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1 *options.txt* For Vim version 7.1. Last change: 2008 Feb 24
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)
685 global
686 {not in Vi}
687 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled
688 on 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.
692 Setting this option can sometimes cause problems if 'guifont' is set
693 to its default (empty string).
695 *'autochdir'* *'acd'* *'noautochdir'* *'noacd'*
696 'autochdir' 'acd' boolean (default off)
697 global
698 {not in Vi}
699 {only available when compiled with the
700 |+netbeans_intg| or |+sun_workshop| feature}
701 When on, Vim will change the current working directory whenever you
702 open a file, switch buffers, delete a buffer or open/close a window.
703 It will change to the directory containing the file which was opened
704 or selected.
705 This option is provided for backward compatibility with the Vim
706 released with Sun ONE Studio 4 Enterprise Edition.
707 Note: When this option is on some plugins may not work.
709 *'arabic'* *'arab'* *'noarabic'* *'noarab'*
710 'arabic' 'arab' boolean (default off)
711 local to window
712 {not in Vi}
713 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
714 feature}
715 This option can be set to start editing Arabic text.
716 Setting this option will:
717 - Set the 'rightleft' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
718 - Set the 'arabicshape' option, unless 'termbidi' is set.
719 - Set the 'keymap' option to "arabic"; in Insert mode CTRL-^ toggles
720 between typing English and Arabic key mapping.
721 - Set the 'delcombine' option
722 Note that 'encoding' must be "utf-8" for working with Arabic text.
724 Resetting this option will:
725 - Reset the 'rightleft' option.
726 - Disable the use of 'keymap' (without changing its value).
727 Note that 'arabicshape' and 'delcombine' are not reset (it is a global
728 option.
729 Also see |arabic.txt|.
731 *'arabicshape'* *'arshape'*
732 *'noarabicshape'* *'noarshape'*
733 'arabicshape' 'arshape' boolean (default on)
734 global
735 {not in Vi}
736 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
737 feature}
738 When on and 'termbidi' is off, the required visual character
739 corrections that need to take place for displaying the Arabic language
740 take affect. Shaping, in essence, gets enabled; the term is a broad
741 one which encompasses:
742 a) the changing/morphing of characters based on their location
743 within a word (initial, medial, final and stand-alone).
744 b) the enabling of the ability to compose characters
745 c) the enabling of the required combining of some characters
746 When disabled the character display reverts back to each character's
747 true stand-alone form.
748 Arabic is a complex language which requires other settings, for
749 further details see |arabic.txt|.
751 *'autoindent'* *'ai'* *'noautoindent'* *'noai'*
752 'autoindent' 'ai' boolean (default off)
753 local to buffer
754 Copy indent from current line when starting a new line (typing <CR>
755 in Insert mode or when using the "o" or "O" command). If you do not
756 type anything on the new line except <BS> or CTRL-D and then type
757 <Esc>, CTRL-O or <CR>, the indent is deleted again. Moving the cursor
758 to another line has the same effect, unless the 'I' flag is included
759 in 'cpoptions'.
760 When autoindent is on, formatting (with the "gq" command or when you
761 reach 'textwidth' in Insert mode) uses the indentation of the first
762 line.
763 When 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is on the indent is changed in
764 a different way.
765 The 'autoindent' option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
766 {small difference from Vi: After the indent is deleted when typing
767 <Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the
768 deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}.
770 *'autoread'* *'ar'* *'noautoread'* *'noar'*
771 'autoread' 'ar' boolean (default off)
772 global or local to buffer |global-local|
773 {not in Vi}
774 When a file has been detected to have been changed outside of Vim and
775 it has not been changed inside of Vim, automatically read it again.
776 When the file has been deleted this is not done. |timestamp|
777 If this option has a local value, use this command to switch back to
778 using the global value: >
779 :set autoread<
780 <
781 *'autowrite'* *'aw'* *'noautowrite'* *'noaw'*
782 'autowrite' 'aw' boolean (default off)
783 global
784 Write the contents of the file, if it has been modified, on each
785 :next, :rewind, :last, :first, :previous, :stop, :suspend, :tag, :!,
786 :make, CTRL-] and CTRL-^ command; and when a :buffer, CTRL-O, CTRL-I,
787 '{A-Z0-9}, or `{A-Z0-9} command takes one to another file.
788 Note that for some commands the 'autowrite' option is not used, see
789 'autowriteall' for that.
791 *'autowriteall'* *'awa'* *'noautowriteall'* *'noawa'*
792 'autowriteall' 'awa' boolean (default off)
793 global
794 {not in Vi}
795 Like 'autowrite', but also used for commands ":edit", ":enew", ":quit",
796 ":qall", ":exit", ":xit", ":recover" and closing the Vim window.
797 Setting this option also implies that Vim behaves like 'autowrite' has
798 been set.
800 *'background'* *'bg'*
801 'background' 'bg' string (default "dark" or "light")
802 global
803 {not in Vi}
804 When set to "dark", Vim will try to use colors that look good on a
805 dark background. When set to "light", Vim will try to use colors that
806 look good on a light background. Any other value is illegal.
807 Vim tries to set the default value according to the terminal used.
808 This will not always be correct.
809 Setting this option does not change the background color, it tells Vim
810 what the background color looks like. For changing the background
811 color, see |:hi-normal|.
813 When 'background' is set Vim will adjust the default color groups for
814 the new value. But the colors used for syntax highlighting will not
815 change.
816 When a color scheme is loaded (the "colors_name" variable is set)
817 setting 'background' will cause the color scheme to be reloaded. If
818 the color scheme adjusts to the value of 'background' this will work.
819 However, if the color scheme sets 'background' itself the effect may
820 be undone. First delete the "colors_name" variable when needed.
822 When setting 'background' to the default value with: >
823 :set background&
824 < Vim will guess the value. In the GUI this should work correctly,
825 in other cases Vim might not be able to guess the right value.
827 When starting the GUI, the default value for 'background' will be
828 "light". When the value is not set in the .gvimrc, and Vim detects
829 that the background is actually quite dark, 'background' is set to
830 "dark". But this happens only AFTER the .gvimrc file has been read
831 (because the window needs to be opened to find the actual background
832 color). To get around this, force the GUI window to be opened by
833 putting a ":gui" command in the .gvimrc file, before where the value
834 of 'background' is used (e.g., before ":syntax on").
835 Normally this option would be set in the .vimrc file. Possibly
836 depending on the terminal name. Example: >
837 :if &term == "pcterm"
838 : set background=dark
839 :endif
840 < When this option is set, the default settings for the highlight groups
841 will change. To use other settings, place ":highlight" commands AFTER
842 the setting of the 'background' option.
843 This option is also used in the "$VIMRUNTIME/syntax/syntax.vim" file
844 to select the colors for syntax highlighting. After changing this
845 option, you must load syntax.vim again to see the result. This can be
846 done with ":syntax on".
848 *'backspace'* *'bs'*
849 'backspace' 'bs' string (default "")
850 global
851 {not in Vi}
852 Influences the working of <BS>, <Del>, CTRL-W and CTRL-U in Insert
853 mode. This is a list of items, separated by commas. Each item allows
854 a way to backspace over something:
855 value effect ~
856 indent allow backspacing over autoindent
857 eol allow backspacing over line breaks (join lines)
858 start allow backspacing over the start of insert; CTRL-W and CTRL-U
859 stop once at the start of insert.
861 When the value is empty, Vi compatible backspacing is used.
863 For backwards compatibility with version 5.4 and earlier:
864 value effect ~
865 0 same as ":set backspace=" (Vi compatible)
866 1 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol"
867 2 same as ":set backspace=indent,eol,start"
869 See |:fixdel| if your <BS> or <Del> key does not do what you want.
870 NOTE: This option is set to "" when 'compatible' is set.
872 *'backup'* *'bk'* *'nobackup'* *'nobk'*
873 'backup' 'bk' boolean (default off)
874 global
875 {not in Vi}
876 Make a backup before overwriting a file. Leave it around after the
877 file has been successfully written. If you do not want to keep the
878 backup file, but you do want a backup while the file is being
879 written, reset this option and set the 'writebackup' option (this is
880 the default). If you do not want a backup file at all reset both
881 options (use this if your file system is almost full). See the
882 |backup-table| for more explanations.
883 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
884 When 'patchmode' is set, the backup may be renamed to become the
885 oldest version of a file.
886 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
888 *'backupcopy'* *'bkc'*
889 'backupcopy' 'bkc' string (Vi default for Unix: "yes", otherwise: "auto")
890 global
891 {not in Vi}
892 When writing a file and a backup is made, this option tells how it's
893 done. This is a comma separated list of words.
895 The main values are:
896 "yes" make a copy of the file and overwrite the original one
897 "no" rename the file and write a new one
898 "auto" one of the previous, what works best
900 Extra values that can be combined with the ones above are:
901 "breaksymlink" always break symlinks when writing
902 "breakhardlink" always break hardlinks when writing
904 Making a copy and overwriting the original file:
905 - Takes extra time to copy the file.
906 + When the file has special attributes, is a (hard/symbolic) link or
907 has a resource fork, all this is preserved.
908 - When the file is a link the backup will have the name of the link,
909 not of the real file.
911 Renaming the file and writing a new one:
912 + It's fast.
913 - Sometimes not all attributes of the file can be copied to the new
914 file.
915 - When the file is a link the new file will not be a link.
917 The "auto" value is the middle way: When Vim sees that renaming file
918 is possible without side effects (the attributes can be passed on and
919 the file is not a link) that is used. When problems are expected, a
920 copy will be made.
922 The "breaksymlink" and "breakhardlink" values can be used in
923 combination with any of "yes", "no" and "auto". When included, they
924 force Vim to always break either symbolic or hard links by doing
925 exactly what the "no" option does, renaming the original file to
926 become the backup and writing a new file in its place. This can be
927 useful for example in source trees where all the files are symbolic or
928 hard links and any changes should stay in the local source tree, not
929 be propagated back to the original source.
930 *crontab*
931 One situation where "no" and "auto" will cause problems: A program
932 that opens a file, invokes Vim to edit that file, and then tests if
933 the open file was changed (through the file descriptor) will check the
934 backup file instead of the newly created file. "crontab -e" is an
935 example.
937 When a copy is made, the original file is truncated and then filled
938 with the new text. This means that protection bits, owner and
939 symbolic links of the original file are unmodified. The backup file
940 however, is a new file, owned by the user who edited the file. The
941 group of the backup is set to the group of the original file. If this
942 fails, the protection bits for the group are made the same as for
943 others.
945 When the file is renamed this is the other way around: The backup has
946 the same attributes of the original file, and the newly written file
947 is owned by the current user. When the file was a (hard/symbolic)
948 link, the new file will not! That's why the "auto" value doesn't
949 rename when the file is a link. The owner and group of the newly
950 written file will be set to the same ones as the original file, but
951 the system may refuse to do this. In that case the "auto" value will
952 again not rename the file.
954 *'backupdir'* *'bdir'*
955 'backupdir' 'bdir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
956 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:/tmp,c:/temp"
957 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,~/")
958 global
959 {not in Vi}
960 List of directories for the backup file, separated with commas.
961 - The backup file will be created in the first directory in the list
962 where this is possible.
963 - Empty means that no backup file will be created ('patchmode' is
964 impossible!). Writing may fail because of this.
965 - A directory "." means to put the backup file in the same directory
966 as the edited file.
967 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
968 put the backup file relative to where the edited file is. The
969 leading "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
970 ("." inside a directory name has no special meaning).
971 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
972 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
973 name, precede it with a backslash.
974 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
975 - A directory name may end in an '/'.
976 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
977 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
978 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
979 :set bdir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
980 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
981 of the option is removed.
982 See also 'backup' and 'writebackup' options.
983 If you want to hide your backup files on Unix, consider this value: >
984 :set backupdir=./.backup,~/.backup,.,/tmp
985 < You must create a ".backup" directory in each directory and in your
986 home directory for this to work properly.
987 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
988 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
989 uses another default.
990 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
991 security reasons.
993 *'backupext'* *'bex'* *E589*
994 'backupext' 'bex' string (default "~", for VMS: "_")
995 global
996 {not in Vi}
997 String which is appended to a file name to make the name of the
998 backup file. The default is quite unusual, because this avoids
999 accidentally overwriting existing files with a backup file. You might
1000 prefer using ".bak", but make sure that you don't have files with
1001 ".bak" that you want to keep.
1002 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
1004 If you like to keep a lot of backups, you could use a BufWritePre
1005 autocommand to change 'backupext' just before writing the file to
1006 include a timestamp. >
1007 :au BufWritePre * let &bex = '-' . strftime("%Y%b%d%X") . '~'
1008 < Use 'backupdir' to put the backup in a different directory.
1010 *'backupskip'* *'bsk'*
1011 'backupskip' 'bsk' string (default: "/tmp/*,$TMPDIR/*,$TMP/*,$TEMP/*")
1012 global
1013 {not in Vi}
1014 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
1015 feature}
1016 A list of file patterns. When one of the patterns matches with the
1017 name of the file which is written, no backup file is created. Both
1018 the specified file name and the full path name of the file are used.
1019 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
1020 Watch out for special characters, see |option-backslash|.
1021 When $TMPDIR, $TMP or $TEMP is not defined, it is not used for the
1022 default value. "/tmp/*" is only used for Unix.
1024 Note that environment variables are not expanded. If you want to use
1025 $HOME you must expand it explicitly, e.g.: >
1026 :let backupskip = escape(expand('$HOME'), '\') . '/tmp/*'
1028 < Note that the default also makes sure that "crontab -e" works (when a
1029 backup would be made by renaming the original file crontab won't see
1030 the newly created file). Also see 'backupcopy' and |crontab|.
1032 *'balloondelay'* *'bdlay'*
1033 'balloondelay' 'bdlay' number (default: 600)
1034 global
1035 {not in Vi}
1036 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1037 feature}
1038 Delay in milliseconds before a balloon may pop up. See |balloon-eval|.
1040 *'ballooneval'* *'beval'* *'noballooneval'* *'nobeval'*
1041 'ballooneval' 'beval' boolean (default off)
1042 global
1043 {not in Vi}
1044 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1045 feature}
1046 Switch on the |balloon-eval| functionality.
1048 *'balloonexpr'* *'bexpr'*
1049 'balloonexpr' 'bexpr' string (default "")
1050 global or local to buffer |global-local|
1051 {not in Vi}
1052 {only available when compiled with the |+balloon_eval|
1053 feature}
1054 Expression for text to show in evaluation balloon. It is only used
1055 when 'ballooneval' is on. These variables can be used:
1057 v:beval_bufnr number of the buffer in which balloon is going to show
1058 v:beval_winnr number of the window
1059 v:beval_lnum line number
1060 v:beval_col column number (byte index)
1061 v:beval_text word under or after the mouse pointer
1063 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects!
1064 Example: >
1065 function! MyBalloonExpr()
1066 return 'Cursor is at line ' . v:beval_lnum .
1067 \', column ' . v:beval_col .
1068 \ ' of file ' . bufname(v:beval_bufnr) .
1069 \ ' on word "' . v:beval_text . '"'
1070 endfunction
1071 set bexpr=MyBalloonExpr()
1072 set ballooneval
1073 <
1074 NOTE: The balloon is displayed only if the cursor is on a text
1075 character. If the result of evaluating 'balloonexpr' is not empty,
1076 Vim does not try to send a message to an external debugger (Netbeans
1077 or Sun Workshop).
1079 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
1080 |sandbox-option|.
1082 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
1083 evaluating 'balloonexpr' |textlock|.
1085 To check whether line breaks in the balloon text work use this check: >
1086 if has("balloon_multiline")
1087 < When they are supported "\n" characters will start a new line. If the
1088 expression evaluates to a |List| this is equal to using each List item
1089 as a string and putting "\n" in between them.
1091 *'binary'* *'bin'* *'nobinary'* *'nobin'*
1092 'binary' 'bin' boolean (default off)
1093 local to buffer
1094 {not in Vi}
1095 This option should be set before editing a binary file. You can also
1096 use the |-b| Vim argument. When this option is switched on a few
1097 options will be changed (also when it already was on):
1098 'textwidth' will be set to 0
1099 'wrapmargin' will be set to 0
1100 'modeline' will be off
1101 'expandtab' will be off
1102 Also, 'fileformat' and 'fileformats' options will not be used, the
1103 file is read and written like 'fileformat' was "unix" (a single <NL>
1104 separates lines).
1105 The 'fileencoding' and 'fileencodings' options will not be used, the
1106 file is read without conversion.
1107 NOTE: When you start editing a(nother) file while the 'bin' option is
1108 on, settings from autocommands may change the settings again (e.g.,
1109 'textwidth'), causing trouble when editing. You might want to set
1110 'bin' again when the file has been loaded.
1111 The previous values of these options are remembered and restored when
1112 'bin' is switched from on to off. Each buffer has its own set of
1113 saved option values.
1114 To edit a file with 'binary' set you can use the |++bin| argument.
1115 This avoids you have to do ":set bin", which would have effect for all
1116 files you edit.
1117 When writing a file the <EOL> for the last line is only written if
1118 there was one in the original file (normally Vim appends an <EOL> to
1119 the last line if there is none; this would make the file longer). See
1120 the 'endofline' option.
1122 *'bioskey'* *'biosk'* *'nobioskey'* *'nobiosk'*
1123 'bioskey' 'biosk' boolean (default on)
1124 global
1125 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1126 When on the BIOS is called to obtain a keyboard character. This works
1127 better to detect CTRL-C, but only works for the console. When using a
1128 terminal over a serial port reset this option.
1129 Also see |'conskey'|.
1131 *'bomb'* *'nobomb'*
1132 'bomb' boolean (default off)
1133 local to buffer
1134 {not in Vi}
1135 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1136 feature}
1137 When writing a file and the following conditions are met, a BOM (Byte
1138 Order Mark) is prepended to the file:
1139 - this option is on
1140 - the 'binary' option is off
1141 - 'fileencoding' is "utf-8", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" or one of the little/big
1142 endian variants.
1143 Some applications use the BOM to recognize the encoding of the file.
1144 Often used for UCS-2 files on MS-Windows. For other applications it
1145 causes trouble, for example: "cat file1 file2" makes the BOM of file2
1146 appear halfway the resulting file.
1147 When Vim reads a file and 'fileencodings' starts with "ucs-bom", a
1148 check for the presence of the BOM is done and 'bomb' set accordingly.
1149 Unless 'binary' is set, it is removed from the first line, so that you
1150 don't see it when editing. When you don't change the options, the BOM
1151 will be restored when writing the file.
1153 *'breakat'* *'brk'*
1154 'breakat' 'brk' string (default " ^I!@*-+;:,./?")
1155 global
1156 {not in Vi}
1157 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
1158 feature}
1159 This option lets you choose which characters might cause a line
1160 break if 'linebreak' is on. Only works for ASCII and also for 8-bit
1161 characters when 'encoding' is an 8-bit encoding.
1163 *'browsedir'* *'bsdir'*
1164 'browsedir' 'bsdir' string (default: "last")
1165 global
1166 {not in Vi} {only for Motif, Athena, GTK, Mac and
1167 Win32 GUI}
1168 Which directory to use for the file browser:
1169 last Use same directory as with last file browser, where a
1170 file was opened or saved.
1171 buffer Use the directory of the related buffer.
1172 current Use the current directory.
1173 {path} Use the specified directory
1175 *'bufhidden'* *'bh'*
1176 'bufhidden' 'bh' string (default: "")
1177 local to buffer
1178 {not in Vi}
1179 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1180 feature}
1181 This option specifies what happens when a buffer is no longer
1182 displayed in a window:
1183 <empty> follow the global 'hidden' option
1184 hide hide the buffer (don't unload it), also when 'hidden'
1185 is not set
1186 unload unload the buffer, also when 'hidden' is set or using
1187 |:hide|
1188 delete delete the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1189 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1190 |:bdelete|
1191 wipe wipe out the buffer from the buffer list, also when
1192 'hidden' is set or using |:hide|, like using
1193 |:bwipeout|
1195 CAREFUL: when "unload", "delete" or "wipe" is used changes in a buffer
1196 are lost without a warning.
1197 This option is used together with 'buftype' and 'swapfile' to specify
1198 special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1200 *'buflisted'* *'bl'* *'nobuflisted'* *'nobl'* *E85*
1201 'buflisted' 'bl' boolean (default: on)
1202 local to buffer
1203 {not in Vi}
1204 When this option is set, the buffer shows up in the buffer list. If
1205 it is reset it is not used for ":bnext", "ls", the Buffers menu, etc.
1206 This option is reset by Vim for buffers that are only used to remember
1207 a file name or marks. Vim sets it when starting to edit a buffer.
1208 But not when moving to a buffer with ":buffer".
1210 *'buftype'* *'bt'* *E382*
1211 'buftype' 'bt' string (default: "")
1212 local to buffer
1213 {not in Vi}
1214 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
1215 feature}
1216 The value of this option specifies the type of a buffer:
1217 <empty> normal buffer
1218 nofile buffer which is not related to a file and will not be
1219 written
1220 nowrite buffer which will not be written
1221 acwrite buffer which will always be written with BufWriteCmd
1222 autocommands. {not available when compiled without the
1223 |+autocmd| feature}
1224 quickfix quickfix buffer, contains list of errors |:cwindow|
1225 or list of locations |:lwindow|
1226 help help buffer (you are not supposed to set this
1227 manually)
1229 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'swapfile' to
1230 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
1232 Be careful with changing this option, it can have many side effects!
1234 A "quickfix" buffer is only used for the error list and the location
1235 list. This value is set by the |:cwindow| and |:lwindow| commands and
1236 you are not supposed to change it.
1238 "nofile" and "nowrite" buffers are similar:
1239 both: The buffer is not to be written to disk, ":w" doesn't
1240 work (":w filename" does work though).
1241 both: The buffer is never considered to be |'modified'|.
1242 There is no warning when the changes will be lost, for
1243 example when you quit Vim.
1244 both: A swap file is only created when using too much memory
1245 (when 'swapfile' has been reset there is never a swap
1246 file).
1247 nofile only: The buffer name is fixed, it is not handled like a
1248 file name. It is not modified in response to a |:cd|
1249 command.
1250 *E676*
1251 "acwrite" implies that the buffer name is not related to a file, like
1252 "nofile", but it will be written. Thus, in contrast to "nofile" and
1253 "nowrite", ":w" does work and a modified buffer can't be abandoned
1254 without saving. For writing there must be matching |BufWriteCmd|,
1255 |FileWriteCmd| or |FileAppendCmd| autocommands.
1257 *'casemap'* *'cmp'*
1258 'casemap' 'cmp' string (default: "internal,keepascii")
1259 global
1260 {not in Vi}
1261 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1262 feature}
1263 Specifies details about changing the case of letters. It may contain
1264 these words, separated by a comma:
1265 internal Use internal case mapping functions, the current
1266 locale does not change the case mapping. This only
1267 matters when 'encoding' is a Unicode encoding,
1268 "latin1" or "iso-8859-15". When "internal" is
1269 omitted, the towupper() and towlower() system library
1270 functions are used when available.
1271 keepascii For the ASCII characters (0x00 to 0x7f) use the US
1272 case mapping, the current locale is not effective.
1273 This probably only matters for Turkish.
1275 *'cdpath'* *'cd'* *E344* *E346*
1276 'cdpath' 'cd' string (default: equivalent to $CDPATH or ",,")
1277 global
1278 {not in Vi}
1279 {not available when compiled without the
1280 |+file_in_path| feature}
1281 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
1282 |:cd| and |:lcd| commands, provided that the directory being searched
1283 for has a relative path (not starting with "/", "./" or "../").
1284 The 'cdpath' option's value has the same form and semantics as
1285 |'path'|. Also see |file-searching|.
1286 The default value is taken from $CDPATH, with a "," prepended to look
1287 in the current directory first.
1288 If the default value taken from $CDPATH is not what you want, include
1289 a modified version of the following command in your vimrc file to
1290 override it: >
1291 :let &cdpath = ',' . substitute(substitute($CDPATH, '[, ]', '\\\0', 'g'), ':', ',', 'g')
1292 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1293 security reasons.
1294 (parts of 'cdpath' can be passed to the shell to expand file names).
1296 *'cedit'*
1297 'cedit' string (Vi default: "", Vim default: CTRL-F)
1298 global
1299 {not in Vi}
1300 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1301 feature}
1302 The key used in Command-line Mode to open the command-line window.
1303 The default is CTRL-F when 'compatible' is off.
1304 Only non-printable keys are allowed.
1305 The key can be specified as a single character, but it is difficult to
1306 type. The preferred way is to use the <> notation. Examples: >
1307 :set cedit=<C-Y>
1308 :set cedit=<Esc>
1309 < |Nvi| also has this option, but it only uses the first character.
1310 See |cmdwin|.
1312 *'charconvert'* *'ccv'* *E202* *E214* *E513*
1313 'charconvert' 'ccv' string (default "")
1314 global
1315 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
1316 feature and the |+eval| feature}
1317 {not in Vi}
1318 An expression that is used for character encoding conversion. It is
1319 evaluated when a file that is to be read or has been written has a
1320 different encoding from what is desired.
1321 'charconvert' is not used when the internal iconv() function is
1322 supported and is able to do the conversion. Using iconv() is
1323 preferred, because it is much faster.
1324 'charconvert' is not used when reading stdin |--|, because there is no
1325 file to convert from. You will have to save the text in a file first.
1326 The expression must return zero or an empty string for success,
1327 non-zero for failure.
1328 The possible encoding names encountered are in 'encoding'.
1329 Additionally, names given in 'fileencodings' and 'fileencoding' are
1330 used.
1331 Conversion between "latin1", "unicode", "ucs-2", "ucs-4" and "utf-8"
1332 is done internally by Vim, 'charconvert' is not used for this.
1333 'charconvert' is also used to convert the viminfo file, if the 'c'
1334 flag is present in 'viminfo'. Also used for Unicode conversion.
1335 Example: >
1336 set charconvert=CharConvert()
1337 fun CharConvert()
1338 system("recode "
1339 \ . v:charconvert_from . ".." . v:charconvert_to
1340 \ . " <" . v:fname_in . " >" v:fname_out)
1341 return v:shell_error
1342 endfun
1343 < The related Vim variables are:
1344 v:charconvert_from name of the current encoding
1345 v:charconvert_to name of the desired encoding
1346 v:fname_in name of the input file
1347 v:fname_out name of the output file
1348 Note that v:fname_in and v:fname_out will never be the same.
1349 Note that v:charconvert_from and v:charconvert_to may be different
1350 from 'encoding'. Vim internally uses UTF-8 instead of UCS-2 or UCS-4.
1351 Encryption is not done by Vim when using 'charconvert'. If you want
1352 to encrypt the file after conversion, 'charconvert' should take care
1353 of this.
1354 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
1355 security reasons.
1357 *'cindent'* *'cin'* *'nocindent'* *'nocin'*
1358 'cindent' 'cin' boolean (default off)
1359 local to buffer
1360 {not in Vi}
1361 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1362 feature}
1363 Enables automatic C program indenting. See 'cinkeys' to set the keys
1364 that trigger reindenting in insert mode and 'cinoptions' to set your
1365 preferred indent style.
1366 If 'indentexpr' is not empty, it overrules 'cindent'.
1367 If 'lisp' is not on and both 'indentexpr' and 'equalprg' are empty,
1368 the "=" operator indents using this algorithm rather than calling an
1369 external program.
1370 See |C-indenting|.
1371 When you don't like the way 'cindent' works, try the 'smartindent'
1372 option or 'indentexpr'.
1373 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
1374 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1376 *'cinkeys'* *'cink'*
1377 'cinkeys' 'cink' string (default "0{,0},0),:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
1378 local to buffer
1379 {not in Vi}
1380 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1381 feature}
1382 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
1383 the current line. Only used if 'cindent' is on and 'indentexpr' is
1384 empty.
1385 For the format of this option see |cinkeys-format|.
1386 See |C-indenting|.
1388 *'cinoptions'* *'cino'*
1389 'cinoptions' 'cino' string (default "")
1390 local to buffer
1391 {not in Vi}
1392 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
1393 feature}
1394 The 'cinoptions' affect the way 'cindent' reindents lines in a C
1395 program. See |cinoptions-values| for the values of this option, and
1396 |C-indenting| for info on C indenting in general.
1399 *'cinwords'* *'cinw'*
1400 'cinwords' 'cinw' string (default "if,else,while,do,for,switch")
1401 local to buffer
1402 {not in Vi}
1403 {not available when compiled without both the
1404 |+cindent| and the |+smartindent| features}
1405 These keywords start an extra indent in the next line when
1406 'smartindent' or 'cindent' is set. For 'cindent' this is only done at
1407 an appropriate place (inside {}).
1408 Note that 'ignorecase' isn't used for 'cinwords'. If case doesn't
1409 matter, include the keyword both the uppercase and lowercase:
1410 "if,If,IF".
1412 *'clipboard'* *'cb'*
1413 'clipboard' 'cb' string (default "autoselect,exclude:cons\|linux"
1414 for X-windows, "" otherwise)
1415 global
1416 {not in Vi}
1417 {only in GUI versions or when the |+xterm_clipboard|
1418 feature is included}
1419 This option is a list of comma separated names.
1420 These names are recognized:
1422 unnamed When included, Vim will use the clipboard register '*'
1423 for all yank, delete, change and put operations which
1424 would normally go to the unnamed register. When a
1425 register is explicitly specified, it will always be
1426 used regardless of whether "unnamed" is in 'clipboard'
1427 or not. The clipboard register can always be
1428 explicitly accessed using the "* notation. Also see
1429 |gui-clipboard|.
1431 autoselect Works like the 'a' flag in 'guioptions': If present,
1432 then whenever Visual mode is started, or the Visual
1433 area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of the
1434 windowing system's global selection or put the
1435 selected text on the clipboard used by the selection
1436 register "*. See |guioptions_a| and |quotestar| for
1437 details. When the GUI is active, the 'a' flag in
1438 'guioptions' is used, when the GUI is not active, this
1439 "autoselect" flag is used.
1440 Also applies to the modeless selection.
1442 autoselectml Like "autoselect", but for the modeless selection
1443 only. Compare to the 'A' flag in 'guioptions'.
1445 exclude:{pattern}
1446 Defines a pattern that is matched against the name of
1447 the terminal 'term'. If there is a match, no
1448 connection will be made to the X server. This is
1449 useful in this situation:
1450 - Running Vim in a console.
1451 - $DISPLAY is set to start applications on another
1452 display.
1453 - You do not want to connect to the X server in the
1454 console, but do want this in a terminal emulator.
1455 To never connect to the X server use: >
1456 exclude:.*
1457 < This has the same effect as using the |-X| argument.
1458 Note that when there is no connection to the X server
1459 the window title won't be restored and the clipboard
1460 cannot be accessed.
1461 The value of 'magic' is ignored, {pattern} is
1462 interpreted as if 'magic' was on.
1463 The rest of the option value will be used for
1464 {pattern}, this must be the last entry.
1466 *'cmdheight'* *'ch'*
1467 'cmdheight' 'ch' number (default 1)
1468 global
1469 {not in Vi}
1470 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line. Helps avoiding
1471 |hit-enter| prompts.
1472 The value of this option is stored with the tab page, so that each tab
1473 page can have a different value.
1475 *'cmdwinheight'* *'cwh'*
1476 'cmdwinheight' 'cwh' number (default 7)
1477 global
1478 {not in Vi}
1479 {not available when compiled without the |+vertsplit|
1480 feature}
1481 Number of screen lines to use for the command-line window. |cmdwin|
1483 *'columns'* *'co'* *E594*
1484 'columns' 'co' number (default 80 or terminal width)
1485 global
1486 {not in Vi}
1487 Number of columns of the screen. Normally this is set by the terminal
1488 initialization and does not have to be set by hand. Also see
1489 |posix-screen-size|.
1490 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
1491 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
1492 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
1493 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
1494 number of columns of the display, the display may be messed up. For
1495 the GUI it is always possible and Vim limits the number of columns to
1496 what fits on the screen. You can use this command to get the widest
1497 window possible: >
1498 :set columns=9999
1499 < Minimum value is 12, maximum value is 10000.
1501 *'comments'* *'com'* *E524* *E525*
1502 'comments' 'com' string (default
1503 "s1:/*,mb:*,ex:*/,://,b:#,:%,:XCOMM,n:>,fb:-")
1504 local to buffer
1505 {not in Vi}
1506 {not available when compiled without the |+comments|
1507 feature}
1508 A comma separated list of strings that can start a comment line. See
1509 |format-comments|. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes to
1510 insert a space.
1512 *'commentstring'* *'cms'* *E537*
1513 'commentstring' 'cms' string (default "/*%s*/")
1514 local to buffer
1515 {not in Vi}
1516 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
1517 feature}
1518 A template for a comment. The "%s" in the value is replaced with the
1519 comment text. Currently only used to add markers for folding, see
1520 |fold-marker|.
1522 *'compatible'* *'cp'* *'nocompatible'* *'nocp'*
1523 'compatible' 'cp' boolean (default on, off when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc|
1524 file is found)
1525 global
1526 {not in Vi}
1527 This option has the effect of making Vim either more Vi-compatible, or
1528 make Vim behave in a more useful way.
1529 This is a special kind of option, because when it's set or reset,
1530 other options are also changed as a side effect. CAREFUL: Setting or
1531 resetting this option can have a lot of unexpected effects: Mappings
1532 are interpreted in another way, undo behaves differently, etc. If you
1533 set this option in your vimrc file, you should probably put it at the
1534 very start.
1535 By default this option is on and the Vi defaults are used for the
1536 options. This default was chosen for those people who want to use Vim
1537 just like Vi, and don't even (want to) know about the 'compatible'
1538 option.
1539 When a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file is found while Vim is starting up,
1540 this option is switched off, and all options that have not been
1541 modified will be set to the Vim defaults. Effectively, this means
1542 that when a |vimrc| or |gvimrc| file exists, Vim will use the Vim
1543 defaults, otherwise it will use the Vi defaults. (Note: This doesn't
1544 happen for the system-wide vimrc or gvimrc file, nor for a file given
1545 with the |-u| argument). Also see |compatible-default| and
1546 |posix-compliance|.
1547 You can also set this option with the "-C" argument, and reset it with
1548 "-N". See |-C| and |-N|.
1549 Switching this option off makes the Vim defaults be used for options
1550 that have a different Vi and Vim default value. See the options
1551 marked with a '+' below. Other options are not modified.
1552 At the moment this option is set, several other options will be set
1553 or reset to make Vim as Vi-compatible as possible. See the table
1554 below. This can be used if you want to revert to Vi compatible
1555 editing.
1556 See also 'cpoptions'.
1558 option + set value effect ~
1560 'allowrevins' off no CTRL-_ command
1561 'backupcopy' Unix: "yes" backup file is a copy
1562 others: "auto" copy or rename backup file
1563 'backspace' "" normal backspace
1564 'backup' off no backup file
1565 'cindent' off no C code indentation
1566 'cedit' + "" no key to open the |cmdwin|
1567 'cpoptions' + (all flags) Vi-compatible flags
1568 'cscopetag' off don't use cscope for ":tag"
1569 'cscopetagorder' 0 see |cscopetagorder|
1570 'cscopeverbose' off see |cscopeverbose|
1571 'digraph' off no digraphs
1572 'esckeys' + off no <Esc>-keys in Insert mode
1573 'expandtab' off tabs not expanded to spaces
1574 'fileformats' + "" no automatic file format detection,
1575 "dos,unix" except for DOS, Windows and OS/2
1576 'formatoptions' + "vt" Vi compatible formatting
1577 'gdefault' off no default 'g' flag for ":s"
1578 'history' + 0 no commandline history
1579 'hkmap' off no Hebrew keyboard mapping
1580 'hkmapp' off no phonetic Hebrew keyboard mapping
1581 'hlsearch' off no highlighting of search matches
1582 'incsearch' off no incremental searching
1583 'indentexpr' "" no indenting by expression
1584 'insertmode' off do not start in Insert mode
1585 'iskeyword' + "@,48-57,_" keywords contain alphanumeric
1586 characters and '_'
1587 'joinspaces' on insert 2 spaces after period
1588 'modeline' + off no modelines
1589 'more' + off no pauses in listings
1590 'revins' off no reverse insert
1591 'ruler' off no ruler
1592 'scrolljump' 1 no jump scroll
1593 'scrolloff' 0 no scroll offset
1594 'shiftround' off indent not rounded to shiftwidth
1595 'shortmess' + "" no shortening of messages
1596 'showcmd' + off command characters not shown
1597 'showmode' + off current mode not shown
1598 'smartcase' off no automatic ignore case switch
1599 'smartindent' off no smart indentation
1600 'smarttab' off no smart tab size
1601 'softtabstop' 0 tabs are always 'tabstop' positions
1602 'startofline' on goto startofline with some commands
1603 'tagrelative' + off tag file names are not relative
1604 'textauto' + off no automatic textmode detection
1605 'textwidth' 0 no automatic line wrap
1606 'tildeop' off tilde is not an operator
1607 'ttimeout' off no terminal timeout
1608 'whichwrap' + "" left-right movements don't wrap
1609 'wildchar' + CTRL-E only when the current value is <Tab>
1610 use CTRL-E for cmdline completion
1611 'writebackup' on or off depends on +writebackup feature
1613 *'complete'* *'cpt'* *E535*
1614 'complete' 'cpt' string (default: ".,w,b,u,t,i")
1615 local to buffer
1616 {not in Vi}
1617 This option specifies how keyword completion |ins-completion| works
1618 when CTRL-P or CTRL-N are used. It is also used for whole-line
1619 completion |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L|. It indicates the type of completion
1620 and the places to scan. It is a comma separated list of flags:
1621 . scan the current buffer ('wrapscan' is ignored)
1622 w scan buffers from other windows
1623 b scan other loaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1624 u scan the unloaded buffers that are in the buffer list
1625 U scan the buffers that are not in the buffer list
1626 k scan the files given with the 'dictionary' option
1627 kspell use the currently active spell checking |spell|
1628 k{dict} scan the file {dict}. Several "k" flags can be given,
1629 patterns are valid too. For example: >
1630 :set cpt=k/usr/dict/*,k~/spanish
1631 < s scan the files given with the 'thesaurus' option
1632 s{tsr} scan the file {tsr}. Several "s" flags can be given, patterns
1633 are valid too.
1634 i scan current and included files
1635 d scan current and included files for defined name or macro
1636 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D|
1637 ] tag completion
1638 t same as "]"
1640 Unloaded buffers are not loaded, thus their autocmds |:autocmd| are
1641 not executed, this may lead to unexpected completions from some files
1642 (gzipped files for example). Unloaded buffers are not scanned for
1643 whole-line completion.
1645 The default is ".,w,b,u,t,i", which means to scan:
1646 1. the current buffer
1647 2. buffers in other windows
1648 3. other loaded buffers
1649 4. unloaded buffers
1650 5. tags
1651 6. included files
1653 As you can see, CTRL-N and CTRL-P can be used to do any 'iskeyword'-
1654 based expansion (e.g., dictionary |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|, included patterns
1655 |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I|, tags |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-]| and normal expansions).
1657 *'completefunc'* *'cfu'*
1658 'completefunc' 'cfu' string (default: empty)
1659 local to buffer
1660 {not in Vi}
1661 {not available when compiled without the +eval
1662 or +insert_expand feature}
1663 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode completion
1664 with CTRL-X CTRL-U. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-U|
1665 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
1666 invoked and what it should return.
1669 *'completeopt'* *'cot'*
1670 'completeopt' 'cot' string (default: "menu,preview")
1671 global
1672 {not available when compiled without the
1673 |+insert_expand| feature}
1674 {not in Vi}
1675 A comma separated list of options for Insert mode completion
1676 |ins-completion|. The supported values are:
1678 menu Use a popup menu to show the possible completions. The
1679 menu is only shown when there is more than one match and
1680 sufficient colors are available. |ins-completion-menu|
1682 menuone Use the popup menu also when there is only one match.
1683 Useful when there is additional information about the
1684 match, e.g., what file it comes from.
1686 longest Only insert the longest common text of the matches. If
1687 the menu is displayed you can use CTRL-L to add more
1688 characters. Whether case is ignored depends on the kind
1689 of completion. For buffer text the 'ignorecase' option is
1690 used.
1692 preview Show extra information about the currently selected
1693 completion in the preview window. Only works in
1694 combination with "menu" or "menuone".
1697 *'confirm'* *'cf'* *'noconfirm'* *'nocf'*
1698 'confirm' 'cf' boolean (default off)
1699 global
1700 {not in Vi}
1701 When 'confirm' is on, certain operations that would normally
1702 fail because of unsaved changes to a buffer, e.g. ":q" and ":e",
1703 instead raise a |dialog| asking if you wish to save the current
1704 file(s). You can still use a ! to unconditionally |abandon| a buffer.
1705 If 'confirm' is off you can still activate confirmation for one
1706 command only (this is most useful in mappings) with the |:confirm|
1707 command.
1708 Also see the |confirm()| function and the 'v' flag in 'guioptions'.
1710 *'conskey'* *'consk'* *'noconskey'* *'noconsk'*
1711 'conskey' 'consk' boolean (default off)
1712 global
1713 {not in Vi} {only for MS-DOS}
1714 When on direct console I/O is used to obtain a keyboard character.
1715 This should work in most cases. Also see |'bioskey'|. Together,
1716 three methods of console input are available:
1717 'conskey' 'bioskey' action ~
1718 on on or off direct console input
1719 off on BIOS
1720 off off STDIN
1722 *'copyindent'* *'ci'* *'nocopyindent'* *'noci'*
1723 'copyindent' 'ci' boolean (default off)
1724 local to buffer
1725 {not in Vi}
1726 Copy the structure of the existing lines indent when autoindenting a
1727 new line. Normally the new indent is reconstructed by a series of
1728 tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is enabled,
1729 in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option makes the
1730 new line copy whatever characters were used for indenting on the
1731 existing line. 'expandtab' has no effect on these characters, a Tab
1732 remains a Tab. If the new indent is greater than on the existing
1733 line, the remaining space is filled in the normal manner.
1734 NOTE: 'copyindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
1735 Also see 'preserveindent'.
1737 *'cpoptions'* *'cpo'*
1738 'cpoptions' 'cpo' string (Vim default: "aABceFs",
1739 Vi default: all flags)
1740 global
1741 {not in Vi}
1742 A sequence of single character flags. When a character is present
1743 this indicates vi-compatible behavior. This is used for things where
1744 not being vi-compatible is mostly or sometimes preferred.
1745 'cpoptions' stands for "compatible-options".
1746 Commas can be added for readability.
1747 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
1748 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
1749 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
1750 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
1751 NOTE: This option is set to the POSIX default value at startup when
1752 the Vi default value would be used and the $VIM_POSIX environment
1753 variable exists |posix|. This means tries to behave like the POSIX
1754 specification.
1756 contains behavior ~
1757 *cpo-a*
1758 a When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1759 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1760 current window.
1761 *cpo-A*
1762 A When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1763 argument will set the alternate file name for the
1764 current window.
1765 *cpo-b*
1766 b "\|" in a ":map" command is recognized as the end of
1767 the map command. The '\' is included in the mapping,
1768 the text after the '|' is interpreted as the next
1769 command. Use a CTRL-V instead of a backslash to
1770 include the '|' in the mapping. Applies to all
1771 mapping, abbreviation, menu and autocmd commands.
1772 See also |map_bar|.
1773 *cpo-B*
1774 B A backslash has no special meaning in mappings,
1775 abbreviations and the "to" part of the menu commands.
1776 Remove this flag to be able to use a backslash like a
1777 CTRL-V. For example, the command ":map X \<Esc>"
1778 results in X being mapped to:
1779 'B' included: "\^[" (^[ is a real <Esc>)
1780 'B' excluded: "<Esc>" (5 characters)
1781 ('<' excluded in both cases)
1782 *cpo-c*
1783 c Searching continues at the end of any match at the
1784 cursor position, but not further than the start of the
1785 next line. When not present searching continues
1786 one character from the cursor position. With 'c'
1787 "abababababab" only gets three matches when repeating
1788 "/abab", without 'c' there are five matches.
1789 *cpo-C*
1790 C Do not concatenate sourced lines that start with a
1791 backslash. See |line-continuation|.
1792 *cpo-d*
1793 d Using "./" in the 'tags' option doesn't mean to use
1794 the tags file relative to the current file, but the
1795 tags file in the current directory.
1796 *cpo-D*
1797 D Can't use CTRL-K to enter a digraph after Normal mode
1798 commands with a character argument, like |r|, |f| and
1799 |t|.
1800 *cpo-e*
1801 e When executing a register with ":@r", always add a
1802 <CR> to the last line, also when the register is not
1803 linewise. If this flag is not present, the register
1804 is not linewise and the last line does not end in a
1805 <CR>, then the last line is put on the command-line
1806 and can be edited before hitting <CR>.
1807 *cpo-E*
1808 E It is an error when using "y", "d", "c", "g~", "gu" or
1809 "gU" on an Empty region. The operators only work when
1810 at least one character is to be operate on. Example:
1811 This makes "y0" fail in the first column.
1812 *cpo-f*
1813 f When included, a ":read" command with a file name
1814 argument will set the file name for the current buffer,
1815 if the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet.
1816 *cpo-F*
1817 F When included, a ":write" command with a file name
1818 argument will set the file name for the current
1819 buffer, if the current buffer doesn't have a file name
1820 yet. Also see |cpo-P|.
1821 *cpo-g*
1822 g Goto line 1 when using ":edit" without argument.
1823 *cpo-H*
1824 H When using "I" on a line with only blanks, insert
1825 before the last blank. Without this flag insert after
1826 the last blank.
1827 *cpo-i*
1828 i When included, interrupting the reading of a file will
1829 leave it modified.
1830 *cpo-I*
1831 I When moving the cursor up or down just after inserting
1832 indent for 'autoindent', do not delete the indent.
1833 *cpo-j*
1834 j When joining lines, only add two spaces after a '.',
1835 not after '!' or '?'. Also see 'joinspaces'.
1836 *cpo-J*
1837 J A |sentence| has to be followed by two spaces after
1838 the '.', '!' or '?'. A <Tab> is not recognized as
1839 white space.
1840 *cpo-k*
1841 k Disable the recognition of raw key codes in
1842 mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of menu
1843 commands. For example, if <Key> sends ^[OA (where ^[
1844 is <Esc>), the command ":map X ^[OA" results in X
1845 being mapped to:
1846 'k' included: "^[OA" (3 characters)
1847 'k' excluded: "<Key>" (one key code)
1848 Also see the '<' flag below.
1849 *cpo-K*
1850 K Don't wait for a key code to complete when it is
1851 halfway a mapping. This breaks mapping <F1><F1> when
1852 only part of the second <F1> has been read. It
1853 enables cancelling the mapping by typing <F1><Esc>.
1854 *cpo-l*
1855 l Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
1856 literally, only "\]", "\^", "\-" and "\\" are special.
1857 See |/[]|
1858 'l' included: "/[ \t]" finds <Space>, '\' and 't'
1859 'l' excluded: "/[ \t]" finds <Space> and <Tab>
1860 Also see |cpo-\|.
1861 *cpo-L*
1862 L When the 'list' option is set, 'wrapmargin',
1863 'textwidth', 'softtabstop' and Virtual Replace mode
1864 (see |gR|) count a <Tab> as two characters, instead of
1865 the normal behavior of a <Tab>.
1866 *cpo-m*
1867 m When included, a showmatch will always wait half a
1868 second. When not included, a showmatch will wait half
1869 a second or until a character is typed. |'showmatch'|
1870 *cpo-M*
1871 M When excluded, "%" matching will take backslashes into
1872 account. Thus in "( \( )" and "\( ( \)" the outer
1873 parenthesis match. When included "%" ignores
1874 backslashes, which is Vi compatible.
1875 *cpo-n*
1876 n When included, the column used for 'number' will also
1877 be used for text of wrapped lines.
1878 *cpo-o*
1879 o Line offset to search command is not remembered for
1880 next search.
1881 *cpo-O*
1882 O Don't complain if a file is being overwritten, even
1883 when it didn't exist when editing it. This is a
1884 protection against a file unexpectedly created by
1885 someone else. Vi didn't complain about this.
1886 *cpo-p*
1887 p Vi compatible Lisp indenting. When not present, a
1888 slightly better algorithm is used.
1889 *cpo-P*
1890 P When included, a ":write" command that appends to a
1891 file will set the file name for the current buffer, if
1892 the current buffer doesn't have a file name yet and
1893 the 'F' flag is also included |cpo-F|.
1894 *cpo-q*
1895 q When joining multiple lines leave the cursor at the
1896 position where it would be when joining two lines.
1897 *cpo-r*
1898 r Redo ("." command) uses "/" to repeat a search
1899 command, instead of the actually used search string.
1900 *cpo-R*
1901 R Remove marks from filtered lines. Without this flag
1902 marks are kept like |:keepmarks| was used.
1903 *cpo-s*
1904 s Set buffer options when entering the buffer for the
1905 first time. This is like it is in Vim version 3.0.
1906 And it is the default. If not present the options are
1907 set when the buffer is created.
1908 *cpo-S*
1909 S Set buffer options always when entering a buffer
1910 (except 'readonly', 'fileformat', 'filetype' and
1911 'syntax'). This is the (most) Vi compatible setting.
1912 The options are set to the values in the current
1913 buffer. When you change an option and go to another
1914 buffer, the value is copied. Effectively makes the
1915 buffer options global to all buffers.
1917 's' 'S' copy buffer options
1918 no no when buffer created
1919 yes no when buffer first entered (default)
1920 X yes each time when buffer entered (vi comp.)
1921 *cpo-t*
1922 t Search pattern for the tag command is remembered for
1923 "n" command. Otherwise Vim only puts the pattern in
1924 the history for search pattern, but doesn't change the
1925 last used search pattern.
1926 *cpo-u*
1927 u Undo is Vi compatible. See |undo-two-ways|.
1928 *cpo-v*
1929 v Backspaced characters remain visible on the screen in
1930 Insert mode. Without this flag the characters are
1931 erased from the screen right away. With this flag the
1932 screen newly typed text overwrites backspaced
1933 characters.
1934 *cpo-w*
1935 w When using "cw" on a blank character, only change one
1936 character and not all blanks until the start of the
1937 next word.
1938 *cpo-W*
1939 W Don't overwrite a readonly file. When omitted, ":w!"
1940 overwrites a readonly file, if possible.
1941 *cpo-x*
1942 x <Esc> on the command-line executes the command-line.
1943 The default in Vim is to abandon the command-line,
1944 because <Esc> normally aborts a command. |c_<Esc>|
1945 *cpo-X*
1946 X When using a count with "R" the replaced text is
1947 deleted only once. Also when repeating "R" with "."
1948 and a count.
1949 *cpo-y*
1950 y A yank command can be redone with ".".
1951 *cpo-Z*
1952 Z When using "w!" while the 'readonly' option is set,
1953 don't reset 'readonly'.
1954 *cpo-!*
1955 ! When redoing a filter command, use the last used
1956 external command, whatever it was. Otherwise the last
1957 used -filter- command is used.
1958 *cpo-$*
1959 $ When making a change to one line, don't redisplay the
1960 line, but put a '$' at the end of the changed text.
1961 The changed text will be overwritten when you type the
1962 new text. The line is redisplayed if you type any
1963 command that moves the cursor from the insertion
1964 point.
1965 *cpo-%*
1966 % Vi-compatible matching is done for the "%" command.
1967 Does not recognize "#if", "#endif", etc.
1968 Does not recognize "/*" and "*/".
1969 Parens inside single and double quotes are also
1970 counted, causing a string that contains a paren to
1971 disturb the matching. For example, in a line like
1972 "if (strcmp("foo(", s))" the first paren does not
1973 match the last one. When this flag is not included,
1974 parens inside single and double quotes are treated
1975 specially. When matching a paren outside of quotes,
1976 everything inside quotes is ignored. When matching a
1977 paren inside quotes, it will find the matching one (if
1978 there is one). This works very well for C programs.
1979 This flag is also used for other features, such as
1980 C-indenting.
1981 *cpo--*
1982 - When included, a vertical movement command fails when
1983 it would go above the first line or below the last
1984 line. Without it the cursor moves to the first or
1985 last line, unless it already was in that line.
1986 Applies to the commands "-", "k", CTRL-P, "+", "j",
1987 CTRL-N, CTRL-J and ":1234".
1988 *cpo-+*
1989 + When included, a ":write file" command will reset the
1990 'modified' flag of the buffer, even though the buffer
1991 itself may still be different from its file.
1992 *cpo-star*
1993 * Use ":*" in the same way as ":@". When not included,
1994 ":*" is an alias for ":'<,'>", select the Visual area.
1995 *cpo-<*
1996 < Disable the recognition of special key codes in |<>|
1997 form in mappings, abbreviations, and the "to" part of
1998 menu commands. For example, the command
1999 ":map X <Tab>" results in X being mapped to:
2000 '<' included: "<Tab>" (5 characters)
2001 '<' excluded: "^I" (^I is a real <Tab>)
2002 Also see the 'k' flag above.
2003 *cpo->*
2004 > When appending to a register, put a line break before
2005 the appended text.
2007 POSIX flags. These are not included in the Vi default value, except
2008 when $VIM_POSIX was set on startup. |posix|
2010 contains behavior ~
2011 *cpo-#*
2012 # A count before "D", "o" and "O" has no effect.
2013 *cpo-&*
2014 & When ":preserve" was used keep the swap file when
2015 exiting normally while this buffer is still loaded.
2016 This flag is tested when exiting.
2017 *cpo-\*
2018 \ Backslash in a [] range in a search pattern is taken
2019 literally, only "\]" is special See |/[]|
2020 '\' included: "/[ \-]" finds <Space>, '\' and '-'
2021 '\' excluded: "/[ \-]" finds <Space> and '-'
2022 Also see |cpo-l|.
2023 *cpo-/*
2024 / When "%" is used as the replacement string in a |:s|
2025 command, use the previous replacement string. |:s%|
2026 *cpo-{*
2027 { The |{| and |}| commands also stop at a "{" character
2028 at the start of a line.
2029 *cpo-.*
2030 . The ":chdir" and ":cd" commands fail if the current
2031 buffer is modified, unless ! is used. Vim doesn't
2032 need this, since it remembers the full path of an
2033 opened file.
2034 *cpo-bar*
2035 | The value of the $LINES and $COLUMNS environment
2036 variables overrule the terminal size values obtained
2037 with system specific functions.
2040 *'cscopepathcomp'* *'cspc'*
2041 'cscopepathcomp' 'cspc' number (default 0)
2042 global
2043 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2044 feature}
2045 {not in Vi}
2046 Determines how many components of the path to show in a list of tags.
2047 See |cscopepathcomp|.
2049 *'cscopeprg'* *'csprg'*
2050 'cscopeprg' 'csprg' string (default "cscope")
2051 global
2052 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2053 feature}
2054 {not in Vi}
2055 Specifies the command to execute cscope. See |cscopeprg|.
2056 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2057 security reasons.
2059 *'cscopequickfix'* *'csqf'*
2060 'cscopequickfix' 'csqf' string (default "")
2061 global
2062 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2063 or |+quickfix| features}
2064 {not in Vi}
2065 Specifies whether to use quickfix window to show cscope results.
2066 See |cscopequickfix|.
2068 *'cscopetag'* *'cst'* *'nocscopetag'* *'nocst'*
2069 'cscopetag' 'cst' boolean (default off)
2070 global
2071 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2072 feature}
2073 {not in Vi}
2074 Use cscope for tag commands. See |cscope-options|.
2075 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2077 *'cscopetagorder'* *'csto'*
2078 'cscopetagorder' 'csto' number (default 0)
2079 global
2080 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2081 feature}
2082 {not in Vi}
2083 Determines the order in which ":cstag" performs a search. See
2084 |cscopetagorder|.
2085 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
2087 *'cscopeverbose'* *'csverb'*
2088 *'nocscopeverbose'* *'nocsverb'*
2089 'cscopeverbose' 'csverb' boolean (default off)
2090 global
2091 {not available when compiled without the |+cscope|
2092 feature}
2093 {not in Vi}
2094 Give messages when adding a cscope database. See |cscopeverbose|.
2095 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2098 *'cursorcolumn'* *'cuc'* *'nocursorcolumn'* *'nocuc'*
2099 'cursorcolumn' 'cuc' boolean (default off)
2100 local to window
2101 {not in Vi}
2102 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2103 feature}
2104 Highlight the screen column of the cursor with CursorColumn
2105 |hl-CursorColumn|. Useful to align text. Will make screen redrawing
2106 slower.
2107 If you only want the highlighting in the current window you can use
2108 these autocommands: >
2109 au WinLeave * set nocursorline nocursorcolumn
2110 au WinEnter * set cursorline cursorcolumn
2111 <
2113 *'cursorline'* *'cul'* *'nocursorline'* *'nocul'*
2114 'cursorline' 'cul' boolean (default off)
2115 local to window
2116 {not in Vi}
2117 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
2118 feature}
2119 Highlight the screen line of the cursor with CursorLine
2120 |hl-CursorLine|. Useful to easily spot the cursor. Will make screen
2121 redrawing slower.
2122 When Visual mode is active the highlighting isn't used to make it
2123 easier to see the selected text.
2126 *'debug'*
2127 'debug' string (default "")
2128 global
2129 {not in Vi}
2130 These values can be used:
2131 msg Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2132 anyway.
2133 throw Error messages that would otherwise be omitted will be given
2134 anyway and also throw an exception and set |v:errmsg|.
2135 beep A message will be given when otherwise only a beep would be
2136 produced.
2137 The values can be combined, separated by a comma.
2138 "msg" and "throw" are useful for debugging 'foldexpr', 'formatexpr' or
2139 'indentexpr'.
2141 *'define'* *'def'*
2142 'define' 'def' string (default "^\s*#\s*define")
2143 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2144 {not in Vi}
2145 Pattern to be used to find a macro definition. It is a search
2146 pattern, just like for the "/" command. This option is used for the
2147 commands like "[i" and "[d" |include-search|. The 'isident' option is
2148 used to recognize the defined name after the match:
2149 {match with 'define'}{non-ID chars}{defined name}{non-ID char}
2150 See |option-backslash| about inserting backslashes to include a space
2151 or backslash.
2152 The default value is for C programs. For C++ this value would be
2153 useful, to include const type declarations: >
2154 ^\(#\s*define\|[a-z]*\s*const\s*[a-z]*\)
2155 < When using the ":set" command, you need to double the backslashes!
2157 *'delcombine'* *'deco'* *'nodelcombine'* *'nodeco'*
2158 'delcombine' 'deco' boolean (default off)
2159 global
2160 {not in Vi}
2161 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2162 feature}
2163 If editing Unicode and this option is set, backspace and Normal mode
2164 "x" delete each combining character on its own. When it is off (the
2165 default) the character along with its combining characters are
2166 deleted.
2167 Note: When 'delcombine' is set "xx" may work different from "2x"!
2169 This is useful for Arabic, Hebrew and many other languages where one
2170 may have combining characters overtop of base characters, and want
2171 to remove only the combining ones.
2173 *'dictionary'* *'dict'*
2174 'dictionary' 'dict' string (default "")
2175 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2176 {not in Vi}
2177 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
2178 for keyword completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K|. Each file should
2179 contain a list of words. This can be one word per line, or several
2180 words per line, separated by non-keyword characters (white space is
2181 preferred). Maximum line length is 510 bytes.
2182 When this option is empty, or an entry "spell" is present, spell
2183 checking is enabled the currently active spelling is used. |spell|
2184 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
2185 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
2186 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
2187 This has nothing to do with the |Dictionary| variable type.
2188 Where to find a list of words?
2189 - On FreeBSD, there is the file "/usr/share/dict/words".
2190 - In the Simtel archive, look in the "msdos/linguist" directory.
2191 - In "miscfiles" of the GNU collection.
2192 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2193 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2194 uses another default.
2195 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
2197 *'diff'* *'nodiff'*
2198 'diff' boolean (default off)
2199 local to window
2200 {not in Vi}
2201 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2202 feature}
2203 Join the current window in the group of windows that shows differences
2204 between files. See |vimdiff|.
2206 *'dex'* *'diffexpr'*
2207 'diffexpr' 'dex' string (default "")
2208 global
2209 {not in Vi}
2210 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2211 feature}
2212 Expression which is evaluated to obtain an ed-style diff file from two
2213 versions of a file. See |diff-diffexpr|.
2214 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2215 security reasons.
2217 *'dip'* *'diffopt'*
2218 'diffopt' 'dip' string (default "filler")
2219 global
2220 {not in Vi}
2221 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
2222 feature}
2223 Option settings for diff mode. It can consist of the following items.
2224 All are optional. Items must be separated by a comma.
2226 filler Show filler lines, to keep the text
2227 synchronized with a window that has inserted
2228 lines at the same position. Mostly useful
2229 when windows are side-by-side and 'scrollbind'
2230 is set.
2232 context:{n} Use a context of {n} lines between a change
2233 and a fold that contains unchanged lines.
2234 When omitted a context of six lines is used.
2235 See |fold-diff|.
2237 icase Ignore changes in case of text. "a" and "A"
2238 are considered the same. Adds the "-i" flag
2239 to the "diff" command if 'diffexpr' is empty.
2241 iwhite Ignore changes in amount of white space. Adds
2242 the "-b" flag to the "diff" command if
2243 'diffexpr' is empty. Check the documentation
2244 of the "diff" command for what this does
2245 exactly. It should ignore adding trailing
2246 white space, but not leading white space.
2248 horizontal Start diff mode with horizontal splits (unless
2249 explicitly specified otherwise).
2251 vertical Start diff mode with vertical splits (unless
2252 explicitly specified otherwise).
2254 foldcolumn:{n} Set the 'foldcolumn' option to {n} when
2255 starting diff mode. Without this 2 is used.
2257 Examples: >
2259 :set diffopt=filler,context:4
2260 :set diffopt=
2261 :set diffopt=filler,foldcolumn:3
2262 <
2263 *'digraph'* *'dg'* *'nodigraph'* *'nodg'*
2264 'digraph' 'dg' boolean (default off)
2265 global
2266 {not in Vi}
2267 {not available when compiled without the |+digraphs|
2268 feature}
2269 Enable the entering of digraphs in Insert mode with {char1} <BS>
2270 {char2}. See |digraphs|.
2271 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2273 *'directory'* *'dir'*
2274 'directory' 'dir' string (default for Amiga: ".,t:",
2275 for MS-DOS and Win32: ".,c:\tmp,c:\temp"
2276 for Unix: ".,~/tmp,/var/tmp,/tmp")
2277 global
2278 List of directory names for the swap file, separated with commas.
2279 - The swap file will be created in the first directory where this is
2280 possible.
2281 - Empty means that no swap file will be used (recovery is
2282 impossible!).
2283 - A directory "." means to put the swap file in the same directory as
2284 the edited file. On Unix, a dot is prepended to the file name, so
2285 it doesn't show in a directory listing. On MS-Windows the "hidden"
2286 attribute is set and a dot prepended if possible.
2287 - A directory starting with "./" (or ".\" for MS-DOS et al.) means to
2288 put the swap file relative to where the edited file is. The leading
2289 "." is replaced with the path name of the edited file.
2290 - For Unix and Win32, if a directory ends in two path separators "//"
2291 or "\\", the swap file name will be built from the complete path to
2292 the file with all path separators substituted to percent '%' signs.
2293 This will ensure file name uniqueness in the preserve directory.
2294 - Spaces after the comma are ignored, other spaces are considered part
2295 of the directory name. To have a space at the start of a directory
2296 name, precede it with a backslash.
2297 - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with a backslash.
2298 - A directory name may end in an ':' or '/'.
2299 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2300 - Careful with '\' characters, type one before a space, type two to
2301 get one in the option (see |option-backslash|), for example: >
2302 :set dir=c:\\tmp,\ dir\\,with\\,commas,\\\ dir\ with\ spaces
2303 < - For backwards compatibility with Vim version 3.0 a '>' at the start
2304 of the option is removed.
2305 Using "." first in the list is recommended. This means that editing
2306 the same file twice will result in a warning. Using "/tmp" on Unix is
2307 discouraged: When the system crashes you lose the swap file.
2308 "/var/tmp" is often not cleared when rebooting, thus is a better
2309 choice than "/tmp". But it can contain a lot of files, your swap
2310 files get lost in the crowd. That is why a "tmp" directory in your
2311 home directory is tried first.
2312 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
2313 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
2314 uses another default.
2315 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2316 security reasons.
2317 {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"}
2319 *'display'* *'dy'*
2320 'display' 'dy' string (default "")
2321 global
2322 {not in Vi}
2323 Change the way text is displayed. This is comma separated list of
2324 flags:
2325 lastline When included, as much as possible of the last line
2326 in a window will be displayed. When not included, a
2327 last line that doesn't fit is replaced with "@" lines.
2328 uhex Show unprintable characters hexadecimal as <xx>
2329 instead of using ^C and ~C.
2331 *'eadirection'* *'ead'*
2332 'eadirection' 'ead' string (default "both")
2333 global
2334 {not in Vi}
2335 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
2336 feature}
2337 Tells when the 'equalalways' option applies:
2338 ver vertically, width of windows is not affected
2339 hor horizontally, height of windows is not affected
2340 both width and height of windows is affected
2342 *'ed'* *'edcompatible'* *'noed'* *'noedcompatible'*
2343 'edcompatible' 'ed' boolean (default off)
2344 global
2345 Makes the 'g' and 'c' flags of the ":substitute" command to be
2346 toggled each time the flag is given. See |complex-change|. See
2347 also 'gdefault' option.
2348 Switching this option on is discouraged!
2350 *'encoding'* *'enc'* *E543*
2351 'encoding' 'enc' string (default: "latin1" or value from $LANG)
2352 global
2353 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2354 feature}
2355 {not in Vi}
2356 Sets the character encoding used inside Vim. It applies to text in
2357 the buffers, registers, Strings in expressions, text stored in the
2358 viminfo file, etc. It sets the kind of characters which Vim can work
2359 with. See |encoding-names| for the possible values.
2361 NOTE: Changing this option will not change the encoding of the
2362 existing text in Vim. It may cause non-ASCII text to become invalid.
2363 It should normally be kept at its default value, or set when Vim
2364 starts up. See |multibyte|. To reload the menus see |:menutrans|.
2366 NOTE: For GTK+ 2 it is highly recommended to set 'encoding' to
2367 "utf-8". Although care has been taken to allow different values of
2368 'encoding', "utf-8" is the natural choice for the environment and
2369 avoids unnecessary conversion overhead. "utf-8" has not been made
2370 the default to prevent different behavior of the GUI and terminal
2371 versions, and to avoid changing the encoding of newly created files
2372 without your knowledge (in case 'fileencodings' is empty).
2374 The character encoding of files can be different from 'encoding'.
2375 This is specified with 'fileencoding'. The conversion is done with
2376 iconv() or as specified with 'charconvert'.
2378 Normally 'encoding' will be equal to your current locale. This will
2379 be the default if Vim recognizes your environment settings. If
2380 'encoding' is not set to the current locale, 'termencoding' must be
2381 set to convert typed and displayed text. See |encoding-table|.
2383 When you set this option, it fires the |EncodingChanged| autocommand
2384 event so that you can set up fonts if necessary.
2386 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2387 you can set it with uppercase values too. Underscores are translated
2388 to '-' signs.
2389 When the encoding is recognized, it is changed to the standard name.
2390 For example "Latin-1" becomes "latin1", "ISO_88592" becomes
2391 "iso-8859-2" and "utf8" becomes "utf-8".
2393 Note: "latin1" is also used when the encoding could not be detected.
2394 This only works when editing files in the same encoding! When the
2395 actual character set is not latin1, make sure 'fileencoding' and
2396 'fileencodings' are empty. When conversion is needed, switch to using
2397 utf-8.
2399 When "unicode", "ucs-2" or "ucs-4" is used, Vim internally uses utf-8.
2400 You don't notice this while editing, but it does matter for the
2401 |viminfo-file|. And Vim expects the terminal to use utf-8 too. Thus
2402 setting 'encoding' to one of these values instead of utf-8 only has
2403 effect for encoding used for files when 'fileencoding' is empty.
2405 When 'encoding' is set to a Unicode encoding, and 'fileencodings' was
2406 not set yet, the default for 'fileencodings' is changed.
2408 *'endofline'* *'eol'* *'noendofline'* *'noeol'*
2409 'endofline' 'eol' boolean (default on)
2410 local to buffer
2411 {not in Vi}
2412 When writing a file and this option is off and the 'binary' option
2413 is on, no <EOL> will be written for the last line in the file. This
2414 option is automatically set when starting to edit a new file, unless
2415 the file does not have an <EOL> for the last line in the file, in
2416 which case it is reset. Normally you don't have to set or reset this
2417 option. When 'binary' is off the value is not used when writing the
2418 file. When 'binary' is on it is used to remember the presence of a
2419 <EOL> for the last line in the file, so that when you write the file
2420 the situation from the original file can be kept. But you can change
2421 it if you want to.
2423 *'equalalways'* *'ea'* *'noequalalways'* *'noea'*
2424 'equalalways' 'ea' boolean (default on)
2425 global
2426 {not in Vi}
2427 When on, all the windows are automatically made the same size after
2428 splitting or closing a window. This also happens the moment the
2429 option is switched on. When off, splitting a window will reduce the
2430 size of the current window and leave the other windows the same. When
2431 closing a window the extra lines are given to the window next to it
2432 (depending on 'splitbelow' and 'splitright').
2433 When mixing vertically and horizontally split windows, a minimal size
2434 is computed and some windows may be larger if there is room. The
2435 'eadirection' option tells in which direction the size is affected.
2436 Changing the height and width of a window can be avoided by setting
2437 'winfixheight' and 'winfixwidth', respectively.
2439 *'equalprg'* *'ep'*
2440 'equalprg' 'ep' string (default "")
2441 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2442 {not in Vi}
2443 External program to use for "=" command. When this option is empty
2444 the internal formatting functions are used ('lisp', 'cindent' or
2445 'indentexpr').
2446 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
2447 about including spaces and backslashes.
2448 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2449 security reasons.
2451 *'errorbells'* *'eb'* *'noerrorbells'* *'noeb'*
2452 'errorbells' 'eb' boolean (default off)
2453 global
2454 Ring the bell (beep or screen flash) for error messages. This only
2455 makes a difference for error messages, the bell will be used always
2456 for a lot of errors without a message (e.g., hitting <Esc> in Normal
2457 mode). See 'visualbell' on how to make the bell behave like a beep,
2458 screen flash or do nothing.
2460 *'errorfile'* *'ef'*
2461 'errorfile' 'ef' string (Amiga default: "AztecC.Err",
2462 others: "errors.err")
2463 global
2464 {not in Vi}
2465 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2466 feature}
2467 Name of the errorfile for the QuickFix mode (see |:cf|).
2468 When the "-q" command-line argument is used, 'errorfile' is set to the
2469 following argument. See |-q|.
2470 NOT used for the ":make" command. See 'makeef' for that.
2471 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
2472 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
2473 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2474 security reasons.
2476 *'errorformat'* *'efm'*
2477 'errorformat' 'efm' string (default is very long)
2478 global or local to buffer |global-local|
2479 {not in Vi}
2480 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
2481 feature}
2482 Scanf-like description of the format for the lines in the error file
2483 (see |errorformat|).
2485 *'esckeys'* *'ek'* *'noesckeys'* *'noek'*
2486 'esckeys' 'ek' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
2487 global
2488 {not in Vi}
2489 Function keys that start with an <Esc> are recognized in Insert
2490 mode. When this option is off, the cursor and function keys cannot be
2491 used in Insert mode if they start with an <Esc>. The advantage of
2492 this is that the single <Esc> is recognized immediately, instead of
2493 after one second. Instead of resetting this option, you might want to
2494 try changing the values for 'timeoutlen' and 'ttimeoutlen'. Note that
2495 when 'esckeys' is off, you can still map anything, but the cursor keys
2496 won't work by default.
2497 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2498 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2500 *'eventignore'* *'ei'*
2501 'eventignore' 'ei' string (default "")
2502 global
2503 {not in Vi}
2504 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2505 feature}
2506 A list of autocommand event names, which are to be ignored.
2507 When set to "all" or when "all" is one of the items, all autocommand
2508 events are ignored, autocommands will not be executed.
2509 Otherwise this is a comma separated list of event names. Example: >
2510 :set ei=WinEnter,WinLeave
2511 <
2512 *'expandtab'* *'et'* *'noexpandtab'* *'noet'*
2513 'expandtab' 'et' boolean (default off)
2514 local to buffer
2515 {not in Vi}
2516 In Insert mode: Use the appropriate number of spaces to insert a
2517 <Tab>. Spaces are used in indents with the '>' and '<' commands and
2518 when 'autoindent' is on. To insert a real tab when 'expandtab' is
2519 on, use CTRL-V<Tab>. See also |:retab| and |ins-expandtab|.
2520 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
2522 *'exrc'* *'ex'* *'noexrc'* *'noex'*
2523 'exrc' 'ex' boolean (default off)
2524 global
2525 {not in Vi}
2526 Enables the reading of .vimrc, .exrc and .gvimrc in the current
2527 directory. If you switch this option on you should also consider
2528 setting the 'secure' option (see |initialization|). Using a local
2529 .exrc, .vimrc or .gvimrc is a potential security leak, use with care!
2530 also see |.vimrc| and |gui-init|.
2531 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
2532 security reasons.
2534 *'fileencoding'* *'fenc'* *E213*
2535 'fileencoding' 'fenc' string (default: "")
2536 local to buffer
2537 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2538 feature}
2539 {not in Vi}
2540 Sets the character encoding for the file of this buffer.
2541 When 'fileencoding' is different from 'encoding', conversion will be
2542 done when reading and writing the file.
2543 When 'fileencoding' is empty, the same value as 'encoding' will be
2544 used (no conversion when reading or writing a file).
2545 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2546 'encoding' is "utf-8" conversion is most likely done in a way
2547 that the reverse conversion results in the same text. When
2548 'encoding' is not "utf-8" some characters may be lost!
2549 See 'encoding' for the possible values. Additionally, values may be
2550 specified that can be handled by the converter, see
2551 |mbyte-conversion|.
2552 When reading a file 'fileencoding' will be set from 'fileencodings'.
2553 To read a file in a certain encoding it won't work by setting
2554 'fileencoding', use the |++enc| argument. One exception: when
2555 'fileencodings' is empty the value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2556 For a new file the global value of 'fileencoding' is used.
2557 Prepending "8bit-" and "2byte-" has no meaning here, they are ignored.
2558 When the option is set, the value is converted to lowercase. Thus
2559 you can set it with uppercase values too. '_' characters are
2560 replaced with '-'. If a name is recognized from the list for
2561 'encoding', it is replaced by the standard name. For example
2562 "ISO8859-2" becomes "iso-8859-2".
2563 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2564 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2565 If you do this in a modeline, you might want to set 'nomodified' to
2566 avoid this.
2567 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2569 *'fe'*
2570 NOTE: Before version 6.0 this option specified the encoding for the
2571 whole of Vim, this was a mistake. Now use 'encoding' instead. The
2572 old short name was 'fe', which is no longer used.
2574 *'fileencodings'* *'fencs'*
2575 'fileencodings' 'fencs' string (default: "ucs-bom",
2576 "ucs-bom,utf-8,default,latin1" when
2577 'encoding' is set to a Unicode value)
2578 global
2579 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
2580 feature}
2581 {not in Vi}
2582 This is a list of character encodings considered when starting to edit
2583 an existing file. When a file is read, Vim tries to use the first
2584 mentioned character encoding. If an error is detected, the next one
2585 in the list is tried. When an encoding is found that works,
2586 'fileencoding' is set to it. If all fail, 'fileencoding' is set to
2587 an empty string, which means the value of 'encoding' is used.
2588 WARNING: Conversion can cause loss of information! When
2589 'encoding' is "utf-8" (or one of the other Unicode variants)
2590 conversion is most likely done in a way that the reverse
2591 conversion results in the same text. When 'encoding' is not
2592 "utf-8" some non-ASCII characters may be lost! You can use
2593 the |++bad| argument to specify what is done with characters
2594 that can't be converted.
2595 For an empty file or a file with only ASCII characters most encodings
2596 will work and the first entry of 'fileencodings' will be used (except
2597 "ucs-bom", which requires the BOM to be present). If you prefer
2598 another encoding use an BufReadPost autocommand event to test if your
2599 preferred encoding is to be used. Example: >
2600 au BufReadPost * if search('\S', 'w') == 0 |
2601 \ set fenc=iso-2022-jp | endif
2602 < This sets 'fileencoding' to "iso-2022-jp" if the file does not contain
2603 non-blank characters.
2604 When the |++enc| argument is used then the value of 'fileencodings' is
2605 not used.
2606 Note that 'fileencodings' is not used for a new file, the global value
2607 of 'fileencoding' is used instead. You can set it with: >
2608 :setglobal fenc=iso-8859-2
2609 < This means that a non-existing file may get a different encoding than
2610 an empty file.
2611 The special value "ucs-bom" can be used to check for a Unicode BOM
2612 (Byte Order Mark) at the start of the file. It must not be preceded
2613 by "utf-8" or another Unicode encoding for this to work properly.
2614 An entry for an 8-bit encoding (e.g., "latin1") should be the last,
2615 because Vim cannot detect an error, thus the encoding is always
2616 accepted.
2617 The special value "default" can be used for the encoding from the
2618 environment. This is the default value for 'encoding'. It is useful
2619 when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and your environment uses a
2620 non-latin1 encoding, such as Russian.
2621 When 'encoding' is "utf-8" and a file contains an illegal byte
2622 sequence it won't be recognized as UTF-8. You can use the |8g8|
2623 command to find the illegal byte sequence.
2624 WRONG VALUES: WHAT'S WRONG:
2625 latin1,utf-8 "latin1" will always be used
2626 utf-8,ucs-bom,latin1 BOM won't be recognized in an utf-8
2627 file
2628 cp1250,latin1 "cp1250" will always be used
2629 If 'fileencodings' is empty, 'fileencoding' is not modified.
2630 See 'fileencoding' for the possible values.
2631 Setting this option does not have an effect until the next time a file
2632 is read.
2634 *'fileformat'* *'ff'*
2635 'fileformat' 'ff' string (MS-DOS, MS-Windows, OS/2 default: "dos",
2636 Unix default: "unix",
2637 Macintosh default: "mac")
2638 local to buffer
2639 {not in Vi}
2640 This gives the <EOL> of the current buffer, which is used for
2641 reading/writing the buffer from/to a file:
2642 dos <CR> <NL>
2643 unix <NL>
2644 mac <CR>
2645 When "dos" is used, CTRL-Z at the end of a file is ignored.
2646 See |file-formats| and |file-read|.
2647 For the character encoding of the file see 'fileencoding'.
2648 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformat' is ignored, file I/O
2649 works like it was set to "unix'.
2650 This option is set automatically when starting to edit a file and
2651 'fileformats' is not empty and 'binary' is off.
2652 When this option is set, after starting to edit a file, the 'modified'
2653 option is set, because the file would be different when written.
2654 This option can not be changed when 'modifiable' is off.
2655 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to "dos",
2656 'textmode' is set, otherwise 'textmode' is reset.
2658 *'fileformats'* *'ffs'*
2659 'fileformats' 'ffs' string (default:
2660 Vim+Vi MS-DOS, MS-Windows OS/2: "dos,unix",
2661 Vim Unix: "unix,dos",
2662 Vim Mac: "mac,unix,dos",
2663 Vi Cygwin: "unix,dos",
2664 Vi others: "")
2665 global
2666 {not in Vi}
2667 This gives the end-of-line (<EOL>) formats that will be tried when
2668 starting to edit a new buffer and when reading a file into an existing
2669 buffer:
2670 - When empty, the format defined with 'fileformat' will be used
2671 always. It is not set automatically.
2672 - When set to one name, that format will be used whenever a new buffer
2673 is opened. 'fileformat' is set accordingly for that buffer. The
2674 'fileformats' name will be used when a file is read into an existing
2675 buffer, no matter what 'fileformat' for that buffer is set to.
2676 - When more than one name is present, separated by commas, automatic
2677 <EOL> detection will be done when reading a file. When starting to
2678 edit a file, a check is done for the <EOL>:
2679 1. If all lines end in <CR><NL>, and 'fileformats' includes "dos",
2680 'fileformat' is set to "dos".
2681 2. If a <NL> is found and 'fileformats' includes "unix", 'fileformat'
2682 is set to "unix". Note that when a <NL> is found without a
2683 preceding <CR>, "unix" is preferred over "dos".
2684 3. If 'fileformats' includes "mac", 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2685 This means that "mac" is only chosen when "unix" is not present,
2686 or when no <NL> is found in the file, and when "dos" is not
2687 present, or no <CR><NL> is present in the file.
2688 Also if "unix" was first chosen, but the first <CR> is before
2689 the first <NL> and there appears to be more <CR>'s than <NL>'s in
2690 the file, then 'fileformat' is set to "mac".
2691 4. If 'fileformat' is still not set, the first name from
2692 'fileformats' is used.
2693 When reading a file into an existing buffer, the same is done, but
2694 this happens like 'fileformat' has been set appropriately for that
2695 file only, the option is not changed.
2696 When 'binary' is set, the value of 'fileformats' is not used.
2698 For systems with a Dos-like <EOL> (<CR><NL>), when reading files that
2699 are ":source"ed and for vimrc files, automatic <EOL> detection may be
2700 done:
2701 - When 'fileformats' is empty, there is no automatic detection. Dos
2702 format will be used.
2703 - When 'fileformats' is set to one or more names, automatic detection
2704 is done. This is based on the first <NL> in the file: If there is a
2705 <CR> in front of it, Dos format is used, otherwise Unix format is
2706 used.
2707 Also see |file-formats|.
2708 For backwards compatibility: When this option is set to an empty
2709 string or one format (no comma is included), 'textauto' is reset,
2710 otherwise 'textauto' is set.
2711 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2712 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2714 *'filetype'* *'ft'*
2715 'filetype' 'ft' string (default: "")
2716 local to buffer
2717 {not in Vi}
2718 {not available when compiled without the |+autocmd|
2719 feature}
2720 When this option is set, the FileType autocommand event is triggered.
2721 All autocommands that match with the value of this option will be
2722 executed. Thus the value of 'filetype' is used in place of the file
2723 name.
2724 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current file type.
2725 This option is normally set when the file type is detected. To enable
2726 this use the ":filetype on" command. |:filetype|
2727 Setting this option to a different value is most useful in a modeline,
2728 for a file for which the file type is not automatically recognized.
2729 Example, for in an IDL file:
2730 /* vim: set filetype=idl : */ ~
2731 |FileType| |filetypes|
2732 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
2733 names. Example:
2734 /* vim: set filetype=c.doxygen : */ ~
2735 This will use the "c" filetype first, then the "doxygen" filetype.
2736 This works both for filetype plugins and for syntax files. More than
2737 one dot may appear.
2738 Do not confuse this option with 'osfiletype', which is for the file
2739 type that is actually stored with the file.
2740 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
2741 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
2742 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
2744 *'fillchars'* *'fcs'*
2745 'fillchars' 'fcs' string (default "vert:|,fold:-")
2746 global
2747 {not in Vi}
2748 {not available when compiled without the |+windows|
2749 and |+folding| features}
2750 Characters to fill the statuslines and vertical separators.
2751 It is a comma separated list of items:
2753 item default Used for ~
2754 stl:c ' ' or '^' statusline of the current window
2755 stlnc:c ' ' or '-' statusline of the non-current windows
2756 vert:c '|' vertical separators |:vsplit|
2757 fold:c '-' filling 'foldtext'
2758 diff:c '-' deleted lines of the 'diff' option
2760 Any one that is omitted will fall back to the default. For "stl" and
2761 "stlnc" the space will be used when there is highlighting, '^' or '-'
2762 otherwise.
2764 Example: >
2765 :set fillchars=stl:^,stlnc:-,vert:\|,fold:-,diff:-
2766 < This is similar to the default, except that these characters will also
2767 be used when there is highlighting.
2769 for "stl" and "stlnc" only single-byte values are supported.
2771 The highlighting used for these items:
2772 item highlight group ~
2773 stl:c StatusLine |hl-StatusLine|
2774 stlnc:c StatusLineNC |hl-StatusLineNC|
2775 vert:c VertSplit |hl-VertSplit|
2776 fold:c Folded |hl-Folded|
2777 diff:c DiffDelete |hl-DiffDelete|
2779 *'fkmap'* *'fk'* *'nofkmap'* *'nofk'*
2780 'fkmap' 'fk' boolean (default off) *E198*
2781 global
2782 {not in Vi}
2783 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
2784 feature}
2785 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Farsi character set.
2786 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
2787 toggle this option |i_CTRL-_|. See |farsi.txt|.
2789 *'foldclose'* *'fcl'*
2790 'foldclose' 'fcl' string (default "")
2791 global
2792 {not in Vi}
2793 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2794 feature}
2795 When set to "all", a fold is closed when the cursor isn't in it and
2796 its level is higher than 'foldlevel'. Useful if you want folds to
2797 automatically close when moving out of them.
2799 *'foldcolumn'* *'fdc'*
2800 'foldcolumn' 'fdc' number (default 0)
2801 local to window
2802 {not in Vi}
2803 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2804 feature}
2805 When non-zero, a column with the specified width is shown at the side
2806 of the window which indicates open and closed folds. The maximum
2807 value is 12.
2808 See |folding|.
2810 *'foldenable'* *'fen'* *'nofoldenable'* *'nofen'*
2811 'foldenable' 'fen' boolean (default on)
2812 local to window
2813 {not in Vi}
2814 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2815 feature}
2816 When off, all folds are open. This option can be used to quickly
2817 switch between showing all text unfolded and viewing the text with
2818 folds (including manually opened or closed folds). It can be toggled
2819 with the |zi| command. The 'foldcolumn' will remain blank when
2820 'foldenable' is off.
2821 This option is set by commands that create a new fold or close a fold.
2822 See |folding|.
2824 *'foldexpr'* *'fde'*
2825 'foldexpr' 'fde' string (default: "0")
2826 local to window
2827 {not in Vi}
2828 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2829 or |+eval| feature}
2830 The expression used for when 'foldmethod' is "expr". It is evaluated
2831 for each line to obtain its fold level. See |fold-expr|.
2833 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2834 |sandbox-option|.
2836 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2837 evaluating 'foldexpr' |textlock|.
2839 *'foldignore'* *'fdi'*
2840 'foldignore' 'fdi' string (default: "#")
2841 local to window
2842 {not in Vi}
2843 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2844 feature}
2845 Used only when 'foldmethod' is "indent". Lines starting with
2846 characters in 'foldignore' will get their fold level from surrounding
2847 lines. White space is skipped before checking for this character.
2848 The default "#" works well for C programs. See |fold-indent|.
2850 *'foldlevel'* *'fdl'*
2851 'foldlevel' 'fdl' number (default: 0)
2852 local to window
2853 {not in Vi}
2854 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2855 feature}
2856 Sets the fold level: Folds with a higher level will be closed.
2857 Setting this option to zero will close all folds. Higher numbers will
2858 close fewer folds.
2859 This option is set by commands like |zm|, |zM| and |zR|.
2860 See |fold-foldlevel|.
2862 *'foldlevelstart'* *'fdls'*
2863 'foldlevelstart' 'fdls' number (default: -1)
2864 global
2865 {not in Vi}
2866 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2867 feature}
2868 Sets 'foldlevel' when starting to edit another buffer in a window.
2869 Useful to always start editing with all folds closed (value zero),
2870 some folds closed (one) or no folds closed (99).
2871 This is done before reading any modeline, thus a setting in a modeline
2872 overrules this option. Starting to edit a file for |diff-mode| also
2873 ignores this option and closes all folds.
2874 It is also done before BufReadPre autocommands, to allow an autocmd to
2875 overrule the 'foldlevel' value for specific files.
2876 When the value is negative, it is not used.
2878 *'foldmarker'* *'fmr'* *E536*
2879 'foldmarker' 'fmr' string (default: "{{{,}}}")
2880 local to window
2881 {not in Vi}
2882 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2883 feature}
2884 The start and end marker used when 'foldmethod' is "marker". There
2885 must be one comma, which separates the start and end marker. The
2886 marker is a literal string (a regular expression would be too slow).
2887 See |fold-marker|.
2889 *'foldmethod'* *'fdm'*
2890 'foldmethod' 'fdm' string (default: "manual")
2891 local to window
2892 {not in Vi}
2893 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2894 feature}
2895 The kind of folding used for the current window. Possible values:
2896 |fold-manual| manual Folds are created manually.
2897 |fold-indent| indent Lines with equal indent form a fold.
2898 |fold-expr| expr 'foldexpr' gives the fold level of a line.
2899 |fold-marker| marker Markers are used to specify folds.
2900 |fold-syntax| syntax Syntax highlighting items specify folds.
2901 |fold-diff| diff Fold text that is not changed.
2903 *'foldminlines'* *'fml'*
2904 'foldminlines' 'fml' number (default: 1)
2905 local to window
2906 {not in Vi}
2907 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2908 feature}
2909 Sets the minimum number of screen lines for a fold to be displayed
2910 closed. Also for manually closed folds.
2911 Note that this only has an effect of what is displayed. After using
2912 "zc" to close a fold, which is displayed open because it's smaller
2913 than 'foldminlines', a following "zc" may close a containing fold.
2915 *'foldnestmax'* *'fdn'*
2916 'foldnestmax' 'fdn' number (default: 20)
2917 local to window
2918 {not in Vi}
2919 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2920 feature}
2921 Sets the maximum nesting of folds for the "indent" and "syntax"
2922 methods. This avoids that too many folds will be created. Using more
2923 than 20 doesn't work, because the internal limit is 20.
2925 *'foldopen'* *'fdo'*
2926 'foldopen' 'fdo' string (default: "block,hor,mark,percent,quickfix,
2927 search,tag,undo")
2928 global
2929 {not in Vi}
2930 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2931 feature}
2932 Specifies for which type of commands folds will be opened, if the
2933 command moves the cursor into a closed fold. It is a comma separated
2934 list of items.
2935 item commands ~
2936 all any
2937 block "(", "{", "[[", "[{", etc.
2938 hor horizontal movements: "l", "w", "fx", etc.
2939 insert any command in Insert mode
2940 jump far jumps: "G", "gg", etc.
2941 mark jumping to a mark: "'m", CTRL-O, etc.
2942 percent "%"
2943 quickfix ":cn", ":crew", ":make", etc.
2944 search search for a pattern: "/", "n", "*", "gd", etc.
2945 (not for a search pattern in a ":" command)
2946 Also for |[s| and |]s|.
2947 tag jumping to a tag: ":ta", CTRL-T, etc.
2948 undo undo or redo: "u" and CTRL-R
2949 When the command is part of a mapping this option is not used. Add
2950 the |zv| command to the mapping to get the same effect.
2951 When a movement command is used for an operator (e.g., "dl" or "y%")
2952 this option is not used. This means the operator will include the
2953 whole closed fold.
2954 Note that vertical movements are not here, because it would make it
2955 very difficult to move onto a closed fold.
2956 In insert mode the folds containing the cursor will always be open
2957 when text is inserted.
2958 To close folds you can re-apply 'foldlevel' with the |zx| command or
2959 set the 'foldclose' option to "all".
2961 *'foldtext'* *'fdt'*
2962 'foldtext' 'fdt' string (default: "foldtext()")
2963 local to window
2964 {not in Vi}
2965 {not available when compiled without the |+folding|
2966 feature}
2967 An expression which is used to specify the text displayed for a closed
2968 fold. See |fold-foldtext|.
2970 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
2971 |sandbox-option|.
2973 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
2974 evaluating 'foldtext' |textlock|.
2976 *'formatoptions'* *'fo'*
2977 'formatoptions' 'fo' string (Vim default: "tcq", Vi default: "vt")
2978 local to buffer
2979 {not in Vi}
2980 This is a sequence of letters which describes how automatic
2981 formatting is to be done. See |fo-table|. When the 'paste' option is
2982 on, no formatting is done (like 'formatoptions' is empty). Commas can
2983 be inserted for readability.
2984 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
2985 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
2986 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
2987 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
2989 *'formatlistpat'* *'flp'*
2990 'formatlistpat' 'flp' string (default: "^\s*\d\+[\]:.)}\t ]\s*")
2991 local to buffer
2992 {not in Vi}
2993 A pattern that is used to recognize a list header. This is used for
2994 the "n" flag in 'formatoptions'.
2995 The pattern must match exactly the text that will be the indent for
2996 the line below it. You can use |/\ze| to mark the end of the match
2997 while still checking more characters. There must be a character
2998 following the pattern, when it matches the whole line it is handled
2999 like there is no match.
3000 The default recognizes a number, followed by an optional punctuation
3001 character and white space.
3003 *'formatprg'* *'fp'*
3004 'formatprg' 'fp' string (default "")
3005 global
3006 {not in Vi}
3007 The name of an external program that will be used to format the lines
3008 selected with the |gq| operator. The program must take the input on
3009 stdin and produce the output on stdout. The Unix program "fmt" is
3010 such a program.
3011 If the 'formatexpr' option is not empty it will be used instead.
3012 Otherwise, if 'formatprg' option is an empty string, the internal
3013 format function will be used |C-indenting|.
3014 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
3015 about including spaces and backslashes.
3016 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3017 |sandbox-option|.
3019 *'formatexpr'* *'fex'*
3020 'formatexpr' 'fex' string (default "")
3021 local to buffer
3022 {not in Vi}
3023 {not available when compiled without the |+eval|
3024 feature}
3025 Expression which is evaluated to format a range of lines for the |gq|
3026 operator. When this option is empty 'formatprg' is used.
3028 The |v:lnum| variable holds the first line to be formatted.
3029 The |v:count| variable holds the number of lines to be formatted.
3030 The |v:char| variable holds the character that is going to be
3031 inserted. This can be empty. Don't insert it yet!
3033 Example: >
3034 :set formatexpr=mylang#Format()
3035 < This will invoke the mylang#Format() function in the
3036 autoload/mylang.vim file in 'runtimepath'. |autoload|
3038 The expression is also evaluated when 'textwidth' is set and adding
3039 text beyond that limit. This happens under the same conditions as
3040 when internal formatting is used. Make sure the cursor is kept in the
3041 same spot relative to the text then! The |mode()| function will
3042 return "i" or "R" in this situation. When the function returns
3043 non-zero Vim will fall back to using the internal format mechanism.
3045 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3046 |sandbox-option|.
3048 *'fsync'* *'fs'*
3049 'fsync' 'fs' boolean (default on)
3050 global
3051 {not in Vi}
3052 When on, the library function fsync() will be called after writing a
3053 file. This will flush a file to disk, ensuring that it is safely
3054 written even on filesystems which do metadata-only journaling. This
3055 will force the harddrive to spin up on Linux systems running in laptop
3056 mode, so it may be undesirable in some situations. Be warned that
3057 turning this off increases the chances of data loss after a crash. On
3058 systems without an fsync() implementation, this variable is always
3059 off.
3060 Also see 'swapsync' for controlling fsync() on swap files.
3062 *'gdefault'* *'gd'* *'nogdefault'* *'nogd'*
3063 'gdefault' 'gd' boolean (default off)
3064 global
3065 {not in Vi}
3066 When on, the ":substitute" flag 'g' is default on. This means that
3067 all matches in a line are substituted instead of one. When a 'g' flag
3068 is given to a ":substitute" command, this will toggle the substitution
3069 of all or one match. See |complex-change|.
3071 command 'gdefault' on 'gdefault' off ~
3072 :s/// subst. all subst. one
3073 :s///g subst. one subst. all
3074 :s///gg subst. all subst. one
3076 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3078 *'grepformat'* *'gfm'*
3079 'grepformat' 'gfm' string (default "%f:%l%m,%f %l%m")
3080 global
3081 {not in Vi}
3082 Format to recognize for the ":grep" command output.
3083 This is a scanf-like string that uses the same format as the
3084 'errorformat' option: see |errorformat|.
3086 *'grepprg'* *'gp'*
3087 'grepprg' 'gp' string (default "grep -n ",
3088 Unix: "grep -n $* /dev/null",
3089 Win32: "findstr /n" or "grep -n",
3090 VMS: "SEARCH/NUMBERS ")
3091 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3092 {not in Vi}
3093 Program to use for the |:grep| command. This option may contain '%'
3094 and '#' characters, which are expanded like when used in a command-
3095 line. The placeholder "$*" is allowed to specify where the arguments
3096 will be included. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See
3097 |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3098 When your "grep" accepts the "-H" argument, use this to make ":grep"
3099 also work well with a single file: >
3100 :set grepprg=grep\ -nH
3101 < Special value: When 'grepprg' is set to "internal" the |:grep| command
3102 works like |:vimgrep|, |:lgrep| like |:lvimgrep|, |:grepadd| like
3103 |:vimgrepadd| and |:lgrepadd| like |:lvimgrepadd|.
3104 See also the section |:make_makeprg|, since most of the comments there
3105 apply equally to 'grepprg'.
3106 For Win32, the default is "findstr /n" if "findstr.exe" can be found,
3107 otherwise it's "grep -n".
3108 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3109 security reasons.
3111 *'guicursor'* *'gcr'* *E545* *E546* *E548* *E549*
3112 'guicursor' 'gcr' string (default "n-v-c:block-Cursor/lCursor,
3113 ve:ver35-Cursor,
3114 o:hor50-Cursor,
3115 i-ci:ver25-Cursor/lCursor,
3116 r-cr:hor20-Cursor/lCursor,
3117 sm:block-Cursor
3118 -blinkwait175-blinkoff150-blinkon175",
3119 for MS-DOS and Win32 console:
3120 "n-v-c:block,o:hor50,i-ci:hor15,
3121 r-cr:hor30,sm:block")
3122 global
3123 {not in Vi}
3124 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled, and
3125 for MS-DOS and Win32 console}
3126 This option tells Vim what the cursor should look like in different
3127 modes. It fully works in the GUI. In an MSDOS or Win32 console, only
3128 the height of the cursor can be changed. This can be done by
3129 specifying a block cursor, or a percentage for a vertical or
3130 horizontal cursor.
3131 For a console the 't_SI' and 't_EI' escape sequences are used.
3133 The option is a comma separated list of parts. Each part consist of a
3134 mode-list and an argument-list:
3135 mode-list:argument-list,mode-list:argument-list,..
3136 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes:
3137 n Normal mode
3138 v Visual mode
3139 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
3140 if not specified)
3141 o Operator-pending mode
3142 i Insert mode
3143 r Replace mode
3144 c Command-line Normal (append) mode
3145 ci Command-line Insert mode
3146 cr Command-line Replace mode
3147 sm showmatch in Insert mode
3148 a all modes
3149 The argument-list is a dash separated list of these arguments:
3150 hor{N} horizontal bar, {N} percent of the character height
3151 ver{N} vertical bar, {N} percent of the character width
3152 block block cursor, fills the whole character
3153 [only one of the above three should be present]
3154 blinkwait{N} *cursor-blinking*
3155 blinkon{N}
3156 blinkoff{N}
3157 blink times for cursor: blinkwait is the delay before
3158 the cursor starts blinking, blinkon is the time that
3159 the cursor is shown and blinkoff is the time that the
3160 cursor is not shown. The times are in msec. When one
3161 of the numbers is zero, there is no blinking. The
3162 default is: "blinkwait700-blinkon400-blinkoff250".
3163 These numbers are used for a missing entry. This
3164 means that blinking is enabled by default. To switch
3165 blinking off you can use "blinkon0". The cursor only
3166 blinks when Vim is waiting for input, not while
3167 executing a command.
3168 To make the cursor blink in an xterm, see
3169 |xterm-blink|.
3170 {group-name}
3171 a highlight group name, that sets the color and font
3172 for the cursor
3173 {group-name}/{group-name}
3174 Two highlight group names, the first is used when
3175 no language mappings are used, the other when they
3176 are. |language-mapping|
3178 Examples of parts:
3179 n-c-v:block-nCursor in Normal, Command-line and Visual mode, use a
3180 block cursor with colors from the "nCursor"
3181 highlight group
3182 i-ci:ver30-iCursor-blinkwait300-blinkon200-blinkoff150
3183 In Insert and Command-line Insert mode, use a
3184 30% vertical bar cursor with colors from the
3185 "iCursor" highlight group. Blink a bit
3186 faster.
3188 The 'a' mode is different. It will set the given argument-list for
3189 all modes. It does not reset anything to defaults. This can be used
3190 to do a common setting for all modes. For example, to switch off
3191 blinking: "a:blinkon0"
3193 Examples of cursor highlighting: >
3194 :highlight Cursor gui=reverse guifg=NONE guibg=NONE
3195 :highlight Cursor gui=NONE guifg=bg guibg=fg
3196 <
3197 *'guifont'* *'gfn'*
3198 *E235* *E596* *E610* *E611*
3199 'guifont' 'gfn' string (default "")
3200 global
3201 {not in Vi}
3202 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3203 This is a list of fonts which will be used for the GUI version of Vim.
3204 In its simplest form the value is just one font name. When
3205 the font cannot be found you will get an error message. To try other
3206 font names a list can be specified, font names separated with commas.
3207 The first valid font is used.
3209 On systems where 'guifontset' is supported (X11) and 'guifontset' is
3210 not empty, then 'guifont' is not used.
3212 Spaces after a comma are ignored. To include a comma in a font name
3213 precede it with a backslash. Setting an option requires an extra
3214 backslash before a space and a backslash. See also
3215 |option-backslash|. For example: >
3216 :set guifont=Screen15,\ 7x13,font\\,with\\,commas
3217 < will make Vim try to use the font "Screen15" first, and if it fails it
3218 will try to use "7x13" and then "font,with,commas" instead.
3220 If none of the fonts can be loaded, Vim will keep the current setting.
3221 If an empty font list is given, Vim will try using other resource
3222 settings (for X, it will use the Vim.font resource), and finally it
3223 will try some builtin default which should always be there ("7x13" in
3224 the case of X). The font names given should be "normal" fonts. Vim
3225 will try to find the related bold and italic fonts.
3227 For Win32, GTK, Mac OS and Photon: >
3228 :set guifont=*
3229 < will bring up a font requester, where you can pick the font you want.
3231 The font name depends on the GUI used. See |setting-guifont| for a
3232 way to set 'guifont' for various systems.
3234 For the GTK+ 2 GUI the font name looks like this: >
3235 :set guifont=Andale\ Mono\ 11
3236 < That's all. XLFDs are no longer accepted.
3238 For Mac OSX you can use something like this: >
3239 :set guifont=Monaco:h10
3240 < Also see 'macatsui', it can help fix display problems.
3241 *E236*
3242 Note that the fonts must be mono-spaced (all characters have the same
3243 width). An exception is GTK 2: all fonts are accepted, but
3244 mono-spaced fonts look best.
3246 To preview a font on X11, you might be able to use the "xfontsel"
3247 program. The "xlsfonts" program gives a list of all available fonts.
3249 For the Win32 GUI *E244* *E245*
3250 - takes these options in the font name:
3251 hXX - height is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3252 wXX - width is XX (points, can be floating-point)
3253 b - bold
3254 i - italic
3255 u - underline
3256 s - strikeout
3257 cXX - character set XX. Valid charsets are: ANSI, ARABIC,
3258 BALTIC, CHINESEBIG5, DEFAULT, EASTEUROPE, GB2312, GREEK,
3259 HANGEUL, HEBREW, JOHAB, MAC, OEM, RUSSIAN, SHIFTJIS,
3260 SYMBOL, THAI, TURKISH, VIETNAMESE ANSI and BALTIC.
3261 Normally you would use "cDEFAULT".
3263 Use a ':' to separate the options.
3264 - A '_' can be used in the place of a space, so you don't need to use
3265 backslashes to escape the spaces.
3266 - Examples: >
3267 :set guifont=courier_new:h12:w5:b:cRUSSIAN
3268 :set guifont=Andale_Mono:h7.5:w4.5
3269 < See also |font-sizes|.
3271 *'guifontset'* *'gfs'*
3272 *E250* *E252* *E234* *E597* *E598*
3273 'guifontset' 'gfs' string (default "")
3274 global
3275 {not in Vi}
3276 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3277 with the |+xfontset| feature}
3278 {not available in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
3279 When not empty, specifies two (or more) fonts to be used. The first
3280 one for normal English, the second one for your special language. See
3281 |xfontset|.
3282 Setting this option also means that all font names will be handled as
3283 a fontset name. Also the ones used for the "font" argument of the
3284 |:highlight| command.
3285 The fonts must match with the current locale. If fonts for the
3286 character sets that the current locale uses are not included, setting
3287 'guifontset' will fail.
3288 Note the difference between 'guifont' and 'guifontset': In 'guifont'
3289 the comma-separated names are alternative names, one of which will be
3290 used. In 'guifontset' the whole string is one fontset name,
3291 including the commas. It is not possible to specify alternative
3292 fontset names.
3293 This example works on many X11 systems: >
3294 :set guifontset=-*-*-medium-r-normal--16-*-*-*-c-*-*-*
3295 <
3296 *'guifontwide'* *'gfw'* *E231* *E533* *E534*
3297 'guifontwide' 'gfw' string (default "")
3298 global
3299 {not in Vi}
3300 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3301 When not empty, specifies a comma-separated list of fonts to be used
3302 for double-width characters. The first font that can be loaded is
3303 used.
3304 Note: The size of these fonts must be exactly twice as wide as the one
3305 specified with 'guifont' and the same height.
3307 All GUI versions but GTK+ 2:
3309 'guifontwide' is only used when 'encoding' is set to "utf-8" and
3310 'guifontset' is empty or invalid.
3311 When 'guifont' is set and a valid font is found in it and
3312 'guifontwide' is empty Vim will attempt to find a matching
3313 double-width font and set 'guifontwide' to it.
3315 GTK+ 2 GUI only: *guifontwide_gtk2*
3317 If set and valid, 'guifontwide' is always used for double width
3318 characters, even if 'encoding' is not set to "utf-8".
3319 Vim does not attempt to find an appropriate value for 'guifontwide'
3320 automatically. If 'guifontwide' is empty Pango/Xft will choose the
3321 font for characters not available in 'guifont'. Thus you do not need
3322 to set 'guifontwide' at all unless you want to override the choice
3323 made by Pango/Xft.
3325 *'guiheadroom'* *'ghr'*
3326 'guiheadroom' 'ghr' number (default 50)
3327 global
3328 {not in Vi} {only for GTK and X11 GUI}
3329 The number of pixels subtracted from the screen height when fitting
3330 the GUI window on the screen. Set this before the GUI is started,
3331 e.g., in your |gvimrc| file. When zero, the whole screen height will
3332 be used by the window. When positive, the specified number of pixel
3333 lines will be left for window decorations and other items on the
3334 screen. Set it to a negative value to allow windows taller than the
3335 screen.
3337 *'guioptions'* *'go'*
3338 'guioptions' 'go' string (default "gmrLtT" (MS-Windows),
3339 "agimrLtT" (GTK, Motif and Athena))
3340 global
3341 {not in Vi}
3342 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3343 This option only has an effect in the GUI version of Vim. It is a
3344 sequence of letters which describes what components and options of the
3345 GUI should be used.
3346 To avoid problems with flags that are added in the future, use the
3347 "+=" and "-=" feature of ":set" |add-option-flags|.
3349 Valid letters are as follows:
3350 *guioptions_a* *'go-a'*
3351 'a' Autoselect: If present, then whenever VISUAL mode is started,
3352 or the Visual area extended, Vim tries to become the owner of
3353 the windowing system's global selection. This means that the
3354 Visually highlighted text is available for pasting into other
3355 applications as well as into Vim itself. When the Visual mode
3356 ends, possibly due to an operation on the text, or when an
3357 application wants to paste the selection, the highlighted text
3358 is automatically yanked into the "* selection register.
3359 Thus the selection is still available for pasting into other
3360 applications after the VISUAL mode has ended.
3361 If not present, then Vim won't become the owner of the
3362 windowing system's global selection unless explicitly told to
3363 by a yank or delete operation for the "* register.
3364 The same applies to the modeless selection.
3365 *'go-A'*
3366 'A' Autoselect for the modeless selection. Like 'a', but only
3367 applies to the modeless selection.
3369 'guioptions' autoselect Visual autoselect modeless ~
3370 "" - -
3371 "a" yes yes
3372 "A" - yes
3373 "aA" yes yes
3375 *'go-c'*
3376 'c' Use console dialogs instead of popup dialogs for simple
3377 choices.
3378 *'go-e'*
3379 'e' Add tab pages when indicated with 'showtabline'.
3380 'guitablabel' can be used to change the text in the labels.
3381 When 'e' is missing a non-GUI tab pages line may be used.
3382 The GUI tabs are only supported on some systems, currently
3383 GTK, Motif, Mac OS/X and MS-Windows.
3384 *'go-f'*
3385 'f' Foreground: Don't use fork() to detach the GUI from the shell
3386 where it was started. Use this for programs that wait for the
3387 editor to finish (e.g., an e-mail program). Alternatively you
3388 can use "gvim -f" or ":gui -f" to start the GUI in the
3389 foreground. |gui-fork|
3390 Note: Set this option in the vimrc file. The forking may have
3391 happened already when the |gvimrc| file is read.
3392 *'go-i'*
3393 'i' Use a Vim icon. For GTK with KDE it is used in the left-upper
3394 corner of the window. It's black&white on non-GTK, because of
3395 limitations of X11. For a color icon, see |X11-icon|.
3396 *'go-m'*
3397 'm' Menu bar is present.
3398 *'go-M'*
3399 'M' The system menu "$VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim" is not sourced. Note
3400 that this flag must be added in the .vimrc file, before
3401 switching on syntax or filetype recognition (when the |gvimrc|
3402 file is sourced the system menu has already been loaded; the
3403 ":syntax on" and ":filetype on" commands load the menu too).
3404 *'go-g'*
3405 'g' Grey menu items: Make menu items that are not active grey. If
3406 'g' is not included inactive menu items are not shown at all.
3407 Exception: Athena will always use grey menu items.
3408 *'go-t'*
3409 't' Include tearoff menu items. Currently only works for Win32,
3410 GTK+, and Motif 1.2 GUI.
3411 *'go-T'*
3412 'T' Include Toolbar. Currently only in Win32, GTK+, Motif, Photon
3413 and Athena GUIs.
3414 *'go-r'*
3415 'r' Right-hand scrollbar is always present.
3416 *'go-R'*
3417 'R' Right-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3418 split window.
3419 *'go-l'*
3420 'l' Left-hand scrollbar is always present.
3421 *'go-L'*
3422 'L' Left-hand scrollbar is present when there is a vertically
3423 split window.
3424 *'go-b'*
3425 'b' Bottom (horizontal) scrollbar is present. Its size depends on
3426 the longest visible line, or on the cursor line if the 'h'
3427 flag is included. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3428 *'go-h'*
3429 'h' Limit horizontal scrollbar size to the length of the cursor
3430 line. Reduces computations. |gui-horiz-scroll|
3432 And yes, you may even have scrollbars on the left AND the right if
3433 you really want to :-). See |gui-scrollbars| for more information.
3435 *'go-v'*
3436 'v' Use a vertical button layout for dialogs. When not included,
3437 a horizontal layout is preferred, but when it doesn't fit a
3438 vertical layout is used anyway.
3439 *'go-p'*
3440 'p' Use Pointer callbacks for X11 GUI. This is required for some
3441 window managers. If the cursor is not blinking or hollow at
3442 the right moment, try adding this flag. This must be done
3443 before starting the GUI. Set it in your |gvimrc|. Adding or
3444 removing it after the GUI has started has no effect.
3445 *'go-F'*
3446 'F' Add a footer. Only for Motif. See |gui-footer|.
3449 *'guipty'* *'noguipty'*
3450 'guipty' boolean (default on)
3451 global
3452 {not in Vi}
3453 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled}
3454 Only in the GUI: If on, an attempt is made to open a pseudo-tty for
3455 I/O to/from shell commands. See |gui-pty|.
3457 *'guitablabel'* *'gtl'*
3458 'guitablabel' 'gtl' string (default empty)
3459 global
3460 {not in Vi}
3461 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3462 with the +windows feature}
3463 When nonempty describes the text to use in a label of the GUI tab
3464 pages line. When empty and when the result is empty Vim will use a
3465 default label. See |setting-guitablabel| for more info.
3467 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
3468 'guitabtooltip' is used for the tooltip, see below.
3470 Only used when the GUI tab pages line is displayed. 'e' must be
3471 present in 'guioptions'. For the non-GUI tab pages line 'tabline' is
3472 used.
3474 *'guitabtooltip'* *'gtt'*
3475 'guitabtooltip' 'gtt' string (default empty)
3476 global
3477 {not in Vi}
3478 {only available when compiled with GUI enabled and
3479 with the +windows feature}
3480 When nonempty describes the text to use in a tooltip for the GUI tab
3481 pages line. When empty Vim will use a default tooltip.
3482 This option is otherwise just like 'guitablabel' above.
3485 *'helpfile'* *'hf'*
3486 'helpfile' 'hf' string (default (MSDOS) "$VIMRUNTIME\doc\help.txt"
3487 (others) "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt")
3488 global
3489 {not in Vi}
3490 Name of the main help file. All distributed help files should be
3491 placed together in one directory. Additionally, all "doc" directories
3492 in 'runtimepath' will be used.
3493 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. For example:
3494 "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt". If $VIMRUNTIME is not set, $VIM is also
3495 tried. Also see |$VIMRUNTIME| and |option-backslash| about including
3496 spaces and backslashes.
3497 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
3498 security reasons.
3500 *'helpheight'* *'hh'*
3501 'helpheight' 'hh' number (default 20)
3502 global
3503 {not in Vi}
3504 {not available when compiled without the +windows
3505 feature}
3506 Minimal initial height of the help window when it is opened with the
3507 ":help" command. The initial height of the help window is half of the
3508 current window, or (when the 'ea' option is on) the same as other
3509 windows. When the height is less than 'helpheight', the height is
3510 set to 'helpheight'. Set to zero to disable.
3512 *'helplang'* *'hlg'*
3513 'helplang' 'hlg' string (default: messages language or empty)
3514 global
3515 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_lang|
3516 feature}
3517 {not in Vi}
3518 Comma separated list of languages. Vim will use the first language
3519 for which the desired help can be found. The English help will always
3520 be used as a last resort. You can add "en" to prefer English over
3521 another language, but that will only find tags that exist in that
3522 language and not in the English help.
3523 Example: >
3524 :set helplang=de,it
3525 < This will first search German, then Italian and finally English help
3526 files.
3527 When using |CTRL-]| and ":help!" in a non-English help file Vim will
3528 try to find the tag in the current language before using this option.
3529 See |help-translated|.
3531 *'hidden'* *'hid'* *'nohidden'* *'nohid'*
3532 'hidden' 'hid' boolean (default off)
3533 global
3534 {not in Vi}
3535 When off a buffer is unloaded when it is |abandon|ed. When on a
3536 buffer becomes hidden when it is |abandon|ed. If the buffer is still
3537 displayed in another window, it does not become hidden, of course.
3538 The commands that move through the buffer list sometimes make a buffer
3539 hidden although the 'hidden' option is off: When the buffer is
3540 modified, 'autowrite' is off or writing is not possible, and the '!'
3541 flag was used. See also |windows.txt|.
3542 To only make one buffer hidden use the 'bufhidden' option.
3543 This option is set for one command with ":hide {command}" |:hide|.
3544 WARNING: It's easy to forget that you have changes in hidden buffers.
3545 Think twice when using ":q!" or ":qa!".
3547 *'highlight'* *'hl'*
3548 'highlight' 'hl' string (default (as a single string):
3549 "8:SpecialKey,@:NonText,d:Directory,
3550 e:ErrorMsg,i:IncSearch,l:Search,m:MoreMsg,
3551 M:ModeMsg,n:LineNr,r:Question,
3552 s:StatusLine,S:StatusLineNC,c:VertSplit,
3553 t:Title,v:Visual,w:WarningMsg,W:WildMenu,
3554 f:Folded,F:FoldColumn,A:DiffAdd,
3555 C:DiffChange,D:DiffDelete,T:DiffText,
3556 >:SignColumn,B:SpellBad,P:SpellCap,
3557 R:SpellRare,L:SpellLocal,
3558 +:Pmenu,=:PmenuSel,
3559 x:PmenuSbar,X:PmenuThumb")
3560 global
3561 {not in Vi}
3562 This option can be used to set highlighting mode for various
3563 occasions. It is a comma separated list of character pairs. The
3564 first character in a pair gives the occasion, the second the mode to
3565 use for that occasion. The occasions are:
3566 |hl-SpecialKey| 8 Meta and special keys listed with ":map"
3567 |hl-NonText| @ '~' and '@' at the end of the window and
3568 characters from 'showbreak'
3569 |hl-Directory| d directories in CTRL-D listing and other special
3570 things in listings
3571 |hl-ErrorMsg| e error messages
3572 h (obsolete, ignored)
3573 |hl-IncSearch| i 'incsearch' highlighting
3574 |hl-Search| l last search pattern highlighting (see 'hlsearch')
3575 |hl-MoreMsg| m |more-prompt|
3576 |hl-ModeMsg| M Mode (e.g., "-- INSERT --")
3577 |hl-LineNr| n line number for ":number" and ":#" commands
3578 |hl-Question| r |hit-enter| prompt and yes/no questions
3579 |hl-StatusLine| s status line of current window |status-line|
3580 |hl-StatusLineNC| S status lines of not-current windows
3581 |hl-Title| t Titles for output from ":set all", ":autocmd" etc.
3582 |hl-VertSplit| c column used to separate vertically split windows
3583 |hl-Visual| v Visual mode
3584 |hl-VisualNOS| V Visual mode when Vim does is "Not Owning the
3585 Selection" Only X11 Gui's |gui-x11| and
3586 |xterm-clipboard|.
3587 |hl-WarningMsg| w warning messages
3588 |hl-WildMenu| W wildcard matches displayed for 'wildmenu'
3589 |hl-Folded| f line used for closed folds
3590 |hl-FoldColumn| F 'foldcolumn'
3591 |hl-DiffAdd| A added line in diff mode
3592 |hl-DiffChange| C changed line in diff mode
3593 |hl-DiffDelete| D deleted line in diff mode
3594 |hl-DiffText| T inserted text in diff mode
3595 |hl-SignColumn| > column used for |signs|
3596 |hl-SpellBad| B misspelled word |spell|
3597 |hl-SpellCap| P word that should start with capital|spell|
3598 |hl-SpellRare| R rare word |spell|
3599 |hl-SpellLocal| L word from other region |spell|
3600 |hl-Pmenu| + popup menu normal line
3601 |hl-PmenuSel| = popup menu normal line
3602 |hl-PmenuSbar| x popup menu scrollbar
3603 |hl-PmenuThumb| X popup menu scrollbar thumb
3605 The display modes are:
3606 r reverse (termcap entry "mr" and "me")
3607 i italic (termcap entry "ZH" and "ZR")
3608 b bold (termcap entry "md" and "me")
3609 s standout (termcap entry "so" and "se")
3610 u underline (termcap entry "us" and "ue")
3611 c undercurl (termcap entry "Cs" and "Ce")
3612 n no highlighting
3613 - no highlighting
3614 : use a highlight group
3615 The default is used for occasions that are not included.
3616 If you want to change what the display modes do, see |dos-colors|
3617 for an example.
3618 When using the ':' display mode, this must be followed by the name of
3619 a highlight group. A highlight group can be used to define any type
3620 of highlighting, including using color. See |:highlight| on how to
3621 define one. The default uses a different group for each occasion.
3622 See |highlight-default| for the default highlight groups.
3624 *'hlsearch'* *'hls'* *'nohlsearch'* *'nohls'*
3625 'hlsearch' 'hls' boolean (default off)
3626 global
3627 {not in Vi}
3628 {not available when compiled without the
3629 |+extra_search| feature}
3630 When there is a previous search pattern, highlight all its matches.
3631 The type of highlighting used can be set with the 'l' occasion in the
3632 'highlight' option. This uses the "Search" highlight group by
3633 default. Note that only the matching text is highlighted, any offsets
3634 are not applied.
3635 See also: 'incsearch' and |:match|.
3636 When you get bored looking at the highlighted matches, you can turn it
3637 off with |:nohlsearch|. As soon as you use a search command, the
3638 highlighting comes back.
3639 'redrawtime' specifies the maximum time spent on finding matches.
3640 When the search pattern can match an end-of-line, Vim will try to
3641 highlight all of the matched text. However, this depends on where the
3642 search starts. This will be the first line in the window or the first
3643 line below a closed fold. A match in a previous line which is not
3644 drawn may not continue in a newly drawn line.
3645 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3647 *'history'* *'hi'*
3648 'history' 'hi' number (Vim default: 20, Vi default: 0)
3649 global
3650 {not in Vi}
3651 A history of ":" commands, and a history of previous search patterns
3652 are remembered. This option decides how many entries may be stored in
3653 each of these histories (see |cmdline-editing|).
3654 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
3655 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
3657 *'hkmap'* *'hk'* *'nohkmap'* *'nohk'*
3658 'hkmap' 'hk' boolean (default off)
3659 global
3660 {not in Vi}
3661 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3662 feature}
3663 When on, the keyboard is mapped for the Hebrew character set.
3664 Normally you would set 'allowrevins' and use CTRL-_ in insert mode to
3665 toggle this option. See |rileft.txt|.
3666 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3668 *'hkmapp'* *'hkp'* *'nohkmapp'* *'nohkp'*
3669 'hkmapp' 'hkp' boolean (default off)
3670 global
3671 {not in Vi}
3672 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
3673 feature}
3674 When on, phonetic keyboard mapping is used. 'hkmap' must also be on.
3675 This is useful if you have a non-Hebrew keyboard.
3676 See |rileft.txt|.
3677 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3679 *'icon'* *'noicon'*
3680 'icon' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
3681 global
3682 {not in Vi}
3683 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3684 feature}
3685 When on, the icon text of the window will be set to the value of
3686 'iconstring' (if it is not empty), or to the name of the file
3687 currently being edited. Only the last part of the name is used.
3688 Overridden by the 'iconstring' option.
3689 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icons (currently
3690 only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option - these are
3691 Unix xterm and iris-ansi by default, where 't_IS' is taken from the
3692 builtin termcap).
3693 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3694 restored if possible |X11|. See |X11-icon| for changing the icon on
3695 X11.
3697 *'iconstring'*
3698 'iconstring' string (default "")
3699 global
3700 {not in Vi}
3701 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
3702 feature}
3703 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the icon text of
3704 the window. This happens only when the 'icon' option is on.
3705 Only works if the terminal supports setting window icon text
3706 (currently only X11 GUI and terminals with a non-empty 't_IS' option).
3707 Does not work for MS Windows.
3708 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original icon will be
3709 restored if possible |X11|.
3710 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
3711 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'. See
3712 'titlestring' for example settings.
3713 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
3715 *'ignorecase'* *'ic'* *'noignorecase'* *'noic'*
3716 'ignorecase' 'ic' boolean (default off)
3717 global
3718 Ignore case in search patterns. Also used when searching in the tags
3719 file.
3720 Also see 'smartcase'.
3721 Can be overruled by using "\c" or "\C" in the pattern, see
3722 |/ignorecase|.
3724 *'imactivatekey'* *'imak'*
3725 'imactivatekey' 'imak' string (default "")
3726 global
3727 {not in Vi}
3728 {only available when compiled with |+xim| and
3729 |+GUI_GTK|}
3730 Specifies the key that your Input Method in X-Windows uses for
3731 activation. When this is specified correctly, vim can fully control
3732 IM with 'imcmdline', 'iminsert' and 'imsearch'.
3733 You can't use this option to change the activation key, the option
3734 tells Vim what the key is.
3735 Format:
3736 [MODIFIER_FLAG-]KEY_STRING
3738 These characters can be used for MODIFIER_FLAG (case is ignored):
3739 S Shift key
3740 L Lock key
3741 C Control key
3742 1 Mod1 key
3743 2 Mod2 key
3744 3 Mod3 key
3745 4 Mod4 key
3746 5 Mod5 key
3747 Combinations are allowed, for example "S-C-space" or "SC-space" are
3748 both shift+ctrl+space.
3749 See <X11/keysymdef.h> and XStringToKeysym for KEY_STRING.
3751 Example: >
3752 :set imactivatekey=S-space
3753 < "S-space" means shift+space. This is the activation key for kinput2 +
3754 canna (Japanese), and ami (Korean).
3756 *'imcmdline'* *'imc'* *'noimcmdline'* *'noimc'*
3757 'imcmdline' 'imc' boolean (default off)
3758 global
3759 {not in Vi}
3760 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3761 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3762 When set the Input Method is always on when starting to edit a command
3763 line, unless entering a search pattern (see 'imsearch' for that).
3764 Setting this option is useful when your input method allows entering
3765 English characters directly, e.g., when it's used to type accented
3766 characters with dead keys.
3768 *'imdisable'* *'imd'* *'nodisable'* *'noimd'*
3769 'imdisable' 'imd' boolean (default off, on for some systems (SGI))
3770 global
3771 {not in Vi}
3772 {only available when compiled with the |+xim|
3773 |+multi_byte_ime| or |global-ime| feature}
3774 When set the Input Method is never used. This is useful to disable
3775 the IM when it doesn't work properly.
3776 Currently this option is on by default for SGI/IRIX machines. This
3777 may change in later releases.
3779 *'iminsert'* *'imi'*
3780 'iminsert' 'imi' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3781 local to buffer
3782 {not in Vi}
3783 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used in
3784 Insert mode. Valid values:
3785 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3786 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3787 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3788 2 is available only when compiled with the |+multi_byte_ime|, |+xim|
3789 or |global-ime|.
3790 To always reset the option to zero when leaving Insert mode with <Esc>
3791 this can be used: >
3792 :inoremap <ESC> <ESC>:set iminsert=0<CR>
3793 < This makes :lmap and IM turn off automatically when leaving Insert
3794 mode.
3795 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Insert mode
3796 |i_CTRL-^|.
3797 The value is set to 1 when setting 'keymap' to a valid keymap name.
3798 It is also used for the argument of commands like "r" and "f".
3799 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3800 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3802 *'imsearch'* *'ims'*
3803 'imsearch' 'ims' number (default 0, 2 when an input method is supported)
3804 local to buffer
3805 {not in Vi}
3806 Specifies whether :lmap or an Input Method (IM) is to be used when
3807 entering a search pattern. Valid values:
3808 -1 the value of 'iminsert' is used, makes it look like
3809 'iminsert' is also used when typing a search pattern
3810 0 :lmap is off and IM is off
3811 1 :lmap is ON and IM is off
3812 2 :lmap is off and IM is ON
3813 Note that this option changes when using CTRL-^ in Command-line mode
3814 |c_CTRL-^|.
3815 The value is set to 1 when it is not -1 and setting the 'keymap'
3816 option to a valid keymap name.
3817 The value 0 may not work correctly with Athena and Motif with some XIM
3818 methods. Use 'imdisable' to disable XIM then.
3820 *'include'* *'inc'*
3821 'include' 'inc' string (default "^\s*#\s*include")
3822 global or local to buffer |global-local|
3823 {not in Vi}
3824 {not available when compiled without the
3825 |+find_in_path| feature}
3826 Pattern to be used to find an include command. It is a search
3827 pattern, just like for the "/" command (See |pattern|). The default
3828 value is for C programs. This option is used for the commands "[i",
3829 "]I", "[d", etc.
3830 Normally the 'isfname' option is used to recognize the file name that
3831 comes after the matched pattern. But if "\zs" appears in the pattern
3832 then the text matched from "\zs" to the end, or until "\ze" if it
3833 appears, is used as the file name. Use this to include characters
3834 that are not in 'isfname', such as a space. You can then use
3835 'includeexpr' to process the matched text.
3836 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
3838 *'includeexpr'* *'inex'*
3839 'includeexpr' 'inex' string (default "")
3840 local to buffer
3841 {not in Vi}
3842 {not available when compiled without the
3843 |+find_in_path| or |+eval| feature}
3844 Expression to be used to transform the string found with the 'include'
3845 option to a file name. Mostly useful to change "." to "/" for Java: >
3846 :set includeexpr=substitute(v:fname,'\\.','/','g')
3847 < The "v:fname" variable will be set to the file name that was detected.
3849 Also used for the |gf| command if an unmodified file name can't be
3850 found. Allows doing "gf" on the name after an 'include' statement.
3851 Also used for |<cfile>|.
3853 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3854 |sandbox-option|.
3856 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3857 evaluating 'includeexpr' |textlock|.
3859 *'incsearch'* *'is'* *'noincsearch'* *'nois'*
3860 'incsearch' 'is' boolean (default off)
3861 global
3862 {not in Vi}
3863 {not available when compiled without the
3864 |+extra_search| feature}
3865 While typing a search command, show where the pattern, as it was typed
3866 so far, matches. The matched string is highlighted. If the pattern
3867 is invalid or not found, nothing is shown. The screen will be updated
3868 often, this is only useful on fast terminals.
3869 Note that the match will be shown, but the cursor will return to its
3870 original position when no match is found and when pressing <Esc>. You
3871 still need to finish the search command with <Enter> to move the
3872 cursor to the match.
3873 When compiled with the |+reltime| feature Vim only searches for about
3874 half a second. With a complicated pattern and/or a lot of text the
3875 match may not be found. This is to avoid that Vim hangs while you
3876 are typing the pattern.
3877 The highlighting can be set with the 'i' flag in 'highlight'.
3878 See also: 'hlsearch'.
3879 CTRL-L can be used to add one character from after the current match
3880 to the command line.
3881 CTRL-R CTRL-W can be used to add the word at the end of the current
3882 match, excluding the characters that were already typed.
3883 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3885 *'indentexpr'* *'inde'*
3886 'indentexpr' 'inde' string (default "")
3887 local to buffer
3888 {not in Vi}
3889 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
3890 or |+eval| features}
3891 Expression which is evaluated to obtain the proper indent for a line.
3892 It is used when a new line is created, for the |=| operator and
3893 in Insert mode as specified with the 'indentkeys' option.
3894 When this option is not empty, it overrules the 'cindent' and
3895 'smartindent' indenting.
3896 When 'paste' is set this option is not used for indenting.
3897 The expression is evaluated with |v:lnum| set to the line number for
3898 which the indent is to be computed. The cursor is also in this line
3899 when the expression is evaluated (but it may be moved around).
3900 The expression must return the number of spaces worth of indent. It
3901 can return "-1" to keep the current indent (this means 'autoindent' is
3902 used for the indent).
3903 Functions useful for computing the indent are |indent()|, |cindent()|
3904 and |lispindent()|.
3905 The evaluation of the expression must not have side effects! It must
3906 not change the text, jump to another window, etc. Afterwards the
3907 cursor position is always restored, thus the cursor may be moved.
3908 Normally this option would be set to call a function: >
3909 :set indentexpr=GetMyIndent()
3910 < Error messages will be suppressed, unless the 'debug' option contains
3911 "msg".
3912 See |indent-expression|.
3913 NOTE: This option is made empty when 'compatible' is set.
3915 The expression may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
3916 |sandbox-option|.
3918 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
3919 evaluating 'indentexpr' |textlock|.
3922 *'indentkeys'* *'indk'*
3923 'indentkeys' 'indk' string (default "0{,0},:,0#,!^F,o,O,e")
3924 local to buffer
3925 {not in Vi}
3926 {not available when compiled without the |+cindent|
3927 feature}
3928 A list of keys that, when typed in Insert mode, cause reindenting of
3929 the current line. Only happens if 'indentexpr' isn't empty.
3930 The format is identical to 'cinkeys', see |indentkeys-format|.
3931 See |C-indenting| and |indent-expression|.
3933 *'infercase'* *'inf'* *'noinfercase'* *'noinf'*
3934 'infercase' 'inf' boolean (default off)
3935 local to buffer
3936 {not in Vi}
3937 When doing keyword completion in insert mode |ins-completion|, and
3938 'ignorecase' is also on, the case of the match is adjusted depending
3939 on the typed text. If the typed text contains a lowercase letter
3940 where the match has an upper case letter, the completed part is made
3941 lowercase. If the typed text has no lowercase letters and the match
3942 has a lowercase letter where the typed text has an uppercase letter,
3943 and there is a letter before it, the completed part is made uppercase.
3944 With 'noinfercase' the match is used as-is.
3946 *'insertmode'* *'im'* *'noinsertmode'* *'noim'*
3947 'insertmode' 'im' boolean (default off)
3948 global
3949 {not in Vi}
3950 Makes Vim work in a way that Insert mode is the default mode. Useful
3951 if you want to use Vim as a modeless editor. Used for |evim|.
3952 These Insert mode commands will be useful:
3953 - Use the cursor keys to move around.
3954 - Use CTRL-O to execute one Normal mode command |i_CTRL-O|). When
3955 this is a mapping, it is executed as if 'insertmode' was off.
3956 Normal mode remains active until the mapping is finished.
3957 - Use CTRL-L to execute a number of Normal mode commands, then use
3958 <Esc> to get back to Insert mode. Note that CTRL-L moves the cursor
3959 left, like <Esc> does when 'insertmode' isn't set. |i_CTRL-L|
3961 These items change when 'insertmode' is set:
3962 - when starting to edit of a file, Vim goes to Insert mode.
3963 - <Esc> in Insert mode is a no-op and beeps.
3964 - <Esc> in Normal mode makes Vim go to Insert mode.
3965 - CTRL-L in Insert mode is a command, it is not inserted.
3966 - CTRL-Z in Insert mode suspends Vim, see |CTRL-Z|. *i_CTRL-Z*
3967 However, when <Esc> is used inside a mapping, it behaves like
3968 'insertmode' was not set. This was done to be able to use the same
3969 mappings with 'insertmode' set or not set.
3970 When executing commands with |:normal| 'insertmode' is not used.
3972 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
3974 *'isfname'* *'isf'*
3975 'isfname' 'isf' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
3976 "@,48-57,/,\,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,{,},[,],:,@-@,!,~,="
3977 for AMIGA: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,$,:"
3978 for VMS: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,<,>,[,],:,;,~"
3979 for OS/390: "@,240-249,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,="
3980 otherwise: "@,48-57,/,.,-,_,+,,,#,$,%,~,=")
3981 global
3982 {not in Vi}
3983 The characters specified by this option are included in file names and
3984 path names. Filenames are used for commands like "gf", "[i" and in
3985 the tags file. It is also used for "\f" in a |pattern|.
3986 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
3987 characters up to 255 are specified with this option.
3988 For UTF-8 the characters 0xa0 to 0xff are included as well.
3989 Think twice before adding white space to this option. Although a
3990 space may appear inside a file name, the effect will be that Vim
3991 doesn't know where a file name starts or ends when doing completion.
3992 It most likely works better without a space in 'isfname'.
3994 Note that on systems using a backslash as path separator, Vim tries to
3995 do its best to make it work as you would expect. That is a bit
3996 tricky, since Vi originally used the backslash to escape special
3997 characters. Vim will not remove a backslash in front of a normal file
3998 name character on these systems, but it will on Unix and alikes. The
3999 '&' and '^' are not included by default, because these are special for
4000 cmd.exe.
4002 The format of this option is a list of parts, separated with commas.
4003 Each part can be a single character number or a range. A range is two
4004 character numbers with '-' in between. A character number can be a
4005 decimal number between 0 and 255 or the ASCII character itself (does
4006 not work for digits). Example:
4007 "_,-,128-140,#-43" (include '_' and '-' and the range
4008 128 to 140 and '#' to 43)
4009 If a part starts with '^', the following character number or range
4010 will be excluded from the option. The option is interpreted from left
4011 to right. Put the excluded character after the range where it is
4012 included. To include '^' itself use it as the last character of the
4013 option or the end of a range. Example:
4014 "^a-z,#,^" (exclude 'a' to 'z', include '#' and '^')
4015 If the character is '@', all characters where isalpha() returns TRUE
4016 are included. Normally these are the characters a to z and A to Z,
4017 plus accented characters. To include '@' itself use "@-@". Examples:
4018 "@,^a-z" All alphabetic characters, excluding lower
4019 case ASCII letters.
4020 "a-z,A-Z,@-@" All letters plus the '@' character.
4021 A comma can be included by using it where a character number is
4022 expected. Example:
4023 "48-57,,,_" Digits, comma and underscore.
4024 A comma can be excluded by prepending a '^'. Example:
4025 " -~,^,,9" All characters from space to '~', excluding
4026 comma, plus <Tab>.
4027 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4029 *'isident'* *'isi'*
4030 'isident' 'isi' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2:
4031 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4032 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255")
4033 global
4034 {not in Vi}
4035 The characters given by this option are included in identifiers.
4036 Identifiers are used in recognizing environment variables and after a
4037 match of the 'define' option. It is also used for "\i" in a
4038 |pattern|. See 'isfname' for a description of the format of this
4039 option.
4040 Careful: If you change this option, it might break expanding
4041 environment variables. E.g., when '/' is included and Vim tries to
4042 expand "$HOME/.viminfo". Maybe you should change 'iskeyword' instead.
4044 *'iskeyword'* *'isk'*
4045 'iskeyword' 'isk' string (Vim default for MS-DOS and Win32:
4046 "@,48-57,_,128-167,224-235"
4047 otherwise: "@,48-57,_,192-255"
4048 Vi default: "@,48-57,_")
4049 local to buffer
4050 {not in Vi}
4051 Keywords are used in searching and recognizing with many commands:
4052 "w", "*", "[i", etc. It is also used for "\k" in a |pattern|. See
4053 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option. For C
4054 programs you could use "a-z,A-Z,48-57,_,.,-,>".
4055 For a help file it is set to all non-blank printable characters except
4056 '*', '"' and '|' (so that CTRL-] on a command finds the help for that
4057 command).
4058 When the 'lisp' option is on the '-' character is always included.
4059 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4060 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4062 *'isprint'* *'isp'*
4063 'isprint' 'isp' string (default for MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2 and Macintosh:
4064 "@,~-255"; otherwise: "@,161-255")
4065 global
4066 {not in Vi}
4067 The characters given by this option are displayed directly on the
4068 screen. It is also used for "\p" in a |pattern|. The characters from
4069 space (ASCII 32) to '~' (ASCII 126) are always displayed directly,
4070 even when they are not included in 'isprint' or excluded. See
4071 'isfname' for a description of the format of this option.
4073 Non-printable characters are displayed with two characters:
4074 0 - 31 "^@" - "^_"
4075 32 - 126 always single characters
4076 127 "^?"
4077 128 - 159 "~@" - "~_"
4078 160 - 254 "| " - "|~"
4079 255 "~?"
4080 When 'encoding' is a Unicode one, illegal bytes from 128 to 255 are
4081 displayed as <xx>, with the hexadecimal value of the byte.
4082 When 'display' contains "uhex" all unprintable characters are
4083 displayed as <xx>.
4084 The NonText highlighting will be used for unprintable characters.
4085 |hl-NonText|
4087 Multi-byte characters 256 and above are always included, only the
4088 characters up to 255 are specified with this option. When a character
4089 is printable but it is not available in the current font, a
4090 replacement character will be shown.
4091 Unprintable and zero-width Unicode characters are displayed as <xxxx>.
4092 There is no option to specify these characters.
4094 *'joinspaces'* *'js'* *'nojoinspaces'* *'nojs'*
4095 'joinspaces' 'js' boolean (default on)
4096 global
4097 {not in Vi}
4098 Insert two spaces after a '.', '?' and '!' with a join command.
4099 When 'cpoptions' includes the 'j' flag, only do this after a '.'.
4100 Otherwise only one space is inserted.
4101 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
4103 *'key'*
4104 'key' string (default "")
4105 local to buffer
4106 {not in Vi}
4107 The key that is used for encrypting and decrypting the current buffer.
4108 See |encryption|.
4109 Careful: Do not set the key value by hand, someone might see the typed
4110 key. Use the |:X| command. But you can make 'key' empty: >
4111 :set key=
4112 < It is not possible to get the value of this option with ":set key" or
4113 "echo &key". This is to avoid showing it to someone who shouldn't
4114 know. It also means you cannot see it yourself once you have set it,
4115 be careful not to make a typing error!
4117 *'keymap'* *'kmp'* *E544*
4118 'keymap' 'kmp' string (default "")
4119 local to buffer
4120 {not in Vi}
4121 {only available when compiled with the |+keymap|
4122 feature}
4123 Name of a keyboard mapping. See |mbyte-keymap|.
4124 Setting this option to a valid keymap name has the side effect of
4125 setting 'iminsert' to one, so that the keymap becomes effective.
4126 'imsearch' is also set to one, unless it was -1
4127 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4129 *'keymodel'* *'km'*
4130 'keymodel' 'km' string (default "")
4131 global
4132 {not in Vi}
4133 List of comma separated words, which enable special things that keys
4134 can do. These values can be used:
4135 startsel Using a shifted special key starts selection (either
4136 Select mode or Visual mode, depending on "key" being
4137 present in 'selectmode').
4138 stopsel Using a not-shifted special key stops selection.
4139 Special keys in this context are the cursor keys, <End>, <Home>,
4140 <PageUp> and <PageDown>.
4141 The 'keymodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4143 *'keywordprg'* *'kp'*
4144 'keywordprg' 'kp' string (default "man" or "man -s", DOS: ":help",
4145 OS/2: "view /", VMS: "help")
4146 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4147 {not in Vi}
4148 Program to use for the |K| command. Environment variables are
4149 expanded |:set_env|. ":help" may be used to access the Vim internal
4150 help. (Note that previously setting the global option to the empty
4151 value did this, which is now deprecated.)
4152 When "man" is used, Vim will automatically translate a count for the
4153 "K" command to a section number. Also for "man -s", in which case the
4154 "-s" is removed when there is no count.
4155 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4156 Example: >
4157 :set keywordprg=man\ -s
4158 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4159 security reasons.
4161 *'langmap'* *'lmap'* *E357* *E358*
4162 'langmap' 'lmap' string (default "")
4163 global
4164 {not in Vi}
4165 {only available when compiled with the |+langmap|
4166 feature}
4167 This option allows switching your keyboard into a special language
4168 mode. When you are typing text in Insert mode the characters are
4169 inserted directly. When in command mode the 'langmap' option takes
4170 care of translating these special characters to the original meaning
4171 of the key. This means you don't have to change the keyboard mode to
4172 be able to execute Normal mode commands.
4173 This is the opposite of the 'keymap' option, where characters are
4174 mapped in Insert mode.
4175 This only works for 8-bit characters. The value of 'langmap' may be
4176 specified with multi-byte characters (e.g., UTF-8), but only the lower
4177 8 bits of each character will be used.
4179 Example (for Greek, in UTF-8): *greek* >
4180 :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
4181 < Example (exchanges meaning of z and y for commands): >
4182 :set langmap=zy,yz,ZY,YZ
4183 <
4184 The 'langmap' option is a list of parts, separated with commas. Each
4185 part can be in one of two forms:
4186 1. A list of pairs. Each pair is a "from" character immediately
4187 followed by the "to" character. Examples: "aA", "aAbBcC".
4188 2. A list of "from" characters, a semi-colon and a list of "to"
4189 characters. Example: "abc;ABC"
4190 Example: "aA,fgh;FGH,cCdDeE"
4191 Special characters need to be preceded with a backslash. These are
4192 ";", ',' and backslash itself.
4194 This will allow you to activate vim actions without having to switch
4195 back and forth between the languages. Your language characters will
4196 be understood as normal vim English characters (according to the
4197 langmap mappings) in the following cases:
4198 o Normal/Visual mode (commands, buffer/register names, user mappings)
4199 o Insert/Replace Mode: Register names after CTRL-R
4200 o Insert/Replace Mode: Mappings
4201 Characters entered in Command-line mode will NOT be affected by
4202 this option. Note that this option can be changed at any time
4203 allowing to switch between mappings for different languages/encodings.
4204 Use a mapping to avoid having to type it each time!
4206 *'langmenu'* *'lm'*
4207 'langmenu' 'lm' string (default "")
4208 global
4209 {not in Vi}
4210 {only available when compiled with the |+menu| and
4211 |+multi_lang| features}
4212 Language to use for menu translation. Tells which file is loaded
4213 from the "lang" directory in 'runtimepath': >
4214 "lang/menu_" . &langmenu . ".vim"
4215 < (without the spaces). For example, to always use the Dutch menus, no
4216 matter what $LANG is set to: >
4217 :set langmenu=nl_NL.ISO_8859-1
4218 < When 'langmenu' is empty, |v:lang| is used.
4219 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
4220 If your $LANG is set to a non-English language but you do want to use
4221 the English menus: >
4222 :set langmenu=none
4223 < This option must be set before loading menus, switching on filetype
4224 detection or syntax highlighting. Once the menus are defined setting
4225 this option has no effect. But you could do this: >
4226 :source $VIMRUNTIME/delmenu.vim
4227 :set langmenu=de_DE.ISO_8859-1
4228 :source $VIMRUNTIME/menu.vim
4229 < Warning: This deletes all menus that you defined yourself!
4231 *'laststatus'* *'ls'*
4232 'laststatus' 'ls' number (default 1)
4233 global
4234 {not in Vi}
4235 The value of this option influences when the last window will have a
4236 status line:
4237 0: never
4238 1: only if there are at least two windows
4239 2: always
4240 The screen looks nicer with a status line if you have several
4241 windows, but it takes another screen line. |status-line|
4243 *'lazyredraw'* *'lz'* *'nolazyredraw'* *'nolz'*
4244 'lazyredraw' 'lz' boolean (default off)
4245 global
4246 {not in Vi}
4247 When this option is set, the screen will not be redrawn while
4248 executing macros, registers and other commands that have not been
4249 typed. Also, updating the window title is postponed. To force an
4250 update use |:redraw|.
4252 *'linebreak'* *'lbr'* *'nolinebreak'* *'nolbr'*
4253 'linebreak' 'lbr' boolean (default off)
4254 local to window
4255 {not in Vi}
4256 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
4257 feature}
4258 If on Vim will wrap long lines at a character in 'breakat' rather
4259 than at the last character that fits on the screen. Unlike
4260 'wrapmargin' and 'textwidth', this does not insert <EOL>s in the file,
4261 it only affects the way the file is displayed, not its contents. The
4262 value of 'showbreak' is used to put in front of wrapped lines.
4263 This option is not used when the 'wrap' option is off or 'list' is on.
4264 Note that <Tab> characters after an <EOL> are mostly not displayed
4265 with the right amount of white space.
4267 *'lines'* *E593*
4268 'lines' number (default 24 or terminal height)
4269 global
4270 Number of lines of the Vim window.
4271 Normally you don't need to set this. It is done automatically by the
4272 terminal initialization code. Also see |posix-screen-size|.
4273 When Vim is running in the GUI or in a resizable window, setting this
4274 option will cause the window size to be changed. When you only want
4275 to use the size for the GUI, put the command in your |gvimrc| file.
4276 Vim limits the number of lines to what fits on the screen. You can
4277 use this command to get the tallest window possible: >
4278 :set lines=999
4279 < Minimum value is 2, maximum value is 1000.
4280 If you get less lines than expected, check the 'guiheadroom' option.
4281 When you set this option and Vim is unable to change the physical
4282 number of lines of the display, the display may be messed up.
4284 *'linespace'* *'lsp'*
4285 'linespace' 'lsp' number (default 0, 1 for Win32 GUI)
4286 global
4287 {not in Vi}
4288 {only in the GUI}
4289 Number of pixel lines inserted between characters. Useful if the font
4290 uses the full character cell height, making lines touch each other.
4291 When non-zero there is room for underlining.
4292 With some fonts there can be too much room between lines (to have
4293 space for ascents and descents). Then it makes sense to set
4294 'linespace' to a negative value. This may cause display problems
4295 though!
4297 *'lisp'* *'nolisp'*
4298 'lisp' boolean (default off)
4299 local to buffer
4300 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4301 feature}
4302 Lisp mode: When <Enter> is typed in insert mode set the indent for
4303 the next line to Lisp standards (well, sort of). Also happens with
4304 "cc" or "S". 'autoindent' must also be on for this to work. The 'p'
4305 flag in 'cpoptions' changes the method of indenting: Vi compatible or
4306 better. Also see 'lispwords'.
4307 The '-' character is included in keyword characters. Redefines the
4308 "=" operator to use this same indentation algorithm rather than
4309 calling an external program if 'equalprg' is empty.
4310 This option is not used when 'paste' is set.
4311 {Vi: Does it a little bit differently}
4313 *'lispwords'* *'lw'*
4314 'lispwords' 'lw' string (default is very long)
4315 global
4316 {not in Vi}
4317 {not available when compiled without the |+lispindent|
4318 feature}
4319 Comma separated list of words that influence the Lisp indenting.
4320 |'lisp'|
4322 *'list'* *'nolist'*
4323 'list' boolean (default off)
4324 local to window
4325 List mode: Show tabs as CTRL-I, show end of line with $. Useful to
4326 see the difference between tabs and spaces and for trailing blanks.
4327 Note that this will also affect formatting (set with 'textwidth' or
4328 'wrapmargin') when 'cpoptions' includes 'L'. See 'listchars' for
4329 changing the way tabs are displayed.
4331 *'listchars'* *'lcs'*
4332 'listchars' 'lcs' string (default "eol:$")
4333 global
4334 {not in Vi}
4335 Strings to use in 'list' mode. It is a comma separated list of string
4336 settings.
4337 eol:c Character to show at the end of each line. When
4338 omitted, there is no extra character at the end of the
4339 line.
4340 tab:xy Two characters to be used to show a tab. The first
4341 char is used once. The second char is repeated to
4342 fill the space that the tab normally occupies.
4343 "tab:>-" will show a tab that takes four spaces as
4344 ">---". When omitted, a tab is show as ^I.
4345 trail:c Character to show for trailing spaces. When omitted,
4346 trailing spaces are blank.
4347 extends:c Character to show in the last column, when 'wrap' is
4348 off and the line continues beyond the right of the
4349 screen.
4350 precedes:c Character to show in the first column, when 'wrap'
4351 is off and there is text preceding the character
4352 visible in the first column.
4353 nbsp:c Character to show for a non-breakable space (character
4354 0xA0, 160). Left blank when omitted.
4356 The characters ':' and ',' should not be used. UTF-8 characters can
4357 be used when 'encoding' is "utf-8", otherwise only printable
4358 characters are allowed. All characters must be single width.
4360 Examples: >
4361 :set lcs=tab:>-,trail:-
4362 :set lcs=tab:>-,eol:<,nbsp:%
4363 :set lcs=extends:>,precedes:<
4364 < The "NonText" highlighting will be used for "eol", "extends" and
4365 "precedes". "SpecialKey" for "nbsp", "tab" and "trail".
4366 |hl-NonText| |hl-SpecialKey|
4368 *'lpl'* *'nolpl'* *'loadplugins'* *'noloadplugins'*
4369 'loadplugins' 'lpl' boolean (default on)
4370 global
4371 {not in Vi}
4372 When on the plugin scripts are loaded when starting up |load-plugins|.
4373 This option can be reset in your |vimrc| file to disable the loading
4374 of plugins.
4375 Note that using the "-u NONE" and "--noplugin" command line arguments
4376 reset this option. |-u| |--noplugin|
4378 *'macatsui'* *'nomacatsui'*
4379 'macatsui' boolean (default on)
4380 global
4381 {only available in Mac GUI version}
4382 This is a workaround for when drawing doesn't work properly. When set
4383 and compiled with multi-byte support ATSUI text drawing is used. When
4384 not set ATSUI text drawing is not used. Switch this option off when
4385 you experience drawing problems. In a future version the problems may
4386 be solved and this option becomes obsolete. Therefore use this method
4387 to unset it: >
4388 if exists('&macatsui')
4389 set nomacatsui
4390 endif
4391 < Another option to check if you have drawing problems is
4392 'termencoding'.
4394 *'magic'* *'nomagic'*
4395 'magic' boolean (default on)
4396 global
4397 Changes the special characters that can be used in search patterns.
4398 See |pattern|.
4399 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with using patterns, always keep
4400 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
4401 old Vi scripts. In any other situation write patterns that work when
4402 'magic' is on. Include "\M" when you want to |/\M|.
4404 *'makeef'* *'mef'*
4405 'makeef' 'mef' string (default: "")
4406 global
4407 {not in Vi}
4408 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
4409 feature}
4410 Name of the errorfile for the |:make| command (see |:make_makeprg|)
4411 and the |:grep| command.
4412 When it is empty, an internally generated temp file will be used.
4413 When "##" is included, it is replaced by a number to make the name
4414 unique. This makes sure that the ":make" command doesn't overwrite an
4415 existing file.
4416 NOT used for the ":cf" command. See 'errorfile' for that.
4417 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
4418 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
4419 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4420 security reasons.
4422 *'makeprg'* *'mp'*
4423 'makeprg' 'mp' string (default "make", VMS: "MMS")
4424 global or local to buffer |global-local|
4425 {not in Vi}
4426 Program to use for the ":make" command. See |:make_makeprg|.
4427 This option may contain '%' and '#' characters, which are expanded to
4428 the current and alternate file name. |:_%| |:_#|
4429 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. See |option-backslash|
4430 about including spaces and backslashes.
4431 Note that a '|' must be escaped twice: once for ":set" and once for
4432 the interpretation of a command. When you use a filter called
4433 "myfilter" do it like this: >
4434 :set makeprg=gmake\ \\\|\ myfilter
4435 < The placeholder "$*" can be given (even multiple times) to specify
4436 where the arguments will be included, for example: >
4437 :set makeprg=latex\ \\\\nonstopmode\ \\\\input\\{$*}
4438 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4439 security reasons.
4441 *'matchpairs'* *'mps'*
4442 'matchpairs' 'mps' string (default "(:),{:},[:]")
4443 local to buffer
4444 {not in Vi}
4445 Characters that form pairs. The |%| command jumps from one to the
4446 other. Currently only single byte character pairs are allowed, and
4447 they must be different. The characters must be separated by a colon.
4448 The pairs must be separated by a comma. Example for including '<' and
4449 '>' (HTML): >
4450 :set mps+=<:>
4452 < A more exotic example, to jump between the '=' and ';' in an
4453 assignment, useful for languages like C and Java: >
4454 :au FileType c,cpp,java set mps+==:;
4456 < For a more advanced way of using "%", see the matchit.vim plugin in
4457 the $VIMRUNTIME/macros directory. |add-local-help|
4459 *'matchtime'* *'mat'*
4460 'matchtime' 'mat' number (default 5)
4461 global
4462 {not in Vi}{in Nvi}
4463 Tenths of a second to show the matching paren, when 'showmatch' is
4464 set. Note that this is not in milliseconds, like other options that
4465 set a time. This is to be compatible with Nvi.
4467 *'maxcombine'* *'mco'*
4468 'maxcombine' 'mco' number (default 2)
4469 global
4470 {not in Vi}
4471 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
4472 feature}
4473 The maximum number of combining characters supported for displaying.
4474 Only used when 'encoding' is "utf-8".
4475 The default is OK for most languages. Hebrew may require 4.
4476 Maximum value is 6.
4477 Even when this option is set to 2 you can still edit text with more
4478 combining characters, you just can't see them. Use |g8| or |ga|.
4479 See |mbyte-combining|.
4481 *'maxfuncdepth'* *'mfd'*
4482 'maxfuncdepth' 'mfd' number (default 100)
4483 global
4484 {not in Vi}
4485 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4486 feature}
4487 Maximum depth of function calls for user functions. This normally
4488 catches endless recursion. When using a recursive function with
4489 more depth, set 'maxfuncdepth' to a bigger number. But this will use
4490 more memory, there is the danger of failing when memory is exhausted.
4491 See also |:function|.
4493 *'maxmapdepth'* *'mmd'* *E223*
4494 'maxmapdepth' 'mmd' number (default 1000)
4495 global
4496 {not in Vi}
4497 Maximum number of times a mapping is done without resulting in a
4498 character to be used. This normally catches endless mappings, like
4499 ":map x y" with ":map y x". It still does not catch ":map g wg",
4500 because the 'w' is used before the next mapping is done. See also
4501 |key-mapping|.
4503 *'maxmem'* *'mm'*
4504 'maxmem' 'mm' number (default between 256 to 5120 (system
4505 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4506 available)
4507 global
4508 {not in Vi}
4509 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for one buffer. When this
4510 limit is reached allocating extra memory for a buffer will cause
4511 other memory to be freed. Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work
4512 without a limit. Also see 'maxmemtot'.
4514 *'maxmempattern'* *'mmp'*
4515 'maxmempattern' 'mmp' number (default 1000)
4516 global
4517 {not in Vi}
4518 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for pattern matching.
4519 Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work without a limit.
4520 *E363*
4521 When Vim runs into the limit it gives an error message and mostly
4522 behaves like CTRL-C was typed.
4523 Running into the limit often means that the pattern is very
4524 inefficient or too complex. This may already happen with the pattern
4525 "\(.\)*" on a very long line. ".*" works much better.
4526 Vim may run out of memory before hitting the 'maxmempattern' limit.
4528 *'maxmemtot'* *'mmt'*
4529 'maxmemtot' 'mmt' number (default between 2048 and 10240 (system
4530 dependent) or half the amount of memory
4531 available)
4532 global
4533 {not in Vi}
4534 Maximum amount of memory (in Kbyte) to use for all buffers together.
4535 Maximum value 2000000. Use this to work without a limit. Also see
4536 'maxmem'.
4538 *'menuitems'* *'mis'*
4539 'menuitems' 'mis' number (default 25)
4540 global
4541 {not in Vi}
4542 {not available when compiled without the |+menu|
4543 feature}
4544 Maximum number of items to use in a menu. Used for menus that are
4545 generated from a list of items, e.g., the Buffers menu. Changing this
4546 option has no direct effect, the menu must be refreshed first.
4548 *'mkspellmem'* *'msm'*
4549 'mkspellmem' 'msm' string (default "460000,2000,500")
4550 global
4551 {not in Vi}
4552 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
4553 feature}
4554 Parameters for |:mkspell|. This tunes when to start compressing the
4555 word tree. Compression can be slow when there are many words, but
4556 it's needed to avoid running out of memory. The amount of memory used
4557 per word depends very much on how similar the words are, that's why
4558 this tuning is complicated.
4560 There are three numbers, separated by commas:
4561 {start},{inc},{added}
4563 For most languages the uncompressed word tree fits in memory. {start}
4564 gives the amount of memory in Kbyte that can be used before any
4565 compression is done. It should be a bit smaller than the amount of
4566 memory that is available to Vim.
4568 When going over the {start} limit the {inc} number specifies the
4569 amount of memory in Kbyte that can be allocated before another
4570 compression is done. A low number means compression is done after
4571 less words are added, which is slow. A high number means more memory
4572 will be allocated.
4574 After doing compression, {added} times 1024 words can be added before
4575 the {inc} limit is ignored and compression is done when any extra
4576 amount of memory is needed. A low number means there is a smaller
4577 chance of hitting the {inc} limit, less memory is used but it's
4578 slower.
4580 The languages for which these numbers are important are Italian and
4581 Hungarian. The default works for when you have about 512 Mbyte. If
4582 you have 1 Gbyte you could use: >
4583 :set mkspellmem=900000,3000,800
4584 < If you have less than 512 Mbyte |:mkspell| may fail for some
4585 languages, no matter what you set 'mkspellmem' to.
4587 *'modeline'* *'ml'* *'nomodeline'* *'noml'*
4588 'modeline' 'ml' boolean (Vim default: on (off for root),
4589 Vi default: off)
4590 local to buffer
4591 *'modelines'* *'mls'*
4592 'modelines' 'mls' number (default 5)
4593 global
4594 {not in Vi}
4595 If 'modeline' is on 'modelines' gives the number of lines that is
4596 checked for set commands. If 'modeline' is off or 'modelines' is zero
4597 no lines are checked. See |modeline|.
4598 NOTE: 'modeline' is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4599 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4601 *'modifiable'* *'ma'* *'nomodifiable'* *'noma'*
4602 'modifiable' 'ma' boolean (default on)
4603 local to buffer
4604 {not in Vi} *E21*
4605 When off the buffer contents cannot be changed. The 'fileformat' and
4606 'fileencoding' options also can't be changed.
4607 Can be reset with the |-M| command line argument.
4609 *'modified'* *'mod'* *'nomodified'* *'nomod'*
4610 'modified' 'mod' boolean (default off)
4611 local to buffer
4612 {not in Vi}
4613 When on, the buffer is considered to be modified. This option is set
4614 when:
4615 1. A change was made to the text since it was last written. Using the
4616 |undo| command to go back to the original text will reset the
4617 option. But undoing changes that were made before writing the
4618 buffer will set the option again, since the text is different from
4619 when it was written.
4620 2. 'fileformat' or 'fileencoding' is different from its original
4621 value. The original value is set when the buffer is read or
4622 written. A ":set nomodified" command also resets the original
4623 values to the current values and the 'modified' option will be
4624 reset.
4625 When 'buftype' is "nowrite" or "nofile" this option may be set, but
4626 will be ignored.
4628 *'more'* *'nomore'*
4629 'more' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
4630 global
4631 {not in Vi}
4632 When on, listings pause when the whole screen is filled. You will get
4633 the |more-prompt|. When this option is off there are no pauses, the
4634 listing continues until finished.
4635 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
4636 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
4638 *'mouse'* *E538*
4639 'mouse' string (default "", "a" for GUI, MS-DOS and Win32)
4640 global
4641 {not in Vi}
4642 Enable the use of the mouse. Only works for certain terminals
4643 (xterm, MS-DOS, Win32 |win32-mouse|, QNX pterm, and Linux console
4644 with gpm). For using the mouse in the GUI, see |gui-mouse|.
4645 The mouse can be enabled for different modes:
4646 n Normal mode
4647 v Visual mode
4648 i Insert mode
4649 c Command-line mode
4650 h all previous modes when editing a help file
4651 a all previous modes
4652 r for |hit-enter| and |more-prompt| prompt
4653 Normally you would enable the mouse in all four modes with: >
4654 :set mouse=a
4655 < When the mouse is not enabled, the GUI will still use the mouse for
4656 modeless selection. This doesn't move the text cursor.
4658 See |mouse-using|. Also see |'clipboard'|.
4660 Note: When enabling the mouse in a terminal, copy/paste will use the
4661 "* register if there is access to an X-server. The xterm handling of
4662 the mouse buttons can still be used by keeping the shift key pressed.
4663 Also see the 'clipboard' option.
4665 *'mousefocus'* *'mousef'* *'nomousefocus'* *'nomousef'*
4666 'mousefocus' 'mousef' boolean (default off)
4667 global
4668 {not in Vi}
4669 {only works in the GUI}
4670 The window that the mouse pointer is on is automatically activated.
4671 When changing the window layout or window focus in another way, the
4672 mouse pointer is moved to the window with keyboard focus. Off is the
4673 default because it makes using the pull down menus a little goofy, as
4674 a pointer transit may activate a window unintentionally.
4676 *'mousehide'* *'mh'* *'nomousehide'* *'nomh'*
4677 'mousehide' 'mh' boolean (default on)
4678 global
4679 {not in Vi}
4680 {only works in the GUI}
4681 When on, the mouse pointer is hidden when characters are typed.
4682 The mouse pointer is restored when the mouse is moved.
4684 *'mousemodel'* *'mousem'*
4685 'mousemodel' 'mousem' string (default "extend", "popup" for MS-DOS and Win32)
4686 global
4687 {not in Vi}
4688 Sets the model to use for the mouse. The name mostly specifies what
4689 the right mouse button is used for:
4690 extend Right mouse button extends a selection. This works
4691 like in an xterm.
4692 popup Right mouse button pops up a menu. The shifted left
4693 mouse button extends a selection. This works like
4694 with Microsoft Windows.
4695 popup_setpos Like "popup", but the cursor will be moved to the
4696 position where the mouse was clicked, and thus the
4697 selected operation will act upon the clicked object.
4698 If clicking inside a selection, that selection will
4699 be acted upon, i.e. no cursor move. This implies of
4700 course, that right clicking outside a selection will
4701 end Visual mode.
4702 Overview of what button does what for each model:
4703 mouse extend popup(_setpos) ~
4704 left click place cursor place cursor
4705 left drag start selection start selection
4706 shift-left search word extend selection
4707 right click extend selection popup menu (place cursor)
4708 right drag extend selection -
4709 middle click paste paste
4711 In the "popup" model the right mouse button produces a pop-up menu.
4712 You need to define this first, see |popup-menu|.
4714 Note that you can further refine the meaning of buttons with mappings.
4715 See |gui-mouse-mapping|. But mappings are NOT used for modeless
4716 selection (because that's handled in the GUI code directly).
4718 The 'mousemodel' option is set by the |:behave| command.
4720 *'mouseshape'* *'mouses'* *E547*
4721 'mouseshape' 'mouses' string (default "i:beam,r:beam,s:updown,sd:cross,
4722 m:no,ml:up-arrow,v:rightup-arrow")
4723 global
4724 {not in Vi}
4725 {only available when compiled with the |+mouseshape|
4726 feature}
4727 This option tells Vim what the mouse pointer should look like in
4728 different modes. The option is a comma separated list of parts, much
4729 like used for 'guicursor'. Each part consist of a mode/location-list
4730 and an argument-list:
4731 mode-list:shape,mode-list:shape,..
4732 The mode-list is a dash separated list of these modes/locations:
4733 In a normal window: ~
4734 n Normal mode
4735 v Visual mode
4736 ve Visual mode with 'selection' "exclusive" (same as 'v',
4737 if not specified)
4738 o Operator-pending mode
4739 i Insert mode
4740 r Replace mode
4742 Others: ~
4743 c appending to the command-line
4744 ci inserting in the command-line
4745 cr replacing in the command-line
4746 m at the 'Hit ENTER' or 'More' prompts
4747 ml idem, but cursor in the last line
4748 e any mode, pointer below last window
4749 s any mode, pointer on a status line
4750 sd any mode, while dragging a status line
4751 vs any mode, pointer on a vertical separator line
4752 vd any mode, while dragging a vertical separator line
4753 a everywhere
4755 The shape is one of the following:
4756 avail name looks like ~
4757 w x arrow Normal mouse pointer
4758 w x blank no pointer at all (use with care!)
4759 w x beam I-beam
4760 w x updown up-down sizing arrows
4761 w x leftright left-right sizing arrows
4762 w x busy The system's usual busy pointer
4763 w x no The system's usual 'no input' pointer
4764 x udsizing indicates up-down resizing
4765 x lrsizing indicates left-right resizing
4766 x crosshair like a big thin +
4767 x hand1 black hand
4768 x hand2 white hand
4769 x pencil what you write with
4770 x question big ?
4771 x rightup-arrow arrow pointing right-up
4772 w x up-arrow arrow pointing up
4773 x <number> any X11 pointer number (see X11/cursorfont.h)
4775 The "avail" column contains a 'w' if the shape is available for Win32,
4776 x for X11.
4777 Any modes not specified or shapes not available use the normal mouse
4778 pointer.
4780 Example: >
4781 :set mouseshape=s:udsizing,m:no
4782 < will make the mouse turn to a sizing arrow over the status lines and
4783 indicate no input when the hit-enter prompt is displayed (since
4784 clicking the mouse has no effect in this state.)
4786 *'mousetime'* *'mouset'*
4787 'mousetime' 'mouset' number (default 500)
4788 global
4789 {not in Vi}
4790 Only for GUI, MS-DOS, Win32 and Unix with xterm. Defines the maximum
4791 time in msec between two mouse clicks for the second click to be
4792 recognized as a multi click.
4794 *'mzquantum'* *'mzq'*
4795 'mzquantum' 'mzq' number (default 100)
4796 global
4797 {not in Vi}
4798 {not available when compiled without the |+mzscheme|
4799 feature}
4800 The number of milliseconds between polls for MzScheme threads.
4801 Negative or zero value means no thread scheduling.
4803 *'nrformats'* *'nf'*
4804 'nrformats' 'nf' string (default "octal,hex")
4805 local to buffer
4806 {not in Vi}
4807 This defines what bases Vim will consider for numbers when using the
4808 CTRL-A and CTRL-X commands for adding to and subtracting from a number
4809 respectively; see |CTRL-A| for more info on these commands.
4810 alpha If included, single alphabetical characters will be
4811 incremented or decremented. This is useful for a list with a
4812 letter index a), b), etc.
4813 octal If included, numbers that start with a zero will be considered
4814 to be octal. Example: Using CTRL-A on "007" results in "010".
4815 hex If included, numbers starting with "0x" or "0X" will be
4816 considered to be hexadecimal. Example: Using CTRL-X on
4817 "0x100" results in "0x0ff".
4818 Numbers which simply begin with a digit in the range 1-9 are always
4819 considered decimal. This also happens for numbers that are not
4820 recognized as octal or hex.
4822 *'number'* *'nu'* *'nonumber'* *'nonu'*
4823 'number' 'nu' boolean (default off)
4824 local to window
4825 Print the line number in front of each line. When the 'n' option is
4826 excluded from 'cpoptions' a wrapped line will not use the column of
4827 line numbers (this is the default when 'compatible' isn't set).
4828 The 'numberwidth' option can be used to set the room used for the line
4829 number.
4830 When a long, wrapped line doesn't start with the first character, '-'
4831 characters are put before the number.
4832 See |hl-LineNr| for the highlighting used for the number.
4834 *'numberwidth'* *'nuw'*
4835 'numberwidth' 'nuw' number (Vim default: 4 Vi default: 8)
4836 local to window
4837 {not in Vi}
4838 {only available when compiled with the |+linebreak|
4839 feature}
4840 Minimal number of columns to use for the line number. Only relevant
4841 when the 'number' option is set or printing lines with a line number.
4842 Since one space is always between the number and the text, there is
4843 one less character for the number itself.
4844 The value is the minimum width. A bigger width is used when needed to
4845 fit the highest line number in the buffer. Thus with the Vim default
4846 of 4 there is room for a line number up to 999. When the buffer has
4847 1000 lines five columns will be used.
4848 The minimum value is 1, the maximum value is 10.
4849 NOTE: 'numberwidth' is reset to 8 when 'compatible' is set.
4851 *'omnifunc'* *'ofu'*
4852 'omnifunc' 'ofu' string (default: empty)
4853 local to buffer
4854 {not in Vi}
4855 {not available when compiled without the +eval
4856 or +insert_expand feature}
4857 This option specifies a function to be used for Insert mode omni
4858 completion with CTRL-X CTRL-O. |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O|
4859 See |complete-functions| for an explanation of how the function is
4860 invoked and what it should return.
4861 This option is usually set by a filetype plugin:
4862 |:filetype-plugin-on|
4865 *'opendevice'* *'odev'* *'noopendevice'* *'noodev'*
4866 'opendevice' 'odev' boolean (default off)
4867 global
4868 {not in Vi}
4869 {only for MS-DOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
4870 Enable reading and writing from devices. This may get Vim stuck on a
4871 device that can be opened but doesn't actually do the I/O. Therefore
4872 it is off by default.
4873 Note that on MS-Windows editing "aux.h", "lpt1.txt" and the like also
4874 result in editing a device.
4877 *'operatorfunc'* *'opfunc'*
4878 'operatorfunc' 'opfunc' string (default: empty)
4879 global
4880 {not in Vi}
4881 This option specifies a function to be called by the |g@| operator.
4882 See |:map-operator| for more info and an example.
4884 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
4885 security reasons.
4888 *'osfiletype'* *'oft'* *E366*
4889 'osfiletype' 'oft' string (RISC-OS default: "Text",
4890 others default: "")
4891 local to buffer
4892 {not in Vi}
4893 {only available when compiled with the |+osfiletype|
4894 feature}
4895 Some operating systems store extra information about files besides
4896 name, datestamp and permissions. This option contains the extra
4897 information, the nature of which will vary between systems.
4898 The value of this option is usually set when the file is loaded, and
4899 use to set the file type when file is written.
4900 It can affect the pattern matching of the automatic commands.
4901 |autocmd-osfiletypes|
4903 *'paragraphs'* *'para'*
4904 'paragraphs' 'para' string (default "IPLPPPQPP LIpplpipbp")
4905 global
4906 Specifies the nroff macros that separate paragraphs. These are pairs
4907 of two letters (see |object-motions|).
4909 *'paste'* *'nopaste'*
4910 'paste' boolean (default off)
4911 global
4912 {not in Vi}
4913 Put Vim in Paste mode. This is useful if you want to cut or copy
4914 some text from one window and paste it in Vim. This will avoid
4915 unexpected effects.
4916 Setting this option is useful when using Vim in a terminal, where Vim
4917 cannot distinguish between typed text and pasted text. In the GUI, Vim
4918 knows about pasting and will mostly do the right thing without 'paste'
4919 being set. The same is true for a terminal where Vim handles the
4920 mouse clicks itself.
4921 This option is reset when starting the GUI. Thus if you set it in
4922 your .vimrc it will work in a terminal, but not in the GUI. Setting
4923 'paste' in the GUI has side effects: e.g., the Paste toolbar button
4924 will no longer work in Insert mode, because it uses a mapping.
4925 When the 'paste' option is switched on (also when it was already on):
4926 - mapping in Insert mode and Command-line mode is disabled
4927 - abbreviations are disabled
4928 - 'textwidth' is set to 0
4929 - 'wrapmargin' is set to 0
4930 - 'autoindent' is reset
4931 - 'smartindent' is reset
4932 - 'softtabstop' is set to 0
4933 - 'revins' is reset
4934 - 'ruler' is reset
4935 - 'showmatch' is reset
4936 - 'formatoptions' is used like it is empty
4937 These options keep their value, but their effect is disabled:
4938 - 'lisp'
4939 - 'indentexpr'
4940 - 'cindent'
4941 NOTE: When you start editing another file while the 'paste' option is
4942 on, settings from the modelines or autocommands may change the
4943 settings again, causing trouble when pasting text. You might want to
4944 set the 'paste' option again.
4945 When the 'paste' option is reset the mentioned options are restored to
4946 the value before the moment 'paste' was switched from off to on.
4947 Resetting 'paste' before ever setting it does not have any effect.
4948 Since mapping doesn't work while 'paste' is active, you need to use
4949 the 'pastetoggle' option to toggle the 'paste' option with some key.
4951 *'pastetoggle'* *'pt'*
4952 'pastetoggle' 'pt' string (default "")
4953 global
4954 {not in Vi}
4955 When non-empty, specifies the key sequence that toggles the 'paste'
4956 option. This is like specifying a mapping: >
4957 :map {keys} :set invpaste<CR>
4958 < Where {keys} is the value of 'pastetoggle'.
4959 The difference is that it will work even when 'paste' is set.
4960 'pastetoggle' works in Insert mode and Normal mode, but not in
4961 Command-line mode.
4962 Mappings are checked first, thus overrule 'pastetoggle'. However,
4963 when 'paste' is on mappings are ignored in Insert mode, thus you can do
4964 this: >
4965 :map <F10> :set paste<CR>
4966 :map <F11> :set nopaste<CR>
4967 :imap <F10> <C-O>:set paste<CR>
4968 :imap <F11> <nop>
4969 :set pastetoggle=<F11>
4970 < This will make <F10> start paste mode and <F11> stop paste mode.
4971 Note that typing <F10> in paste mode inserts "<F10>", since in paste
4972 mode everything is inserted literally, except the 'pastetoggle' key
4973 sequence.
4975 *'pex'* *'patchexpr'*
4976 'patchexpr' 'pex' string (default "")
4977 global
4978 {not in Vi}
4979 {not available when compiled without the |+diff|
4980 feature}
4981 Expression which is evaluated to apply a patch to a file and generate
4982 the resulting new version of the file. See |diff-patchexpr|.
4984 *'patchmode'* *'pm'* *E206*
4985 'patchmode' 'pm' string (default "")
4986 global
4987 {not in Vi}
4988 When non-empty the oldest version of a file is kept. This can be used
4989 to keep the original version of a file if you are changing files in a
4990 source distribution. Only the first time that a file is written a
4991 copy of the original file will be kept. The name of the copy is the
4992 name of the original file with the string in the 'patchmode' option
4993 appended. This option should start with a dot. Use a string like
4994 ".org". 'backupdir' must not be empty for this to work (Detail: The
4995 backup file is renamed to the patchmode file after the new file has
4996 been successfully written, that's why it must be possible to write a
4997 backup file). If there was no file to be backed up, an empty file is
4998 created.
4999 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a patchmode file is not made.
5000 Using 'patchmode' for compressed files appends the extension at the
5001 end (e.g., "file.gz.orig"), thus the resulting name isn't always
5002 recognized as a compressed file.
5003 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
5005 *'path'* *'pa'* *E343* *E345* *E347*
5006 'path' 'pa' string (default on Unix: ".,/usr/include,,"
5007 on OS/2: ".,/emx/include,,"
5008 other systems: ".,,")
5009 global or local to buffer |global-local|
5010 {not in Vi}
5011 This is a list of directories which will be searched when using the
5012 |gf|, [f, ]f, ^Wf, |:find| and other commands, provided that the file
5013 being searched for has a relative path (not starting with '/'). The
5014 directories in the 'path' option may be relative or absolute.
5015 - Use commas to separate directory names: >
5016 :set path=.,/usr/local/include,/usr/include
5017 < - Spaces can also be used to separate directory names (for backwards
5018 compatibility with version 3.0). To have a space in a directory
5019 name, precede it with an extra backslash, and escape the space: >
5020 :set path=.,/dir/with\\\ space
5021 < - To include a comma in a directory name precede it with an extra
5022 backslash: >
5023 :set path=.,/dir/with\\,comma
5024 < - To search relative to the directory of the current file, use: >
5025 :set path=.
5026 < - To search in the current directory use an empty string between two
5027 commas: >
5028 :set path=,,
5029 < - A directory name may end in a ':' or '/'.
5030 - Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5031 - When using |netrw.vim| URLs can be used. For example, adding
5032 "http://www.vim.org" will make ":find index.html" work.
5033 - Search upwards and downwards in a directory tree:
5034 1) "*" matches a sequence of characters, e.g.: >
5035 :set path=/usr/include/*
5036 < means all subdirectories in /usr/include (but not /usr/include
5037 itself). >
5038 :set path=/usr/*c
5039 < matches /usr/doc and /usr/src.
5040 2) "**" matches a subtree, up to 100 directories deep. Example: >
5041 :set path=/home/user_x/src/**
5042 < means search in the whole subtree under "/home/usr_x/src".
5043 3) If the path ends with a ';', this path is the startpoint
5044 for upward search.
5045 See |file-searching| for more info and exact syntax.
5046 {not available when compiled without the |+path_extra| feature}
5047 - Careful with '\' characters, type two to get one in the option: >
5048 :set path=.,c:\\include
5049 < Or just use '/' instead: >
5050 :set path=.,c:/include
5051 < Don't forget "." or files won't even be found in the same directory as
5052 the file!
5053 The maximum length is limited. How much depends on the system, mostly
5054 it is something like 256 or 1024 characters.
5055 You can check if all the include files are found, using the value of
5056 'path', see |:checkpath|.
5057 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
5058 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
5059 uses another default. To remove the current directory use: >
5060 :set path-=
5061 < To add the current directory use: >
5062 :set path+=
5063 < To use an environment variable, you probably need to replace the
5064 separator. Here is an example to append $INCL, in which directory
5065 names are separated with a semi-colon: >
5066 :let &path = &path . "," . substitute($INCL, ';', ',', 'g')
5067 < Replace the ';' with a ':' or whatever separator is used. Note that
5068 this doesn't work when $INCL contains a comma or white space.
5070 *'preserveindent'* *'pi'* *'nopreserveindent'* *'nopi'*
5071 'preserveindent' 'pi' boolean (default off)
5072 local to buffer
5073 {not in Vi}
5074 When changing the indent of the current line, preserve as much of the
5075 indent structure as possible. Normally the indent is replaced by a
5076 series of tabs followed by spaces as required (unless |'expandtab'| is
5077 enabled, in which case only spaces are used). Enabling this option
5078 means the indent will preserve as many existing characters as possible
5079 for indenting, and only add additional tabs or spaces as required.
5080 'expandtab' does not apply to the preserved white space, a Tab remains
5081 a Tab.
5082 NOTE: When using ">>" multiple times the resulting indent is a mix of
5083 tabs and spaces. You might not like this.
5084 NOTE: 'preserveindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5085 Also see 'copyindent'.
5086 Use |:retab| to clean up white space.
5088 *'previewheight'* *'pvh'*
5089 'previewheight' 'pvh' number (default 12)
5090 global
5091 {not in Vi}
5092 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5093 |+quickfix| feature}
5094 Default height for a preview window. Used for |:ptag| and associated
5095 commands. Used for |CTRL-W_}| when no count is given.
5097 *'previewwindow'* *'nopreviewwindow'*
5098 *'pvw'* *'nopvw'* *E590*
5099 'previewwindow' 'pvw' boolean (default off)
5100 local to window
5101 {not in Vi}
5102 {not available when compiled without the |+windows| or
5103 |+quickfix| feature}
5104 Identifies the preview window. Only one window can have this option
5105 set. It's normally not set directly, but by using one of the commands
5106 |:ptag|, |:pedit|, etc.
5108 *'printdevice'* *'pdev'*
5109 'printdevice' 'pdev' string (default empty)
5110 global
5111 {not in Vi}
5112 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5113 feature}
5114 The name of the printer to be used for |:hardcopy|.
5115 See |pdev-option|.
5116 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5117 security reasons.
5119 *'printencoding'* *'penc'*
5120 'printencoding' 'penc' String (default empty, except for some systems)
5121 global
5122 {not in Vi}
5123 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5124 and |+postscript| features}
5125 Sets the character encoding used when printing.
5126 See |penc-option|.
5128 *'printexpr'* *'pexpr'*
5129 'printexpr' 'pexpr' String (default: see below)
5130 global
5131 {not in Vi}
5132 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5133 and |+postscript| features}
5134 Expression used to print the PostScript produced with |:hardcopy|.
5135 See |pexpr-option|.
5137 *'printfont'* *'pfn'*
5138 'printfont' 'pfn' string (default "courier")
5139 global
5140 {not in Vi}
5141 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5142 feature}
5143 The name of the font that will be used for |:hardcopy|.
5144 See |pfn-option|.
5146 *'printheader'* *'pheader'*
5147 'printheader' 'pheader' string (default "%<%f%h%m%=Page %N")
5148 global
5149 {not in Vi}
5150 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|
5151 feature}
5152 The format of the header produced in |:hardcopy| output.
5153 See |pheader-option|.
5155 *'printmbcharset'* *'pmbcs'*
5156 'printmbcharset' 'pmbcs' string (default "")
5157 global
5158 {not in Vi}
5159 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5160 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5161 The CJK character set to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5162 See |pmbcs-option|.
5164 *'printmbfont'* *'pmbfn'*
5165 'printmbfont' 'pmbfn' string (default "")
5166 global
5167 {not in Vi}
5168 {only available when compiled with the |+printer|,
5169 |+postscript| and |+multi_byte| features}
5170 List of font names to be used for CJK output from |:hardcopy|.
5171 See |pmbfn-option|.
5173 *'printoptions'* *'popt'*
5174 'printoptions' 'popt' string (default "")
5175 global
5176 {not in Vi}
5177 {only available when compiled with |+printer| feature}
5178 List of items that control the format of the output of |:hardcopy|.
5179 See |popt-option|.
5181 *'prompt'* *'noprompt'*
5182 'prompt' boolean (default on)
5183 global
5184 When on a ":" prompt is used in Ex mode.
5186 *'pumheight'* *'ph'*
5187 'pumheight' 'ph' number (default 0)
5188 global
5189 {not available when compiled without the
5190 |+insert_expand| feature}
5191 {not in Vi}
5192 Determines the maximum number of items to show in the popup menu for
5193 Insert mode completion. When zero as much space as available is used.
5194 |ins-completion-menu|.
5197 *'quoteescape'* *'qe'*
5198 'quoteescape' 'qe' string (default "\")
5199 local to buffer
5200 {not in Vi}
5201 The characters that are used to escape quotes in a string. Used for
5202 objects like a', a" and a` |a'|.
5203 When one of the characters in this option is found inside a string,
5204 the following character will be skipped. The default value makes the
5205 text "foo\"bar\\" considered to be one string.
5207 *'readonly'* *'ro'* *'noreadonly'* *'noro'*
5208 'readonly' 'ro' boolean (default off)
5209 local to buffer
5210 If on, writes fail unless you use a '!'. Protects you from
5211 accidentally overwriting a file. Default on when Vim is started
5212 in read-only mode ("vim -R") or when the executable is called "view".
5213 When using ":w!" the 'readonly' option is reset for the current
5214 buffer, unless the 'Z' flag is in 'cpoptions'.
5215 {not in Vi:} When using the ":view" command the 'readonly' option is
5216 set for the newly edited buffer.
5218 *'redrawtime'* *'rdt'*
5219 'redrawtime' 'rdt' number (default 2000)
5220 global
5221 {not in Vi}
5222 {only available when compiled with the |+reltime|
5223 feature}
5224 The time in milliseconds for redrawing the display. This applies to
5225 searching for patterns for 'hlsearch' and |:match| highlighting.
5226 When redrawing takes more than this many milliseconds no further
5227 matches will be highlighted. This is used to avoid that Vim hangs
5228 when using a very complicated pattern.
5230 *'remap'* *'noremap'*
5231 'remap' boolean (default on)
5232 global
5233 Allows for mappings to work recursively. If you do not want this for
5234 a single entry, use the :noremap[!] command.
5235 NOTE: To avoid portability problems with Vim scripts, always keep
5236 this option at the default "on". Only switch it off when working with
5237 old Vi scripts.
5239 *'report'*
5240 'report' number (default 2)
5241 global
5242 Threshold for reporting number of lines changed. When the number of
5243 changed lines is more than 'report' a message will be given for most
5244 ":" commands. If you want it always, set 'report' to 0.
5245 For the ":substitute" command the number of substitutions is used
5246 instead of the number of lines.
5248 *'restorescreen'* *'rs'* *'norestorescreen'* *'nors'*
5249 'restorescreen' 'rs' boolean (default on)
5250 global
5251 {not in Vi} {only in Windows 95/NT console version}
5252 When set, the screen contents is restored when exiting Vim. This also
5253 happens when executing external commands.
5255 For non-Windows Vim: You can set or reset the 't_ti' and 't_te'
5256 options in your .vimrc. To disable restoring:
5257 set t_ti= t_te=
5258 To enable restoring (for an xterm):
5259 set t_ti=^[7^[[r^[[?47h t_te=^[[?47l^[8
5260 (Where ^[ is an <Esc>, type CTRL-V <Esc> to insert it)
5262 *'revins'* *'ri'* *'norevins'* *'nori'*
5263 'revins' 'ri' boolean (default off)
5264 global
5265 {not in Vi}
5266 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5267 feature}
5268 Inserting characters in Insert mode will work backwards. See "typing
5269 backwards" |ins-reverse|. This option can be toggled with the CTRL-_
5270 command in Insert mode, when 'allowrevins' is set.
5271 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' or 'paste' is set.
5273 *'rightleft'* *'rl'* *'norightleft'* *'norl'*
5274 'rightleft' 'rl' boolean (default off)
5275 local to window
5276 {not in Vi}
5277 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5278 feature}
5279 When on, display orientation becomes right-to-left, i.e., characters
5280 that are stored in the file appear from the right to the left.
5281 Using this option, it is possible to edit files for languages that
5282 are written from the right to the left such as Hebrew and Arabic.
5283 This option is per window, so it is possible to edit mixed files
5284 simultaneously, or to view the same file in both ways (this is
5285 useful whenever you have a mixed text file with both right-to-left
5286 and left-to-right strings so that both sets are displayed properly
5287 in different windows). Also see |rileft.txt|.
5289 *'rightleftcmd'* *'rlc'* *'norightleftcmd'* *'norlc'*
5290 'rightleftcmd' 'rlc' string (default "search")
5291 local to window
5292 {not in Vi}
5293 {only available when compiled with the |+rightleft|
5294 feature}
5295 Each word in this option enables the command line editing to work in
5296 right-to-left mode for a group of commands:
5298 search "/" and "?" commands
5300 This is useful for languages such as Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi.
5301 The 'rightleft' option must be set for 'rightleftcmd' to take effect.
5303 *'ruler'* *'ru'* *'noruler'* *'noru'*
5304 'ruler' 'ru' boolean (default off)
5305 global
5306 {not in Vi}
5307 {not available when compiled without the
5308 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5309 Show the line and column number of the cursor position, separated by a
5310 comma. When there is room, the relative position of the displayed
5311 text in the file is shown on the far right:
5312 Top first line is visible
5313 Bot last line is visible
5314 All first and last line are visible
5315 45% relative position in the file
5316 If 'rulerformat' is set, it will determine the contents of the ruler.
5317 Each window has its own ruler. If a window has a status line, the
5318 ruler is shown there. Otherwise it is shown in the last line of the
5319 screen. If the statusline is given by 'statusline' (i.e. not empty),
5320 this option takes precedence over 'ruler' and 'rulerformat'
5321 If the number of characters displayed is different from the number of
5322 bytes in the text (e.g., for a TAB or a multi-byte character), both
5323 the text column (byte number) and the screen column are shown,
5324 separated with a dash.
5325 For an empty line "0-1" is shown.
5326 For an empty buffer the line number will also be zero: "0,0-1".
5327 This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
5328 If you don't want to see the ruler all the time but want to know where
5329 you are, use "g CTRL-G" |g_CTRL-G|.
5330 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5332 *'rulerformat'* *'ruf'*
5333 'rulerformat' 'ruf' string (default empty)
5334 global
5335 {not in Vi}
5336 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
5337 feature}
5338 When this option is not empty, it determines the content of the ruler
5339 string, as displayed for the 'ruler' option.
5340 The format of this option is like that of 'statusline'.
5341 The default ruler width is 17 characters. To make the ruler 15
5342 characters wide, put "%15(" at the start and "%)" at the end.
5343 Example: >
5344 :set rulerformat=%15(%c%V\ %p%%%)
5345 <
5346 *'runtimepath'* *'rtp'* *vimfiles*
5347 'runtimepath' 'rtp' string (default:
5348 Unix: "$HOME/.vim,
5349 $VIM/vimfiles,
5350 $VIMRUNTIME,
5351 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5352 $HOME/.vim/after"
5353 Amiga: "home:vimfiles,
5354 $VIM/vimfiles,
5355 $VIMRUNTIME,
5356 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5357 home:vimfiles/after"
5358 PC, OS/2: "$HOME/vimfiles,
5359 $VIM/vimfiles,
5360 $VIMRUNTIME,
5361 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5362 $HOME/vimfiles/after"
5363 Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles,
5364 $VIMRUNTIME,
5365 $VIM:vimfiles:after"
5366 RISC-OS: "Choices:vimfiles,
5367 $VIMRUNTIME,
5368 Choices:vimfiles/after"
5369 VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles,
5370 $VIM/vimfiles,
5371 $VIMRUNTIME,
5372 $VIM/vimfiles/after,
5373 sys$login:vimfiles/after")
5374 global
5375 {not in Vi}
5376 This is a list of directories which will be searched for runtime
5377 files:
5378 filetype.vim filetypes by file name |new-filetype|
5379 scripts.vim filetypes by file contents |new-filetype-scripts|
5380 autoload/ automatically loaded scripts |autoload-functions|
5381 colors/ color scheme files |:colorscheme|
5382 compiler/ compiler files |:compiler|
5383 doc/ documentation |write-local-help|
5384 ftplugin/ filetype plugins |write-filetype-plugin|
5385 indent/ indent scripts |indent-expression|
5386 keymap/ key mapping files |mbyte-keymap|
5387 lang/ menu translations |:menutrans|
5388 menu.vim GUI menus |menu.vim|
5389 plugin/ plugin scripts |write-plugin|
5390 print/ files for printing |postscript-print-encoding|
5391 spell/ spell checking files |spell|
5392 syntax/ syntax files |mysyntaxfile|
5393 tutor/ files for vimtutor |tutor|
5395 And any other file searched for with the |:runtime| command.
5397 The defaults for most systems are setup to search five locations:
5398 1. In your home directory, for your personal preferences.
5399 2. In a system-wide Vim directory, for preferences from the system
5400 administrator.
5401 3. In $VIMRUNTIME, for files distributed with Vim.
5402 *after-directory*
5403 4. In the "after" directory in the system-wide Vim directory. This is
5404 for the system administrator to overrule or add to the distributed
5405 defaults (rarely needed)
5406 5. In the "after" directory in your home directory. This is for
5407 personal preferences to overrule or add to the distributed defaults
5408 or system-wide settings (rarely needed).
5410 Note that, unlike 'path', no wildcards like "**" are allowed. Normal
5411 wildcards are allowed, but can significantly slow down searching for
5412 runtime files. For speed, use as few items as possible and avoid
5413 wildcards.
5414 See |:runtime|.
5415 Example: >
5416 :set runtimepath=~/vimruntime,/mygroup/vim,$VIMRUNTIME
5417 < This will use the directory "~/vimruntime" first (containing your
5418 personal Vim runtime files), then "/mygroup/vim" (shared between a
5419 group of people) and finally "$VIMRUNTIME" (the distributed runtime
5420 files).
5421 You probably should always include $VIMRUNTIME somewhere, to use the
5422 distributed runtime files. You can put a directory before $VIMRUNTIME
5423 to find files which replace a distributed runtime files. You can put
5424 a directory after $VIMRUNTIME to find files which add to distributed
5425 runtime files.
5426 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5427 security reasons.
5429 *'scroll'* *'scr'*
5430 'scroll' 'scr' number (default: half the window height)
5431 local to window
5432 Number of lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D commands. Will be
5433 set to half the number of lines in the window when the window size
5434 changes. If you give a count to the CTRL-U or CTRL-D command it will
5435 be used as the new value for 'scroll'. Reset to half the window
5436 height with ":set scroll=0". {Vi is a bit different: 'scroll' gives
5437 the number of screen lines instead of file lines, makes a difference
5438 when lines wrap}
5440 *'scrollbind'* *'scb'* *'noscrollbind'* *'noscb'*
5441 'scrollbind' 'scb' boolean (default off)
5442 local to window
5443 {not in Vi}
5444 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5445 feature}
5446 See also |scroll-binding|. When this option is set, the current
5447 window scrolls as other scrollbind windows (windows that also have
5448 this option set) scroll. This option is useful for viewing the
5449 differences between two versions of a file, see 'diff'.
5450 See |'scrollopt'| for options that determine how this option should be
5451 interpreted.
5452 This option is mostly reset when splitting a window to edit another
5453 file. This means that ":split | edit file" results in two windows
5454 with scroll-binding, but ":split file" does not.
5456 *'scrolljump'* *'sj'*
5457 'scrolljump' 'sj' number (default 1)
5458 global
5459 {not in Vi}
5460 Minimal number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the
5461 screen (e.g., with "j"). Not used for scroll commands (e.g., CTRL-E,
5462 CTRL-D). Useful if your terminal scrolls very slowly.
5463 When set to a negative number from -1 to -100 this is used as the
5464 percentage of the window height. Thus -50 scrolls half the window
5465 height.
5466 NOTE: This option is set to 1 when 'compatible' is set.
5468 *'scrolloff'* *'so'*
5469 'scrolloff' 'so' number (default 0)
5470 global
5471 {not in Vi}
5472 Minimal number of screen lines to keep above and below the cursor.
5473 This will make some context visible around where you are working. If
5474 you set it to a very large value (999) the cursor line will always be
5475 in the middle of the window (except at the start or end of the file or
5476 when long lines wrap).
5477 For scrolling horizontally see 'sidescrolloff'.
5478 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
5480 *'scrollopt'* *'sbo'*
5481 'scrollopt' 'sbo' string (default "ver,jump")
5482 global
5483 {not available when compiled without the |+scrollbind|
5484 feature}
5485 {not in Vi}
5486 This is a comma-separated list of words that specifies how
5487 'scrollbind' windows should behave. 'sbo' stands for ScrollBind
5488 Options.
5489 The following words are available:
5490 ver Bind vertical scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5491 hor Bind horizontal scrolling for 'scrollbind' windows
5492 jump Applies to the offset between two windows for vertical
5493 scrolling. This offset is the difference in the first
5494 displayed line of the bound windows. When moving
5495 around in a window, another 'scrollbind' window may
5496 reach a position before the start or after the end of
5497 the buffer. The offset is not changed though, when
5498 moving back the 'scrollbind' window will try to scroll
5499 to the desired position when possible.
5500 When now making that window the current one, two
5501 things can be done with the relative offset:
5502 1. When "jump" is not included, the relative offset is
5503 adjusted for the scroll position in the new current
5504 window. When going back to the other window, the
5505 new relative offset will be used.
5506 2. When "jump" is included, the other windows are
5507 scrolled to keep the same relative offset. When
5508 going back to the other window, it still uses the
5509 same relative offset.
5510 Also see |scroll-binding|.
5511 When 'diff' mode is active there always is vertical scroll binding,
5512 even when "ver" isn't there.
5514 *'sections'* *'sect'*
5515 'sections' 'sect' string (default "SHNHH HUnhsh")
5516 global
5517 Specifies the nroff macros that separate sections. These are pairs of
5518 two letters (See |object-motions|). The default makes a section start
5519 at the nroff macros ".SH", ".NH", ".H", ".HU", ".nh" and ".sh".
5521 *'secure'* *'nosecure'* *E523*
5522 'secure' boolean (default off)
5523 global
5524 {not in Vi}
5525 When on, ":autocmd", shell and write commands are not allowed in
5526 ".vimrc" and ".exrc" in the current directory and map commands are
5527 displayed. Switch it off only if you know that you will not run into
5528 problems, or when the 'exrc' option is off. On Unix this option is
5529 only used if the ".vimrc" or ".exrc" is not owned by you. This can be
5530 dangerous if the systems allows users to do a "chown". You better set
5531 'secure' at the end of your ~/.vimrc then.
5532 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5533 security reasons.
5535 *'selection'* *'sel'*
5536 'selection' 'sel' string (default "inclusive")
5537 global
5538 {not in Vi}
5539 This option defines the behavior of the selection. It is only used
5540 in Visual and Select mode.
5541 Possible values:
5542 value past line inclusive ~
5543 old no yes
5544 inclusive yes yes
5545 exclusive yes no
5546 "past line" means that the cursor is allowed to be positioned one
5547 character past the line.
5548 "inclusive" means that the last character of the selection is included
5549 in an operation. For example, when "x" is used to delete the
5550 selection.
5551 Note that when "exclusive" is used and selecting from the end
5552 backwards, you cannot include the last character of a line, when
5553 starting in Normal mode and 'virtualedit' empty.
5555 The 'selection' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5557 *'selectmode'* *'slm'*
5558 'selectmode' 'slm' string (default "")
5559 global
5560 {not in Vi}
5561 This is a comma separated list of words, which specifies when to start
5562 Select mode instead of Visual mode, when a selection is started.
5563 Possible values:
5564 mouse when using the mouse
5565 key when using shifted special keys
5566 cmd when using "v", "V" or CTRL-V
5567 See |Select-mode|.
5568 The 'selectmode' option is set by the |:behave| command.
5570 *'sessionoptions'* *'ssop'*
5571 'sessionoptions' 'ssop' string (default: "blank,buffers,curdir,folds,
5572 help,options,tabpages,winsize")
5573 global
5574 {not in Vi}
5575 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
5576 feature}
5577 Changes the effect of the |:mksession| command. It is a comma
5578 separated list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring
5579 something:
5580 word save and restore ~
5581 blank empty windows
5582 buffers hidden and unloaded buffers, not just those in windows
5583 curdir the current directory
5584 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
5585 fold options
5586 globals global variables that start with an uppercase letter
5587 and contain at least one lowercase letter. Only
5588 String and Number types are stored.
5589 help the help window
5590 localoptions options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
5591 global values for local options)
5592 options all options and mappings (also global values for local
5593 options)
5594 resize size of the Vim window: 'lines' and 'columns'
5595 sesdir the directory in which the session file is located
5596 will become the current directory (useful with
5597 projects accessed over a network from different
5598 systems)
5599 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
5600 slashes
5601 tabpages all tab pages; without this only the current tab page
5602 is restored, so that you can make a session for each
5603 tab page separately
5604 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
5605 on Windows or DOS
5606 winpos position of the whole Vim window
5607 winsize window sizes
5609 Don't include both "curdir" and "sesdir".
5610 When "curdir" nor "sesdir" is included, file names are stored with
5611 absolute paths.
5612 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing session files
5613 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
5614 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
5616 *'shell'* *'sh'* *E91*
5617 'shell' 'sh' string (default $SHELL or "sh",
5618 MS-DOS and Win32: "command.com" or
5619 "cmd.exe", OS/2: "cmd")
5620 global
5621 Name of the shell to use for ! and :! commands. When changing the
5622 value also check these options: 'shelltype', 'shellpipe', 'shellslash'
5623 'shellredir', 'shellquote', 'shellxquote' and 'shellcmdflag'.
5624 It is allowed to give an argument to the command, e.g. "csh -f".
5625 See |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes.
5626 Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
5627 If the name of the shell contains a space, you might need to enclose
5628 it in quotes. Example: >
5629 :set shell=\"c:\program\ files\unix\sh.exe\"\ -f
5630 < Note the backslash before each quote (to avoid starting a comment) and
5631 each space (to avoid ending the option value). Also note that the
5632 "-f" is not inside the quotes, because it is not part of the command
5633 name. And Vim automagically recognizes the backslashes that are path
5634 separators.
5635 For Dos 32 bits (DJGPP), you can set the $DJSYSFLAGS environment
5636 variable to change the way external commands are executed. See the
5637 libc.inf file of DJGPP.
5638 Under MS-Windows, when the executable ends in ".com" it must be
5639 included. Thus setting the shell to "command.com" or "4dos.com"
5640 works, but "command" and "4dos" do not work for all commands (e.g.,
5641 filtering).
5642 For unknown reasons, when using "4dos.com" the current directory is
5643 changed to "C:\". To avoid this set 'shell' like this: >
5644 :set shell=command.com\ /c\ 4dos
5645 < This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5646 security reasons.
5648 *'shellcmdflag'* *'shcf'*
5649 'shellcmdflag' 'shcf' string (default: "-c", MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5650 does not contain "sh" somewhere: "/c")
5651 global
5652 {not in Vi}
5653 Flag passed to the shell to execute "!" and ":!" commands; e.g.,
5654 "bash.exe -c ls" or "command.com /c dir". For the MS-DOS-like
5655 systems, the default is set according to the value of 'shell', to
5656 reduce the need to set this option by the user. It's not used for
5657 OS/2 (EMX figures this out itself). See |option-backslash| about
5658 including spaces and backslashes. See |dos-shell|.
5659 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5660 security reasons.
5662 *'shellpipe'* *'sp'*
5663 'shellpipe' 'sp' string (default ">", "| tee", "|& tee" or "2>&1| tee")
5664 global
5665 {not in Vi}
5666 {not available when compiled without the |+quickfix|
5667 feature}
5668 String to be used to put the output of the ":make" command in the
5669 error file. See also |:make_makeprg|. See |option-backslash| about
5670 including spaces and backslashes.
5671 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5672 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5673 of this option).
5674 For the Amiga and MS-DOS the default is ">". The output is directly
5675 saved in a file and not echoed to the screen.
5676 For Unix the default it "| tee". The stdout of the compiler is saved
5677 in a file and echoed to the screen. If the 'shell' option is "csh" or
5678 "tcsh" after initializations, the default becomes "|& tee". If the
5679 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh", "zsh" or "bash" the default becomes
5680 "2>&1| tee". This means that stderr is also included.
5681 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5682 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5683 there, the 'shellpipe' option changes automatically, unless it was
5684 explicitly set before.
5685 When 'shellpipe' is set to an empty string, no redirection of the
5686 ":make" output will be done. This is useful if you use a 'makeprg'
5687 that writes to 'makeef' by itself. If you want no piping, but do
5688 want to include the 'makeef', set 'shellpipe' to a single space.
5689 Don't forget to precede the space with a backslash: ":set sp=\ ".
5690 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5691 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5692 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5693 security reasons.
5695 *'shellquote'* *'shq'*
5696 'shellquote' 'shq' string (default: ""; MS-DOS and Win32, when 'shell'
5697 contains "sh" somewhere: "\"")
5698 global
5699 {not in Vi}
5700 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5701 the "!" and ":!" commands. The redirection is kept outside of the
5702 quoting. See 'shellxquote' to include the redirection. It's
5703 probably not useful to set both options.
5704 This is an empty string by default. Only known to be useful for
5705 third-party shells on MS-DOS-like systems, such as the MKS Korn Shell
5706 or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted according
5707 the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option by the
5708 user. See |dos-shell|.
5709 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5710 security reasons.
5712 *'shellredir'* *'srr'*
5713 'shellredir' 'srr' string (default ">", ">&" or ">%s 2>&1")
5714 global
5715 {not in Vi}
5716 String to be used to put the output of a filter command in a temporary
5717 file. See also |:!|. See |option-backslash| about including spaces
5718 and backslashes.
5719 The name of the temporary file can be represented by "%s" if necessary
5720 (the file name is appended automatically if no %s appears in the value
5721 of this option).
5722 The default is ">". For Unix, if the 'shell' option is "csh", "tcsh"
5723 or "zsh" during initializations, the default becomes ">&". If the
5724 'shell' option is "sh", "ksh" or "bash" the default becomes
5725 ">%s 2>&1". This means that stderr is also included.
5726 For Win32, the Unix checks are done and additionally "cmd" is checked
5727 for, which makes the default ">%s 2>&1". Also, the same names with
5728 ".exe" appended are checked for.
5729 The initialization of this option is done after reading the ".vimrc"
5730 and the other initializations, so that when the 'shell' option is set
5731 there, the 'shellredir' option changes automatically unless it was
5732 explicitly set before.
5733 In the future pipes may be used for filtering and this option will
5734 become obsolete (at least for Unix).
5735 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5736 security reasons.
5738 *'shellslash'* *'ssl'* *'noshellslash'* *'nossl'*
5739 'shellslash' 'ssl' boolean (default off)
5740 global
5741 {not in Vi} {only for MSDOS, MS-Windows and OS/2}
5742 When set, a forward slash is used when expanding file names. This is
5743 useful when a Unix-like shell is used instead of command.com or
5744 cmd.exe. Backward slashes can still be typed, but they are changed to
5745 forward slashes by Vim.
5746 Note that setting or resetting this option has no effect for some
5747 existing file names, thus this option needs to be set before opening
5748 any file for best results. This might change in the future.
5749 'shellslash' only works when a backslash can be used as a path
5750 separator. To test if this is so use: >
5751 if exists('+shellslash')
5752 <
5753 *'shelltemp'* *'stmp'* *'noshelltemp'* *'nostmp'*
5754 'shelltemp' 'stmp' boolean (Vi default off, Vim default on)
5755 global
5756 {not in Vi}
5757 When on, use temp files for shell commands. When off use a pipe.
5758 When using a pipe is not possible temp files are used anyway.
5759 Currently a pipe is only supported on Unix. You can check it with: >
5760 :if has("filterpipe")
5761 < The advantage of using a pipe is that nobody can read the temp file
5762 and the 'shell' command does not need to support redirection.
5763 The advantage of using a temp file is that the file type and encoding
5764 can be detected.
5765 The |FilterReadPre|, |FilterReadPost| and |FilterWritePre|,
5766 |FilterWritePost| autocommands event are not triggered when
5767 'shelltemp' is off.
5769 *'shelltype'* *'st'*
5770 'shelltype' 'st' number (default 0)
5771 global
5772 {not in Vi} {only for the Amiga}
5773 On the Amiga this option influences the way how the commands work
5774 which use a shell.
5775 0 and 1: always use the shell
5776 2 and 3: use the shell only to filter lines
5777 4 and 5: use shell only for ':sh' command
5778 When not using the shell, the command is executed directly.
5780 0 and 2: use "shell 'shellcmdflag' cmd" to start external commands
5781 1 and 3: use "shell cmd" to start external commands
5783 *'shellxquote'* *'sxq'*
5784 'shellxquote' 'sxq' string (default: "";
5785 for Win32, when 'shell' contains "sh"
5786 somewhere: "\""
5787 for Unix, when using system(): "\"")
5788 global
5789 {not in Vi}
5790 Quoting character(s), put around the command passed to the shell, for
5791 the "!" and ":!" commands. Includes the redirection. See
5792 'shellquote' to exclude the redirection. It's probably not useful
5793 to set both options.
5794 This is an empty string by default. Known to be useful for
5795 third-party shells when using the Win32 version, such as the MKS Korn
5796 Shell or bash, where it should be "\"". The default is adjusted
5797 according the value of 'shell', to reduce the need to set this option
5798 by the user. See |dos-shell|.
5799 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
5800 security reasons.
5802 *'shiftround'* *'sr'* *'noshiftround'* *'nosr'*
5803 'shiftround' 'sr' boolean (default off)
5804 global
5805 {not in Vi}
5806 Round indent to multiple of 'shiftwidth'. Applies to > and <
5807 commands. CTRL-T and CTRL-D in Insert mode always round the indent to
5808 a multiple of 'shiftwidth' (this is Vi compatible).
5809 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
5811 *'shiftwidth'* *'sw'*
5812 'shiftwidth' 'sw' number (default 8)
5813 local to buffer
5814 Number of spaces to use for each step of (auto)indent. Used for
5815 |'cindent'|, |>>|, |<<|, etc.
5817 *'shortmess'* *'shm'*
5818 'shortmess' 'shm' string (Vim default "filnxtToO", Vi default: "",
5819 POSIX default: "A")
5820 global
5821 {not in Vi}
5822 This option helps to avoid all the |hit-enter| prompts caused by file
5823 messages, for example with CTRL-G, and to avoid some other messages.
5824 It is a list of flags:
5825 flag meaning when present ~
5826 f use "(3 of 5)" instead of "(file 3 of 5)"
5827 i use "[noeol]" instead of "[Incomplete last line]"
5828 l use "999L, 888C" instead of "999 lines, 888 characters"
5829 m use "[+]" instead of "[Modified]"
5830 n use "[New]" instead of "[New File]"
5831 r use "[RO]" instead of "[readonly]"
5832 w use "[w]" instead of "written" for file write message
5833 and "[a]" instead of "appended" for ':w >> file' command
5834 x use "[dos]" instead of "[dos format]", "[unix]" instead of
5835 "[unix format]" and "[mac]" instead of "[mac format]".
5836 a all of the above abbreviations
5838 o overwrite message for writing a file with subsequent message
5839 for reading a file (useful for ":wn" or when 'autowrite' on)
5840 O message for reading a file overwrites any previous message.
5841 Also for quickfix message (e.g., ":cn").
5842 s don't give "search hit BOTTOM, continuing at TOP" or "search
5843 hit TOP, continuing at BOTTOM" messages
5844 t truncate file message at the start if it is too long to fit
5845 on the command-line, "<" will appear in the left most column.
5846 Ignored in Ex mode.
5847 T truncate other messages in the middle if they are too long to
5848 fit on the command line. "..." will appear in the middle.
5849 Ignored in Ex mode.
5850 W don't give "written" or "[w]" when writing a file
5851 A don't give the "ATTENTION" message when an existing swap file
5852 is found.
5853 I don't give the intro message when starting Vim |:intro|.
5855 This gives you the opportunity to avoid that a change between buffers
5856 requires you to hit <Enter>, but still gives as useful a message as
5857 possible for the space available. To get the whole message that you
5858 would have got with 'shm' empty, use ":file!"
5859 Useful values:
5860 shm= No abbreviation of message.
5861 shm=a Abbreviation, but no loss of information.
5862 shm=at Abbreviation, and truncate message when necessary.
5864 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5865 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5867 *'shortname'* *'sn'* *'noshortname'* *'nosn'*
5868 'shortname' 'sn' boolean (default off)
5869 local to buffer
5870 {not in Vi, not in MS-DOS versions}
5871 Filenames are assumed to be 8 characters plus one extension of 3
5872 characters. Multiple dots in file names are not allowed. When this
5873 option is on, dots in file names are replaced with underscores when
5874 adding an extension (".~" or ".swp"). This option is not available
5875 for MS-DOS, because then it would always be on. This option is useful
5876 when editing files on an MS-DOS compatible filesystem, e.g., messydos
5877 or crossdos. When running the Win32 GUI version under Win32s, this
5878 option is always on by default.
5880 *'showbreak'* *'sbr'* *E595*
5881 'showbreak' 'sbr' string (default "")
5882 global
5883 {not in Vi}
5884 {not available when compiled without the |+linebreak|
5885 feature}
5886 String to put at the start of lines that have been wrapped. Useful
5887 values are "> " or "+++ ".
5888 Only printable single-cell characters are allowed, excluding <Tab> and
5889 comma (in a future version the comma might be used to separate the
5890 part that is shown at the end and at the start of a line).
5891 The characters are highlighted according to the '@' flag in
5892 'highlight'.
5893 Note that tabs after the showbreak will be displayed differently.
5894 If you want the 'showbreak' to appear in between line numbers, add the
5895 "n" flag to 'cpoptions'.
5897 *'showcmd'* *'sc'* *'noshowcmd'* *'nosc'*
5898 'showcmd' 'sc' boolean (Vim default: on, off for Unix, Vi default:
5899 off)
5900 global
5901 {not in Vi}
5902 {not available when compiled without the
5903 |+cmdline_info| feature}
5904 Show (partial) command in the last line of the screen. Set this
5905 option off if your terminal is slow.
5906 In Visual mode the size of the selected area is shown:
5907 - When selecting characters within a line, the number of characters.
5908 - When selecting more than one line, the number of lines.
5909 - When selecting a block, the size in screen characters: linesxcolumns.
5910 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5911 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5913 *'showfulltag'* *'sft'* *'noshowfulltag'* *'nosft'*
5914 'showfulltag' 'sft' boolean (default off)
5915 global
5916 {not in Vi}
5917 When completing a word in insert mode (see |ins-completion|) from the
5918 tags file, show both the tag name and a tidied-up form of the search
5919 pattern (if there is one) as possible matches. Thus, if you have
5920 matched a C function, you can see a template for what arguments are
5921 required (coding style permitting).
5922 Note that this doesn't work well together with having "longest" in
5923 'completeopt', because the completion from the search pattern may not
5924 match the typed text.
5926 *'showmatch'* *'sm'* *'noshowmatch'* *'nosm'*
5927 'showmatch' 'sm' boolean (default off)
5928 global
5929 When a bracket is inserted, briefly jump to the matching one. The
5930 jump is only done if the match can be seen on the screen. The time to
5931 show the match can be set with 'matchtime'.
5932 A Beep is given if there is no match (no matter if the match can be
5933 seen or not). This option is reset when the 'paste' option is set.
5934 When the 'm' flag is not included in 'cpoptions', typing a character
5935 will immediately move the cursor back to where it belongs.
5936 See the "sm" field in 'guicursor' for setting the cursor shape and
5937 blinking when showing the match.
5938 The 'matchpairs' option can be used to specify the characters to show
5939 matches for. 'rightleft' and 'revins' are used to look for opposite
5940 matches.
5941 Also see the matchparen plugin for highlighting the match when moving
5942 around |pi_paren.txt|.
5943 Note: Use of the short form is rated PG.
5945 *'showmode'* *'smd'* *'noshowmode'* *'nosmd'*
5946 'showmode' 'smd' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
5947 global
5948 If in Insert, Replace or Visual mode put a message on the last line.
5949 Use the 'M' flag in 'highlight' to set the type of highlighting for
5950 this message.
5951 When |XIM| may be used the message will include "XIM". But this
5952 doesn't mean XIM is really active, especially when 'imactivatekey' is
5953 not set.
5954 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
5955 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
5957 *'showtabline'* *'stal'*
5958 'showtabline' 'stal' number (default 1)
5959 global
5960 {not in Vi}
5961 {not available when compiled without the +windows
5962 feature}
5963 The value of this option specifies when the line with tab page labels
5964 will be displayed:
5965 0: never
5966 1: only if there are at least two tab pages
5967 2: always
5968 This is both for the GUI and non-GUI implementation of the tab pages
5969 line.
5970 See |tab-page| for more information about tab pages.
5972 *'sidescroll'* *'ss'*
5973 'sidescroll' 'ss' number (default 0)
5974 global
5975 {not in Vi}
5976 The minimal number of columns to scroll horizontally. Used only when
5977 the 'wrap' option is off and the cursor is moved off of the screen.
5978 When it is zero the cursor will be put in the middle of the screen.
5979 When using a slow terminal set it to a large number or 0. When using
5980 a fast terminal use a small number or 1. Not used for "zh" and "zl"
5981 commands.
5983 *'sidescrolloff'* *'siso'*
5984 'sidescrolloff' 'siso' number (default 0)
5985 global
5986 {not in Vi}
5987 The minimal number of screen columns to keep to the left and to the
5988 right of the cursor if 'nowrap' is set. Setting this option to a
5989 value greater than 0 while having |'sidescroll'| also at a non-zero
5990 value makes some context visible in the line you are scrolling in
5991 horizontally (except at beginning of the line). Setting this option
5992 to a large value (like 999) has the effect of keeping the cursor
5993 horizontally centered in the window, as long as one does not come too
5994 close to the beginning of the line.
5995 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
5997 Example: Try this together with 'sidescroll' and 'listchars' as
5998 in the following example to never allow the cursor to move
5999 onto the "extends" character:
6001 :set nowrap sidescroll=1 listchars=extends:>,precedes:<
6002 :set sidescrolloff=1
6005 *'smartcase'* *'scs'* *'nosmartcase'* *'noscs'*
6006 'smartcase' 'scs' boolean (default off)
6007 global
6008 {not in Vi}
6009 Override the 'ignorecase' option if the search pattern contains upper
6010 case characters. Only used when the search pattern is typed and
6011 'ignorecase' option is on. Used for the commands "/", "?", "n", "N",
6012 ":g" and ":s". Not used for "*", "#", "gd", tag search, etc.. After
6013 "*" and "#" you can make 'smartcase' used by doing a "/" command,
6014 recalling the search pattern from history and hitting <Enter>.
6015 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6017 *'smartindent'* *'si'* *'nosmartindent'* *'nosi'*
6018 'smartindent' 'si' boolean (default off)
6019 local to buffer
6020 {not in Vi}
6021 {not available when compiled without the
6022 |+smartindent| feature}
6023 Do smart autoindenting when starting a new line. Works for C-like
6024 programs, but can also be used for other languages. 'cindent' does
6025 something like this, works better in most cases, but is more strict,
6026 see |C-indenting|. When 'cindent' is on, setting 'si' has no effect.
6027 'indentexpr' is a more advanced alternative.
6028 Normally 'autoindent' should also be on when using 'smartindent'.
6029 An indent is automatically inserted:
6030 - After a line ending in '{'.
6031 - After a line starting with a keyword from 'cinwords'.
6032 - Before a line starting with '}' (only with the "O" command).
6033 When typing '}' as the first character in a new line, that line is
6034 given the same indent as the matching '{'.
6035 When typing '#' as the first character in a new line, the indent for
6036 that line is removed, the '#' is put in the first column. The indent
6037 is restored for the next line. If you don't want this, use this
6038 mapping: ":inoremap # X^H#", where ^H is entered with CTRL-V CTRL-H.
6039 When using the ">>" command, lines starting with '#' are not shifted
6040 right.
6041 NOTE: 'smartindent' is reset when 'compatible' is set. When 'paste'
6042 is set smart indenting is disabled.
6044 *'smarttab'* *'sta'* *'nosmarttab'* *'nosta'*
6045 'smarttab' 'sta' boolean (default off)
6046 global
6047 {not in Vi}
6048 When on, a <Tab> in front of a line inserts blanks according to
6049 'shiftwidth'. 'tabstop' or 'softtabstop' is used in other places. A
6050 <BS> will delete a 'shiftwidth' worth of space at the start of the
6051 line.
6052 When off, a <Tab> always inserts blanks according to 'tabstop' or
6053 'softtabstop'. 'shiftwidth' is only used for shifting text left or
6054 right |shift-left-right|.
6055 What gets inserted (a <Tab> or spaces) depends on the 'expandtab'
6056 option. Also see |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the
6057 number of spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6058 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6060 *'softtabstop'* *'sts'*
6061 'softtabstop' 'sts' number (default 0)
6062 local to buffer
6063 {not in Vi}
6064 Number of spaces that a <Tab> counts for while performing editing
6065 operations, like inserting a <Tab> or using <BS>. It "feels" like
6066 <Tab>s are being inserted, while in fact a mix of spaces and <Tab>s is
6067 used. This is useful to keep the 'ts' setting at its standard value
6068 of 8, while being able to edit like it is set to 'sts'. However,
6069 commands like "x" still work on the actual characters.
6070 When 'sts' is zero, this feature is off.
6071 'softtabstop' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set.
6072 See also |ins-expandtab|. When 'expandtab' is not set, the number of
6073 spaces is minimized by using <Tab>s.
6074 The 'L' flag in 'cpoptions' changes how tabs are used when 'list' is
6075 set.
6076 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6078 *'spell'* *'nospell'*
6079 'spell' boolean (default off)
6080 local to window
6081 {not in Vi}
6082 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6083 feature}
6084 When on spell checking will be done. See |spell|.
6085 The languages are specified with 'spelllang'.
6087 *'spellcapcheck'* *'spc'*
6088 'spellcapcheck' 'spc' string (default "[.?!]\_[\])'" \t]\+")
6089 local to buffer
6090 {not in Vi}
6091 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6092 feature}
6093 Pattern to locate the end of a sentence. The following word will be
6094 checked to start with a capital letter. If not then it is highlighted
6095 with SpellCap |hl-SpellCap| (unless the word is also badly spelled).
6096 When this check is not wanted make this option empty.
6097 Only used when 'spell' is set.
6098 Be careful with special characters, see |option-backslash| about
6099 including spaces and backslashes.
6100 To set this option automatically depending on the language, see
6101 |set-spc-auto|.
6103 *'spellfile'* *'spf'*
6104 'spellfile' 'spf' string (default empty)
6105 local to buffer
6106 {not in Vi}
6107 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6108 feature}
6109 Name of the word list file where words are added for the |zg| and |zw|
6110 commands. It must end in ".{encoding}.add". You need to include the
6111 path, otherwise the file is placed in the current directory.
6112 *E765*
6113 It may also be a comma separated list of names. A count before the
6114 |zg| and |zw| commands can be used to access each. This allows using
6115 a personal word list file and a project word list file.
6116 When a word is added while this option is empty Vim will set it for
6117 you: Using the first directory in 'runtimepath' that is writable. If
6118 there is no "spell" directory yet it will be created. For the file
6119 name the first language name that appears in 'spelllang' is used,
6120 ignoring the region.
6121 The resulting ".spl" file will be used for spell checking, it does not
6122 have to appear in 'spelllang'.
6123 Normally one file is used for all regions, but you can add the region
6124 name if you want to. However, it will then only be used when
6125 'spellfile' is set to it, for entries in 'spelllang' only files
6126 without region name will be found.
6127 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6128 security reasons.
6130 *'spelllang'* *'spl'*
6131 'spelllang' 'spl' string (default "en")
6132 local to buffer
6133 {not in Vi}
6134 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6135 feature}
6136 A comma separated list of word list names. When the 'spell' option is
6137 on spellchecking will be done for these languages. Example: >
6138 set spelllang=en_us,nl,medical
6139 < This means US English, Dutch and medical words are recognized. Words
6140 that are not recognized will be highlighted.
6141 The word list name must not include a comma or dot. Using a dash is
6142 recommended to separate the two letter language name from a
6143 specification. Thus "en-rare" is used for rare English words.
6144 A region name must come last and have the form "_xx", where "xx" is
6145 the two-letter, lower case region name. You can use more than one
6146 region by listing them: "en_us,en_ca" supports both US and Canadian
6147 English, but not words specific for Australia, New Zealand or Great
6148 Britain.
6149 *E757*
6150 As a special case the name of a .spl file can be given as-is. The
6151 first "_xx" in the name is removed and used as the region name
6152 (_xx is an underscore, two letters and followed by a non-letter).
6153 This is mainly for testing purposes. You must make sure the correct
6154 encoding is used, Vim doesn't check it.
6155 When 'encoding' is set the word lists are reloaded. Thus it's a good
6156 idea to set 'spelllang' after setting 'encoding' to avoid loading the
6157 files twice.
6158 How the related spell files are found is explained here: |spell-load|.
6160 If the |spellfile.vim| plugin is active and you use a language name
6161 for which Vim cannot find the .spl file in 'runtimepath' the plugin
6162 will ask you if you want to download the file.
6164 After this option has been set successfully, Vim will source the files
6165 "spell/LANG.vim" in 'runtimepath'. "LANG" is the value of 'spelllang'
6166 up to the first comma, dot or underscore.
6167 Also see |set-spc-auto|.
6170 *'spellsuggest'* *'sps'*
6171 'spellsuggest' 'sps' string (default "best")
6172 global
6173 {not in Vi}
6174 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6175 feature}
6176 Methods used for spelling suggestions. Both for the |z=| command and
6177 the |spellsuggest()| function. This is a comma-separated list of
6178 items:
6180 best Internal method that works best for English. Finds
6181 changes like "fast" and uses a bit of sound-a-like
6182 scoring to improve the ordering.
6184 double Internal method that uses two methods and mixes the
6185 results. The first method is "fast", the other method
6186 computes how much the suggestion sounds like the bad
6187 word. That only works when the language specifies
6188 sound folding. Can be slow and doesn't always give
6189 better results.
6191 fast Internal method that only checks for simple changes:
6192 character inserts/deletes/swaps. Works well for
6193 simple typing mistakes.
6195 {number} The maximum number of suggestions listed for |z=|.
6196 Not used for |spellsuggest()|. The number of
6197 suggestions is never more than the value of 'lines'
6198 minus two.
6200 file:{filename} Read file {filename}, which must have two columns,
6201 separated by a slash. The first column contains the
6202 bad word, the second column the suggested good word.
6203 Example:
6204 theribal/terrible ~
6205 Use this for common mistakes that do not appear at the
6206 top of the suggestion list with the internal methods.
6207 Lines without a slash are ignored, use this for
6208 comments.
6209 The file is used for all languages.
6211 expr:{expr} Evaluate expression {expr}. Use a function to avoid
6212 trouble with spaces. |v:val| holds the badly spelled
6213 word. The expression must evaluate to a List of
6214 Lists, each with a suggestion and a score.
6215 Example:
6216 [['the', 33], ['that', 44]]
6217 Set 'verbose' and use |z=| to see the scores that the
6218 internal methods use. A lower score is better.
6219 This may invoke |spellsuggest()| if you temporarily
6220 set 'spellsuggest' to exclude the "expr:" part.
6221 Errors are silently ignored, unless you set the
6222 'verbose' option to a non-zero value.
6224 Only one of "best", "double" or "fast" may be used. The others may
6225 appear several times in any order. Example: >
6226 :set sps=file:~/.vim/sugg,best,expr:MySuggest()
6227 <
6228 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6229 security reasons.
6232 *'splitbelow'* *'sb'* *'nosplitbelow'* *'nosb'*
6233 'splitbelow' 'sb' boolean (default off)
6234 global
6235 {not in Vi}
6236 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6237 feature}
6238 When on, splitting a window will put the new window below the current
6239 one. |:split|
6241 *'splitright'* *'spr'* *'nosplitright'* *'nospr'*
6242 'splitright' 'spr' boolean (default off)
6243 global
6244 {not in Vi}
6245 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
6246 feature}
6247 When on, splitting a window will put the new window right of the
6248 current one. |:vsplit|
6250 *'startofline'* *'sol'* *'nostartofline'* *'nosol'*
6251 'startofline' 'sol' boolean (default on)
6252 global
6253 {not in Vi}
6254 When "on" the commands listed below move the cursor to the first
6255 non-blank of the line. When off the cursor is kept in the same column
6256 (if possible). This applies to the commands: CTRL-D, CTRL-U, CTRL-B,
6257 CTRL-F, "G", "H", "M", "L", gg, and to the commands "d", "<<" and ">>"
6258 with a linewise operator, with "%" with a count and to buffer changing
6259 commands (CTRL-^, :bnext, :bNext, etc.). Also for an Ex command that
6260 only has a line number, e.g., ":25" or ":+".
6261 In case of buffer changing commands the cursor is placed at the column
6262 where it was the last time the buffer was edited.
6263 NOTE: This option is set when 'compatible' is set.
6265 *'statusline'* *'stl'* *E540* *E541* *E542*
6266 'statusline' 'stl' string (default empty)
6267 global or local to window |global-local|
6268 {not in Vi}
6269 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline|
6270 feature}
6271 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the status line.
6272 Also see |status-line|.
6274 The option consists of printf style '%' items interspersed with
6275 normal text. Each status line item is of the form:
6276 %-0{minwid}.{maxwid}{item}
6277 All fields except the {item} is optional. A single percent sign can
6278 be given as "%%". Up to 80 items can be specified.
6280 When the option starts with "%!" then it is used as an expression,
6281 evaluated and the result is used as the option value. Example: >
6282 :set statusline=%!MyStatusLine()
6283 < The result can contain %{} items that will be evaluated too.
6285 When there is error while evaluating the option then it will be made
6286 empty to avoid further errors. Otherwise screen updating would loop.
6288 Note that the only effect of 'ruler' when this option is set (and
6289 'laststatus' is 2) is controlling the output of |CTRL-G|.
6291 field meaning ~
6292 - Left justify the item. The default is right justified
6293 when minwid is larger than the length of the item.
6294 0 Leading zeroes in numeric items. Overridden by '-'.
6295 minwid Minimum width of the item, padding as set by '-' & '0'.
6296 Value must be 50 or less.
6297 maxwid Maximum width of the item. Truncation occurs with a '<'
6298 on the left for text items. Numeric items will be
6299 shifted down to maxwid-2 digits followed by '>'number
6300 where number is the amount of missing digits, much like
6301 an exponential notation.
6302 item A one letter code as described below.
6304 Following is a description of the possible statusline items. The
6305 second character in "item" is the type:
6306 N for number
6307 S for string
6308 F for flags as described below
6309 - not applicable
6311 item meaning ~
6312 f S Path to the file in the buffer, as typed or relative to current
6313 directory.
6314 F S Full path to the file in the buffer.
6315 t S File name (tail) of file in the buffer.
6316 m F Modified flag, text is " [+]"; " [-]" if 'modifiable' is off.
6317 M F Modified flag, text is ",+" or ",-".
6318 r F Readonly flag, text is " [RO]".
6319 R F Readonly flag, text is ",RO".
6320 h F Help buffer flag, text is " [help]".
6321 H F Help buffer flag, text is ",HLP".
6322 w F Preview window flag, text is " [Preview]".
6323 W F Preview window flag, text is ",PRV".
6324 y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., " [vim]". See 'filetype'.
6325 Y F Type of file in the buffer, e.g., ",VIM". See 'filetype'.
6326 {not available when compiled without |+autocmd| feature}
6327 k S Value of "b:keymap_name" or 'keymap' when |:lmap| mappings are
6328 being used: "<keymap>"
6329 n N Buffer number.
6330 b N Value of byte under cursor.
6331 B N As above, in hexadecimal.
6332 o N Byte number in file of byte under cursor, first byte is 1.
6333 Mnemonic: Offset from start of file (with one added)
6334 {not available when compiled without |+byte_offset| feature}
6335 O N As above, in hexadecimal.
6336 N N Printer page number. (Only works in the 'printheader' option.)
6337 l N Line number.
6338 L N Number of lines in buffer.
6339 c N Column number.
6340 v N Virtual column number.
6341 V N Virtual column number as -{num}. Not displayed if equal to 'c'.
6342 p N Percentage through file in lines as in |CTRL-G|.
6343 P S Percentage through file of displayed window. This is like the
6344 percentage described for 'ruler'. Always 3 in length.
6345 a S Argument list status as in default title. ({current} of {max})
6346 Empty if the argument file count is zero or one.
6347 { NF Evaluate expression between '%{' and '}' and substitute result.
6348 Note that there is no '%' before the closing '}'.
6349 ( - Start of item group. Can be used for setting the width and
6350 alignment of a section. Must be followed by %) somewhere.
6351 ) - End of item group. No width fields allowed.
6352 T N For 'tabline': start of tab page N label. Use %T after the last
6353 label. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6354 X N For 'tabline': start of close tab N label. Use %X after the
6355 label, e.g.: %3Xclose%X. Use %999X for a "close current tab"
6356 mark. This information is used for mouse clicks.
6357 < - Where to truncate line if too long. Default is at the start.
6358 No width fields allowed.
6359 = - Separation point between left and right aligned items.
6360 No width fields allowed.
6361 # - Set highlight group. The name must follow and then a # again.
6362 Thus use %#HLname# for highlight group HLname. The same
6363 highlighting is used, also for the statusline of non-current
6364 windows.
6365 * - Set highlight group to User{N}, where {N} is taken from the
6366 minwid field, e.g. %1*. Restore normal highlight with %* or %0*.
6367 The difference between User{N} and StatusLine will be applied
6368 to StatusLineNC for the statusline of non-current windows.
6369 The number N must be between 1 and 9. See |hl-User1..9|
6371 Display of flags are controlled by the following heuristic:
6372 If a flag text starts with comma it is assumed that it wants to
6373 separate itself from anything but preceding plaintext. If it starts
6374 with a space it is assumed that it wants to separate itself from
6375 anything but other flags. That is: A leading comma is removed if the
6376 preceding character stems from plaintext. A leading space is removed
6377 if the preceding character stems from another active flag. This will
6378 make a nice display when flags are used like in the examples below.
6380 When all items in a group becomes an empty string (i.e. flags that are
6381 not set) and a minwid is not set for the group, the whole group will
6382 become empty. This will make a group like the following disappear
6383 completely from the statusline when none of the flags are set. >
6384 :set statusline=...%(\ [%M%R%H]%)...
6385 <
6386 Beware that an expression is evaluated each and every time the status
6387 line is displayed. The current buffer and current window will be set
6388 temporarily to that of the window (and buffer) whose statusline is
6389 currently being drawn. The expression will evaluate in this context.
6390 The variable "actual_curbuf" is set to the 'bufnr()' number of the
6391 real current buffer.
6393 The 'statusline' option may be evaluated in the |sandbox|, see
6394 |sandbox-option|.
6396 It is not allowed to change text or jump to another window while
6397 evaluating 'statusline' |textlock|.
6399 If the statusline is not updated when you want it (e.g., after setting
6400 a variable that's used in an expression), you can force an update by
6401 setting an option without changing its value. Example: >
6402 :let &ro = &ro
6404 < A result of all digits is regarded a number for display purposes.
6405 Otherwise the result is taken as flag text and applied to the rules
6406 described above.
6408 Watch out for errors in expressions. They may render Vim unusable!
6409 If you are stuck, hold down ':' or 'Q' to get a prompt, then quit and
6410 edit your .vimrc or whatever with "vim -u NONE" to get it right.
6412 Examples:
6413 Emulate standard status line with 'ruler' set >
6414 :set statusline=%<%f\ %h%m%r%=%-14.(%l,%c%V%)\ %P
6415 < Similar, but add ASCII value of char under the cursor (like "ga") >
6416 :set statusline=%<%f%h%m%r%=%b\ 0x%B\ \ %l,%c%V\ %P
6417 < Display byte count and byte value, modified flag in red. >
6418 :set statusline=%<%f%=\ [%1*%M%*%n%R%H]\ %-19(%3l,%02c%03V%)%O'%02b'
6419 :hi User1 term=inverse,bold cterm=inverse,bold ctermfg=red
6420 < Display a ,GZ flag if a compressed file is loaded >
6421 :set statusline=...%r%{VarExists('b:gzflag','\ [GZ]')}%h...
6422 < In the |:autocmd|'s: >
6423 :let b:gzflag = 1
6424 < And: >
6425 :unlet b:gzflag
6426 < And define this function: >
6427 :function VarExists(var, val)
6428 : if exists(a:var) | return a:val | else | return '' | endif
6429 :endfunction
6430 <
6431 *'suffixes'* *'su'*
6432 'suffixes' 'su' string (default ".bak,~,.o,.h,.info,.swp,.obj")
6433 global
6434 {not in Vi}
6435 Files with these suffixes get a lower priority when multiple files
6436 match a wildcard. See |suffixes|. Commas can be used to separate the
6437 suffixes. Spaces after the comma are ignored. A dot is also seen as
6438 the start of a suffix. To avoid a dot or comma being recognized as a
6439 separator, precede it with a backslash (see |option-backslash| about
6440 including spaces and backslashes).
6441 See 'wildignore' for completely ignoring files.
6442 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6443 suffixes from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6444 uses another default.
6446 *'suffixesadd'* *'sua'*
6447 'suffixesadd' 'sua' string (default "")
6448 local to buffer
6449 {not in Vi}
6450 {not available when compiled without the
6451 |+file_in_path| feature}
6452 Comma separated list of suffixes, which are used when searching for a
6453 file for the "gf", "[I", etc. commands. Example: >
6454 :set suffixesadd=.java
6455 <
6456 *'swapfile'* *'swf'* *'noswapfile'* *'noswf'*
6457 'swapfile' 'swf' boolean (default on)
6458 local to buffer
6459 {not in Vi}
6460 Use a swapfile for the buffer. This option can be reset when a
6461 swapfile is not wanted for a specific buffer. For example, with
6462 confidential information that even root must not be able to access.
6463 Careful: All text will be in memory:
6464 - Don't use this for big files.
6465 - Recovery will be impossible!
6466 A swapfile will only be present when |'updatecount'| is non-zero and
6467 'swapfile' is set.
6468 When 'swapfile' is reset, the swap file for the current buffer is
6469 immediately deleted. When 'swapfile' is set, and 'updatecount' is
6470 non-zero, a swap file is immediately created.
6471 Also see |swap-file| and |'swapsync'|.
6473 This option is used together with 'bufhidden' and 'buftype' to
6474 specify special kinds of buffers. See |special-buffers|.
6476 *'swapsync'* *'sws'*
6477 'swapsync' 'sws' string (default "fsync")
6478 global
6479 {not in Vi}
6480 When this option is not empty a swap file is synced to disk after
6481 writing to it. This takes some time, especially on busy unix systems.
6482 When this option is empty parts of the swap file may be in memory and
6483 not written to disk. When the system crashes you may lose more work.
6484 On Unix the system does a sync now and then without Vim asking for it,
6485 so the disadvantage of setting this option off is small. On some
6486 systems the swap file will not be written at all. For a unix system
6487 setting it to "sync" will use the sync() call instead of the default
6488 fsync(), which may work better on some systems.
6489 The 'fsync' option is used for the actual file.
6491 *'switchbuf'* *'swb'*
6492 'switchbuf' 'swb' string (default "")
6493 global
6494 {not in Vi}
6495 This option controls the behavior when switching between buffers.
6496 Possible values (comma separated list):
6497 useopen If included, jump to the first open window that
6498 contains the specified buffer (if there is one).
6499 Otherwise: Do not examine other windows.
6500 This setting is checked with |quickfix| commands, when
6501 jumping to errors (":cc", ":cn", "cp", etc.). It is
6502 also used in all buffer related split commands, for
6503 example ":sbuffer", ":sbnext", or ":sbrewind".
6504 usetab Like "useopen", but also consider windows in other tab
6505 pages.
6506 split If included, split the current window before loading
6507 a buffer. Otherwise: do not split, use current window.
6508 Supported in |quickfix| commands that display errors.
6510 *'synmaxcol'* *'smc'*
6511 'synmaxcol' 'smc' number (default 3000)
6512 local to buffer
6513 {not in Vi}
6514 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6515 feature}
6516 Maximum column in which to search for syntax items. In long lines the
6517 text after this column is not highlighted and following lines may not
6518 be highlighted correctly, because the syntax state is cleared.
6519 This helps to avoid very slow redrawing for an XML file that is one
6520 long line.
6521 Set to zero to remove the limit.
6523 *'syntax'* *'syn'*
6524 'syntax' 'syn' string (default empty)
6525 local to buffer
6526 {not in Vi}
6527 {not available when compiled without the |+syntax|
6528 feature}
6529 When this option is set, the syntax with this name is loaded, unless
6530 syntax highlighting has been switched off with ":syntax off".
6531 Otherwise this option does not always reflect the current syntax (the
6532 b:current_syntax variable does).
6533 This option is most useful in a modeline, for a file which syntax is
6534 not automatically recognized. Example, in an IDL file:
6535 /* vim: set syntax=idl : */ ~
6536 When a dot appears in the value then this separates two filetype
6537 names. Example:
6538 /* vim: set syntax=c.doxygen : */ ~
6539 This will use the "c" syntax first, then the "doxygen" syntax.
6540 Note that the second one must be prepared to be loaded as an addition,
6541 otherwise it will be skipped. More than one dot may appear.
6542 To switch off syntax highlighting for the current file, use: >
6543 :set syntax=OFF
6544 < To switch syntax highlighting on according to the current value of the
6545 'filetype' option: >
6546 :set syntax=ON
6547 < What actually happens when setting the 'syntax' option is that the
6548 Syntax autocommand event is triggered with the value as argument.
6549 This option is not copied to another buffer, independent of the 's' or
6550 'S' flag in 'cpoptions'.
6551 Only normal file name characters can be used, "/\*?[|<>" are illegal.
6553 *'tabline'* *'tal'*
6554 'tabline' 'tal' string (default empty)
6555 global
6556 {not in Vi}
6557 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6558 feature}
6559 When nonempty, this option determines the content of the tab pages
6560 line at the top of the Vim window. When empty Vim will use a default
6561 tab pages line. See |setting-tabline| for more info.
6563 The tab pages line only appears as specified with the 'showtabline'
6564 option and only when there is no GUI tab line. When 'e' is in
6565 'guioptions' and the GUI supports a tab line 'guitablabel' is used
6566 instead.
6568 The value is evaluated like with 'statusline'. You can use
6569 |tabpagenr()|, |tabpagewinnr()| and |tabpagebuflist()| to figure out
6570 the text to be displayed. Use "%1T" for the first label, "%2T" for
6571 the second one, etc. Use "%X" items for closing labels.
6573 Keep in mind that only one of the tab pages is the current one, others
6574 are invisible and you can't jump to their windows.
6577 *'tabpagemax'* *'tpm'*
6578 'tabpagemax' 'tpm' number (default 10)
6579 global
6580 {not in Vi}
6581 {not available when compiled without the +windows
6582 feature}
6583 Maximum number of tab pages to be opened by the |-p| command line
6584 argument or the ":tab all" command. |tabpage|
6587 *'tabstop'* *'ts'*
6588 'tabstop' 'ts' number (default 8)
6589 local to buffer
6590 Number of spaces that a <Tab> in the file counts for. Also see
6591 |:retab| command, and 'softtabstop' option.
6593 Note: Setting 'tabstop' to any other value than 8 can make your file
6594 appear wrong in many places (e.g., when printing it).
6596 There are four main ways to use tabs in Vim:
6597 1. Always keep 'tabstop' at 8, set 'softtabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to 4
6598 (or 3 or whatever you prefer) and use 'noexpandtab'. Then Vim
6599 will use a mix of tabs and spaces, but typing <Tab> and <BS> will
6600 behave like a tab appears every 4 (or 3) characters.
6601 2. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use
6602 'expandtab'. This way you will always insert spaces. The
6603 formatting will never be messed up when 'tabstop' is changed.
6604 3. Set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to whatever you prefer and use a
6605 |modeline| to set these values when editing the file again. Only
6606 works when using Vim to edit the file.
6607 4. Always set 'tabstop' and 'shiftwidth' to the same value, and
6608 'noexpandtab'. This should then work (for initial indents only)
6609 for any tabstop setting that people use. It might be nice to have
6610 tabs after the first non-blank inserted as spaces if you do this
6611 though. Otherwise aligned comments will be wrong when 'tabstop' is
6612 changed.
6614 *'tagbsearch'* *'tbs'* *'notagbsearch'* *'notbs'*
6615 'tagbsearch' 'tbs' boolean (default on)
6616 global
6617 {not in Vi}
6618 When searching for a tag (e.g., for the |:ta| command), Vim can either
6619 use a binary search or a linear search in a tags file. Binary
6620 searching makes searching for a tag a LOT faster, but a linear search
6621 will find more tags if the tags file wasn't properly sorted.
6622 Vim normally assumes that your tags files are sorted, or indicate that
6623 they are not sorted. Only when this is not the case does the
6624 'tagbsearch' option need to be switched off.
6626 When 'tagbsearch' is on, binary searching is first used in the tags
6627 files. In certain situations, Vim will do a linear search instead for
6628 certain files, or retry all files with a linear search. When
6629 'tagbsearch' is off, only a linear search is done.
6631 Linear searching is done anyway, for one file, when Vim finds a line
6632 at the start of the file indicating that it's not sorted: >
6633 !_TAG_FILE_SORTED 0 /some comment/
6634 < [The whitespace before and after the '0' must be a single <Tab>]
6636 When a binary search was done and no match was found in any of the
6637 files listed in 'tags', and 'ignorecase' is set or a pattern is used
6638 instead of a normal tag name, a retry is done with a linear search.
6639 Tags in unsorted tags files, and matches with different case will only
6640 be found in the retry.
6642 If a tag file indicates that it is case-fold sorted, the second,
6643 linear search can be avoided for the 'ignorecase' case. Use a value
6644 of '2' in the "!_TAG_FILE_SORTED" line for this. A tag file can be
6645 case-fold sorted with the -f switch to "sort" in most unices, as in
6646 the command: "sort -f -o tags tags". For "Exuberant ctags" version
6647 5.3 or higher the -f or --fold-case-sort switch can be used for this
6648 as well. Note that case must be folded to uppercase for this to work.
6650 When 'tagbsearch' is off, tags searching is slower when a full match
6651 exists, but faster when no full match exists. Tags in unsorted tags
6652 files may only be found with 'tagbsearch' off.
6653 When the tags file is not sorted, or sorted in a wrong way (not on
6654 ASCII byte value), 'tagbsearch' should be off, or the line given above
6655 must be included in the tags file.
6656 This option doesn't affect commands that find all matching tags (e.g.,
6657 command-line completion and ":help").
6658 {Vi: always uses binary search in some versions}
6660 *'taglength'* *'tl'*
6661 'taglength' 'tl' number (default 0)
6662 global
6663 If non-zero, tags are significant up to this number of characters.
6665 *'tagrelative'* *'tr'* *'notagrelative'* *'notr'*
6666 'tagrelative' 'tr' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6667 global
6668 {not in Vi}
6669 If on and using a tags file in another directory, file names in that
6670 tags file are relative to the directory where the tags file is.
6671 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6672 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6674 *'tags'* *'tag'* *E433*
6675 'tags' 'tag' string (default "./tags,tags", when compiled with
6676 |+emacs_tags|: "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS")
6677 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6678 Filenames for the tag command, separated by spaces or commas. To
6679 include a space or comma in a file name, precede it with a backslash
6680 (see |option-backslash| about including spaces and backslashes).
6681 When a file name starts with "./", the '.' is replaced with the path
6682 of the current file. But only when the 'd' flag is not included in
6683 'cpoptions'. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|. Also see
6684 |tags-option|.
6685 "*", "**" and other wildcards can be used to search for tags files in
6686 a directory tree. See |file-searching|. {not available when compiled
6687 without the |+path_extra| feature}
6688 The |tagfiles()| function can be used to get a list of the file names
6689 actually used.
6690 If Vim was compiled with the |+emacs_tags| feature, Emacs-style tag
6691 files are also supported. They are automatically recognized. The
6692 default value becomes "./tags,./TAGS,tags,TAGS", unless case
6693 differences are ignored (MS-Windows). |emacs-tags|
6694 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6695 file names from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6696 uses another default.
6697 {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"}
6699 *'tagstack'* *'tgst'* *'notagstack'* *'notgst'*
6700 'tagstack' 'tgst' boolean (default on)
6701 global
6702 {not in all versions of Vi}
6703 When on, the |tagstack| is used normally. When off, a ":tag" or
6704 ":tselect" command with an argument will not push the tag onto the
6705 tagstack. A following ":tag" without an argument, a ":pop" command or
6706 any other command that uses the tagstack will use the unmodified
6707 tagstack, but does change the pointer to the active entry.
6708 Resetting this option is useful when using a ":tag" command in a
6709 mapping which should not change the tagstack.
6711 *'term'* *E529* *E530* *E531*
6712 'term' string (default is $TERM, if that fails:
6713 in the GUI: "builtin_gui"
6714 on Amiga: "amiga"
6715 on BeOS: "beos-ansi"
6716 on Mac: "mac-ansi"
6717 on MiNT: "vt52"
6718 on MS-DOS: "pcterm"
6719 on OS/2: "os2ansi"
6720 on Unix: "ansi"
6721 on VMS: "ansi"
6722 on Win 32: "win32")
6723 global
6724 Name of the terminal. Used for choosing the terminal control
6725 characters. Environment variables are expanded |:set_env|.
6726 For example: >
6727 :set term=$TERM
6728 < See |termcap|.
6730 *'termbidi'* *'tbidi'*
6731 *'notermbidi'* *'notbidi'*
6732 'termbidi' 'tbidi' boolean (default off, on for "mlterm")
6733 global
6734 {not in Vi}
6735 {only available when compiled with the |+arabic|
6736 feature}
6737 The terminal is in charge of Bi-directionality of text (as specified
6738 by Unicode). The terminal is also expected to do the required shaping
6739 that some languages (such as Arabic) require.
6740 Setting this option implies that 'rightleft' will not be set when
6741 'arabic' is set and the value of 'arabicshape' will be ignored.
6742 Note that setting 'termbidi' has the immediate effect that
6743 'arabicshape' is ignored, but 'rightleft' isn't changed automatically.
6744 This option is reset when the GUI is started.
6745 For further details see |arabic.txt|.
6747 *'termencoding'* *'tenc'*
6748 'termencoding' 'tenc' string (default ""; with GTK+ 2 GUI: "utf-8"; with
6749 Macintosh GUI: "macroman")
6750 global
6751 {only available when compiled with the |+multi_byte|
6752 feature}
6753 {not in Vi}
6754 Encoding used for the terminal. This specifies what character
6755 encoding the keyboard produces and the display will understand. For
6756 the GUI it only applies to the keyboard ('encoding' is used for the
6757 display). Except for the Mac when 'macatsui' is off, then
6758 'termencoding' should be "macroman".
6759 In the Win32 console version the default value is the console codepage
6760 when it differs from the ANSI codepage.
6761 *E617*
6762 Note: This does not apply to the GTK+ 2 GUI. After the GUI has been
6763 successfully initialized, 'termencoding' is forcibly set to "utf-8".
6764 Any attempts to set a different value will be rejected, and an error
6765 message is shown.
6766 For the Win32 GUI 'termencoding' is not used for typed characters,
6767 because the Win32 system always passes Unicode characters.
6768 When empty, the same encoding is used as for the 'encoding' option.
6769 This is the normal value.
6770 Not all combinations for 'termencoding' and 'encoding' are valid. See
6771 |encoding-table|.
6772 The value for this option must be supported by internal conversions or
6773 iconv(). When this is not possible no conversion will be done and you
6774 will probably experience problems with non-ASCII characters.
6775 Example: You are working with the locale set to euc-jp (Japanese) and
6776 want to edit a UTF-8 file: >
6777 :let &termencoding = &encoding
6778 :set encoding=utf-8
6779 < You need to do this when your system has no locale support for UTF-8.
6781 *'terse'* *'noterse'*
6782 'terse' boolean (default off)
6783 global
6784 When set: Add 's' flag to 'shortmess' option (this makes the message
6785 for a search that hits the start or end of the file not being
6786 displayed). When reset: Remove 's' flag from 'shortmess' option. {Vi
6787 shortens a lot of messages}
6789 *'textauto'* *'ta'* *'notextauto'* *'nota'*
6790 'textauto' 'ta' boolean (Vim default: on, Vi default: off)
6791 global
6792 {not in Vi}
6793 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformats'.
6794 For backwards compatibility, when 'textauto' is set, 'fileformats' is
6795 set to the default value for the current system. When 'textauto' is
6796 reset, 'fileformats' is made empty.
6797 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
6798 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
6800 *'textmode'* *'tx'* *'notextmode'* *'notx'*
6801 'textmode' 'tx' boolean (MS-DOS, Win32 and OS/2: default on,
6802 others: default off)
6803 local to buffer
6804 {not in Vi}
6805 This option is obsolete. Use 'fileformat'.
6806 For backwards compatibility, when 'textmode' is set, 'fileformat' is
6807 set to "dos". When 'textmode' is reset, 'fileformat' is set to
6808 "unix".
6810 *'textwidth'* *'tw'*
6811 'textwidth' 'tw' number (default 0)
6812 local to buffer
6813 {not in Vi}
6814 Maximum width of text that is being inserted. A longer line will be
6815 broken after white space to get this width. A zero value disables
6816 this. 'textwidth' is set to 0 when the 'paste' option is set. When
6817 'textwidth' is zero, 'wrapmargin' may be used. See also
6818 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|.
6819 When 'formatexpr' is set it will be used to break the line.
6820 NOTE: This option is set to 0 when 'compatible' is set.
6822 *'thesaurus'* *'tsr'*
6823 'thesaurus' 'tsr' string (default "")
6824 global or local to buffer |global-local|
6825 {not in Vi}
6826 List of file names, separated by commas, that are used to lookup words
6827 for thesaurus completion commands |i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T|. Each line in
6828 the file should contain words with similar meaning, separated by
6829 non-keyword characters (white space is preferred). Maximum line
6830 length is 510 bytes.
6831 To obtain a file to be used here, check out the wordlist FAQ at
6832 http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk .
6833 To include a comma in a file name precede it with a backslash. Spaces
6834 after a comma are ignored, otherwise spaces are included in the file
6835 name. See |option-backslash| about using backslashes.
6836 The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
6837 directories from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
6838 uses another default.
6839 Backticks cannot be used in this option for security reasons.
6841 *'tildeop'* *'top'* *'notildeop'* *'notop'*
6842 'tildeop' 'top' boolean (default off)
6843 global
6844 {not in Vi}
6845 When on: The tilde command "~" behaves like an operator.
6846 NOTE: This option is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6848 *'timeout'* *'to'* *'notimeout'* *'noto'*
6849 'timeout' 'to' boolean (default on)
6850 global
6851 *'ttimeout'* *'nottimeout'*
6852 'ttimeout' boolean (default off)
6853 global
6854 {not in Vi}
6855 These two options together determine the behavior when part of a
6856 mapped key sequence or keyboard code has been received:
6858 'timeout' 'ttimeout' action ~
6859 off off do not time out
6860 on on or off time out on :mappings and key codes
6861 off on time out on key codes
6863 If both options are off, Vim will wait until either the complete
6864 mapping or key sequence has been received, or it is clear that there
6865 is no mapping or key sequence for the received characters. For
6866 example: if you have mapped "vl" and Vim has received 'v', the next
6867 character is needed to see if the 'v' is followed by an 'l'.
6868 When one of the options is on, Vim will wait for about 1 second for
6869 the next character to arrive. After that the already received
6870 characters are interpreted as single characters. The waiting time can
6871 be changed with the 'timeoutlen' option.
6872 On slow terminals or very busy systems timing out may cause
6873 malfunctioning cursor keys. If both options are off, Vim waits
6874 forever after an entered <Esc> if there are key codes that start
6875 with <Esc>. You will have to type <Esc> twice. If you do not have
6876 problems with key codes, but would like to have :mapped key
6877 sequences not timing out in 1 second, set the 'ttimeout' option and
6878 reset the 'timeout' option.
6880 NOTE: 'ttimeout' is reset when 'compatible' is set.
6882 *'timeoutlen'* *'tm'*
6883 'timeoutlen' 'tm' number (default 1000)
6884 global
6885 {not in all versions of Vi}
6886 *'ttimeoutlen'* *'ttm'*
6887 'ttimeoutlen' 'ttm' number (default -1)
6888 global
6889 {not in Vi}
6890 The time in milliseconds that is waited for a key code or mapped key
6891 sequence to complete. Also used for CTRL-\ CTRL-N and CTRL-\ CTRL-G
6892 when part of a command has been typed.
6893 Normally only 'timeoutlen' is used and 'ttimeoutlen' is -1. When a
6894 different timeout value for key codes is desired set 'ttimeoutlen' to
6895 a non-negative number.
6897 ttimeoutlen mapping delay key code delay ~
6898 < 0 'timeoutlen' 'timeoutlen'
6899 >= 0 'timeoutlen' 'ttimeoutlen'
6901 The timeout only happens when the 'timeout' and 'ttimeout' options
6902 tell so. A useful setting would be >
6903 :set timeout timeoutlen=3000 ttimeoutlen=100
6904 < (time out on mapping after three seconds, time out on key codes after
6905 a tenth of a second).
6907 *'title'* *'notitle'*
6908 'title' boolean (default off, on when title can be restored)
6909 global
6910 {not in Vi}
6911 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
6912 feature}
6913 When on, the title of the window will be set to the value of
6914 'titlestring' (if it is not empty), or to:
6915 filename [+=-] (path) - VIM
6916 Where:
6917 filename the name of the file being edited
6918 - indicates the file cannot be modified, 'ma' off
6919 + indicates the file was modified
6920 = indicates the file is read-only
6921 =+ indicates the file is read-only and modified
6922 (path) is the path of the file being edited
6923 - VIM the server name |v:servername| or "VIM"
6924 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles
6925 (currently Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and
6926 terminals with a non- empty 't_ts' option - these are Unix xterm and
6927 iris-ansi by default, where 't_ts' is taken from the builtin termcap).
6928 *X11*
6929 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
6930 be restored if possible. The output of ":version" will include "+X11"
6931 when HAVE_X11 was defined, otherwise it will be "-X11". This also
6932 works for the icon name |'icon'|.
6933 But: When Vim was started with the |-X| argument, restoring the title
6934 will not work (except in the GUI).
6935 If the title cannot be restored, it is set to the value of 'titleold'.
6936 You might want to restore the title outside of Vim then.
6937 When using an xterm from a remote machine you can use this command:
6938 rsh machine_name xterm -display $DISPLAY &
6939 then the WINDOWID environment variable should be inherited and the
6940 title of the window should change back to what it should be after
6941 exiting Vim.
6943 *'titlelen'*
6944 'titlelen' number (default 85)
6945 global
6946 {not in Vi}
6947 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
6948 feature}
6949 Gives the percentage of 'columns' to use for the length of the window
6950 title. When the title is longer, only the end of the path name is
6951 shown. A '<' character before the path name is used to indicate this.
6952 Using a percentage makes this adapt to the width of the window. But
6953 it won't work perfectly, because the actual number of characters
6954 available also depends on the font used and other things in the title
6955 bar. When 'titlelen' is zero the full path is used. Otherwise,
6956 values from 1 to 30000 percent can be used.
6957 'titlelen' is also used for the 'titlestring' option.
6959 *'titleold'*
6960 'titleold' string (default "Thanks for flying Vim")
6961 global
6962 {not in Vi}
6963 {only available when compiled with the |+title|
6964 feature}
6965 This option will be used for the window title when exiting Vim if the
6966 original title cannot be restored. Only happens if 'title' is on or
6967 'titlestring' is not empty.
6968 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
6969 security reasons.
6970 *'titlestring'*
6971 'titlestring' string (default "")
6972 global
6973 {not in Vi}
6974 {not available when compiled without the |+title|
6975 feature}
6976 When this option is not empty, it will be used for the title of the
6977 window. This happens only when the 'title' option is on.
6978 Only works if the terminal supports setting window titles (currently
6979 Amiga console, Win32 console, all GUI versions and terminals with a
6980 non-empty 't_ts' option).
6981 When Vim was compiled with HAVE_X11 defined, the original title will
6982 be restored if possible |X11|.
6983 When this option contains printf-style '%' items, they will be
6984 expanded according to the rules used for 'statusline'.
6985 Example: >
6986 :auto BufEnter * let &titlestring = hostname() . "/" . expand("%:p")
6987 :set title titlestring=%<%F%=%l/%L-%P titlelen=70
6988 < The value of 'titlelen' is used to align items in the middle or right
6989 of the available space.
6990 Some people prefer to have the file name first: >
6991 :set titlestring=%t%(\ %M%)%(\ (%{expand(\"%:~:.:h\")})%)%(\ %a%)
6992 < Note the use of "%{ }" and an expression to get the path of the file,
6993 without the file name. The "%( %)" constructs are used to add a
6994 separating space only when needed.
6995 NOTE: Use of special characters in 'titlestring' may cause the display
6996 to be garbled (e.g., when it contains a CR or NL character).
6997 {not available when compiled without the |+statusline| feature}
6999 *'toolbar'* *'tb'*
7000 'toolbar' 'tb' string (default "icons,tooltips")
7001 global
7002 {only for |+GUI_GTK|, |+GUI_Athena|, |+GUI_Motif| and
7003 |+GUI_Photon|}
7004 The contents of this option controls various toolbar settings. The
7005 possible values are:
7006 icons Toolbar buttons are shown with icons.
7007 text Toolbar buttons shown with text.
7008 horiz Icon and text of a toolbar button are
7009 horizontally arranged. {only in GTK+ 2 GUI}
7010 tooltips Tooltips are active for toolbar buttons.
7011 Tooltips refer to the popup help text which appears after the mouse
7012 cursor is placed over a toolbar button for a brief moment.
7014 If you want the toolbar to be shown with icons as well as text, do the
7015 following: >
7016 :set tb=icons,text
7017 < Motif and Athena cannot display icons and text at the same time. They
7018 will show icons if both are requested.
7020 If none of the strings specified in 'toolbar' are valid or if
7021 'toolbar' is empty, this option is ignored. If you want to disable
7022 the toolbar, you need to set the 'guioptions' option. For example: >
7023 :set guioptions-=T
7024 < Also see |gui-toolbar|.
7026 *'toolbariconsize'* *'tbis'*
7027 'toolbariconsize' 'tbis' string (default "small")
7028 global
7029 {not in Vi}
7030 {only in the GTK+ 2 GUI}
7031 Controls the size of toolbar icons. The possible values are:
7032 tiny Use tiny toolbar icons.
7033 small Use small toolbar icons (default).
7034 medium Use medium-sized toolbar icons.
7035 large Use large toolbar icons.
7036 The exact dimensions in pixels of the various icon sizes depend on
7037 the current theme. Common dimensions are large=32x32, medium=24x24,
7038 small=20x20 and tiny=16x16.
7040 If 'toolbariconsize' is empty, the global default size as determined
7041 by user preferences or the current theme is used.
7043 *'ttybuiltin'* *'tbi'* *'nottybuiltin'* *'notbi'*
7044 'ttybuiltin' 'tbi' boolean (default on)
7045 global
7046 {not in Vi}
7047 When on, the builtin termcaps are searched before the external ones.
7048 When off the builtin termcaps are searched after the external ones.
7049 When this option is changed, you should set the 'term' option next for
7050 the change to take effect, for example: >
7051 :set notbi term=$TERM
7052 < See also |termcap|.
7053 Rationale: The default for this option is "on", because the builtin
7054 termcap entries are generally better (many systems contain faulty
7055 xterm entries...).
7057 *'ttyfast'* *'tf'* *'nottyfast'* *'notf'*
7058 'ttyfast' 'tf' boolean (default off, on when 'term' is xterm, hpterm,
7059 sun-cmd, screen, rxvt, dtterm or
7060 iris-ansi; also on when running Vim in
7061 a DOS console)
7062 global
7063 {not in Vi}
7064 Indicates a fast terminal connection. More characters will be sent to
7065 the screen for redrawing, instead of using insert/delete line
7066 commands. Improves smoothness of redrawing when there are multiple
7067 windows and the terminal does not support a scrolling region.
7068 Also enables the extra writing of characters at the end of each screen
7069 line for lines that wrap. This helps when using copy/paste with the
7070 mouse in an xterm and other terminals.
7072 *'ttymouse'* *'ttym'*
7073 'ttymouse' 'ttym' string (default depends on 'term')
7074 global
7075 {not in Vi}
7076 {only in Unix and VMS, doesn't work in the GUI; not
7077 available when compiled without |+mouse|}
7078 Name of the terminal type for which mouse codes are to be recognized.
7079 Currently these strings are valid:
7080 *xterm-mouse*
7081 xterm xterm-like mouse handling. The mouse generates
7082 "<Esc>[Mscr", where "scr" is three bytes:
7083 "s" = button state
7084 "c" = column plus 33
7085 "r" = row plus 33
7086 This only works up to 223 columns! See "dec" for a
7087 solution.
7088 xterm2 Works like "xterm", but with the xterm reporting the
7089 mouse position while the mouse is dragged. This works
7090 much faster and more precise. Your xterm must at
7091 least at patchlevel 88 / XFree 3.3.3 for this to
7092 work. See below for how Vim detects this
7093 automatically.
7094 *netterm-mouse*
7095 netterm NetTerm mouse handling. The mouse generates
7096 "<Esc>}r,c<CR>", where "r,c" are two decimal numbers
7097 for the row and column.
7098 *dec-mouse*
7099 dec DEC terminal mouse handling. The mouse generates a
7100 rather complex sequence, starting with "<Esc>[".
7101 This is also available for an Xterm, if it was
7102 configured with "--enable-dec-locator".
7103 *jsbterm-mouse*
7104 jsbterm JSB term mouse handling.
7105 *pterm-mouse*
7106 pterm QNX pterm mouse handling.
7108 The mouse handling must be enabled at compile time |+mouse_xterm|
7109 |+mouse_dec| |+mouse_netterm|.
7110 Only "xterm"(2) is really recognized. NetTerm mouse codes are always
7111 recognized, if enabled at compile time. DEC terminal mouse codes
7112 are recognized if enabled at compile time, and 'ttymouse' is not
7113 "xterm" (because the xterm and dec mouse codes conflict).
7114 This option is automatically set to "xterm", when the 'term' option is
7115 set to a name that starts with "xterm", and 'ttymouse' is not "xterm"
7116 or "xterm2" already. The main use of this option is to set it to
7117 "xterm", when the terminal name doesn't start with "xterm", but it can
7118 handle xterm mouse codes.
7119 The "xterm2" value will be set if the xterm version is reported to be
7120 95 of higher. This only works when compiled with the |+termresponse|
7121 feature and if |t_RV| is set to the escape sequence to request the
7122 xterm version number. Otherwise "xterm2" must be set explicitly.
7123 If you do not want 'ttymouse' to be set to "xterm2" automatically, set
7124 t_RV to an empty string: >
7125 :set t_RV=
7126 <
7127 *'ttyscroll'* *'tsl'*
7128 'ttyscroll' 'tsl' number (default 999)
7129 global
7130 Maximum number of lines to scroll the screen. If there are more lines
7131 to scroll the window is redrawn. For terminals where scrolling is
7132 very slow and redrawing is not slow this can be set to a small number,
7133 e.g., 3, to speed up displaying.
7135 *'ttytype'* *'tty'*
7136 'ttytype' 'tty' string (default from $TERM)
7137 global
7138 Alias for 'term', see above.
7140 *'undolevels'* *'ul'*
7141 'undolevels' 'ul' number (default 100, 1000 for Unix, VMS,
7142 Win32 and OS/2)
7143 global
7144 {not in Vi}
7145 Maximum number of changes that can be undone. Since undo information
7146 is kept in memory, higher numbers will cause more memory to be used
7147 (nevertheless, a single change can use an unlimited amount of memory).
7148 Set to 0 for Vi compatibility: One level of undo and "u" undoes
7149 itself: >
7150 set ul=0
7151 < But you can also get Vi compatibility by including the 'u' flag in
7152 'cpoptions', and still be able to use CTRL-R to repeat undo.
7153 Set to a negative number for no undo at all: >
7154 set ul=-1
7155 < This helps when you run out of memory for a single change.
7156 Also see |undo-two-ways|.
7158 *'updatecount'* *'uc'*
7159 'updatecount' 'uc' number (default: 200)
7160 global
7161 {not in Vi}
7162 After typing this many characters the swap file will be written to
7163 disk. When zero, no swap file will be created at all (see chapter on
7164 recovery |crash-recovery|). 'updatecount' is set to zero by starting
7165 Vim with the "-n" option, see |startup|. When editing in readonly
7166 mode this option will be initialized to 10000.
7167 The swapfile can be disabled per buffer with |'swapfile'|.
7168 When 'updatecount' is set from zero to non-zero, swap files are
7169 created for all buffers that have 'swapfile' set. When 'updatecount'
7170 is set to zero, existing swap files are not deleted.
7171 Also see |'swapsync'|.
7172 This option has no meaning in buffers where |'buftype'| is "nofile"
7173 or "nowrite".
7175 *'updatetime'* *'ut'*
7176 'updatetime' 'ut' number (default 4000)
7177 global
7178 {not in Vi}
7179 If this many milliseconds nothing is typed the swap file will be
7180 written to disk (see |crash-recovery|). Also used for the
7181 |CursorHold| autocommand event.
7183 *'verbose'* *'vbs'*
7184 'verbose' 'vbs' number (default 0)
7185 global
7186 {not in Vi, although some versions have a boolean
7187 verbose option}
7188 When bigger than zero, Vim will give messages about what it is doing.
7189 Currently, these messages are given:
7190 >= 1 When the viminfo file is read or written.
7191 >= 2 When a file is ":source"'ed.
7192 >= 5 Every searched tags file and include file.
7193 >= 8 Files for which a group of autocommands is executed.
7194 >= 9 Every executed autocommand.
7195 >= 12 Every executed function.
7196 >= 13 When an exception is thrown, caught, finished, or discarded.
7197 >= 14 Anything pending in a ":finally" clause.
7198 >= 15 Every executed Ex command (truncated at 200 characters).
7200 This option can also be set with the "-V" argument. See |-V|.
7201 This option is also set by the |:verbose| command.
7203 When the 'verbosefile' option is set then the verbose messages are not
7204 displayed.
7206 *'verbosefile'* *'vfile'*
7207 'verbosefile' 'vfile' string (default empty)
7208 global
7209 {not in Vi}
7210 When not empty all messages are written in a file with this name.
7211 When the file exists messages are appended.
7212 Writing to the file ends when Vim exits or when 'verbosefile' is made
7213 empty.
7214 Setting 'verbosefile' to a new value is like making it empty first.
7215 The difference with |:redir| is that verbose messages are not
7216 displayed when 'verbosefile' is set.
7218 *'viewdir'* *'vdir'*
7219 'viewdir' 'vdir' string (default for Amiga, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Win32:
7220 "$VIM/vimfiles/view",
7221 for Unix: "~/.vim/view",
7222 for Macintosh: "$VIM:vimfiles:view"
7223 for VMS: "sys$login:vimfiles/view"
7224 for RiscOS: "Choices:vimfiles/view")
7225 global
7226 {not in Vi}
7227 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7228 feature}
7229 Name of the directory where to store files for |:mkview|.
7230 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7231 security reasons.
7233 *'viewoptions'* *'vop'*
7234 'viewoptions' 'vop' string (default: "folds,options,cursor")
7235 global
7236 {not in Vi}
7237 {not available when compiled without the +mksession
7238 feature}
7239 Changes the effect of the |:mkview| command. It is a comma separated
7240 list of words. Each word enables saving and restoring something:
7241 word save and restore ~
7242 cursor cursor position in file and in window
7243 folds manually created folds, opened/closed folds and local
7244 fold options
7245 options options and mappings local to a window or buffer (not
7246 global values for local options)
7247 slash backslashes in file names replaced with forward
7248 slashes
7249 unix with Unix end-of-line format (single <NL>), even when
7250 on Windows or DOS
7252 "slash" and "unix" are useful on Windows when sharing view files
7253 with Unix. The Unix version of Vim cannot source dos format scripts,
7254 but the Windows version of Vim can source unix format scripts.
7256 *'viminfo'* *'vi'* *E526* *E527* *E528*
7257 'viminfo' 'vi' string (Vi default: "", Vim default for MS-DOS,
7258 Windows and OS/2: '20,<50,s10,h,rA:,rB:,
7259 for Amiga: '20,<50,s10,h,rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:
7260 for others: '20,<50,s10,h)
7261 global
7262 {not in Vi}
7263 {not available when compiled without the |+viminfo|
7264 feature}
7265 When non-empty, the viminfo file is read upon startup and written
7266 when exiting Vim (see |viminfo-file|). The string should be a comma
7267 separated list of parameters, each consisting of a single character
7268 identifying the particular parameter, followed by a number or string
7269 which specifies the value of that parameter. If a particular
7270 character is left out, then the default value is used for that
7271 parameter. The following is a list of the identifying characters and
7272 the effect of their value.
7273 CHAR VALUE ~
7274 ! When included, save and restore global variables that start
7275 with an uppercase letter, and don't contain a lowercase
7276 letter. Thus "KEEPTHIS and "K_L_M" are stored, but "KeepThis"
7277 and "_K_L_M" are not. Only String and Number types are
7278 stored.
7279 " Maximum number of lines saved for each register. Old name of
7280 the '<' item, with the disadvantage that you need to put a
7281 backslash before the ", otherwise it will be recognized as the
7282 start of a comment!
7283 % When included, save and restore the buffer list. If Vim is
7284 started with a file name argument, the buffer list is not
7285 restored. If Vim is started without a file name argument, the
7286 buffer list is restored from the viminfo file. Buffers
7287 without a file name and buffers for help files are not written
7288 to the viminfo file.
7289 When followed by a number, the number specifies the maximum
7290 number of buffers that are stored. Without a number all
7291 buffers are stored.
7292 ' Maximum number of previously edited files for which the marks
7293 are remembered. This parameter must always be included when
7294 'viminfo' is non-empty.
7295 Including this item also means that the |jumplist| and the
7296 |changelist| are stored in the viminfo file.
7297 / Maximum number of items in the search pattern history to be
7298 saved. If non-zero, then the previous search and substitute
7299 patterns are also saved. When not included, the value of
7300 'history' is used.
7301 : Maximum number of items in the command-line history to be
7302 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7303 < Maximum number of lines saved for each register. If zero then
7304 registers are not saved. When not included, all lines are
7305 saved. '"' is the old name for this item.
7306 Also see the 's' item below: limit specified in Kbyte.
7307 @ Maximum number of items in the input-line history to be
7308 saved. When not included, the value of 'history' is used.
7309 c When included, convert the text in the viminfo file from the
7310 'encoding' used when writing the file to the current
7311 'encoding'. See |viminfo-encoding|.
7312 f Whether file marks need to be stored. If zero, file marks ('0
7313 to '9, 'A to 'Z) are not stored. When not present or when
7314 non-zero, they are all stored. '0 is used for the current
7315 cursor position (when exiting or when doing ":wviminfo").
7316 h Disable the effect of 'hlsearch' when loading the viminfo
7317 file. When not included, it depends on whether ":nohlsearch"
7318 has been used since the last search command.
7319 n Name of the viminfo file. The name must immediately follow
7320 the 'n'. Must be the last one! If the "-i" argument was
7321 given when starting Vim, that file name overrides the one
7322 given here with 'viminfo'. Environment variables are expanded
7323 when opening the file, not when setting the option.
7324 r Removable media. The argument is a string (up to the next
7325 ','). This parameter can be given several times. Each
7326 specifies the start of a path for which no marks will be
7327 stored. This is to avoid removable media. For MS-DOS you
7328 could use "ra:,rb:", for Amiga "rdf0:,rdf1:,rdf2:". You can
7329 also use it for temp files, e.g., for Unix: "r/tmp". Case is
7330 ignored. Maximum length of each 'r' argument is 50
7331 characters.
7332 s Maximum size of an item in Kbyte. If zero then registers are
7333 not saved. Currently only applies to registers. The default
7334 "s10" will exclude registers with more than 10 Kbyte of text.
7335 Also see the '<' item above: line count limit.
7337 Example: >
7338 :set viminfo='50,<1000,s100,:0,n~/vim/viminfo
7339 <
7340 '50 Marks will be remembered for the last 50 files you
7341 edited.
7342 <1000 Contents of registers (up to 1000 lines each) will be
7343 remembered.
7344 s100 Registers with more than 100 Kbyte text are skipped.
7345 :0 Command-line history will not be saved.
7346 n~/vim/viminfo The name of the file to use is "~/vim/viminfo".
7347 no / Since '/' is not specified, the default will be used,
7348 that is, save all of the search history, and also the
7349 previous search and substitute patterns.
7350 no % The buffer list will not be saved nor read back.
7351 no h 'hlsearch' highlighting will be restored.
7353 When setting 'viminfo' from an empty value you can use |:rviminfo| to
7354 load the contents of the file, this is not done automatically.
7356 This option cannot be set from a |modeline| or in the |sandbox|, for
7357 security reasons.
7359 *'virtualedit'* *'ve'*
7360 'virtualedit' 've' string (default "")
7361 global
7362 {not in Vi}
7363 {not available when compiled without the
7364 |+virtualedit| feature}
7365 A comma separated list of these words:
7366 block Allow virtual editing in Visual block mode.
7367 insert Allow virtual editing in Insert mode.
7368 all Allow virtual editing in all modes.
7369 onemore Allow the cursor to move just past the end of the line
7371 Virtual editing means that the cursor can be positioned where there is
7372 no actual character. This can be halfway into a tab or beyond the end
7373 of the line. Useful for selecting a rectangle in Visual mode and
7374 editing a table.
7375 "onemore" is not the same, it will only allow moving the cursor just
7376 after the last character of the line. This makes some commands more
7377 consistent. Previously the cursor was always past the end of the line
7378 if the line was empty. But it is far from Vi compatible. It may also
7379 break some plugins or Vim scripts. For example because |l| can move
7380 the cursor after the last character. Use with care!
7381 Using the |$| command will move to the last character in the line, not
7382 past it. This may actually move the cursor to the left!
7383 It doesn't make sense to combine "all" with "onemore", but you will
7384 not get a warning for it.
7386 *'visualbell'* *'vb'* *'novisualbell'* *'novb'* *beep*
7387 'visualbell' 'vb' boolean (default off)
7388 global
7389 {not in Vi}
7390 Use visual bell instead of beeping. The terminal code to display the
7391 visual bell is given with 't_vb'. When no beep or flash is wanted,
7392 use ":set vb t_vb=".
7393 Note: When the GUI starts, 't_vb' is reset to its default value. You
7394 might want to set it again in your |gvimrc|.
7395 In the GUI, 't_vb' defaults to "<Esc>|f", which inverts the display
7396 for 20 msec. If you want to use a different time, use "<Esc>|40f",
7397 where 40 is the time in msec.
7398 Does not work on the Amiga, you always get a screen flash.
7399 Also see 'errorbells'.
7401 *'warn'* *'nowarn'*
7402 'warn' boolean (default on)
7403 global
7404 Give a warning message when a shell command is used while the buffer
7405 has been changed.
7407 *'weirdinvert'* *'wiv'* *'noweirdinvert'* *'nowiv'*
7408 'weirdinvert' 'wiv' boolean (default off)
7409 global
7410 {not in Vi}
7411 This option has the same effect as the 't_xs' terminal option.
7412 It is provided for backwards compatibility with version 4.x.
7413 Setting 'weirdinvert' has the effect of making 't_xs' non-empty, and
7414 vice versa. Has no effect when the GUI is running.
7416 *'whichwrap'* *'ww'*
7417 'whichwrap' 'ww' string (Vim default: "b,s", Vi default: "")
7418 global
7419 {not in Vi}
7420 Allow specified keys that move the cursor left/right to move to the
7421 previous/next line when the cursor is on the first/last character in
7422 the line. Concatenate characters to allow this for these keys:
7423 char key mode ~
7424 b <BS> Normal and Visual
7425 s <Space> Normal and Visual
7426 h "h" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7427 l "l" Normal and Visual (not recommended)
7428 < <Left> Normal and Visual
7429 > <Right> Normal and Visual
7430 ~ "~" Normal
7431 [ <Left> Insert and Replace
7432 ] <Right> Insert and Replace
7433 For example: >
7434 :set ww=<,>,[,]
7435 < allows wrap only when cursor keys are used.
7436 When the movement keys are used in combination with a delete or change
7437 operator, the <EOL> also counts for a character. This makes "3h"
7438 different from "3dh" when the cursor crosses the end of a line. This
7439 is also true for "x" and "X", because they do the same as "dl" and
7440 "dh". If you use this, you may also want to use the mapping
7441 ":map <BS> X" to make backspace delete the character in front of the
7442 cursor.
7443 When 'l' is included and it is used after an operator at the end of a
7444 line then it will not move to the next line. This makes "dl", "cl",
7445 "yl" etc. work normally.
7446 NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7447 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7449 *'wildchar'* *'wc'*
7450 'wildchar' 'wc' number (Vim default: <Tab>, Vi default: CTRL-E)
7451 global
7452 {not in Vi}
7453 Character you have to type to start wildcard expansion in the
7454 command-line, as specified with 'wildmode'.
7455 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7456 The character is not recognized when used inside a macro. See
7457 'wildcharm' for that.
7458 Although 'wc' is a number option, you can set it to a special key: >
7459 :set wc=<Esc>
7460 < NOTE: This option is set to the Vi default value when 'compatible' is
7461 set and to the Vim default value when 'compatible' is reset.
7463 *'wildcharm'* *'wcm'*
7464 'wildcharm' 'wcm' number (default: none (0))
7465 global
7466 {not in Vi}
7467 'wildcharm' works exactly like 'wildchar', except that it is
7468 recognized when used inside a macro. You can find "spare" command-line
7469 keys suitable for this option by looking at |ex-edit-index|. Normally
7470 you'll never actually type 'wildcharm', just use it in mappings that
7471 automatically invoke completion mode, e.g.: >
7472 :set wcm=<C-Z>
7473 :cnoremap ss so $vim/sessions/*.vim<C-Z>
7474 < Then after typing :ss you can use CTRL-P & CTRL-N.
7476 *'wildignore'* *'wig'*
7477 'wildignore' 'wig' string (default "")
7478 global
7479 {not in Vi}
7480 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7481 feature}
7482 A list of file patterns. A file that matches with one of these
7483 patterns is ignored when completing file or directory names.
7484 The pattern is used like with |:autocmd|, see |autocmd-patterns|.
7485 Also see 'suffixes'.
7486 Example: >
7487 :set wildignore=*.o,*.obj
7488 < The use of |:set+=| and |:set-=| is preferred when adding or removing
7489 a pattern from the list. This avoids problems when a future version
7490 uses another default.
7492 *'wildmenu'* *'wmnu'* *'nowildmenu'* *'nowmnu'*
7493 'wildmenu' 'wmnu' boolean (default off)
7494 global
7495 {not in Vi}
7496 {not available if compiled without the |+wildmenu|
7497 feature}
7498 When 'wildmenu' is on, command-line completion operates in an enhanced
7499 mode. On pressing 'wildchar' (usually <Tab>) to invoke completion,
7500 the possible matches are shown just above the command line, with the
7501 first match highlighted (overwriting the status line, if there is
7502 one). Keys that show the previous/next match, such as <Tab> or
7503 CTRL-P/CTRL-N, cause the highlight to move to the appropriate match.
7504 When 'wildmode' is used, "wildmenu" mode is used where "full" is
7505 specified. "longest" and "list" do not start "wildmenu" mode.
7506 If there are more matches than can fit in the line, a ">" is shown on
7507 the right and/or a "<" is shown on the left. The status line scrolls
7508 as needed.
7509 The "wildmenu" mode is abandoned when a key is hit that is not used
7510 for selecting a completion.
7511 While the "wildmenu" is active the following keys have special
7512 meanings:
7514 <Left> <Right> - select previous/next match (like CTRL-P/CTRL-N)
7515 <Down> - in filename/menu name completion: move into a
7516 subdirectory or submenu.
7517 <CR> - in menu completion, when the cursor is just after a
7518 dot: move into a submenu.
7519 <Up> - in filename/menu name completion: move up into
7520 parent directory or parent menu.
7522 This makes the menus accessible from the console |console-menus|.
7524 If you prefer the <Left> and <Right> keys to move the cursor instead
7525 of selecting a different match, use this: >
7526 :cnoremap <Left> <Space><BS><Left>
7527 :cnoremap <Right> <Space><BS><Right>
7528 <
7529 The "WildMenu" highlighting is used for displaying the current match
7530 |hl-WildMenu|.
7532 *'wildmode'* *'wim'*
7533 'wildmode' 'wim' string (Vim default: "full")
7534 global
7535 {not in Vi}
7536 Completion mode that is used for the character specified with
7537 'wildchar'. It is a comma separated list of up to four parts. Each
7538 part specifies what to do for each consecutive use of 'wildchar'. The
7539 first part specifies the behavior for the first use of 'wildchar',
7540 The second part for the second use, etc.
7541 These are the possible values for each part:
7542 "" Complete only the first match.
7543 "full" Complete the next full match. After the last match,
7544 the original string is used and then the first match
7545 again.
7546 "longest" Complete till longest common string. If this doesn't
7547 result in a longer string, use the next part.
7548 "longest:full" Like "longest", but also start 'wildmenu' if it is
7549 enabled.
7550 "list" When more than one match, list all matches.
7551 "list:full" When more than one match, list all matches and
7552 complete first match.
7553 "list:longest" When more than one match, list all matches and
7554 complete till longest common string.
7555 When there is only a single match, it is fully completed in all cases.
7557 Examples: >
7558 :set wildmode=full
7559 < Complete first full match, next match, etc. (the default) >
7560 :set wildmode=longest,full
7561 < Complete longest common string, then each full match >
7562 :set wildmode=list:full
7563 < List all matches and complete each full match >
7564 :set wildmode=list,full
7565 < List all matches without completing, then each full match >
7566 :set wildmode=longest,list
7567 < Complete longest common string, then list alternatives.
7568 More info here: |cmdline-completion|.
7570 *'wildoptions'* *'wop'*
7571 'wildoptions' 'wop' string (default "")
7572 global
7573 {not in Vi}
7574 {not available when compiled without the |+wildignore|
7575 feature}
7576 A list of words that change how command line completion is done.
7577 Currently only one word is allowed:
7578 tagfile When using CTRL-D to list matching tags, the kind of
7579 tag and the file of the tag is listed. Only one match
7580 is displayed per line. Often used tag kinds are:
7581 d #define
7582 f function
7583 Also see |cmdline-completion|.
7585 *'winaltkeys'* *'wak'*
7586 'winaltkeys' 'wak' string (default "menu")
7587 global
7588 {not in Vi}
7589 {only used in Win32, Motif, GTK and Photon GUI}
7590 Some GUI versions allow the access to menu entries by using the ALT
7591 key in combination with a character that appears underlined in the
7592 menu. This conflicts with the use of the ALT key for mappings and
7593 entering special characters. This option tells what to do:
7594 no Don't use ALT keys for menus. ALT key combinations can be
7595 mapped, but there is no automatic handling. This can then be
7596 done with the |:simalt| command.
7597 yes ALT key handling is done by the windowing system. ALT key
7598 combinations cannot be mapped.
7599 menu Using ALT in combination with a character that is a menu
7600 shortcut key, will be handled by the windowing system. Other
7601 keys can be mapped.
7602 If the menu is disabled by excluding 'm' from 'guioptions', the ALT
7603 key is never used for the menu.
7604 This option is not used for <F10>; on Win32 and with GTK <F10> will
7605 select the menu, unless it has been mapped.
7607 *'window'* *'wi'*
7608 'window' 'wi' number (default screen height - 1)
7609 global
7610 Window height. Do not confuse this with the height of the Vim window,
7611 use 'lines' for that.
7612 Used for |CTRL-F| and |CTRL-B| when there is only one window and the
7613 value is smaller than 'lines' minus one. The screen will scroll
7614 'window' minus two lines, with a minimum of one.
7615 When 'window' is equal to 'lines' minus one CTRL-F and CTRL-B scroll
7616 in a much smarter way, taking care of wrapping lines.
7617 When resizing the Vim window, the value is smaller than 1 or more than
7618 or equal to 'lines' it will be set to 'lines' minus 1.
7619 {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of displayed lines}
7621 *'winheight'* *'wh'* *E591*
7622 'winheight' 'wh' number (default 1)
7623 global
7624 {not in Vi}
7625 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7626 feature}
7627 Minimal number of lines for the current window. This is not a hard
7628 minimum, Vim will use fewer lines if there is not enough room. If the
7629 focus goes to a window that is smaller, its size is increased, at the
7630 cost of the height of other windows.
7631 Set 'winheight' to a small number for normal editing.
7632 Set it to 999 to make the current window fill most of the screen.
7633 Other windows will be only 'winminheight' high. This has the drawback
7634 that ":all" will create only two windows. To avoid "vim -o 1 2 3 4"
7635 to create only two windows, set the option after startup is done,
7636 using the |VimEnter| event: >
7637 au VimEnter * set winheight=999
7638 < Minimum value is 1.
7639 The height is not adjusted after one of the commands that change the
7640 height of the current window.
7641 'winheight' applies to the current window. Use 'winminheight' to set
7642 the minimal height for other windows.
7644 *'winfixheight'* *'wfh'* *'nowinfixheight'* *'nowfh'*
7645 'winfixheight' 'wfh' boolean (default off)
7646 local to window
7647 {not in Vi}
7648 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7649 feature}
7650 Keep the window height when windows are opened or closed and
7651 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|. Set by default for the
7652 |preview-window| and |quickfix-window|.
7653 The height may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7655 *'winfixwidth'* *'wfw'* *'nowinfixwidth'* *'nowfw'*
7656 'winfixwidth' 'wfw' boolean (default off)
7657 local to window
7658 {not in Vi}
7659 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7660 feature}
7661 Keep the window width when windows are opened or closed and
7662 'equalalways' is set. Also for |CTRL-W_=|.
7663 The width may be changed anyway when running out of room.
7665 *'winminheight'* *'wmh'*
7666 'winminheight' 'wmh' number (default 1)
7667 global
7668 {not in Vi}
7669 {not available when compiled without the +windows
7670 feature}
7671 The minimal height of a window, when it's not the current window.
7672 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7673 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero lines (i.e. just a
7674 status bar) if necessary. They will return to at least one line when
7675 they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere to go.)
7676 Use 'winheight' to set the minimal height of the current window.
7677 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7678 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7679 windows. A value of 0 to 3 is reasonable.
7681 *'winminwidth'* *'wmw'*
7682 'winminwidth' 'wmw' number (default 1)
7683 global
7684 {not in Vi}
7685 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7686 feature}
7687 The minimal width of a window, when it's not the current window.
7688 This is a hard minimum, windows will never become smaller.
7689 When set to zero, windows may be "squashed" to zero columns (i.e. just
7690 a vertical separator) if necessary. They will return to at least one
7691 line when they become active (since the cursor has to have somewhere
7692 to go.)
7693 Use 'winwidth' to set the minimal width of the current window.
7694 This option is only checked when making a window smaller. Don't use a
7695 large number, it will cause errors when opening more than a few
7696 windows. A value of 0 to 12 is reasonable.
7698 *'winwidth'* *'wiw'* *E592*
7699 'winwidth' 'wiw' number (default 20)
7700 global
7701 {not in Vi}
7702 {not available when compiled without the +vertsplit
7703 feature}
7704 Minimal number of columns for the current window. This is not a hard
7705 minimum, Vim will use fewer columns if there is not enough room. If
7706 the current window is smaller, its size is increased, at the cost of
7707 the width of other windows. Set it to 999 to make the current window
7708 always fill the screen. Set it to a small number for normal editing.
7709 The width is not adjusted after one of the commands to change the
7710 width of the current window.
7711 'winwidth' applies to the current window. Use 'winminwidth' to set
7712 the minimal width for other windows.
7714 *'wrap'* *'nowrap'*
7715 'wrap' boolean (default on)
7716 local to window
7717 {not in Vi}
7718 This option changes how text is displayed. It doesn't change the text
7719 in the buffer, see 'textwidth' for that.
7720 When on, lines longer than the width of the window will wrap and
7721 displaying continues on the next line. When off lines will not wrap
7722 and only part of long lines will be displayed. When the cursor is
7723 moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll
7724 horizontally.
7725 The line will be broken in the middle of a word if necessary. See
7726 'linebreak' to get the break at a word boundary.
7727 To make scrolling horizontally a bit more useful, try this: >
7728 :set sidescroll=5
7729 :set listchars+=precedes:<,extends:>
7730 < See 'sidescroll', 'listchars' and |wrap-off|.
7732 *'wrapmargin'* *'wm'*
7733 'wrapmargin' 'wm' number (default 0)
7734 local to buffer
7735 Number of characters from the right window border where wrapping
7736 starts. When typing text beyond this limit, an <EOL> will be inserted
7737 and inserting continues on the next line.
7738 Options that add a margin, such as 'number' and 'foldcolumn', cause
7739 the text width to be further reduced. This is Vi compatible.
7740 When 'textwidth' is non-zero, this option is not used.
7741 See also 'formatoptions' and |ins-textwidth|. {Vi: works differently
7742 and less usefully}
7744 *'wrapscan'* *'ws'* *'nowrapscan'* *'nows'*
7745 'wrapscan' 'ws' boolean (default on) *E384* *E385*
7746 global
7747 Searches wrap around the end of the file. Also applies to |]s| and
7748 |[s|, searching for spelling mistakes.
7750 *'write'* *'nowrite'*
7751 'write' boolean (default on)
7752 global
7753 {not in Vi}
7754 Allows writing files. When not set, writing a file is not allowed.
7755 Can be used for a view-only mode, where modifications to the text are
7756 still allowed. Can be reset with the |-m| or |-M| command line
7757 argument. Filtering text is still possible, even though this requires
7758 writing a temporary file.
7760 *'writeany'* *'wa'* *'nowriteany'* *'nowa'*
7761 'writeany' 'wa' boolean (default off)
7762 global
7763 Allows writing to any file with no need for "!" override.
7765 *'writebackup'* *'wb'* *'nowritebackup'* *'nowb'*
7766 'writebackup' 'wb' boolean (default on with |+writebackup| feature, off
7767 otherwise)
7768 global
7769 {not in Vi}
7770 Make a backup before overwriting a file. The backup is removed after
7771 the file was successfully written, unless the 'backup' option is
7772 also on. Reset this option if your file system is almost full. See
7773 |backup-table| for another explanation.
7774 When the 'backupskip' pattern matches, a backup is not made anyway.
7775 NOTE: This option is set to the default value when 'compatible' is
7776 set.
7778 *'writedelay'* *'wd'*
7779 'writedelay' 'wd' number (default 0)
7780 global
7781 {not in Vi}
7782 The number of microseconds to wait for each character sent to the
7783 screen. When non-zero, characters are sent to the terminal one by
7784 one. For MS-DOS pcterm this does not work. For debugging purposes.
7786 vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl: