight=999
7776 < Minimum value is 1.
7777 The height is not adjusted after one of the commands that change the
7778 height of the current window.
7779 'winheight' applies to the current window. Use 'winminheight' to set
7780 the minimal height for other windows.
7782 *'winfixheight'* *'wfh'* *'nowinfixheight'* *'nowfh'*
7783 'winfixheight' 'wfh' boolean (default off)
7784 local to window
7785 {not in Vi}
7786 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7787 feature}
7788 Keep the window height when windows are opened or closed and
7789 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|. Set by default for the
7790 |preview-window| and |quickfix-window|.
7791 The height may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7793 *'winfixwidth'* *'wfw'* *'nowinfixwidth'* *'nowfw'*
7794 'winfixwidth' 'wfw' boolean (default off)
7795 local to window
7796 {not in Vi}
7797 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7798 feature}
7799 Keep the window width when windows are opened or closed and
7800 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|.
7801 The width may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7803 *'winminheight'* *'wmh'*
7804 'winminheight' 'wmh' number (default 1)
7805 global
7806 {not in Vi}
7807 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7808 feature}
7809 The minimal height of a window, when it's not the current window.
7810 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7811 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero lines (i.e. just a
7812 status bar) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when
7813 they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.)
7814 Use 'winheight' to set the minimal height of the current window.
7815 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7816 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7817 windows. A value of 0 to 3 is reasonable.
7819 *'winminwidth'* *'wmw'*
7820 'winminwidth' 'wmw' number (default 1)
7821 global
7822 {not in Vi}
7823 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7824 feature}
7825 The minimal width of a window, when it's not the current window.
7826 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7827 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero columns (i.e. just
7828 a vertical separator) if necessary. They will return to at least one
7829 line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere
7830 to go.)
7831 Use 'winwidth' to set the minimal width of the current window.
7832 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7833 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7834 windows. A value of 0 to 12 is reasonable.
7836 *'winwidth'* *'wiw'* *E592*
7837 'winwidth' 'wiw' number (default 20)
7838 global
7839 {not in Vi}
7840 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7841 feature}
7842 Minimal number of columns for the current window. This is not a hard
7843 minimum, Vim will use fewer columns if there is not enough room. If
7844 the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of
7845 the width of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window
7846 always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing.
7847 The width is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the
7848 width of the current window.
7849 'winwidth' applies to the current window. Use 'winminwidth' to set
7850 the minimal width for other windows.
7852 *'wrap'* *'nowrap'*
7853 'wrap' boolean (default on)
7854 local to window
7855 {not in Vi}
7856 This option changes how text is displayed. It doesn't change the text
7857 in the buffer, see 'textwidth' for that.
7858 When on, lines longer than the width of the window will wrap and
7859 displaying continues on the next line. When off lines will not wrap
7860 and only part of long lines will be displayed. When the cursor is
7861 moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll
7862 horizontally.
7863 The line will be broken in the middle of a word if necessary. See
7864 'linebreak' to get the break at a word boundary.
7865 To make scrolling horizontally a bit more useful, try this: >
7866 :set sidescroll=5
7867 :set listchars+=precedes:<,extends:>
7868 < See 'sidescroll', 'listchars' and |wrap-off|.
7870 *'wrapmargin'* *'wm'*
7871 'wrapmargin' 'wm' number (default 0)
7872 local to buffer
7873 Number of characters from the right window border where wrapping
7874 starts. When typing text beyond this limit, an <EOL> will be inserted
7875 and inserting continues on the next line.
7876 Options that add a margin, such as 'number' and 'foldcolumn', cause
7877 the text width to be further reduced. This is Vi compatible.
7878 When 'textwidth' is non-zero, this option is not used.
7879 See also 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|. {Vi: works differently
7880 and less usefully}
7882 *'wrapscan'* *'ws'* *'nowrapscan'* *'nows'*
7883 'wrapscan' 'ws' boolean (default on) *E384* *E385*
7884 global
7885 Searches wrap around the end of the file. Also applies to |]s| and
7886 |[s|, searching for spelling mistakes.
7888 *'write'* *'nowrite'*
7889 'write' boolean (default on)
7890 global
7891 {not in Vi}
7892 Allows writing files. When not set, writing a file is not allowed.
7893 Can be used for a view-only mode, where modifications to the text are
7894 still allowed. Can be reset with the |-m| or |-M| command line
7895 argument. Filtering text is still possible, even though this requires
7896 writing a temporary file.
7898 *'writeany'* *'wa'* *'nowriteany'* *'nowa'*
7899 'writeany' 'wa' boolean (default off)
7900 global
7901 Allows writing to any file with no need for "!" override.
7903 *'writebackup'* *'wb'* *'nowritebackup'* *'nowb'*
7904 'writebackup' 'wb' boolean (default on with |+writebackup| feature, off
7905 otherwise)
7906 global
7907 {not in Vi}
7908 Make a backup before overwriting a file. The backup is removed after
7909 the file was successfully written, unless the 'backup' option is
7910 also on. Reset this option if your file system is almost full. See
7911 |backup-table| for another explanation.
7912 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
7913 NOTE: This option is set to the default value when 'compatible' is
7914 set.
7916 *'writedelay'* *'wd'*
7917 'writedelay' 'wd' number (default 0)
7918 global
7919 {not in Vi}
7920 The number of microseconds to wait for each character sent to the
7921 screen. When non-zero, characters are sent to the terminal one by
7922 one. For MS-DOS pcterm this does not work. For debugging purposes.
7924 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: